Romans 6:23

[jtartar]

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
all the various translations i read all seem to say the same thing that with god/jesus their is no eternal life only death. how then can hell be eternal or even anything more then a metaphor?


surely this also vibes better with a message of a loving god.

Iti oj,
You seem to be reading only half of he scripture. Notice what the last part says; The wages sin pays is death, BUT the gift God gives is everlasting life by Jesus Christ our lord.
This is alluding to the difference between the Mosaic Law Covenant and the NEW COVENANT that Jesus instituted, Luke 22:19,20, Heb 8:6-13.
Under the Mosaic Law if a person broke ONE of the commandmenst, he was a sinner against the whole law, James 2:10, and deserved death. Everyone under the Mosaic Law Covenant was under a CURSE, the curse of SIN and the consequence DEATH, Gal 3:10-14. Jesus came to fulfill the law and do away with it, Matt 5:17,18, Rom 3:20, 7:6, 8:1-3, Col 2:13,14. When Jesus died he fulfilled all the things in the law that he had come for, Luke 24:44, John 19:30.
The Mosaic Law Covenant condemned everyone under it to death. This is because no person can obey the Law perfectly, Acts 15:10, 2Cor 3:6,7.
Jesus came as a Ransom Sacrifice for us to free us from the Mosaic Law Covenant, and put all believers under a New Covenant , one in which our sins are covered by the sacrifice of Jesus and are not charged to us, John 1:29, Matt 20:20, Heb 10:14-18.
Jesus gave his life for us, that is why the second part of Rom 6:23 says that the gift that God gives is BY JESUS CHRIST our LORD, John 3:16. This scripture has been called the Gospels in miniature, because it has all the main points of the Gospels in it. Belief in the ransom of Jesus and our following his footsteps can mean our everlasting life, John 17:3, 1Tim 2:4-6, 1Pet 2:21, Rom 10:8-10.

 

[rusra02]

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
all the various translations i read all seem to say the same thing that with god/jesus their is no eternal life only death. how then can hell be eternal or even anything more then a metaphor?


surely this also vibes better with a message of a loving god.

You are correct. I believe eternal death is the punishment for unrepentant sin, not endless torture in hellfire. God told Adam that the penalty for sin is death. The Bible "hell" is second death (a death without hope of resurrection), symbolized in Revelation as a lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15) The fact that "death" and "hell" were hurled into this lake of fire clearly shows it is symbolic of eternal destruction. Adamic death and the common grave (Sheol, hades, or hell) will be completed eliminated by Christ's thousand year reign, the grave being emptied by resurrection of the dead. (John 5:28,29)