Francis Schaeffer on the stark contrast at the heart of the gospel — what sin earns versus what God freely gives — and why the distinction matters for Christian apologetics and living.

From the writers we read together

Francis Schaeffer

Theologian and Apologist, L'Abri

Schaeffer insisted that the Christian worldview must be held with intellectual honesty — which means facing honestly what sin produces. Romans 6:23 is unflinching: the wages of sin is death. Not discomfort, not inconvenience, but death. Schaeffer believed that unless people understand the diagnosis, the cure makes no sense. The gospel is not good advice for decent people; it is rescue for those under a sentence.

The contrast could not be sharper. Wages are earned and deserved; a charisma is given and undeserved. Eternal life is not the reward for sufficiently good behavior — it is a gift in Christ Jesus our Lord. The preposition 'in' is crucial: life is not a commodity distributed but a reality shared in union with Jesus. Do you relate to eternal life as something you earn or something you receive?