Death is so final. It is the end of everything in this life. But there is something worse and It is called second death, which is separation from God forever.
The Bible talks about a death beyond death. For those who are saved from their sin there is eternal life, but for those who pay for their own sin, there is eternal death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Now this verse talks about death in contrast to eternal life.
The word death (Greek word thanatos) can be used in a literal or figurative sense. In a literal sense, it means you stop breathing and you die. It is the end of your natural life. But in a figurative sense, death means separation from God who is the source of life. This doesn’t mean you cease to exist, it just means you have no more contact with God.
In Revelation 2:11, Jesus calls this the second death and in Matthew 25:46 He says that it is an eternal condition. The second death is an eternal death and this is the kind of death Romans 6:23 is speaking about. The wages of sin is the second death, it is eternal death—separation from God forever. Wow, that is horrific! That ought to scare you to death, figuratively speaking!
So, since we have all sinned and that is our wages, what is the answer? Well, the answer is in the second part of the verse. God will exchange eternal death for eternal life.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Hey, eternal life is certainly better than eternal death. Think about it.