"Our current understanding of Romans 6:7 is an issue that is dear to my heart. I think that we’re taking that scripture completely out of context. The key to understanding Romans 6:7 is to look at it together with the previous verse – Romans 6:6:
“because we know that our old personality was impaled with [him], that our sinful body might be made inactive, that we should no longer go on being slaves to sin. For he who has died has been acquitted from [his] sin.”
It seems to me that Paul was not making the point that death acquits us from culpability for past sins. Rather, he was saying that a dead person – while dead – is acquitted from the POWER of sin, i.e. he is no longer able to sin because his sinful body is inactive. In interpreting Romans 6:7 we must remember the main point that Paul was getting across to the Roman Christians. He was telling them to reckon themselves as BEING dead because they died with Christ. Since dead people cannot sin, they should there stop practicing sin. Our current understanding of Romans 6:7 does not fit into the context of Paul’s argument, period.
Of course, the wages sin pays is death. But what kind of death? Can the temporary death of a sinner be sufficient payment for the wages of sin so that he can be raised up free of culpability for his past sins? If that were so, then why would there be any need for Christ’s ransom? All faithful Christians could simply die to pay for their sins and Jehovah can recreate them as perfect beings. Jehovah does not need a ransom to create, does he? Was a ransom needed for the creation of Adam and Eve? No. So it is evident that the kind of death a sinner has to die to pay for sin is eternal death. Without a ransom, a sinner has to remain dead forever to pay the wages of sin because that is what death actually is – eternal lifelessness. (Ecclesiastes 9:6b) The resurrection is actually a special undoing or annulling of death, and not merely the interruption of death. A person who is raised up never fully died but merely slept for a while. Why do I say so?
Notice this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
“But when [this which is corruptible puts on incorruption and] this which is mortal puts on immortality, then the saying will take place that is written: “Death is swallowed up forever.” 55 “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting producing death is sin, but the power for sin is the Law. 57 But thanks to God, for he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Now think about this: The resurrection causes us to taunt death with the words: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” But wasn’t the resurrected person dead for a time? Wouldn’t that time of his being dead represent a victory for death? Yes it would . . . if we think of death as just being lifeless, if even for a finite period of time. If we take that view of death then the taunting words: “Death were is your victory?” rings hollow for resurrected ones. But if we think of death – true death as it is supposed to be – as being an intrinsically eternal condition, then the taunting words make sense, because every resurrected person has had his death reversed, undone. They never truly, absolutely died because they did not remain lifeless forever. In other words, anything less that eternal death is not really death. True death is the second death.
When we understand death in this way, we can see why a ransom would be needed to bring back the dead. By resurrecting the dead Jehovah is actually undoing their deaths, taking back the wages paid for their sins. Resurrected ones would thus be culpable for their past sins. There are scriptures in the bible that allude to resurrected ones being judged for sins committed before they died. Here are a few: 2 Corinthians 5:9,10 (read the whole context from verse 6); Matthew 12:36,37,41,42; John 5:29 (accept it for what it says; compare it with 2 Corinthians 5:10)
Now argument used to dismiss the idea of the dead being raised up to face condemnatory judgment for past sins is this: “Why would Jehovah’ raise up the dead only to judge them for their past sins and condemn them to death a second time?” This is an argument from incredulity. Just because we cannot think of a reason for it does not mean a good reason does not exist. But in any event I can think of two reasons:
1. Justice.
Everyone, wicked as well as “righteous” is today dying because of inherited sin. If it were possible to live your whole life without committing a sin, you would still die due to inherited sin from Adam. It can thus be said that no one really dies solely because of his own sins. Jesus’ ransom automatically covers inherited sin for all humans because Jesus is the last Adam that came to undo or counter balance the transgression of Adam. Just as Adam’s transgression is automatically imputed to us all whether we exercise faith in Adam or not, in the same way Jesus’ ransom automatically counters that inherited sin for all of mankind. So when a person is raised up he is no longer under the condemnation of inherited Adamic sin. Now the person is culpable for his own sins that he committed. Faithful Christians who exercise faith in the ransom have their personal sins also covered by the ransom. (1 John 2:1,2) But persons who willfully practiced sin will not have the ransom applied for their sins. Such persons have to fall into the hand of the living God by consciously facing his condemnation and execution for their sins. (Hebrews 10:26-31) Because remember they never faced death for their own sins but for inherited Adamic sin. Justice demands that wicked persons be consciously held accountable for their past sins. If not then we can have a scenario like this:
A wicked man in a position of power commits many atrocities throughout his life. He lived a life of ease in luxury, was untouched by the legal system and died at a ripe old age in his sleep. A wicked man who lived a life of luxury through his evil deeds gets to go out in peace in his sleep . . . like righteous Enoch of old!?
Is that justice? There are also evil people in this world who would rather commit suicide and see it as a small victory rather than be captured and held accountable by the criminal justice system. Will Jehovah give them that small victory? Will he allow the wicked who have died in their sleep to never be consciously held accountable for their wickedness?
Keep in mind that the wicked who happen to be alive at Armageddon get to face the full brunt of Jehovah’s wrath. So a wicked person can beat the system and avoid God’s wrath by just living and dying in his sleep before Armageddon? Or maybe he can take an overdose of sleeping pills when the great tribulation starts and would never have to be held accountable at a future resurrection? Is that Jehovah’s justice? It can’t be!
2. To vindicate his sovereignty and sanctify his name before all. “They shall have to know that I am Jehovah”. What of all the wicked people who heaped reproach on the name of God in centuries past? Doesn’t God want them to know that “I am Jehovah”? What good is it that Jehovah’s sovereignty is vindicated only to the living and to the righteous but never to the wicked? Why not bring back all the wicked people who died with the idea that God is wicked, unreal, incompetent, etc, so that they can be made to eat humble pie – to know that their victims will enjoy eternal life while they will now die everlastingly? The wicked have to know that “I am Jehovah” and their wicked deeds did not go unnoticed.
I think these are good enough reasons to bring back the wicked to face judgment."
