Why Isn't Our Own Death Enough
to Pay the Debt of Our Sins?
Other Forms of the question: Why does not our own death pay for our own sin?

I once heard someone quote Romans 6:23 stating, “the wages of sin is death,” and therefore, once we die, we have paid the debt of sin. On the surface, this seems to make sense. However, it does not consider the full extent of sin and the debt to be paid.

When we sin, we commit a most grievous crime against God. In every sin, we defy God’s will and go against Him. Whether we intend this or not, we set ourselves against God. Without an understanding of God, this may seem no different as committing a crime any other being. What is the difference between sinning against God or our parents or our friends? However, only when we realize the extent of God’s holiness do we realize the extent of our crime. God is not just another creature we roam along side on this earth. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. We have life because life itself flows from the very nature and being of God. He is the source of all that good. He is the reason we exist.

God is an eternal being whose worth cannot be measured. Therefore, when we sin, we commit a crime of eternal proportions. Sin is not a small thing. We have defied the very being on whom all thing depend for existence.

For a moment, you might think, “Well, if God is so great, why should He care? It’s not like sin hurts Him. I mean, He’s God. What can we do to Him?” Indeed, God is sovereign. What could we possibly do to Him? We cannot harm Him? However, we can harm His Way. God has set the universe into motion by His Will. Everything operates as He desires. All things are good because God is good. He made them good. Therefore, when we sin, we are causing harm to all things. We have upset the goodness upon with the whole of things has been founded.

It is true that we cannot hurt God or damage His Word. God is eternal and powerful. He will stand. And that is why sin leads to death. It is like running full speed into a brick wall carved out of the side of a mountain. We may want to break the mountain by our sheer force. The wall, however, will not be moved. Rather, our body and bones will break. The same is true of God. If we go against God’s way, it is like slamming into a rock wall. The wall will stand. We will die.

This is why Paul says, “the wages of sin is death.” In sin, we have challenged God’s Word, the very foundation of all creation. Therefore, we earn death. Death results as a consequence of our sin. So long as our sin remains, so does death. In death, the debt of our sin is not paid. We still owe for our sin. Death is not a punishment, it is simply a consequence. Death is something we have earned by our sin.

So long as our sin remains, death remains. This means we cannot be resurrected unless our sin has been wiped away. We have committed a crime of eternal proportions. Our sin is an eternal sin. And therefore, we shall be dead for eternity. Unless our sins are forgiven, we have no hope of resurrection. We cannot be given new life.

Our sin has rendered us worthless. We once were glorious when Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship with God. However, we fell from God’s glory. It was God Himself who gave us worth. Once we lost God, we lost our worth. We became poor. It is like a woman who owns a beautiful historical mansion. One day, she decides to throw herself a huge birthday party. The party is so big and showy, she must take out a loan on the mansion to pay for it. She puts up the entire value of the mansion to pay for the wild party. She then has her fun. However, during the party, the people grew too wild and the house was destroyed. It once was worth billions due to the history and beauty. After they party, it was worth less than shack. The lenders come to collect their money, but how can she pay? The house was ruined. She can’t pay off the loan using a ruined house.

This is our demise. Our house, the life we have been given by God, has been ruined by sin. We cannot pay off the sin debt we owe with our ruined life. This is why we need Christ. He has the ransom to pay off our debt.

Christ’s death was enough to pay our sins because His life was different than ours. Christ was the sinless Son of God. Firstly, He had no sin. Therefore, death could not hold Him. When we die, our sin keeps us dead. Christ, however, knew no sin (1 Peter 2:22). Secondly, Christ was the only Son of God. He was God incarnate. The life of Christ was eternal, perfect, and holy. This means His eternal life was enough to pay our eternal death. His death alone was enough to pay the ransom we have incurred.

In conclusion, we cannot pay the debt of our sin because we are sinners. It is like a man who owns nothing but a few pennies trying to pay off a billion dollar debt. He does not have anything of value that could match what He owes. This is why we need Christ. He has what we need to be set free.