God's message about Jesus is, "Death is cancelled, life reigns!"  The resurrection of Jesus Christ was unique and dramatic, and all the more so because He could never die again - unlike others whose bodies had miraculously been raised to life (Mark 5:39-43; Luke 7:11-15; John 11:38-44; Matthew 27:52-53).  Christ alone has defeated death; He lives now and will remain alive forever.

Paul repeats his question of Romans 6:1 - 'If God's grace cancels the punishment of our sin, shall we continue to sin?'  The answer to that question was “By no means!” – because having died to the ruling principle of sin, we should be unresponsive to it (Romans 6:1-7).  This time, the answer, "By no means!" is based on the principle of redemption.  A slave is the property of his master unless he is redeemed by a price being paid to buy him out of slavery.

Although some Christians like to pretend that they are perpetually godly and always do what is right, it is not true.  That hypocrisy helps nobody and cannot commend the gospel.  The reality is that we are weak in our natural selves and, at best, we are ‘jars of clay’ (2 Corinthians 4:7-10).  We have no human power to overcome the temptations that we believe will bring wealth, pleasure, power or adoration – even if that means we cheerfully offer our bodies to impurity and wickedness.

Every worker knows what wages are.  They are the payment for what has been done.  Paul says that sin also has its pay-day.  The only appropriate payment for sin is death, eternal separation from God and perpetual suffering in hell.  Jesus described that scene in dreadfully graphic word-pictures in Luke 16:23-24.  The implication is clear: we reap what we sow, we get what we give (Galatians 6:7-8).  Unless there is gracious divine intervention, we will all be cut off from the glory of God and suffer for eternity.