Romans 6
Romans 6 can be divided broadly into two parts. The first (verses 1-14) emphasizes that through union with Christ, you must die to the old self and live among new life. The second (verses 15-23) describes a new life as the servant of righteousness and explains the meaning of a life offered to God as one who has been liberated from sin and death.
1verseWhat shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2verseMay it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?
3verseOr don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4verseWe were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
5verseFor if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection;
6verseknowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
7verseFor he who has died has been freed from sin.
8verseBut if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him,
9verseknowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him!
10verseFor the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God.
11verseThus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12verseTherefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
13verseAlso, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14verseFor sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.
15verseWhat then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
16verseDon’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?
17verseBut thanks be to God that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered.
18verseBeing made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.
19verseI speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh; for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.
20verseFor when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.
21verseWhat fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22verseBut now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.
23verseFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Summary of Key Points
- Verses 1-4: They proclaim that you die to sin and walk in new life with Christ. The meaning of baptism is also explained in connection with this.
- Verses 5-11: Since the old self was crucified with Christ and died, it emphasizes that sin can no longer rule and that you must live toward God.
- Verses 12-14: Do not offer the body as an instrument of sin, but exhorting you to present it as an instrument of God’s righteousness.
- Verses 15-23: Don’t live following sin by misunderstanding freedom; rather, you must live in obedience to righteousness. It also states that the result of sin is death, but God’s gift is eternal life.
Overall Meaning and Message
Romans 6 declares a new identity and way of life that God grants through Jesus Christ. It emphasizes that Christians are no longer under the rule of sin, but are people who live a new life in God’s grace. This chapter makes it clear that “grace” is never a license for indulgence, and it invites believers to a life of new life—namely, a responsible and holy life.
Points for Reflection
- Am I still not staying in the habits of the old self or its sinful nature?
- Is the freedom I have received leading not to permission or indulgence, but to a holy life offered to God?
Try Applying It to Yourself
Take a moment today to reflect on how you are practicing in every area of your life: not as the old self, but as new life (servants of righteousness). Whenever any temptation or wrongdoing comes your way, remember that as one who has died with Christ and risen again, your actions and choices can become different.
