Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? (A)Are we to sin (B)because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves (C)to anyone as obedient slaves,[a] you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But (D)thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the (E)standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, (F)having been set free from sin, (G)have become slaves of righteousness. 19 (H)I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For (I)just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members (J)as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 (K)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 (L)But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things (M)of which you are now ashamed? (N)For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you (O)have been set free from sin and (P)have become slaves of God, (Q)the fruit you get leads to sanctification and (R)its end, eternal life. 23 (S)For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Released from the Law

Or do you not know, brothers[b]—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For (T)a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.[c] Accordingly, (U)she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Likewise, my brothers, (V)you also have died (W)to the law (X)through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, (Y)in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work (Z)in our members (AA)to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the (AB)new way of (AC)the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.[d]

Footnotes

  1. Romans 6:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse; also verses 17, 19 (twice), 20
  2. Romans 7:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 4
  3. Romans 7:2 Greek law concerning the husband
  4. Romans 7:6 Greek of the letter

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?(A) By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey(B)—whether you are slaves to sin,(C) which leads to death,(D) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God(E) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,(F) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching(G) that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin(H) and have become slaves to righteousness.(I)

19 I am using an example from everyday life(J) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness(K) leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin,(L) you were free from the control of righteousness.(M) 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!(N) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin(O) and have become slaves of God,(P) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.(Q) 23 For the wages of sin is death,(R) but the gift of God is eternal life(S) in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

Do you not know, brothers and sisters(T)—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.(U) So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.(V) But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law(W) through the body of Christ,(X) that you might belong to another,(Y) to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[b](Z) the sinful passions aroused by the law(AA) were at work in us,(AB) so that we bore fruit for death.(AC) But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law(AD) so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.(AE)

Footnotes

  1. Romans 6:23 Or through
  2. Romans 7:5 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.