Romans 6
English Standard Version
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say then? (A)Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can (B)we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us (C)who have been baptized (D)into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were (E)buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as (F)Christ was raised from the dead by (G)the glory of the Father, we too might walk in (H)newness of life.
5 For (I)if we have been united with him in (J)a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that (K)our old self[a] (L)was crucified with him in order that (M)the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For (N)one who has died (O)has been set free[b] from sin. 8 Now (P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that (Q)Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; (R)death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, (S)once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves (T)dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not (U)sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 (V)Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but (W)present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For (X)sin (Y)will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? (Z)Are we to sin (AA)because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves (AB)to anyone as obedient slaves,[c] 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 (AC)thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the (AD)standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, (AE)having been set free from sin, (AF)have become slaves of righteousness. 19 (AG)I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For (AH)just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members (AI)as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
20 (AJ)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 (AK)But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things (AL)of which you are now ashamed? (AM)For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you (AN)have been set free from sin and (AO)have become slaves of God, (AP)the fruit you get leads to sanctification and (AQ)its end, eternal life. 23 (AR)For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 6:6 Greek man
- Romans 6:7 Greek has been justified
- Romans 6:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; twice in this verse; also verses 17, 19 (twice), 20
Romans 6
Living Bible
6 Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?
2-3 Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? For sin’s power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. 4 Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died; and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.
5 For you have become a part of him, and so you died with him, so to speak, when he died;[a] and now you share his new life and shall rise as he did. 6 Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; 7 for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. 8 And since your old sin-loving nature “died” with Christ, we know that you will share his new life. 9 Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now he lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. 11 So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes. 14 Sin need never again be your master,[b] for now you are no longer tied to the law where sin enslaves you, but you are free under God’s favor and mercy.
15 Does this mean that now we can go ahead and sin and not worry about it? (For our salvation does not depend on keeping the law but on receiving God’s grace!) Of course not!
16 Don’t you realize that you can choose your own master? You can choose sin (with death) or else obedience (with acquittal). The one to whom you offer yourself—he will take you and be your master, and you will be his slave. 17 Thank God that though you once chose to be slaves of sin, now you have obeyed with all your heart the teaching to which God has committed you. 18 And now you are free from your old master, sin; and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness.
19 I speak this way, using the illustration of slaves and masters, because it is easy to understand: just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy.
20 In those days when you were slaves of sin you didn’t bother much with goodness. 21 And what was the result? Evidently not good, since you are ashamed now even to think about those things you used to do, for all of them end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and are slaves of God, and his benefits to you include holiness and everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 6:5 you died . . . when he died, literally, “united with him in the likeness of his death.”
- Romans 6:14 Sin need never again be your master, literally, “Sin will never again be your master.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.