Romans 6:15-23

New International Reader's Version

Slaves to Right Living

¹⁵ What should we say then? Should we sin because we are not ruled by the law but by God’s grace? Not at all! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person’s slave? If you are slaves of sin, then you will die. But if you are slaves who obey God, then you will live a godly life. ¹⁷ You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.

¹⁹ Because you are human, you find this hard to understand. So I am using an everyday example to help you understand. You used to give yourselves to be slaves to unclean living. You were becoming more and more evil. Now give yourselves to be slaves to right living. Then you will become holy. ²⁰ Once you were slaves of sin. At that time right living did not control you. ²¹ What benefit did you gain from doing the things you are now ashamed of? Those things lead to death! ²² You have been set free from sin. God has made you his slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life. ²³ When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.