Romans 6:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

NIV: For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

NASB: knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

CSB: because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.

NLT: We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.

KJV: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

NKJV: knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

Paul reveals an essential truth about Christ's physical death on the cross, as well as His resurrection from death by God's power. Christ's death was a one-time occurrence. It can never happen again. God defeated death when Christ left behind the grave, and it can never drag Him back again. Paul wrote in the previous chapter that Adam's sin introduced sin and death into the world. In truth, death reigned over all who came from Adam. It had dominion, or authority, over humanity. Every person had to submit to it eventually.

Christ, too, submitted to death on the cross, but once He was resurrected, death no longer had any power over Him. The resurrection set Christ free from the authority of death. In the same way, we who are "dead" to sin through faith in Christ are no longer forced to submit to sin. Further, this separation from the power of sin is permanent; death can never again reign over the life of a believer. This does not mean we are incapable of sin (1 John 1:9–10), but it does mean we are never obligated to it (1 Corinthians 10:13), and those who have been saved will not live in incessant sin (Galatians 5:19–24; 1 John 3:6–9).

Romans 6:1–14 explores how Christians should think about and respond to sin now that we are in Christ and our sins are forgiven. In explaining this, Paul reveals new information about what happened when we put our faith in Christ. In a spiritual sense, we died with Him, and to our sin. We were then resurrected to a new spiritual life. Now Paul instructs us to continue remembering that we are no longer slaves to sin. We must not offer our bodies to be used for sin, but we must offer ourselves as instruments of righteousness, instead.

In Romans 6, Paul answers the question of whether Christians should continue to sin. His answer is emphatic: we absolutely should not. First, when we came to God by faith in Jesus, we died to sin. We are not slaves to it any more. Second, what did living for sin ever get us? It led to shame and death. The righteousness given to us for free by God in Christ Jesus leads to becoming like Jesus and to eternal life. We should serve righteousness instead of sin.

After comparing Adam and Christ and what their choices brought into the world, Paul now turns to ask if Christians should continue in sin once they have been saved. He gives several reasons why we must not: we died to sin's power over us; we are now servants to righteousness; and what good did sin ever bring to you, anyway? Paul will transition in Romans 7 to a discussion of what it means to be released from the law of Moses.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.