Romans 6:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

NIV: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

NASB: For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.

CSB: For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.

NLT: Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

KJV: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

NKJV: For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

The context of this passage is the spiritual condition of those who are saved. Paul's remarks here are about those who have expressed saving faith in Christ, not to the entire human race (Romans 5:1). Paul concludes his commands to not allow sin to tell us what to do. He again reminds the reader that sin has no authority in our lives any longer. Those without Christ, standing on their own merits apart from God, are compelled to sin. As we once were, they are slaves to sin. Because Christ rescued us, that's not who we are any more. Sin is not the boss of us.

Now Paul adds a surprising thought. We are not under sin's authority because we are not under the law. In some sense, being under the law revealed how powerless we were against our own desires to sin. Instead, Paul writes, we are under grace. Because of God's grace, we are no longer compelled to sin.

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.

Accessed 4/28/2024 4:41:00 PM