Romans 6 – Dec 4 2025

Context (From Commentary Epistle to Romans by Douglas Moo)

1. Paul writes Romans 6 in response to a possible misunderstanding of his teaching on justification by faith alone (Romans 3–5). In Romans 5:20–21, Paul states, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Anticipating the objection that such a teaching might encourage moral laxity, he opens Romans 6 with a rhetorical question: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” His answer is a firm, “By no means!” (Romans 6:2). The chapter aims to refute antinomianism—the idea that Christians can continue sinning because they are under grace, not law.

1. Church in Rome
   1. The Roman church was likely established by Jewish Christians who had returned to Rome after Pentecost (Acts 2:10). Over time, more Gentiles joined the church.
   2. Around A.D. 49, Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2). This led to a Gentile-dominated church.
   3. When Jewish Christians returned after Claudius’ death (circa A.D. 54), tensions arose. Jewish Christians still valued the Mosaic Law, while Gentile believers were unfamiliar with it.
2. Jewish vs. Gentile Views on Sin and Law
   1. Jewish believers saw themselves as God’s chosen people, marked by the Law, circumcision, and traditions. Sin was often viewed in terms of breaking the Torah.
   2. Gentile believers, having been saved out of paganism, had no such background and were more likely to misunderstand or misuse the concept of grace as freedom from all moral restraints
3. Clarifying the Gospel:
   1. Paul wrote Romans to present a unified, apostolic explanation of the gospel, rooted in “Sola Fide” (faith alone), to a divided audience.
   2. His argument in Romans 6 corrects both Jewish legalism (thinking obedience to the Law earns righteousness) and Gentile libertinism (thinking grace permits sin).
4. Jewish Believers may have struggled with the idea that righteousness comes apart from the Law (Romans 3:21), and needed to hear that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 10:4).
5. Gentile Believers needed to be taught that freedom from the Law does not mean freedom from holiness, but instead a call to present their bodies as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13).
6. Where Roman’s 1-5 focus on justification (by faith), Paul now turns his attention to the process of sanctification and 5 key elements
   1. Union with Christ in His Death and Resurrection
      1. Romans 6:3–5: “…all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…”
         Greek: synestaurōthēmen (we were co-crucified) and syzēsomen (we shall live with Him) — mystical union.
   2. Death to Sin’s Dominion
      1. Romans 6:6–7: “Our old self was crucified… so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
         Sanctification begins with a definitive break from sin’s reign.
   3. Newness of Life
      1. Romans 6:4: “…we too might walk in newness of life.”
         Greek: kainotēti zōēs — not just moral reform, but new creation life.
   4. Presenting the Body as Instruments of Righteousness
      1. Romans 6:13: “…present yourselves to God… and your members to God as instruments of righteousness.”
   5. Freedom from Sin, Slavery to Righteousness

Romans 6 

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? 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—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19 I am using an example from everyday life 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 leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Discussion Questions

1. What strikes you most in this chapter, how has it impacted you?
2. Paul asks, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” How would you answer that in your own words today?
3. What does it mean to be “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus”? (Romans 6:11)
4. Paul uses slavery language: “You are slaves to the one you obey.” How does that hit you as a man living in today’s culture?
5. Romans 6 teaches that baptism symbolizes death to sin and resurrection to new life. How should this shape our daily lives?
6. How do you understand the phrase, “Sin shall not have dominion over you”? Is that your experience? Why or why not?
7. What sins are you most tempted to “make peace with” rather than fight against?
8. Paul says we are to present our bodies as instruments of righteousness. What does that look like practically—in your work, your family, your habits?
9. What are some practical ways you can “not let sin reign in your mortal body”? (Romans 6:12)
10. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. How does this truth affect how you view your daily choices and struggles?