Romans 6 Bible Commentary

6:1 What ¹ shall we say then? Shall we continue in ^a sin, that grace may abound?

(1) He passes now to another benefit of Christ, which is called sanctification or regeneration.
(a) In that corruption, for though the guiltiness of sin, is not imputed to us, yet the corruption still remains in us: and this is killed little by little by the sanctification that follows justification.

6:2 God forbid. ² How shall we, that are ^b dead to sin, live any longer therein?

(2) The benefits of justification and sanctification are always inseparable joined together, and both of them proceed from Christ by the grace of God: now sanctification is the abolishing of sin, that is, of our natural corruption, whose place is taken by the cleanness and pureness of a reformed nature.
(b) They are said by Paul to be dead to sin, who are made partakers of the power of Christ, so that the natural corruption is dead in them, that is, the power of it is removed, and it does not bring forth its bitter fruits: and on the other hand, they are said to live to sin, who are in the flesh, that is, whom the Spirit of God has not delivered from the slavery of the corruption of nature.

6:3 ³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into ^c Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

(3) There are three parts of this sanctification: that is, the death of the old man or sin, his burial, and the resurrection of the new man, descending into us from the virtue of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, of which benefit our baptism is a sign and pledge.
(c) To the end that growing up as one with him, we should receive his strength to extinguish sin in us, and to make us new men.

6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead ^d by the glory of the Father, even so ^e we also should walk in newness of life.

(d) So that Christ himself, being released of his infirmity and weakness, might live in glory with God forever.
(e) And we who are his members rise for this purpose, that being made partakers of the very same power, we should begin to lead a new life, as though we were already in heaven.

6:5 ⁴ For if we have been planted together in the ^f likeness of his death, we shall ^g be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:

(4) The death of sin and the life of righteousness, or our ingrafting into Christ, and growing up into one with him, cannot be separated by any means, neither in death nor life: by which it follows that no man is sanctified who lives still to sin, and therefore is no man made partaker of Christ by faith, who does not repent and turn from his wickedness: for as he said before, the law is not overturned but established by faith.
(f) And by means of the strength which comes from him to us, so we die to sin, as he is dead.
(g) For every day we become more perfect: for we will never be perfectly sanctified, as long as we live here.

6:6 Knowing this, that our ^h old man is crucified with ⁱ [him], that the ^k body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not ^l serve sin.

(h) Our entire nature, as we are conceived and born into this world with sin, is called "old", partly by comparing that old Adam with Christ, and partly also in respect of the deformed state of our corrupt nature, which we change with a new.
(i) Our corrupt nature is regarded as belonging to Christ, not because of what he has done, but by imputation.
(k) That wickedness which remains in us.
(l) The end of sanctification which we aim at, and will at length come to, that is, when God will be all in all.

6:7 ⁵ For he that is dead is freed from sin.

(5) He proves it by the effects of death, comparing Christ the head with his members.

6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin ^m once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto ⁿ God.

(m) Once for all.
(n) With God.

6:12 ⁶ Let not sin therefore ^o reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

(6) An exhortation to contend and strive with corruption and all the effects of it.
(o) By reigning Paul means that principal and high rule which no man strives against, and even if anyone does, it is in vain.

6:13 Neither ^p yield ye your ^q members [as] ^r instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.

(p) To sin, as to a Lord or tyrant.
(q) Your mind and all the powers of it.
(r) As instruments to commit wickedness with them.

6:14 ⁷ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

(7) He grants that sin is not yet so dead in us that it is utterly extinct: but he promises victory to those that contend bravely, because we have the grace of God given to us which works so that the law is not now in us the power and instrument of sin.

6:15 ⁸ What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

(8) To be under the law and under sin signifies the same thing, with respect to whose who are not sanctified, and on the other hand to be under grace and righteousness is in harmony with those that are regenerated. Now these are contraries, so that one cannot agree with the other: therefore let righteousness expel sin.

6:17 ⁹ But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that ^s form of doctrine which was delivered you.

(9) By nature we are slaves to sin and free from righteousness, but by the grace of God we are made servants to righteousness, and therefore free from sin.
(s) This type of speech has a special meaning in it: for he means by this that the doctrine of the gospel is like a certain mould in which we are cast, to be shaped and fashioned like it.

6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were ^t free from righteousness.

(t) Righteousness had no rule over you.

6:21 ¹⁰ What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the ^u end of those things [is] death.

(10) An exhortation to the study of righteousness and hatred of sin, the contrary results of both being set down before us.
(u) The reward or payment.

6:23 ¹¹ For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(11) Death is the punishment due to sin, but we are sanctified freely, to everlasting life.