Romans 6 Footnotes

6:1 Paul opposed the prevalent idea of antinomianism, which states that since God saves people by grace (5:21), it does not matter how people live. Paul found this idea abhorrent—completely inconsistent with salvation’s purpose, which is to produce holy lives. The result of entering into relationship with Christ should be victory over sin—ultimately but also presently. This mandates the believer make every effort to counter sin’s effects in his life.

6:16,22 Paul’s positive use of the metaphor of slavery may strike Christians today as offensive. However, slavery’s pervasiveness in the ancient world helped convey his point graphically. In fact, everyone is a slave either to sin—an evil, malicious slave master—or to God. God grants his slaves eternal life and freedom from sin’s destructive power. Sin pays death as wages; God grants life (v. 23).