Romans 6 Study Notes

6:11 This is the first command in the book of Romans.

6:12-13 The believer, as a member of the new kingdom, must not offer any help to the old king (Satan, sin, death) and his kingdom. We are still slaves, but now we have a new Master. Note that Paul continues the personification of sin as a king (complete with a kingdom and subjects) who seeks to extend his rule. There is a spiritual war between these two kingdoms. We must give ourselves as weapons to be used in this warfare on the side of the rightful King. Aiding and abetting the enemy is treason.

6:14 Sin personified has been in view since 5:20-21. Sin is no longer the believer’s ruler. Sin gained its power by using the law, but the Christian is under the rule of grace rather than law.

6:15-23 These verses are another of Paul’s extended analogies. People have a choice about which master they will serve.

6:16 Paul used the figure of slaves. Whoever you obey, you come under his power. Obedience to sin brings death. Sin pays a wage to his subjects, and it is death (cp. v. 23). Obedience to God brings righteousness and the gift of eternal life.

6:17 Paul thanked God for the work of salvation that came to the Roman Christians.

6:18-19 Slavery and redemption are common biblical metaphors for spiritual death and salvation. The Hebrews were once in bondage (literal and spiritual) in Egypt. God broke the bondage so they could come out from Egypt and worship him (Ex 7:16; 12:29-42). Similarly, the Roman Christians were once in spiritual bondage to false gods, but God liberated them so they could be slaves to righteousness.

The Greek verb dikaioo means to justify or to declare righteous. Two related words occur quite often in the NT: the noun dikaiosunÄ“, meaning righteousness, and the adjective dikaios, meaning just or righteous. The common thread in this word family is conformity to a standard, and the standard is primarily God’s will. In the Greek OT dikaioo occurs thirty times; most are in judicial contexts, both divine and human (either God is Judge or man is judge). Human judges are to “declare righteous the righteous” (Dt 25:1; 1Kg 8:32; 2Ch 6:23)—to pronounce the innocent to be so and free him legally. These terms that grow out of a legal context carry relational connotations. Both legal and relational overtones carry over into Paul’s letters, especially Romans and Galatians, as he explains how to have a right relationship with God. At the point of faith God declares the believer to be righteous (Rm 3:30-4:9; 5:1; Gl 2:16-17; 3:8,11,24; 5:4), free from the penalty of sin and in a right relationship with God.

6:20-23 As slaves of God, believers produce fruit (see Jn 15:1-8). This is the work of sanctification or holiness in their lives, and the final product is eternal life. Lest the figure be misunderstood as a payment for merits earned, eternal life is a gift of God through Christ. One master (sin) pays an earned wage of death; the other master (God) pays in unearned grace, resulting in eternal life (Jn 17:3).