Romans 6

Within the doctrinal section of Romans, this chapter follows the preceding chapters on justification (God's declaring the sinner righteous) and explains the new life of the believer. It opens by correcting a misunderstanding that could arise from the statement at the end of Romans 5, "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." The theme continues into the discussion of the law in Romans 7.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Paul asks, "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" and answers, "God forbid."
• Verses 3–11 Those who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death and buried with him, and they are also united with him in his resurrection. Since the old man has been crucified on the cross, believers are to reckon themselves dead to sin.
• Verses 12–14 Believers are urged not to yield the members of their bodies (the parts of the body) to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but to yield them to God as instruments of righteousness. Believers are not under the law but under grace.
• Verses 15–23 Paul asks again whether believers may sin because they are under grace. He answers with the analogy of servants and masters: servitude to sin leads to death, while servitude to God leads to holiness and, in the end, to eternal life.

Key Verses

• Romans 6:4 "We are buried with him … even so we also should walk in newness of life." This is a key verse explaining baptism as union with Christ's death and resurrection. See also Romans 6:3–6.
• Romans 6:13 "Yield … your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." This verse is frequently cited in discussions of the believer's consecration and manner of life (Romans 6:13).
• Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life …" In a single sentence it contrasts the consequence of sin with the eternal life given by grace.

People and Places

• As an epistolary text, the chapter contains no narrative events or places.
• The author, Paul, explains to the believers in Rome their union with Jesus Christ.

Points for Reflection

• Mode of baptism: Baptists read the word "buried" in verse 4 as the basis for baptism by immersion, in which the whole body is submerged in water. Presbyterians, Methodists, and other denominations that do not baptize exclusively by immersion understand the verse as speaking of the union that baptism signifies, not as prescribing the manner in which water is applied. These matters are treated in more detail in the articles Baptism and Immersion and The Infant Baptism Debate.
• Understanding of sanctification: The Reformed tradition reads this chapter as describing lifelong sanctification (the process of growing in holiness), which is distinct from justification but inseparable from it. Methodist and Holiness churches that follow Wesleyan theology tend to connect freedom from the dominion of sin with the possibility of entire sanctification (holiness).
• Related New Testament passages: The chapter connects with Colossians 2:12, which describes baptism as being buried with Christ, and with Galatians 3:26–29, which speaks of putting on Christ.

In the Korean Church

• Verses 3–4 are frequently used as sermon texts at both baptism and immersion services.
• Verse 23 is known to be quoted in the evangelistic booklet The Four Spiritual Laws used by Korea Campus Crusade for Christ, and it is widely memorized in evangelistic settings.