Romans 6:13

Context

At the opening of Romans 6, Paul raises and answers the rhetorical question of whether believers may continue in sin so that grace may abound. He first establishes that believers, having been united through baptism with Christ in his death and resurrection, are dead to sin (6:3–11). Beginning in verse 12, he turns to commands to live in keeping with that reality. Verse 13 spells out in concrete terms the command of verse 12 that sin must not reign over the body. Verse 14 then supplies the ground: believers are not under the law but under grace. "Members" refers to parts of the body such as the hands, feet, and eyes, and many interpreters take the term more broadly to denote the whole range of a person's capacities.

Interpretation

Many traditions read the verse according to the pattern "You have already become this; therefore live accordingly." The preceding statement of fact is sometimes called the indicative, and the command that follows, the imperative. The emphasis differs from tradition to tradition.

• Reformed reading: Believers who have received justification (God's declaration that the sinner is righteous) are united with Christ, and from this reality flows the command to live a holy life. Sanctification is understood as a lifelong, progressive process that is accomplished by the grace of the Spirit yet accompanied by the believer's obedience.
• Wesleyan-Holiness reading: In Methodist, Holiness, and related churches, the decision to "yield" oneself to God is often read as dedication and consecration (being set apart as holy and offered to God). This decision is linked to a real transformation of life that overcomes sin and to the possibility of entire sanctification.
• Lutheran reading: The verse is read from the perspective that the believer is at once righteous and a sinner. It is taken to describe a life of struggling against remaining sin, returning daily to the meaning of baptism, and putting the old man to death.

Debates and Issues

• The extent of sanctification: One point of debate is whether Romans 6 means that a life victorious over sin is actually attainable. A related question is whether the conflict depicted in chapter 7 should be seen as the ongoing reality of the believer; the traditions are divided on these questions.
• Translating "instruments": The Greek term carries the senses of both "weapon" and "tool." The Korean Revised Version renders it byeonggi ("arms"), and the Revised New Korean Version renders it mugi ("weapons"). English translations are likewise divided between "weapons" and "instruments." Some commentators read the passage as a military metaphor, pointing to the language of "reigning" in chapter 6 and to "wages" in verse 23, and arguing that the word translated "wages" originally referred to a soldier's pay.
• The tense of the commands: In the original text, the verbs translated "neither yield" and "yield" differ in tense form. Some therefore interpret the former as a call to stop an ongoing action and the latter as a call to a decisive, once-for-all commitment.

In the Korean Church

The expression "to be used as an instrument of righteousness" is common in prayers and sermons, and is heard especially on occasions when people pledge their dedication or take up church offices. The same expression also appears in 2 Corinthians 6:7 (rendered in the KJV as "the armour of righteousness").

Related Passages

• Romans 6:3–6
• Romans 6:21–22
• Romans 12:1
• Romans 7:24–25
• Galatians 5:16–21