Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2[a]Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5For if we have become [b]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [c]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old [d]self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be [e]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7for the one who has died is [f]freed from sin.

8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, [g]is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10For [h]the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but [i]the life that He lives, He lives to [j]God. 11So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13and do not go on presenting [k]the parts of your body to sin as [l]instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and [m]your body’s parts as [n]instruments of righteousness for God. 14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under [o]the Law but under grace.

15What then? Are we to sin because we are not under [p]the Law but under grace? [q]Far from it! 16Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin [r]resulting in death, or of obedience [s]resulting in righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that [t]though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that [u]form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness. 19I am speaking [v]in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented [w]the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, [x]resulting in further lawlessness, so now present [y]your body’s parts as slaves to righteousness, [z]resulting in sanctification.

20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness. 21Therefore what [aa]benefit were you then [ab]deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you [ac]derive your [ad]benefit, [ae]resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[a] 2 Lit May it never happen!
[b] 5 Or united with the likeness
[c] 5 Or with
[d] 6 Lit person (Gr anthropos)
[e] 6 Or made powerless
[f] 7 Or acquitted
[g] 9 Lit no longer dies
[h] 10 Lit that which He died
[i] 10 Lit that which He lives
[j] 10 I.e., the Father
[k] 13 Lit your parts to sin
[l] 13 Or weapons
[m] 13 Lit your parts as
[n] 13 Or weapons
[o] 14 Or law
[p] 15 Or law
[q] 15 Lit May it never happen!
[r] 16 Lit to death
[s] 16 Lit to righteousness
[t] 17 Lit you were slaves...but you became
[u] 17 Or pattern
[v] 19 I.e., reluctantly using slavery as an analogy
[w] 19 Lit your parts as
[x] 19 Lit to lawlessness
[y] 19 Lit your parts as
[z] 19 Lit to sanctification
[aa] 21 Lit fruit
[ab] 21 Lit having
[ac] 22 Lit have
[ad] 22 Lit fruit
[ae] 22 Lit to sanctification