What is the meaning of Romans 6:15? What then? Paul has just declared, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). With the brisk “What then?” he anticipates a possible misunderstanding: if grace releases believers from the law’s jurisdiction, does anything really matter anymore? Similar rhetorical pivots appear in Romans 3:9 and 3:31 as Paul raises objections before answering them. His goal is to keep us from twisting liberty in Christ into spiritual laziness. Shall we sin because we are not under law, Being “not under law” means: • no longer under the Mosaic code as a system that condemns (Galatians 3:24-25). • released from the law’s penalty through Christ’s completed work (Romans 7:4-6). Yet the flesh hears only, “Rules are gone—do as you please.” Paul confronts that distortion head-on, much like he does in Galatians 5:13 where freedom is never to serve the flesh. The gospel does not abolish God’s moral will; it removes the curse for breaking it. but under grace? Grace is more than pardon; it is power. “The grace of God has appeared… instructing us to deny ungodliness” (Titus 2:11-12). Living “under grace” means: • accepted in Christ, indwelt by the Spirit (Romans 8:1-2). • enabled to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). • motivated by love rather than fear (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Paul’s own testimony—“But by the grace of God I am what I am… yet not I but the grace of God with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10)—shows grace energizing obedience, not excusing sin. Certainly not! The sharpest possible rejection: “May it never be!” Paul used the same expression in Romans 6:2 when confronting the idea that more sin could produce more grace. Here again, sin is unthinkable for one united with Christ: • We have changed masters; yielding to sin would contradict our new identity (Romans 6:16-18). • Liberty is never license (1 Peter 2:16). • Ongoing sin betrays the very purpose for which Christ died (1 John 3:6). Grace secures and propels holiness; it never tolerates rebellion. summary Romans 6:15 answers a crucial question: freedom from the law’s condemnation does not open the door to careless living. Grace rescues from sin’s penalty and breaks sin’s power, calling believers to wholehearted obedience. “Certainly not!” remains the gospel’s firm reply to any suggestion that divine mercy makes sin acceptable. |
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