Dominion: A Survey of Romans 6:1-23

Author’s note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series about the book of Romans. To see other Romans resources, click here.

For Jews living in the city of Rome, Paul’s assertions at the end of Romans 6 were head-turning. He argued that the law played a secondary role in human history, did nothing to free people from sin, and actually ‘increased’ the transgression. Such statements create a suspicion: could it be that Paul’s gospel is libertine?

Freedom from Sin through Death and Life (6:1-14)

Paul answers this question, which logically stems from what he just said. If the law magnifies grace by increasing sin, then shouldn’t we do our part to also increase sin, so that God’s grace is further magnified? Paul’s answer is definitive – me genoito, or “absolutely not!”

The reason why he is so definite about this is because to live under the reign of sin is to live at odds with the reality of our own existence. “Do you now know,” he queries? The truth that believers are expected to understand is their union with Christ. They are not independent entities, but have a vital stake themselves in the events of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Paul describes Christians as those “who have been baptized into Christ Jesus.” What he is referring to here, primarily, is what happens to believers at the moment of regeneration. They are united with Christ and become one with him in a spiritual existence. This union is a ‘baptism’ into him – the picture is that of being ‘immersed’ into his existence. However, Paul is not excluding the physical action of water baptism, which – for Paul – is inseparably tied to union with Christ.

For those who experience such a change of existence, they are partakers in the death of Christ. We share in his death, and we share in his resurrection. To share in Christ’s death means that we are no longer enslaved to sin. In verses 6 and 7, Paul points out that death with Christ means that sin has lost its legal claim to our services. Slave masters don’t give orders to corpses! And that, Paul says, is what remains of the ‘body of sin,’ which is identified with the ‘old man.’ The self that was dedicated to sin has been ‘brought to nothing.’

The positive side of this is that we have a new life. Christ’s resurrection is something that we participate in already (even if the actual event of our own resurrection is something that we still look forward to). This is because Christ actually brings the future into the present for God’s people. Christ’s resurrection was a total and complete triumph over death, which is why Paul is at pains to describe it as complete (‘once for all’). Christ’s new life is an unending flow of moments lived for God. And that is something that Christians begin participating in now!

The first command in the entire book of Romans is found in verse 11. It’s not a command to do something, but to think in a certain way: “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” In other words, think about yourself not in the old way, but as who you actually are. Bring your idea of your identity in line with your actual identity. Nowadays we have to be careful with this word ‘identity,’ for the Christian’s identity is determined, fixed, and cannot be altered or changed. This identity that we have is that we are ‘dead to sin’ and ‘alive to God’ because of our union with Christ. We must learn to think of ourselves this way!

The commands in verses 12 and 13 flow out of this identity of who we are. If verse 11 tells us to think of ourselves in light of our true identity, then verses 12 and 13 tell us to live in light of our true identity. Sin is not to reign in your mortal body – in other words, do not give in to a single one of sin’s demands. To obey even a single dictate of sin is to act as though it is still a power to be obeyed.

The whole person is in view in verse 13. Whether referring to ‘your members’ or ‘yourselves,’ Paul wants us to yield the whole person to God. The word for ‘instruments’ can generically refer to tools, but often refers to weapons. So, rather than presenting ourselves before sin to enlist in sin’s army and giving ourselves over as weapons for his warfare, we should do the opposite in God’s army.

The reason, as he summarizes, is because sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Paul has already forged this connection: the law gives sin power. Therefore, to be free from the law and under grace is to be set free from sin’s dominion.

Freedom from Sin through Changed Masters (6:15-23)

If we are not under law but grace, a new question arises. May we sin? Maybe God’s grace is now more lenient, so that he really doesn’t care so much. Paul’s answer to this is the same: me genoito, “absolutely not!” And again, the question – “Do you not know?”

This time, the truth that we are meant to recall is that we are slaves of the one whom we show up to obey. We often don’t think of it in this way. We think that we can come and go as we please, perhaps doing an act of sin, then an act of obedience, with no lasting repercussions. But the apostle understands that the nature of our relationship with sin or righteousness comes with a binding contract. Our relationship with vice and virtue is more like exercise – each action conditions us to be more or less fit. A set of push-ups makes us more fit for tomorrow’s set, while a single ice cream sets us that much farther behind in our fitness goals. The coach demands commitment, and similarly, your obedience to sin or righteousness has a binding effect.

This means that believers have a responsibility to choose their masters. We have been set free from sin, but will we show up again to serve sin? It was not uncommon for slaves to be set free in ancient Rome, but it would be unheard of for a slave, having been set free, to show up for work at his master’s doorstep the next day as if nothing had changed. For freed slaves, Paul’s advice is clear: run, in the opposite direction!

Our freedom is due to God, and this demands our praise. We have been transferred between slave masters (another frequent occurrence in the Roman world), and in this case, we are ‘handed over’ to a certain ‘pattern of teaching.’ In other words, we are now to live under a certain set of truths, which should form their imprint on our lives.

All of this means, as verse 19 spells out, that we have a different obligation and a different responsibility than we previously had. While Paul is calling us to show up at the door of the right slave-master, it is still very much a requirement of something that we ought to do – ‘present your members!’

While being a slave to righteousness may not always sound pleasant (and sometimes it is a challenging experience), verses 20-21 remind us of the alternative. Admittedly, slaves of sin are free from righteousness. But what is the end result of that slavery? It is death, and those who labor under that master have a dreary end to look forward to, as well as the pallor of death all around them. On second thought, slavery to God is much preferable.

While slaves were required to work, they sometimes did receive small wages from their master. This is why Paul reminds us, in verse 23, of the wages of sin. Just as we are motivated to go to work in anticipation of our paycheck, we should similarly be motivated to not sin in recognition of the fearful wages that we receive for our sins: death. This is a verse that is meant for believers. Be careful who you serve, lest you get a paycheck that you don’t want!

But notice that it is God’s gift, not the result of our actions that leads to eternal life. With sin, you get what you deserve; but with obedience, you are living in a relationship with God, just trusting him to provide, and what he gives you is far more than anything that you ever worked for: eternal life!

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