No Longer Sin’s Slaves, but God’s Slaves

1What should we say, then? Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2Of course not! How can we who died as far as sin is concerned go on living in it?

3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into union with the Messiaha Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore, through baptism we were buried with him into his death so that, just as the Messiahb was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too may live an entirely new life. 5For if we have become united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old natures were crucified with him so that our sin-laden bodies might be rendered powerless and we might no longer be slaves to sin. 7For the person who has died has been freed from sin.

8Now if we have died with the Messiah,c we believe that we will also live with him, 9for we know that the Messiah,d who was raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10For when he died, he died once and for all as far as sin is concerned. But now that he is alive, he lives for God. 11In the same way, you too must continuously consider yourselves dead as far as sin is concerned, but living for God through the Messiahe Jesus.f

12Therefore, do not let sin rule your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. 13Stop offeringg the parts of your bodyh to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have been brought from death to life and the parts of your bodyi as instruments of righteousness to God. 14For sin will not have mastery over you, because you are not under Law but under grace.

15What, then, does this mean?j Should we go on sinning because we are not under Law but under grace? Of course not! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thank God that, though you were once slaves of sin, you became obedient from your hearts to that form of teaching with which you were entrusted! 18And since you have been freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.

19I am speaking in simplek terms because of the frailty of your human nature.l Just as you once offered the parts of your bodym as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater disobedience, so now, in the same way, you must offer the parts of your bodyn as slaves to righteousness that leads to sanctification. 20For when you were slaves of sin, you were “free” as far as righteousness was concerned. 21What benefit did you get from doing those things you are now ashamed of? For those things resulted in death. 22But now that you have been freed from sin and have become God’s slaves, the benefit you reap is sanctification, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiaho Jesus our Lord.