Romans 6:15

THE MESSAGE

So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? Absolutely not!

King James Version (1611)
What then? shal we sinne, because wee are not vnder the Law, but vnder Grace? God forbid.

King James Version
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

English Standard Version
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

New American Standard Bible
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!

New Century Version
So what should we do? Should we sin because we are under grace and not under law? No!

Amplified Bible
What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God's] grace? Certainly not!

New American Standard Bible (1995)
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

Legacy Standard Bible
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

Berean Standard Bible
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

Contemporary English Version
What does all this mean? Does it mean we are free to sin, because we are ruled by God's wonderful kindness and not by the Law? Certainly not!

Complete Jewish Bible
Therefore, what conclusion should we reach? "Let's go on sinning, because we're not under legalism but under grace"? Heaven forbid!

Darby Translation
What then? should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Far be the thought.

Easy-to-Read Version
So what should we do? Should we sin because we are under grace and not under law? Certainly not!

Geneva Bible (1587)
What then? shall we sinne, because we are not vnder the Law, but vnder grace? God forbid.

George Lamsa Translation
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Far be it.

Good News Translation
What, then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God's grace? By no means!

Lexham English Bible
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

Literal Translation
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under grace? Let it not be!

American Standard Version
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid.

Bible in Basic English
What then? are we to go on in sin because we are not under law but under grace? Let it not be so.

Hebrew Names Version
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be!

International Standard Version
What, then, does this mean?does this mean">[fn] Should we go on sinning because we are not under law but under grace? Of course not!1 Corinthians 9:21;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
What, then, shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace ? Not so.

Murdock Translation
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? Far be it.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
What then? Shall we sinne, because we are not vnder the lawe, but vnder grace? God forbyd.

English Revised Version
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid.

World English Bible
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be!

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Weymouth's New Testament
Are we therefore to sin because we are no longer under the authority of Law, but under grace? No, indeed!

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What therfor? Schulen we do synne, for we ben not vndur the lawe, but vndur grace?

Update Bible Version
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid.

Webster's Bible Translation
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? By no means.

New English Translation
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!

New King James Version
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

New Living Translation
Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

New Life Bible
What are we to do then? Are we to sin because we have God's loving-favor and are not living by the Law? No, not at all!

New Revised Standard
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under favour? Far be it!

Douay-Rheims Bible
What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid!

Revised Standard Version
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
What then? Shall we synne because we are not vnder the lawe: but vnder grace? God forbyd.

Young's Literal Translation
What then? shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? let it not be!

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How then? Shal we synne, because we are not vnder ye lawe, but vnder grace? God forbyd.

Mace New Testament (1729)
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under the gospel?

Simplified Cowboy Version
So, since we don't live by the Code, does that mean we can do whatever we want? It don't work that way, cowboy.

Contextual Overview

¹So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. ⁴When Death Becomes Life So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. ⁵When Death Becomes Life So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. ⁶Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. ¹²That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. ¹⁵So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! ¹⁹ I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? ²⁰As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. ²²But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Romans 3:9

shall we: Romans 6:1, Romans 6:2, 1 Corinthians 9:20, 1 Corinthians 9:21, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Galatians 2:17, Galatians 2:18, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 2:11-14, Jude 1:4

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 21:3 - The Lord Matthew 5:19 - shall teach Romans 2:4 - despisest Romans 3:4 - God forbid Romans 3:8 - Let us Romans 6:14 - under Romans 7:6 - But Romans 7:7 - What Romans 11:7 - What then 1 Corinthians 6:15 - God Galatians 3:23 - under Galatians 5:18 - ye are Philippians 1:18 - What 1 John 2:1 - that

Cross-References

Deuteronomy 3:11
Og king of Bashan was the last remaining Rephaite. His bed, made of iron, was over thirteen feet long and six wide. You can still see it on display in Rabbah of the People of Ammon.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What then? shall we sin,.... Does it follow from hence, that therefore we may sin, and go on and continue in it,

because we are not under the law, but under grace? here the apostle meets with an objection of the adversary, saying, that if men are not under the law, and are free from all obligation to it, then they may live as they list; nor can they be chargeable with sin, or that be objected to them; since where there is no law, there is no transgression, and sin is not imputed where there is no law; and if they are under grace, or in the love and favour of God, from which there is no separation, then they cannot be damned, do what they will: but this objection proceeds upon a mistaken sense of the phrase, "under the law"; for believers, though they are not under the law as the ministry of Moses, yet they are under it, as it is in the hands of Christ; and though not under its curse, yet under obligation to obedience to it, from principles of love and grace; and a transgression of it is sin in them, as in others; and which is taken notice of by God, and visited with stripes in a: fatherly way, though his loving kindness is not removed: and to argue from the unchangeableness of God's grace, or the doctrines of it, as encouraging licentiousness, is greatly to abuse the grace of God, and manifestly betrays such persons to be ignorant of it and its influence; since nothing more powerfully engages to a love of holiness, and hatred of sin; wherefore the apostle, answers to this objection in his usual way,

God forbid; signifying his abhorrence of everything of this kind.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What then? shall we sin ... - The apostle proceeds to notice an objection which might be suggested. “If Christians are not under the law, which forbids all sin, but are under grace, which pardons sin, will it not follow that they will feel themselves released from obligation to be holy? Will they not commit sin freely, since the system of grace is one which contemplates pardon, and which will lead them to believe that they may be forgiven to any extent?” This Consequence has been drawn by many professing Christians; and it was well therefore, for the apostle to guard against it.

God forbid - Note, Romans 3:4.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 6:15. Shall we sin because we are not under the law — Shall we abuse our high and holy calling because we are not under that law which makes no provision for pardon, but are under that Gospel which has opened the fountain to wash away all sin and defilement? Shall we sin because grace abounds? Shall we do evil that good may come of it? This be far from us!