Bible Commentaries
Romans 6

Verses 12-23

The Imperatives of Grace (6:12-23)

But wait: is this realistic? Did you ever know any Christian who had actually, as Paul puts it, died to sin, been entirely set free from it? You never did, and neither did Paul. We have to help make the heavenly reality come true. It is not automatic, it is not magic. And it never comes completely true in this life. To the very people to whom he had just said, "You also must consider yourselves dead to sin" (6:11), Paul says, therefore "Let not sin ... reign ... Do not yield your members to sin." He writes, "You have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teach­ing to which you were committed" (vs. 17). The Christian is not free to do as he pleases. God gives him a standard to live by. There are divine imperatives for the Christian.

Paul uses also the figure of master and slave. The Christian is not to be defined as a person who cannot sin, or who never sins. A Christian is one who is no longer a slave of sin. He is no longer In chains. He is God’s man, not sin’s man. And, Paul asks, what does sin do for you? Nothing; it kills you in the end. Sin pays you off—with death. God does much better than pay you. He gives you eternal life.