What is the meaning of Romans 6?

Introduction to Romans 6

Romans 6 stands as a pivotal chapter in Paul’s masterful exposition of the gospel, addressing one of the most fundamental questions in Christian theology: How should believers respond to God’s grace? After establishing the doctrine of justification by faith in previous chapters, Paul anticipates and answers the challenging question: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” His response develops into a profound exploration of the believer’s union with the Messiah in His death and resurrection, presenting a revolutionary understanding of the Christian’s relationship to sin.

This chapter serves as the theological foundation for understanding sanctification – the process by which believers grow in holiness. Through powerful imagery of death, burial, and resurrection, Paul explains how identification with the Messiah transforms not just our legal standing before God, but our very nature and relationship with sin.

Context of Romans 6

Within the immediate context of Romans, chapter 6 marks a significant transition. In chapters 1-5, Paul establishes the universal need for salvation and God’s provision through faith in the Messiah. Having explained justification by faith, he now turns to address its practical implications. This chapter forms part of a larger section (chapters 6-8) dealing with sanctification and the believer’s new life in the Spirit.

The larger biblical context reveals Romans 6 as a crucial link between the Old Testament’s promise of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) and its fulfillment in the Messiah. The chapter expands on themes found throughout Scripture: the concept of dying to self (Galatians 2:20), the power of resurrection (Philippians 3:10), and the transformation of identity (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In the broader narrative of Scripture, this chapter provides essential understanding of how the New Covenant transforms believers from within, fulfilling God’s promise to write His law on their hearts. It bridges the gap between positional truth (our standing in the Messiah) and practical living, showing how grace leads not to license but to liberation from sin’s dominion.

Ancient Key Word Study

• Baptized (βαπτίζω, baptizō): More than just water immersion, this word carried deep significance in ancient Jewish ritual cleansing practices. In this context, it refers to complete identification with and immersion into the Messiah’s death and resurrection, drawing on imagery from Jewish proselyte baptism where the convert was seen as dying to their old life and rising to a new one.
• United (σύμφυτος, symphytos): Literally meaning “grown together” or “planted together,” this agricultural term describes an organic union where two living organisms become inseparably joined. Used only here in the New Testament, it emphasizes the permanent and living nature of our connection with the Messiah.
• Old Man (παλαιὸς ἄνθρωπος, palaios anthrōpos): A technical term in Paul’s theology referring to our former identity in Adam, encompassing not just individual sins but our entire fallen nature and its orientation away from God. This concept draws on Jewish understanding of the two ages – the present evil age and the age to come.
• Body of Sin (σῶμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας, sōma tēs hamartias): Not merely the physical body, but the entire organized system of sin that enslaves humanity. The term reflects Hebrew thought where “body” often represented the whole person under a particular power or influence.
• Freed (δεδικαίωται, dedikaiōtai): Literally “justified” or “declared righteous,” this legal term carries the sense of being acquitted and released from all obligations. In this context, it specifically relates to freedom from sin’s legal claim over the believer.
• Present (παριστάνετε, paristanete): A military term meaning “to place at one’s disposal” or “to present for service.” It was used of soldiers presenting themselves for duty, emphasizing the voluntary nature of yielding oneself to either sin or righteousness.
• Slaves (δοῦλοι, douloi): While often translated as “servants,” this term specifically denoted those who were owned by another. Paul uses this stark imagery to emphasize the absolute nature of our allegiance – we are either entirely under sin’s ownership or completely owned by God.
• Wages (ὀψώνια, opsōnia): Originally referring to a soldier’s pay or rations, this term emphasizes that death is sin’s just compensation – what we have earned through our service to sin. The contrast with God’s gift highlights the fundamental difference between law and grace.

Compare & Contrast

• Verse 1: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul phrases this rhetorically rather than declaratively to engage his readers in active theological reasoning. The Greek construction (τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν) suggests an ongoing dialogue, reflecting the rabbinic style of question-and-answer teaching common in first-century Jewish education.
• Verse 2: “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” The aorist tense of “died” (ἀπεθάνομεν) was chosen over the present tense to emphasize a decisive, completed action rather than an ongoing process. This grammatical choice underscores the definitive nature of the believer’s break with sin.
• Verse 3-4: The parallel structure between baptism into death and walking in newness of life deliberately echoes Jewish immersion rituals while transforming their meaning. The passive voice in “were baptized” emphasizes divine action over human initiative.
• Verse 6: “Our old man was crucified with Him” uses the compound verb συνεσταυρώθη (literally “co-crucified”) rather than simply “crucified,” emphasizing our complete identification with the Messiah’s death. This compound construction appears throughout the chapter to stress union with the Messiah.
• Verse 11: “Reckon yourselves” (λογίζεσθε) employs accounting terminology, suggesting not wishful thinking but a factual calculation based on established truth. This same word is used in chapter 4 regarding Abraham’s faith being “counted” as righteousness.
• Verse 13: The contrast between “instruments” (ὅπλα) of unrighteousness and righteousness uses military imagery, suggesting active engagement in spiritual warfare rather than passive morality.
• Verse 14: “Sin shall not have dominion over you” employs the future indicative rather than an imperative, making it a promise rather than a command. This grammatical choice emphasizes grace’s power over human effort.
• Verse 17: “That form of doctrine” (τύπον διδαχῆς) suggests a specific body of apostolic teaching, using language that would remind Jewish readers of the “pattern” (τύπος) shown to Moses on the mountain.

Romans 6 Unique Insights

The chapter contains several layers of meaning drawn from both Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. In Jewish thought, the concept of dying and rising with the Messiah parallels the Exodus narrative, where Israel “died” to Egypt and was “resurrected” to new life through the Red Sea. Early rabbinical writings often compared conversion to a death and rebirth, with proselyte baptism symbolizing this transformation. Paul takes these familiar concepts and infuses them with new meaning through the Messiah’s actual death and resurrection.

The Roman context adds another dimension to Paul’s imagery. Writing to believers in Rome, he employs military and legal terminology that would resonate with citizens of the empire. The concept of changing masters would be particularly powerful in a society built on patronage relationships. The “oldness” versus “newness” contrast reflects the Roman legal practice of capitis deminutio, where a person’s old legal identity could be completely replaced by a new one.

The early church fathers saw in this chapter a profound connection to baptismal theology. Origen and Chrysostom both emphasized how the baptismal imagery represented not just a ritual but a genuine participation in the Messiah’s death and resurrection. The Didache, an early Christian document, reflects this understanding in its baptismal instructions, showing how the early church viewed baptism as a decisive break with the old life.

Several ancient Jewish mystical traditions, particularly those preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls, speak of being united with heavenly realities through ritual immersion. Paul transforms this concept, showing how union with the Messiah accomplishes what ritual alone could never achieve – a genuine transformation of nature and allegiance.

The chapter also contains what scholars call a “divine passive” construction throughout, where God is the implied actor even when not explicitly mentioned. This grammatical feature emphasizes that transformation comes through divine power rather than human effort, a theme that would have challenged both Jewish legalism and Roman stoicism.

Romans 6 Connections to Yeshua

The entire chapter revolves around the believer’s union with the Messiah, presenting this relationship as the key to understanding both salvation and sanctification. Paul shows how Yeshua’s death and resurrection are not merely historical events to be believed but realities to be participated in. This participation transforms the believer’s relationship with sin at the most fundamental level.

The Messiah’s work is presented as creating a new exodus, greater than the first. Just as Israel was freed from Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea, believers are liberated from sin’s dominion through union with Yeshua’s death and resurrection. This new exodus theme is enhanced by Paul’s use of terms like “slavery” and “freedom,” showing how the Messiah accomplishes a greater deliverance than Moses.

The chapter also presents Yeshua as the last Adam, reversing the effects of the first Adam’s sin. Where Adam’s disobedience brought death and enslavement to sin, the Messiah’s obedience brings life and freedom to righteousness. This connection is crucial for understanding how believers can be genuinely free from sin’s power, not just its penalty.

Romans 6 Scriptural Echoes

Romans 6 resonates deeply with numerous Old Testament themes and passages. The imagery of death and resurrection echoes Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones, symbolizing Israel’s national resurrection. The concept of being united with the Messiah fulfills the prophetic promise of a new heart and spirit in Ezekiel 36:26-27.

The language of slavery and freedom recalls the exodus narrative, particularly Exodus 14 where Israel passed through the waters to freedom. This theme is developed in Isaiah 43:1-3, where God promises to be with His people through the waters, now fulfilled in baptismal union with the Messiah.

The chapter’s emphasis on new life connects with Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2, where resurrection is promised. The concept of being freed from sin’s dominion fulfills the new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises to write His law on His people’s hearts.

Romans 6 Devotional

This profound chapter challenges us to embrace our new identity in the Messiah fully. When we grasp that we have died with Him to sin and been raised to new life, it transforms how we view temptation and struggle. We’re no longer fighting for victory but from victory. Each morning, we can “reckon” ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, claiming this reality by faith regardless of our feelings.

The chapter’s military imagery reminds us that we’re in a battle, but one where victory is assured. We’re called to actively present ourselves to God as His instruments, making moment-by-moment choices to yield to His righteousness rather than sin’s demands. This isn’t about perfection but direction – consistently choosing to align ourselves with who we already are in the Messiah.

Consider starting each day by consciously “presenting yourself to God as being alive from the dead.” When temptation comes, remind yourself that you’re no longer sin’s slave – you have been freed through union with the Messiah. Let this truth shape your response to every situation, knowing that you’re empowered to walk in newness of life.

Did You Know

• The Greek word for “united” (σύμφυτος) in verse 5 was commonly used in ancient Greek agricultural manuals to describe the grafting process, where two plants become organically one. This vivid imagery would have been immediately understood by Paul’s original readers.
• The concept of being “crucified with Christ” had special significance in Rome, where crucifixion was a daily reality. Paul’s readers would have understood the finality and public nature of this death to self that he described.
• The “form of doctrine” mentioned in verse 17 likely refers to an early Christian baptismal catechism, suggesting that systematic teaching was already part of Christian initiation in the first century.
• The phrase “walking in newness of life” uses the Hebrew idiom for daily conduct (הלך, halakh), reflecting how Paul brought Jewish concepts into his Greek text.
• The military terminology used throughout the chapter would have had special resonance in Rome, where soldiers were a constant presence. Terms like “present yourselves” were standard military commands.
• The concept of slavery in the Roman world was different from later forms of slavery – slaves could be highly educated and hold responsible positions, making Paul’s slavery metaphor more about absolute allegiance than mere servitude.
• The chapter’s structure follows an ancient rhetorical pattern called diatribe, where an author raises and answers objections. This style was common in both Greek philosophical works and rabbinical debates.
• Archaeological evidence from first-century Rome shows that baptisteries were designed for full immersion, supporting Paul’s imagery of being buried and raised with Christ through baptism.
• The word “reckon” (λογίζομαι) in verse 11 was an accounting term, suggesting that our identification with Christ’s death and resurrection is as certain as a mathematical fact.
• The chapter’s emphasis on “knowing” (verses 3, 6, 9) uses the Hebrew concept of experiential knowledge (ידע, yada) rather than mere intellectual understanding.