Romans 6:12–23

¹²So don’t let sin rule your body, which is going to die. Don’t obey its evil longings. ¹³Don’t give the parts of your body to serve sin. Don’t let them be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. Give the parts of your body to him to do what is right.

¹⁴Sin will not be your master. Law does not rule you. God’s grace has set you free.

Slaves to Right Living

¹⁵What should we say then? Should we sin because we are not ruled by law but by God’s grace? Not at all!

¹⁶Don’t you know that when you give yourselves to obey someone you become that person’s slave? You can be slaves of sin. Then you will die. Or you can be slaves who obey God. Then you will live a godly life. ¹⁷You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! ¹⁸You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.

¹⁹Because you are human, you find this hard to understand. So I have said it in a way that will help you understand it. You used to give the parts of your body to be slaves to unclean living. You were becoming more and more evil. Now give your bodies to be slaves to right living. Then you will become holy.

²⁰Once you were slaves of sin. At that time right living did not control you. ²¹What benefit did you gain from doing the things you are now ashamed of? Those things lead to death!

²²You have been set free from sin. God has made you his slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life. ²³When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.