Romans 6:15–23 — If We Are Under Grace, Does It Matter Whom We Obey?
Paul has just said:
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
— Romans 6:14
That sounds like wonderful news.
But once again, Paul knows how someone might misuse what he has said.
Earlier the question was:
If grace increases where sin increases, why not keep sinning?
Now the question becomes:
If we are not under law but under grace, does it really matter if we sin?
Paul answers immediately:
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”
— Romans 6:15
Grace does not make obedience unnecessary.
In fact, Paul is about to talk a great deal about obedience.
Everybody Serves Somebody
Paul uses an illustration his Roman readers would immediately understand:
slavery.
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey?”
— Romans 6:16
Paul gives us two possibilities:
sin, which leads to death
or:
obedience, which leads to righteousness.
Notice that Paul does not describe freedom as having no master at all.
The question is:
Whom are you serving?
Sin promises freedom.
Paul says sin becomes a master.
And that master leads to death.
“You Who Were Once Slaves of Sin”
Paul reminds these Christians of their past:
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin…”
— Romans 6:17
That is what they were.
Something has changed.
But notice carefully how Paul describes that change:
“have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”
That deserves our attention.
Paul has spent several chapters talking about:
faith
grace
God's gift
justification
And now he describes these same Christians as people who:
“became obedient from the heart.”
Apparently Paul does not see faith and obedience as enemies.
Neither does he see grace and obedience as enemies.
Obedient From the Heart
Paul could simply have said they obeyed.
Instead, he says:
“obedient from the heart.”
This is not merely external rule-keeping.
Something happened inside them.
Their obedience came from the heart.
That fits an important theme Paul introduced at the beginning of Romans.
He described his mission as bringing about:
“the obedience of faith”
— Romans 1:5
Faith, in Paul's thinking, is not merely agreeing that certain facts are true.
It is trust in God that changes whom we follow.
And Paul will return to the phrase “obedience of faith” again at the very end of Romans.
We should probably pay attention when an idea appears at both the beginning and the end of a letter.
What Was the “Standard of Teaching”?
Paul says they became obedient:
“to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.”
He does not give us a complete list of that teaching here.
But look at what he has just reminded them about in verses 1–14.
They had been baptized into Christ.
They had been baptized into His death.
They had been buried with Him.
They were to walk in newness of life.
Their old self had been crucified.
They were to consider themselves dead to sin and alive to God.
Then Paul says they became obedient from the heart to the teaching they had received.
We should at least allow the immediate context to help us understand what Paul has in mind.
Set Free — But Still Serving
Paul continues:
“and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
— Romans 6:18
That may sound strange to modern ears.
Free — yet slaves?
Paul means they have changed masters.
They were slaves of sin.
Now they belong to righteousness.
He explains that he is using ordinary human language:
“I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations.”
— Romans 6:19
The slavery illustration is not a complete description of our relationship with God.
It is an illustration designed to make one point unmistakable:
You cannot belong to Christ and continue treating sin as your rightful master.
Look at Where the Two Roads Lead
Paul asks his readers to compare their old life with their new one.
Formerly they presented themselves to:
“impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness.”
Sin does not stay still.
Lawlessness leads to more lawlessness.
But now Paul says:
“so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”
— Romans 6:19
There are two roads.
One moves deeper into sin.
The other leads toward holiness.
Paul wants Christians to look not merely at the immediate choice but at where the choice leads.
What Fruit Did Sin Produce?
Paul asks them to remember their former life:
“But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?”
— Romans 6:21
Then comes the answer:
“For the end of those things is death.”
Sin may offer immediate pleasure.
It may promise independence.
It may even feel like freedom.
Paul says:
Look at the destination.
The end is death.
But Now
Then comes another wonderful contrast:
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God…”
— Romans 6:22
Notice again:
But now.
Something has changed.
Paul says:
“the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
Compare the two paths:
Sin → death
God → sanctification → eternal life
Paul is not describing two equally good ways to live.
They have completely different destinations.
Wages and a Gift
Paul ends the chapter with one of the best-known verses in Romans:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
— Romans 6:23
Notice Paul's choice of words.
Wages are earned.
A gift is given.
Sin pays wages.
And the paycheck is death.
But eternal life is not a paycheck God owes us because we have performed well enough.
It is:
“the free gift of God.”
That takes us right back to Paul's argument in Romans 4:
“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”
— Romans 4:4
Paul is consistent.
We cannot earn eternal life.
It is God's gift.
But notice something equally important.
Paul has just spent the entire paragraph insisting that whom we obey matters.
Grace and obedience are not opposites.
A gift can still change the life of the person who receives it.
Does Obedience Earn Salvation?
This passage gives us a good opportunity to avoid two opposite mistakes.
One mistake says:
Our obedience earns eternal life.
Paul rejects that.
Eternal life is God's gift.
But the opposite mistake says:
Since eternal life is a gift, obedience doesn't matter.
Paul rejects that too.
That is the very question with which he began:
“Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?”
His answer:
“By no means!”
So Paul holds two truths together:
Eternal life is God's gift.
And:
It matters whom we obey.
We should not tear apart what Paul keeps together.
What Does “Under Grace” Actually Look Like?
Sometimes “under grace” is treated as though it means God no longer cares how Christians live.
Romans 6 says almost exactly the opposite.
People under grace are told:
Do not let sin reign.
Do not obey sinful passions.
Do not present yourselves to sin.
Present yourselves to God.
Become obedient from the heart.
Present yourselves to righteousness.
Pursue sanctification.
Why?
Not to purchase salvation.
But because grace has transferred us from one master to another.
Grace does not leave us where sin found us.
Read the Whole Argument
It is worth looking back over Romans 6 as one unit.
Paul begins:
“Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”
No.
Why?
You were baptized into Christ.
You were baptized into His death.
You were buried with Him.
You were raised to walk in newness of life.
Then Paul asks:
“Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?”
Again:
No.
Why?
You were slaves of sin.
You became obedient from the heart.
You were set free from sin.
You became servants of righteousness.
Now you belong to God.
Paul's point throughout the chapter is remarkably consistent:
Grace does not give sin permission to remain our master.
Read Paul Before Reading a System Into Paul
Romans 6 makes it difficult to separate faith, grace, baptism, obedience, and a changed life into competing theological camps.
Paul does not seem interested in choosing one and rejecting the others.
He speaks of grace.
He speaks of God's free gift.
He speaks of baptism into Christ.
He speaks of obedience from the heart.
He speaks of sanctification.
And he speaks of eternal life.
Instead of asking which of those ideas fits our system, perhaps we should ask:
How does Paul fit them together?
That is the better question.
Before You Leave
Read Romans 6:15–23 for yourself.
Then make two columns:
SIN
and:
GOD
Under each one, write what Paul says about:
slavery
obedience
fruit
and:
the final result.
Then ask one final question:
If eternal life is God's free gift, why does Paul spend so much time talking about whom we obey?
Don't answer that question from a theological slogan.
Let Paul answer it.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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