So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The phrase "consider yourselves" isn't just a gentle suggestion; it's an active, ongoing decision. It means you are to embrace the reality of your new identity in Christ, choosing to believe and live as if you are truly dead to sin and alive to God, regardless of how you might feel in the moment.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is applying the theological reality of Christ's death and resurrection to the lives of believers, explaining that just as Christ is no longer subject to sin or death, neither are they. Having been united with Christ in his death and resurrection through baptism, they are now declared righteous and freed from sin's dominion. The following verses will urge them to actively live out this new identity, presenting their bodies as instruments of righteousness.
The Christian life isn't just about what you do, but how you think about who you are. This verse calls you to a specific kind of mental work.
Paul uses the word 'reckon' (Greek: logizesthe). While some scholars debate whether it's a command or a statement of fact, the overwhelming sense is that believers are called to actively consider and evaluate their new identity in Christ.
This verse presents a seemingly contradictory reality: you are both dead and alive. How can this be, and what does it mean for your daily life?
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Paul masterfully paints a picture of the believer's new spiritual standing.
Understand the original words
logizomai · Greek Verb
To reckon, count, or logically conclude something as true based on a reality or fact. In a theological sense, it is the deliberate application of faith to the truth of one's position in Christ.
hamartia · Greek Noun
In this context, referring to the power and principle of sin that remains in fallen humanity. It denotes a state of separation from God and active rebellion against His will.
Christos Iēsous · Greek Noun
The promised Messiah, the Son of God. It signifies the believer's union with Him; because He died and rose, the believer shares in that reality.
This passage echoes the 'dead to sin' theme by stating 'For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God,' directly connecting our old life to sin with Christ's finished work.
Galatians 2:20It powerfully illustrates the 'alive to God' aspect, declaring 'I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,' showing that our new life is Christ's life lived through us.
Romans 6:4This verse directly links our spiritual reality to Christ's resurrection, stating 'We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life,' reinforcing the 'alive to God' concept.
1 Peter 2:24This verse highlights the death to sin by stating Christ 'himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness,' showing the redemptive purpose behind our freedom from sin's dominion.
henryRomans 6:11-15: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
6:11-15 The strongest motives against sin, and to enforce holiness, are here stated. Being made free from the reign of sin, alive unto God, and having the prospect of eternal life, it becomes believers to be greatly concerned to advance thereto. But, as unholy lusts are not quite rooted out in this life, it must be the care of the Christian to resist their motions,…
meyerRomans 6:11: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:11 . Application of Romans 6:10 to the readers. Although in Romans 6:10 there was no mention of a λογίζεσθαι on the part of Christ, we are not, with Griesbach and Koppe, to break up the discourse by the punctuation: οὗτω καὶ ὑμεῖς λογίζεσθε κ . τ . λ [1432] (comp on the contrary Luke 17:10 ). Accordingly reckon ye yourselves also (like Christ) as dead , etc. λ…
The phrase "consider yourselves" isn't just a gentle suggestion; it's an active, ongoing decision. It means you are to embrace the reality of your new identity in Christ, choosing to believe and live as if you are truly dead to sin and alive to God, regardless of how you might feel in the moment.
Paul is applying the theological reality of Christ's death and resurrection to the lives of believers, explaining that just as Christ is no longer subject to sin or death, neither are they. Having been united with Christ in his death and resurrection through baptism, they are now declared righteous and freed from sin's dominion. The following verses will urge them to actively live out this new identity, presenting their bodies as instruments of righteousness.
Paul is applying the theological reality of Christ's death and resurrection to the lives of believers, explaining that just as Christ is no longer subject to sin or death, neither are they. Having been united with Christ in his death and resurrection through baptism, they are now declared righteous and freed from sin's dominion. The following verses will urge them to actively live out this new identity, presenting their bodies as instruments of righteousness.
"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." — The phrase "consider yourselves" isn't just a gentle suggestion; it's an active, ongoing decision. It means you are to embrace the reality of your new identity in Christ, choosing to believe and live…
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Last reviewed October 2026