What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse highlights that freedom from the law isn't a license to sin. Instead, it emphasizes that choosing to obey sin makes you its servant, even if you're no longer bound by the law's strict condemnation.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is answering a potential misunderstanding of his teaching on grace. If believers are no longer under the law but freed by God's grace, someone might wrongly assume this means they can now live however they want, even sinning. Paul immediately rejects this idea, emphasizing that being under grace means a profound shift in allegiance.
Paul says we're no longer 'under law' but 'under grace.' Does this mean we're off the hook for sinning? Absolutely not!
The core of this passage is a clarification. The apostle Paul has been teaching about how believers are freed from the dominion of sin through Christ's death and resurrection (Romans 6:1-14). He's emphasizing that we are united with Christ in his death to sin and his new life for God.
This leads to a crucial question: If we're not under the strict, condemning rule of the Law, but instead under God's abundant grace and forgiveness, does that mean we can just sin as much as we want? Paul's answer is an emphatic 'No!'
Being 'under the law' meant being bound by its commands, but also by its curse when we failed. The penalty for sin was unavoidable. Being 'under grace' means we are freed from that condemnation. God's grace offers forgiveness and empowerment. But this freedom isn't a license to sin. Instead, it's the very power that enables us to live a life of obedience and righteousness.
Paul presents a stark choice: you can't serve two masters. Your actions reveal who you truly belong to.
Paul doesn't just say 'don't sin.' He explains why it's impossible to continue in sin if you truly belong to Christ. He uses the analogy of servitude.
Think about it: who are you serving? When you 'present yourselves' (or 'yield yourselves') to someone as a servant, you become their slave. Paul says this is true whether you present yourself to sin or to obedience.
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This isn't about a technicality; it's about your lived reality. Your choices, your actions, your 'yielding' reveal who your true master is. Grace doesn't make you a passive recipient; it calls you to actively present yourself to God for His service.
This passage directly addresses the potential misuse of freedom in Christ, warning against using liberty as an excuse for sinful behavior, mirroring the concern raised in Romans 6:15.
1 Peter 2:16Peter echoes Paul's sentiment, urging believers not to use their freedom as a 'cloak for malice' but to live as servants of God, reinforcing the idea that grace is not a license to sin.
Colossians 2:20-23This passage confronts a similar misguided notion that freedom from the law means freedom to indulge the flesh, emphasizing that such 'self-made religion' is ineffective against sinful desires.
Matthew 6:24Jesus' teaching on serving two masters highlights the impossibility of serving both God and sin, a foundational concept that underpins Paul's rhetorical question and strong denial in Romans 6:15.
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,…
barnesRomans 6:15: "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."
What then? shall we sin ... - The apostle proceeds to notice an objection which might be suggested. "If Christians are not under the law, which forbids all sin, but are under grace, which pardons sin, will it not follow that they will feel themselves released from obligation to be holy? Will they not commit sin freely, since the system of grace is one which contemplates pardon, and which will…
The verse highlights that freedom from the law isn't a license to sin. Instead, it emphasizes that choosing to obey sin makes you its servant, even if you're no longer bound by the law's strict condemnation.
Paul is answering a potential misunderstanding of his teaching on grace. If believers are no longer under the law but freed by God's grace, someone might wrongly assume this means they can now live however they want, even sinning. Paul immediately rejects this idea, emphasizing that being under grace means a profound shift in allegiance.
Paul is answering a potential misunderstanding of his teaching on grace. If believers are no longer under the law but freed by God's grace, someone might wrongly assume this means they can now live however they want, even sinning. Paul immediately rejects this idea, emphasizing that being under grace means a profound shift in allegiance.
"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" — The verse highlights that freedom from the law isn't a license to sin. Instead, it emphasizes that choosing to obey sin makes you its servant, even if you're no longer bound by the law's strict con…
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Last reviewed October 2026