Romans 6:19-20
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Paul apologizes for using the "human" metaphor of slavery because their spiritual understanding is still weak. He highlights that while their past enslavement to "lawlessness" led only to more lawlessness, their new service to "righteousness" isn't just about following rules, but about a continuous process of becoming holy.
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is explaining a vital truth about Christian life: we are no longer slaves to sin, but servants of righteousness. He uses a familiar analogy of slavery to help his readers grasp this profound spiritual reality, acknowledging that human language has its limits in describing God's work. This verse directly contrasts the believer's former life of enslavement to impurity and lawlessness with their present calling to present themselves as servants of righteousness, leading to a life of growing holiness.
Ever feel like someone is using big words to explain something simple? Paul does too, and he apologizes for it!
Paul uses the phrase "I speak in human terms" because he's using a very down-to-earth illustration: slavery. He knows this image isn't the full spiritual reality of our relationship with God. We're not really slaves in the way people were in the ancient world; we're adopted sons and daughters! But he uses this relatable, earthly picture of willing servitude to help us grasp a profound spiritual truth. It's a kind of divine condescension, meeting us where we are because our spiritual understanding is still developing, still marked by our "infirmity of the flesh."
We've all served a master. The question is, which one, and what kind of life did that master produce?
Paul draws a stark contrast between our past and present allegiance.
The Old Master: Sin
The New Master: Righteousness
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The key here is the direction and purpose of our actions. Our bodies, which were once instruments of sin, are now instruments for God's life-changing work.
This isn't about tweaking your bad habits; it's about a complete change of ownership.
Paul's imagery of slavery highlights that this is a fundamental transfer of allegiance. We didn't just clean up our act; we were bought out of one kingdom and transferred into another.
This transfer is so complete that Paul can say, 'if you know that you were freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.' It’s not a choice between being a slave and being free; it’s a choice between which master you will serve. Our 'infirmity' doesn't excuse continued slavery to sin; rather, it calls us to embrace the new, liberating servitude to righteousness.
Understand the original words
mele · Greek Noun
Bodily organs or faculties; the physical body and its parts. In Romans, it refers to the instruments through which human life is expressed, whether toward sin or toward God.
akatharsia · Greek Noun
Moral uncleanness, defilement, or filthiness. It denotes a departure from God's moral purity, particularly regarding sexual immorality or general corruption of character.
anomian · Greek Noun
The state of being without law or against the law. It represents a life lived in contempt of God’s revealed moral standards, resulting in an escalating cycle of rebellion.
hagiasmon · Greek Noun
The process of being made holy or set apart for God's use. It involves the progressive work of the Holy Spirit in conforming the believer to the image of Christ in daily life.
This passage describes the 'acts of the flesh' which are evident parallels to the 'uncleanness and iniquity' Paul refers to, showing the contrast between a life dominated by sin and a life of righteousness.
Colossians 3:5This verse directly commands believers to 'put to death' their earthly 'members' (like sexual immorality, impurity, and unholy passion), which echoes Paul's exhortation to stop presenting their members to sin.
1 Peter 4:2This passage emphasizes that a person who has died to sin should no longer live for human passions, reinforcing the idea that former enslavement to sin should be replaced by dedication to God's will.
Romans 6:13This verse immediately precedes Romans 6:19 and provides a foundational command: 'present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness,' setting the stage for the analogy Paul develops.
1 John 3:4This verse defines sin as 'lawlessness,' directly linking to Paul's use of 'iniquity' (lawlessness) and highlighting the fundamental nature of sin that believers are to turn away from.
henryRomans 6:16-20: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
6:16-20 Every man is the servant of the master to whose commands he yields himself; whether it be the sinful dispositions of his heart, in actions which lead to death, or the new and spiritual obedience implanted by regeneration. The apostle rejoiced now they obeyed from the heart the gospel, into which they were de…
cambridgeRomans 6:19: "I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness."
19 . after the manner of men ] More lit., humanly . He apologizes, so to speak, for using the peculiarly earthly image of the slave-market to enforce a truth of the most exalted spiritual dignity; namely, the necessary conformity of the wills of the…
Paul apologizes for using the "human" metaphor of slavery because their spiritual understanding is still weak. He highlights that while their past enslavement to "lawlessness" led only to more lawlessness, their new service to "righteousness" isn't just about following rules, but about a continuous process of becoming holy.
Paul is explaining a vital truth about Christian life: we are no longer slaves to sin, but servants of righteousness. He uses a familiar analogy of slavery to help his readers grasp this profound spiritual reality, acknowledging that human language has its limits in describing God's work. This verse directly contrasts the believer's former life of enslavement to impurity and lawlessness with their present calling to present themselves as servants of righteousness, leading to a life of growing holiness.
Paul is explaining a vital truth about Christian life: we are no longer slaves to sin, but servants of righteousness. He uses a familiar analogy of slavery to help his readers grasp this profound spiritual reality, acknowledging that human language has its limits in describing God's work. This verse directly contrasts the believer's former life of enslavement to impurity and lawlessness with their present calling to present themselves as servants of righteousness, leading to a life of growing holiness.
"I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness lea…" — Paul apologizes for using the "human" metaphor of slavery because their spiritual understanding is still weak. He highlights that while their past enslavement to "lawlessness" led only to more lawles…
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Last reviewed October 2026
