Romans 6:2
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Romans 6:2
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
Paul isn't just asking a rhetorical question; he's highlighting a profound shift. When we "died to sin" through Christ, it wasn't just a legal declaration, but a radical severing of sin's claim on us, freeing us from its dominion, not just its penalty. Therefore, to go back and "live in it" is to act as if that decisive, past act of death never happened.
Paul is responding to the dangerous idea that if God's grace is so abundant, it's okay to keep sinning. He vehemently rejects this notion, pointing out that believers have died to sin through their union with Christ. Therefore, to continue living in sin would be a complete contradiction to their new identity and the reality of Christ's work in them.
Paul throws out a rhetorical question that sounds almost scandalous: 'How can we who died to sin still live in it?' It's not a suggestion, but a declaration of impossibility.
Paul uses the phrase 'God forbid!' (or 'By no means!') to express his utter shock and disapproval of the idea that a Christian could continue living in sin. He's not just saying it's a bad idea; he's saying it's fundamentally inconceivable.
Think of it like this: If you've truly 'died' to something, it has no hold on you anymore. It's over. To suggest a Christian should live in sin after 'dying to sin' is like asking a dead person to get up and run a marathon. It defies the very nature of what has happened.
This isn't just about avoiding sin; it's about a radical transformation where sin's power over you is broken. Your old life, bound to sin, has ended.
Paul's concept of 'dying to sin' isn't just about feeling differently; it has profound legal and moral implications rooted in Christ's own death.
The commentators point out that our 'death to sin' is directly linked to Christ's death. When Christ died, He didn't just die for our sins; He died to sin's penalty and claim over us.
So, 'dying to sin' means we are freed from its legal condemnation and released from its power to enslave us.
Understand the original words
apothnēskō · Greek Verb
The Greek verb signifies the cessation of biological life, but in this context, it metaphorically denotes a definitive, existential break from a previous authority or way of life. For the believer, it signifies the end of their identification with the fallen, sinful state.
Paul addresses a crucial misunderstanding: that God's abundant grace can be an excuse for continuing in sin. He emphasizes that our 'death to sin' is a once-for-all event in Christ, experienced through baptism and justification, making a life of sin incompatible with our new identity in Him.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection
The foundational event of Christian faith, where Jesus' death and resurrection are seen as an atoning sacrifice for sin and the victory over death, making believers 'dead to sin' with Christ.
c. AD 30-40
Early Spread of the Gospel
The message of salvation through Christ's death and resurrection begins to spread, leading to conversions and the formation of early Christian communities.
c. AD 48-50
Council of Jerusalem
A crucial meeting addressing whether Gentile converts needed to follow Jewish law, affirming that salvation is by grace through faith, not works of the Law.
c. AD 55-57— this verse
Paul writes Romans
Paul, imprisoned or traveling, writes his most comprehensive theological letter to the church in Rome, which he had not yet visited, to explain the Gospel and its implications.
This passage directly echoes the idea of being 'dead to sin,' stating 'For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.' It reinforces that our new identity in Christ means we are no longer defined by our former sinful existence.
Galatians 2:19Paul uses a similar phrasing here: 'For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.' This connects the concept of dying to one sphere (the law) to living in a new reality, mirroring how dying to sin leads to living for God.
1 Peter 2:24This verse speaks of Christ bearing our sins 'in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.' It clarifies that our death to sin is a direct result of Christ's sacrifice, enabling us to live a righteous life.
Romans 6:11This verse provides the direct implication of being 'dead to sin,' urging believers to 'count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.' It expands on the rhetorical question in Romans 6:2 by stating the positive reality that should follow.
cambridgeRomans 6:2: "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
2 . we, that are dead , &c.] More lit. and fully, we, as those who died to sin . The reference is again to a single past act; the death of the Second Adam, at which His brethren too, regarded as “in Him,” “died to sin.” See last note on ch. Romans 5:12 . dead to sin ] See below, Romans 6:10 : “He died to sin, once and for ever.” It appears then that our “death to sin” (in Christ) must be explained by what His…
pulpitRomans 6:2: "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
Verse 2. - God forbid! (Μὴ γένοιτο: St. Paul's usual way of rejecting an idea indignantly). We who (οἵτινες, with its proper meaning of being such as) died (not, as in the Authorized Version, "are dead." The reference is to the time of baptism, as appears from what follows) to sin, how shall we live any longer therein! The idea of dying to sin in the sense of having done with it, is found also in Macrob., 'So…
Paul isn't just asking a rhetorical question; he's highlighting a profound shift. When we "died to sin" through Christ, it wasn't just a legal declaration, but a radical severing of sin's claim on us, freeing us from its dominion, not just its penalty. Therefore, to go back and "live in it" is to act as if that decisive, past act of death never happened.
Paul is responding to the dangerous idea that if God's grace is so abundant, it's okay to keep sinning. He vehemently rejects this notion, pointing out that believers have died to sin through their union with Christ. Therefore, to continue living in sin would be a complete contradiction to their new identity and the reality of Christ's work in them.
Paul is responding to the dangerous idea that if God's grace is so abundant, it's okay to keep sinning. He vehemently rejects this notion, pointing out that believers have died to sin through their union with Christ. Therefore, to continue living in sin would be a complete contradiction to their new identity and the reality of Christ's work in them.
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Paul links this radical death to sin with a specific, definable moment in the early church: baptism.
The New Testament scholars highlight that 'died' (in 'we who died to sin') is often best understood as a completed past action, not an ongoing state. This points to a specific event where this death to sin becomes a reality for the believer.
For the first Christians, baptism was understood as that pivotal moment. When they were baptized into Christ, they were symbolically and spiritually united with His death and resurrection. This union meant they 'died' with Christ to sin and 'rose' to new life.
While baptism for us today might not carry the same immediate, public, and crisis-like weight as it did then, the principle remains: our Christian identity is rooted in a definitive act where we entered into Christ's death to sin and His new life.
c. AD 62
Destruction of the Second Temple
While not directly impacting Romans, the growing tensions leading to this event in AD 70 would have been part of the socio-political backdrop of Roman rule and Jewish life.
"By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" — Paul isn't just asking a rhetorical question; he's highlighting a profound shift. When we "died to sin" through Christ, it wasn't just a legal declaration, but a radical severing of sin's claim on…