7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really
was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[a]8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from
the law, sin was dead. 9 Once I was aliveapart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang
to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually
brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and
through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through
the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[b] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of
sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[c] a slave to the law of sin.
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#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Released From the Law, Bound to Christ
7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person
lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds
her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies,
she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was
raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit forGod. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a]the sinful passionsaroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of theSpirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
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On this page, we cover the bigger picture of the chapter. Easier to read Bible translations that are less formal (literal), but easier to read versions to get the broader picture & context.
For sections within the chapter, please click on the breakdown below.
BREAKDOWN OF LINKS TO PERICOPES (considering ebible, listeners' commentary & Serendipity)
Reminder: Pray to God to set your heart right as you engage His word. The text you are about to study was not written to you but is written for you. So, before applying, we must ask the following questions:
What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
READ THE SCRIPTURE (Multiple times & translations, and notice the words that stand out)
Biblegateway (NIV, CSB, NLT) (My choice of all-round site. It is a greatapp, better on computers or on a smartphone)
Biblia.com (New Century Version) (Great on a computer, especially if you have a Logos account)
Summarize the main story: Describe the events and context of the chapter in your own words.
STUDY RESOURCES(This takes some work. These resources are in the section study of the chapter. The research and commentaries there will take you deeper into the words, phrases, and context.
Going Deeper: Go to the "Pericope" for a more specific and in-depth Bible study.
Repeat the above links
Here are the 2 best general questions to ask about this chapter.
God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
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APPLICATION(God wants us all to arrive at action, life-changing faith)
ESV (English Standard Version) Good translation with some helpful resources.
Biblegateway (CSB, NLT, The Message, ERV, CEV) has some application resources.
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Dead to Sin, Alive to God
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sinthat grace may abound?2By no means!How can we who died to sin still live in it?3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized intoChrist Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore withhim 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.
5For if we have been united withhim in a death likehis, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection likehis. 6We know that our old selfa was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set freebfrom sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the deathhe died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12Let notsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
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Slaves to Righteousness
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!16Don’t you know that when you offeryourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations.Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reapat that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in bChrist Jesus our Lord.
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On the evening of October 25, 2017, Kenneth White had finished up another day in construction and was riding home in a work van. About 80 miles north of Detroit, the driver was cruising down I-75 while White rode in the front passenger seat. As the van passed beneath an overpass, a six-pound rock smashed through the windshield, hitting White in the face and chest. A gaggle of five teen-agers sped away from the overpass and Kenneth White, a father of four, died before an ambulance could arrive. As police investigated, they found 20 rocks scattered below the overpass, one weighing 20 pounds.
The bunch was quickly found and arrested. Four pled guilty and were sentenced as juveniles, but the fifth, Kyle Anger, was 17 years old and the one who tossed the rock. Charged as an adult with second-degree murder, he pleaded guilty in exchange for sentencing under lesser guidelines. Judge Joseph Farah explained his sentence in court: “There was nothing unintentional about this. The intention was to throw the rocks down and hit the cars.” He noted that the teens had thrown items off overpasses several times before, including rocks, auto parts, a couch and a grocery cart. The rocks were loaded into a car trunk and brought to the scene of the crime. So, Judge Farah sentenced the killer to 39 months to 20 years in the state penitentiary. Then he rejected the plea deals of the other four so they could be sentenced as adults instead of juveniles. Crimes unpunished earlier escalated to murder and mayhem. The survivors’ lives will never return to normal.
“I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness” (Romans 6:19 NIV).
One of the problems with evil behavior is its effect within our own souls. As we tolerate and then accommodate sin, we cultivate it until it twists our own humanity. Once unthinkable, the vicious becomes inevitable as cruelty and selfishness increases within us. Unchecked, malicious impulses grow and spread until we convince ourselves that evil is good and good is evil. The result is unimaginable catastrophe in our own lives and the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our deeds and it’s fruitless then to declare that all the mayhem was unintentional.
By the grace of God, good behavior will work in precisely the same way. As we imagine works of righteousness, we cultivate goodness within us until it shapes our own humanity. First in small ways, then in ever-increasing kindness our compassion and selflessness results in dozens of graces scattered in our wake. Confirmed in our knowledge of good behavior, we bring light and blessing and joy in our own lives and in the lives of many, many others. It is impossible to guess the ultimate consequences of our gracious actions and the gratitude to God that can result from our obedience. If we practice goodness, day by day in small and large ways, we’ll get better and better at it. And our own souls will get better and better, too, to nobody’s regret! If practice makes perfect, it only makes sense to practice what we want to perfect!
Aug 17, 2025 = Paul spoke of sin and death reigning like a king (like Pharaoh) and enslaving all of humanity. Through Jesus, people are liberated from the reign of sin and death. This liberation is a gift; it is by God’s grace. It isn’t Torah observance that liberates people; it is God’s grace. In Christ, we live under the reign of grace. However, many in the “weak” group seemed to push back on this idea, suspecting it meant a sinful and lawless disregard for righteous living. However, Paul argued that living under grace means we are free to live according to God’s will. Are we willing to allow ourselves, and especially others, to live under the reign of grace? Or do we try to enslave one another with new laws, because we do not trust the sanctifying work of the Spirit?
Intro Questions
#God #People #Time #Place #Obedient faith #Sin #Key Idea
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as didAdam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more didGod’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of theone man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followedone sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followedmany trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receiveGod’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20The law was brought in so thatthe trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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