Romans 6 Bible Study
Theme: Dead to Sin, Alive to God
Focus: Identity in Christ – Past Crucifixion, Present Sanctification, Future Glorification
Structure:
1.What shall we say?
2.United with Christ
3.Freed from sin
4.Slaves to righteousness
5.Destiny of glory
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Romans 6:1–2
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!”
Paul preempts abuse of grace. His rhetorical style was common among Jewish rabbis to anticipate and shut down misinterpretations.
Cross-reference: Jude 1:4 – “ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality.”
Historical Insight. Antinomian groups began to appear even in Paul’s time. Gnostics later promoted spiritual elitism that justified immoral living. Paul’s rebuke here lays groundwork against early heresies.
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Romans 6:3–4
”…baptized into his death… we too might walk in newness of life.”
Paul uses baptism imagery not as ritual, but as identity transformation. The burial imagery communicates a decisive break.
Cross-reference: Colossians 2:12 – “buried with him in baptism…”
Historical Insight: In the Roman Empire, slaves were branded to indicate ownership. Paul flips this imagery: the believer is branded—not by Rome—but by resurrection life in Christ.
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Romans 6:5–7
“If we have been united with him in a death like his… we shall certainly be united… in resurrection.”
This verse bridges sanctification and glorification. Our spiritual resurrection begins now but will be completed at Christ’s return.
Cross-reference: Philippians 3:10–11 – “that I may know him… and attain the resurrection from the dead.”
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Romans 6:11
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God…”
This isn’t a feeling—it’s a command to reckon what is spiritually true. This word (logizomai) is a key accounting term, meaning “credit to your account.”
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Romans 6:14
“For sin will have no dominion over you…”
Grace is a reign (Romans 5:21), not just a concept. You now live under a new rule—Christ, not sin.
Cross-reference: Titus 2:11 – grace teaches us to renounce ungodliness.
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Romans 6:16–18
”…you are slaves of the one whom you obey…”
There’s no middle ground. You either serve sin or serve righteousness.
Cross-reference: John 8:34 – “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”
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Romans 6:20–21
“For when you were slaves of sin… the end of those things is death.”
Sin’s freedom is fake. Its end is fixed.
Cross-reference: Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that seems right… but its end is death.”
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Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life…”
One of the clearest gospel summaries. Sin pays a wage. God gives a gift.
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Eschatological Connection
Paul’s emphasis on resurrection life now anticipates the bodily resurrection to come.
Romans 6:5 – “We shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”
This points forward to:
1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 – “The dead in Christ will rise first…”
1 Corinthians 15:52 – “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… the dead will be raised imperishable…”
Eschatological Insight:
Romans 6 reveals that resurrection is not merely future—it begins in the believer now. Yet it culminates at the rapture, when the bodies of those in Christ will be raised. The same power that broke sin’s grip today will break the grave’s grip tomorrow.
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Faith Takeaway
You are not a rehabilitated sinner.
You are a resurrected saint.
You died in Christ—and now you live for eternity.
“The cross was not just for forgiveness. It was for freedom.”
— Echoed in Paul’s chains, broken by resurrection power.
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