Romans 6:11–17

Likewise also Paul in the Epistle to the Romans writes: "We who are dead to sin, how shall we any longer live in it? Because our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed," down to the words, "do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin."

Paul attributes death to sin, i.e., to our body, but life to God, to whose nature it belongs that he lives, so that we must die to our body in order to live in Christ Jesus. While assuming the body of our sin, Christ already lives wholly for God, since he has united the nature that he shared with us in a mutual participation in the divine immortality.

He well says, "reckon," because there is no setting that, which he is speaking of, before the eyes as yet. And what are we to reckon? one may ask. That we "are dead unto sin, but alive unto God. In Jesus Christ our Lord." For he that so liveth will lay hold of every virtue, as having Jesus Himself for his ally. For that is what, "in Christ," means, for if He raised them when dead, much more when alive will He be able to keep them so.

Whence also with good reason he adds in what follows: "So do you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord" — namely, that by the imitation of Christ we may die to sin, being made strangers to it, and live unto God by joining ourselves to Him and becoming one spirit with Him. Nor was it without cause that he said, "Reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin"; which stands better in the Greek: "Consider (think) yourselves to be dead unto sin." For the matter of which he speaks subsists rather in thought and in reason, since a death of this kind is to be held not in actual fact but in thought. For he who thinks or reckons within himself that he is dead does not sin. For example: if the desire of a woman draws me; if the charm of silver, or of gold, or the covetousness of an estate assails me, and I set in my heart that I am dead with Christ, and think upon that death, straightway the concupiscence is extinguished and the sin is put to flight. Or if, inflamed with hatred or anger, I am stirred to the slaying of my enemy — if I reckon myself to be dead with Christ, and set the thoughts of death in my mind, without doubt the fury is quenched, the hatred ceases, the anger subsides, no place is given to sin; and in this way a man is found to die to sin and to live unto God. But this too, which he further added, "alive unto God in Christ Jesus," does not seem to me idle. For I think it is as though he had said: Alive unto God in wisdom, in peace, in justice, in sanctification — all of which Christ is. To live unto God in these things, then, is to live unto God in Christ Jesus. But if without justice, without peace, without sanctification and the other virtues no one lives unto God, it is certain that no one lives unto God except in Christ Jesus. Amen.

As members of Christ you should understand that having died with him once for all you ought now always to live for God in Christ. In him our life is hidden with God, and since we have been clothed with him we should follow his example.

And again he said, "Ye are dead unto the world, but alive unto God, in our Lord Jesus Christ." And again he said, "If ye died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as if ye were living in the world, do ye receive the commandments?" Now a man arriveth at this rule of life after he hath stripped himself of his possessions, and beginneth to work good deeds in the members of his person, for so long as he hath riches, he justifieth himself by riches, and he emptieth not himself from the cares of riches which he serveth in himself. And if it be imagined that he will also do these things while he liveth in riches, he will not, for his service will be confounded, that is to say, he advanceth, and turneth backwards, and in addition thereunto, although this man may labour in the world of the body, yet it is impossible for him to stand in the purity of the soul, from which a man entereth into spiritual love, from which is born knowledge, the mirror of everything, and from which the understanding riseth step by step unto divine conversation.

Since Christ does not die a second time, neither do we die a second time through a second baptism (that is, for us there is no second baptism). Therefore, let us remain in the former, that is, in the death of sin, but in the resurrection of life according to God. And this we received in Christ Jesus, that is, with His help: for He Who raised us when we were still dead will all the more preserve us in life now that we have become alive.

Then when he says, so do you also, he reaches the intended conclusion that we are conformed to the life of the risen Christ both with respect to its death to sin, i.e., to the mortal life which has the likeness of sin, never to return to it, and with respect to living conformed to God. In regard to the first he says: so do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, i.e., as never to return to sin: let not the dead live (Isa 26:14). In regard to the second he says: but alive unto God, i.e., to the honor and in the likeness of God, that we never die through sin: the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20). So he adds, in Christ Jesus our Lord, i.e., through Jesus Christ, through whom we die to sin and live to God; or in Christ Jesus, i.e., as incorporated into Christ Jesus, that by his death we may die to sin and by his resurrection live to God: he made us alive together with Christ, by whose grace you have been saved through Christ (Eph 2:5).

The body is mortal because of the sin of Adam, but by faith in Christ we believe that it will be immortal. But in order for it to inherit the promise, Paul says that it must not listen to the voice of sin, so that sin may not reign in our mortal body. For it reigns as long as it is in control. But if it does not reign, the body will no longer appear to be mortal, because it dwells in the hope of eternal life. Paul did not say that the body is mortal because it will disintegrate but because of the pain of hell, so that the man who is sent to hell is said to be mortal because whoever hearkens to sin will not escape the second death, from which the Savior has delivered those who believe in him. Therefore, the mortal body refers to the entire human being because those who hearken to sin are said to be mortal. For Scripture says: "The soul which sins shall surely die," which means the whole human being. For nobody will be judged apart from his body.

The reign of sin is overthrown and destroyed, partly by such an amendment on the part of men that the flesh is made subject to the spirit and partly by the condemnation of those who are persevering in sin, in order that they might be so justly restrained that they cannot be troublesome to the righteous, who reign with Christ.

We must engage in a constant, daily struggle not to obey those desires which are forbidden or improper. For from this sort of fault it comes about that the eye is turned to where it ought not to look, and if this fault grows strong and prevails, even bodily adultery is carried out, which is committed in the heart as much more quickly as thought is quicker than action and has nothing to hinder or delay it.

Paul did not say: "Let sin not exist," but "Let it not reign." Sin is within you if you take delight in it; it reigns if you consent to it.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men."

What sin is this? The sin committed before baptism, of course.

Here Paul shows that the reason we no longer sin is not that after baptism we are no longer made of flesh. Up to this point, we claim Christ's perfection by faith only and not by experience. For we have not yet become impassible or immortal.… Therefore Paul does not say: "Do not sin," but rather: "Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies."

If, therefore, flesh and blood are the things which procure for us life, it has not been declared of flesh and blood, in the literal meaning (proprie) of the terms, that they cannot inherit the kingdom of God; but [these words apply] to those carnal deeds already mentioned, which, perverting man to sin, deprive him of life. And for this reason he says, in the Epistle to the Romans: "Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, to be under its control: neither yield ye your members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves to God, as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God." In these same members, therefore, in which we used to serve sin, and bring forth fruit unto death, does He wish us to [be obedient] unto righteousness, that we may bring forth fruit unto life.

In these same members, therefore, in which we used to serve sin, and bring forth fruit unto death, does He wish us to [be obedient] unto righteousness, that we may bring forth fruit unto life. Remember, therefore, my beloved friend, that thou hast been redeemed by the flesh of our Lord, re-established by His blood; and "holding the Head, from which the whole body of the Church, having been fitted together, takes increase" -that is, acknowledging the advent in the flesh of the Son of God, and [His] divinity, and looking forward with constancy to His human nature, availing thyself also of these proofs drawn from Scripture -thou dost easily overthrow, as I have pointed out, all those notions of the heretics which were concocted afterwards.

I am your servant. It seems to be a thing of humility, what is said. It is a thing of great dignity and merit, to be the servant of the Lord, and not the servant of sin. Because I do not have, he says, men as masters, because I do not have sin as master: for sin does not reign in my mortal body: therefore I am your servant. A great merit.

[Daniel 5:19] "'He slew whomever he would and smote to death whomever he wished to; those whom he wished he set on high, and brought low whomever he would.'" Thus he sets forth the example of the king's great-grandfather, in order to teach him the justice of God and make it clear that his great-grandson too was to suffer similar treatment because of his pride. Now if Nebuchadnezzar slew whomever he would and smote to death whomever he wished to; if he set on high those whom he would and brought low whomever he wished to, there is certainly no Divine providence or Scriptural injunction behind these honors and slayings, these acts of promotion and humiliation. But rather, such things ensue from the will of the men themselves who do the slaying and promoting to honor, and all the rest. If this be the case, the question arises as to how we are to understand the Scripture: "The heart of a king reposes in the hand of God; He will incline it in whatever direction He wishes" (Proverbs 21:1). Perhaps we might say that every saint is a king, for sin does not reign in his mortal body, and his heart therefore is kept safe, for he is in God's hand (Romans 6:1-23). And whatever has once come into the hand of God the Father, according to the Gospel, no man is able to take it away (John 10:28). And whoever is taken away, it is understood that he never was in God's hand at all.

He does not say, let not the flesh live or act, but, "let not sin reign," for He came not to destroy our nature, but to set our free choice aright. Then to show that it is not through any force or necessity that we are held down by iniquity, but willingly, he does not say, let it not tyrannize, a word that would imply a necessity, but let it not reign. For it is absurd for those who are being conducted to the kingdom of heaven to have sin empress over them, and for those who are called to reign with Christ to choose to be the captives of sin, as though one should hurl the diadem from off his head, and choose to be the slave of a frantic woman, who came begging, and was clothed in rags. Next since it was a heavy task to get the upper hand of sin, see how he shows it to be even easy, and how he allays the labor by saying, "in your mortal body." For this shows that the struggles were but for a time, and would soon bring themselves to a close. At the same time he reminds us of our former evil plight, and of the root of death, as it was from this that, contrary even to its beginning, it became mortal. Yet it is possible even for one with a mortal body not to sin. Do you see the abundancy of Christ's grace? For Adam, though as yet he had not a mortal body, fell. But thou, who hast received one even subject to death, canst be crowned. How then, is it that "sin reigns?" he says. It is not from any power of its own, but from thy listlessness. Wherefore after saying, "let it not reign," he also points out the mode of this reigning, by going on to say "that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." For it is not honor to concede to it (i.e. to the body) all things at will, nay, it is slavery in the extreme, and the height of dishonor; for when it doth what it listeth, then is it bereft of all liberties; but when it is put under restraints, then it best keeps its own proper rank.

"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so that you should obey its desires; neither present your members as weapons of iniquity unto sin: but present yourselves to God, as those living from among the dead; and your members as weapons of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace." In the passages above he says: "As sin reigned in death." But now he did not say: Let not sin therefore reign in death; rather he says: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so that you should obey its desires" — teaching by this that sin has a certain seat and kingdom in the body. This is what he said elsewhere too: "The prudence of the flesh is an enemy to God"; and again: "The prudence of the flesh is death." But the Apostle also declares that all sins are works of the flesh, which he says are fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil concupiscence, shamelessness, idolatry, sorceries, enmities, quarrels, jealousy, rage, contentions, dissensions, heresies, envy, drunkennesses, carousings, and things like these. But if you ask how heresies too are numbered among the works of the flesh, you will find that they proceed from the sense of the flesh. For thus the Apostle says concerning a certain man: "Vainly," he says, "puffed up by the sense of his own flesh, and not holding the head." Now these things we have said so that the understanding might become clearer, how sin reigns in the body. For all those things which we enumerated above as works of the flesh are like a certain armed host soldiering under this king, sin, and obeying its law, which is inscribed in the members of the flesh. For it is certain that, from the fact that the flesh renders obedience to the desires of sin, "the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are opposed to one another." Yet notice this: that in showing that it is placed within our own power that sin should not reign in our mortal body, the Apostle gave a precept, saying: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, so that you should obey its desires." For unless it were in our power that sin should not reign in us, he certainly would not have given a precept. How, then, is it possible that sin should not reign in our flesh? If we do what the same Apostle says: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth," and if we always carry about "the death of Christ in our body." For it is certain that, where the death of Christ is carried about, sin cannot reign. For so great is the power of the cross of Christ that, if it be set before the eyes and faithfully retained in the mind, so that the eye of the mind gazes intently upon the very death of Christ, no concupiscence, no lust, no rage, no envy can prevail; but at once, at its presence, that whole army of sin and of the flesh which we enumerated above is put to flight. Indeed sin itself does not even subsist, seeing that it has no substance anywhere except in deed and act. There is therefore in us both a concupiscence of sin, which has its kingdom in the flesh, and a concupiscence of the spirit, which has its kingdom in the mind, according to what we said above, that "the flesh lusts against the spirit, but the spirit against the flesh." When, therefore, we desire what is not lawful, or what is not fitting, or what is not expedient, it is the concupiscence of the flesh. But when our soul desires and faints when it may see the salvation of God, that is the concupiscence of the spirit. From which it appears that the soul is in a certain way midway between the flesh and the spirit; and if indeed it joins itself to the flesh so as to obey the desires of sin, it becomes one body with it; but if it joins itself to God, it becomes one spirit with him, according to what has been said: "For he who joins himself to a harlot is one body; but he who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit." Nor should you wonder if he calls the flesh a harlot, since it lies subject to all those vices and sins which we enumerated above, as to the basest lovers. But I inquire why he added, "in your mortal body," when surely it would have sufficed to say: "Let not sin therefore reign in your body." Why is "mortal" also added, as though anyone doubted that the body is mortal? But it seems to me that he added even this not without cause. For by it he gave warning how sin can fail to reign in the body, according to what he himself had also said elsewhere: "The body indeed is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." If therefore we know that our body can be mortified, and be dead to sin, it can come about that sin should not reign in it. For according to this, that it is dead, it is said to be justified from sin. For a dead man neither lusts nor grows angry, nor rages, nor plunders what belongs to another. If therefore we restrain the body from all these concupiscences, the body is said to be dead to sin. And this is what, in the present passage, that addition of the Apostle seems to bring to mind when he says, "in your mortal body." Another perhaps will say that it is by way of distinction from that other body which is immortal that he named this body, in which we now are, mortal. But what the immortal body is, the same Apostle teaches in other places, where he says: "For it is necessary that this corruptible put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality"; and there is no doubt that, once mortality is taken away, this very thing which is now mortal is made an immortal body.

You should live in your mortal body as if you were immortal. Paul also explains how sin reigns in the body—by obedience and consent.

A reign is different from a tyranny in that a tyrant rules without the consent of his subjects, whereas a reign applies in those cases where the subjects have assented to it. Therefore Paul is urging his hearers not to assent any longer to the reign of sin, for the Lord destroyed sin's reign when he took on human flesh.

Wishing to show that we are held in the power of vices not by force and compulsion, but by our own free will, he did not say "let it not tyrannize," but says, "let it not reign," for a kingdom is the lot of those who have will. And by the expression "in your mortal body," he first showed that neither is what is pleasant for the body lasting (for the body is subject to death), so that one ought not to serve the body in its pleasures, nor is what is difficult permanent, so that one ought not to flee from what is sorrowful and from struggles against pleasures; and second, he reminds us that mortality is a consequence of sin, and urges us not to be subservient any longer to sin, as that which causes death. In what way then does sin reign? If we obey it in its bodily "lusts," so that it is not the body that causes harm by its nature, but obedience to sin. Note the grace of Christ: Adam sinned even though he had a body that was not mortal, yet we conquer sin in a mortal body.

After showing that we ought not remain in sin and that we have the faculty for this, the Apostle concludes with a moral exhortation. And concerning this he does three things: first, he proposes an admonition; second, he assigns a reason, at for sin shall not; third, he raises and solves a question, at what then? Shall we sin. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he proposes the admonition; second, he clarifies it, at so as to obey.

First, therefore, he says: we have said that our old self was crucified once, so that the body of sin may be destroyed. This means that the power of sin has been so weakened that it cannot rule us. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body any longer. He does not say: let not sin be in your mortal body, because as long as our body is mortal, i.e., bound to the necessity of death, it is not possible for sin not to be in our body, i.e., the inclination to sin. But since we have been freed from the kingdom of sin by God, we must struggle in order that sin not recover its dominion now lost in our body. And this is what he says: let not sin reign in your mortal body. This is something about which one must be on his guard, as long as we wear the mortal body: the corruptible body is a load upon the soul (Wis 9:15).

Paul shows that the devil fights against us by using our members. For the opportunity is given to him by our sins, so that when God abandons us he acquires the power to deceive and destroy us. Therefore we must protect our members from every work of iniquity so that our enemy may be left defenseless and subdued. Paul did not say: "Present your bodies," but "Present your members," for a person goes wrong when his members and not his whole body lead him wherever sin dictates."Death" in this context means ignorance and unbelief, combined with an evil life, because "life" is to know God through Christ. Just as nobody acquires life without a parent, everyone has obtained life through Christ. Therefore whoever does not recognize that God is the Father of all through Christ is said not to have life, i.e., what he has here on earth does not count as life. For such a person denies himself as long as he thinks he can live without God as his Father. Therefore ignorance and a wicked life are death. For wickedness obtains death, not the death which is common to us all but the death of hell, as I mentioned above. Likewise, knowledge of God the Father and holy behavior are life, not that life which is subject to death but the life of the world to come which is called eternal. For this reason Paul says that you should present yourselves to God, for by knowing him you will go on to salvation. Having turned away from an evil life you will be like people who have risen from the dead. Such great modesty ought to govern our conduct that our behavior will lead to the righteousness of God, not to earthly righteousness. For the righteousness of this world is without faith in Christ, and without that it is death, not life. Let us then yield our members to him so that he can defend us. For when we yield our members to him through good works, we make ourselves worthy to be aided by God's righteousness, because that righteousness is not given to those who are unworthy to receive it. Where God's righteousness is, there the Holy Spirit dwells and helps our infirmity. Just as we yield our members to sin when we act wrongly, so we yield them to righteousness when we behave rightly, protecting them from all wickedness.

This injunction would be successfully carried out, I believe, if we were willing always to keep the same disposition of mind as we had at the time of danger. For surely we realized to some degree the vanity of life, as well as the unreliability and instability of human affairs, which change so easily. And in all likelihood we felt contrition for our past faults and promised that for the future, if we were saved we would serve God with watchful exactitude.

The body then is indifferent between vice and virtue, as also instruments (or arms) are. But either effect is wrought by him that useth it. As if a soldier fighting in his country's behalf, and a robber who was arming against the inhabitants, had the same weapons for defence. For the fault is not laid to the suit of armor, but to those that use it to an ill end. And this one may say of the flesh too which becomes this or that owing to the mind's decision, not owing to its own nature. For if it be curious after the beauty of another, the eye becomes an instrument of iniquity, not through any agency of its own (for what is of the eye, is but seeing, not seeing amiss), but through the fault of the thought which commands it. But if you bridle it, it becomes an instrument of righteousness. Thus with the tongue, thus with the hands, thus with all the other members. And he well calls sin unrighteousness. For by sinning a man deals unrighteously either by himself or by his neighbor, or rather by himself more than by his neighbor. Having then led us away from wickedness, he leads us to virtue, in these words: "But yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead." See how by his bare words he exhorts them, on that side naming "sin" and on this "God." For by showing what a difference there is between the rulers, he casts out of all excuse the soldier that leaveth God, and desireth to serve under the dominion of sin. But it is not only in this way, but also by the sequel, that he establishes this; by saying, "as alive from the dead." For by these he shows the wretchedness of the other, and the greatness of God's gift. For consider, he says, what you were, and what you have been made. What then were ye? Dead, and ruined by a destruction which could not from any quarter be repaired. For neither was there any one who had the power to assist you. And what have ye been made out of those dead ones? Alive with immortal life. And by whom? By the all-powerful God. Ye ought therefore to marshal yourselves under Him with as much cheerful readiness, as men would who had been made alive from being dead. "And your members as instruments of righteousness." Hence, the body is not evil, since it may be made an arm of righteousness. But by calling it an arm, he makes it clear that there is a hard warfare at hand for us. And for this reason we need strong armor, and also a noble spirit, and one acquainted too with the ways of this warfare; and above all we need a commander. The Commander however is standing by, ever ready to help us, and abiding unconquerable, and has furnished us with strong arms likewise. Farther, we have need of a purpose of mind to handle them as should be, so that we may both obey our Commander, and take the field for our country.

After these things there follows: "Neither present your members as weapons of iniquity unto sin; but present yourselves to God as those living from among the dead, and your members rather as weapons of righteousness unto God." Observe point by point the wisdom of Paul, that he uses necessary distinctions. Where he says that weapons must not be furnished to sin or to iniquity, he sets down not us, but our members; but where he urges that we present ourselves to God, he wills that not our members, but we ourselves first be presented to God — that is, our soul, or our purpose — so that when we have first presented our very selves to God and have cleaved to him, then at last we may make our members also weapons of righteousness unto God. For just as those hands are called holy which have ministered to holy works, as the Apostle says: "Lifting up pure hands without wrath and disputing"; and again, those hands are called full of blood which have ministered to the shedding of blood: so also in the present passage the members which serve sin and iniquity are called weapons of iniquity; and again, if we mortify the concupiscence of sin in our mortal body, and labor in the work of righteousness, and minister to righteousness with all our members, we become as those living from among the dead — dead, that is, to sin and living to righteousness; and consequently our members too become weapons of righteousness unto God. And he has well kept to the metaphor proposed above, so that, because he had said that sin reigns, he should name the members weapons of sin, and again that our members should bear weapons of righteousness for God as king.

Every part of the body can become a weapon of wickedness which will defeat righteousness if it turns its purpose to bad use. At the same time, note that it is by freedom of choice that a man offers his members to the side of his choice.

By telling us to yield our members to God as instruments of righteousness, Paul teaches that the body is not evil but the creation of a good God. Therefore if it is properly and correctly controlled by the soul it can serve God.

Where are the Manicheans who say that the body is sinful by nature? The body is an instrument, and an instrument is a means for both virtue and vice. Thus a sword serves the warrior as a weapon for the defense of citizens, while for a robber it is a weapon against citizens. "Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness." For whoever sins acts unjustly often toward his neighbor, and always toward himself. "But present yourselves to God," considering what a difference there is between God and sin, and to whom it is better to submit: to sin, which has brought death, or to God, Who has given life. Having said that the members are instruments of unrighteousness, he showed, on the one hand, that the body, as stated above, is not something evil, since it can be an instrument of righteousness, and on the other hand, that a battle has commenced and that we need to be under the command of God and take up arms in defense of our soul.

Then when he says, so as to obey, he clarifies this admonition. In regard to this it should be noted that sin reigns in man in two ways: in one way, through internal consent of the mind. To remove this he says, so as to obey the lusts thereof. For it is by obeying the passions of sin with our minds that sin reigns in us: go not after your lusts (Sir 18:30). In a second way sin reigns in us through the performance of the act. To exclude this, he adds, neither yield your members unto sin, i.e., to the inclination to sin, as instruments of iniquity, i.e., as instruments for committing sin. For when man commits sin through his members, he yields to sin. In this way he seems to fight to restore sin's dominion, which grows in us through the habit of sinning: they went down to hell with their weapons (Exod 32:27).

Then when he says, but yield yourselves to God, he urges them to the opposite, namely, to yield themselves to God. And first with regard to the internal faculties when he says, but yield yourselves to God by submitting your mind to God: and now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but that you fear the Lord your God and walk in his ways (Deut 10:12). And you ought to do this as those that are alive from the dead, i.e., as led from the death of sin to the life of grace. Hence it is fitting, since he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Cor 3:15). Second, with respect to outward actions; hence he says, yield your members . . . unto God, i.e., to his service, as instruments of justice with which to fight against God's enemies: put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph 6:11).

If we walk according to the commandments which he gives, Paul says that sin will not rule over us, for it rules over those who sin. For if we do not walk as he commands we are under the law. But if we do not sin we are not under the law but under grace. If, however, we sin, we fall back under the law, and sin starts to rule over us once more, for every sinner is a slave to sin. It is necessary for a person to be under the law as long as he does not receive forgiveness, for by the law's authority sin makes the sinner guilty. Thus the person to whom forgiveness is given and who keeps it by not sinning anymore will neither be ruled by sin nor be under the law. For the authority of the law no longer applies to him; he has been delivered from sin. Those whom the law holds guilty have been turned over to it by sin. Therefore the person who has departed from sin cannot be under the law.

This refers to the third state of man, when in his mind he serves the law of God even though his flesh still serves the law of sin. For he does not obey the desire to sin, even though lusts will continue to court him and urge him to surrender until the body is raised to new life and death is swallowed up in victory. Because we do not give in to evil desires we are under grace, and sin does not reign in our mortal bodies. But the man who is controlled by sin even if he wants to resist it is still under the law and not yet under grace.

Grace causes sin not to have power over you. Therefore do not trust in yourself, lest sin thereby have much more power over you.

It is not that the law is evil but that it makes those under it guilty by giving commands without providing help to fulfill them. In fact, grace helps one to become a doer of the law, for without such grace one living under the law will be no more than a hearer of the law.

Those who hold that for them there is no difference between right and wrong force a few passages of Scripture and think they favour their own immoral opinions. In particular they quote the saying: "Sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the law but under grace," and others of this sort, which there is no reason to add, for I am not proposing to fit out a pirate ship. Let us then briefly put a stop to their argument. The noble apostle himself refutes the charge against him implied in their false exegesis by the words with which he continues after the saying just quoted: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid." In this inspired and prophetic way he at once destroys the device of these licentious sophists.

Mistake is a sin contrary to calculation; and voluntary sin is crime; and crime is voluntary wickedness. Sin, then, is on my part voluntary. Wherefore says the apostle, "Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Addressing those who have believed, he says, "For by His stripes we were healed."

If then sin hath no more dominion over us, why does he lay so great a charge upon them as he does in the words, "Let not sin reign in your mortal body," and, "yield not ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin?" What does that here said mean then? He is sowing a kind of seed in this statement, which he means to develop afterwards, and to cultivate in a powerful argument. What then is this statement? It is this; that our body, before Christ's coming, was an easy prey to the assaults of sin. For after death a great swarm of passions entered also. And for this cause it was not lightsome for running the race of virtue. For there was no Spirit present to assist, nor any baptism of power to mortify. But as some horse that answereth not the rein, it ran indeed, but made frequent slips, the Law meanwhile announcing what was to be done and what not, yet not conveying into those in the race anything over and above exhortation by means of words. But when Christ had come, the effort became afterwards more easy, and therefore we had a more distant goal set us, in that the assistance we had given us was greater. Wherefore also Christ saith, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." But this he says more clearly in the sequel. But at present he alludes here briefly to it, to show that unless we stoop down very low to it, sin will not get the better of us. For it is not the Law only that exhorteth us, but grace too which also remitted our former sins, and secures us against future ones. For it promised them crowns after toils, but this (i.e. grace) crowned them first, and than led them to the contest. Now it seems to me that he is not signifying here the whole life of a believer, but instituting a comparison between the Baptism and the Law. And this he says in another passage also "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." For the Law convinceth of transgression, but grace undoes transgression. As then the former by convincing establisheth sin so the latter by forgiving suffereth us not to be under sin. And so thou art in two ways set free from this thraldom; both in thy not being under the Law, and in thy enjoying grace.

There follows after these things: "For sin shall not have dominion over you. For you are not under the law, but under grace." Here too observe the marvelous caution in the Apostle's language. When he speaks of us, he says: "Sin shall not have dominion over you"; when he was speaking of the Savior, he did not say: Sin shall not have dominion (for neither was it fitting that this be said of him), but he says: "Death shall no more have dominion over him." For in him there was room for death, none for sin. But on the contrary, concerning us it was not fitting to say: Death shall not have dominion over you — for this we cannot avoid — but rather, "Sin shall not have dominion over you"; which without doubt he knew we could avoid, according to what we said above, if we mortify the concupiscences of the flesh, in which sin was able to have dominion. For this reason he adds: "For you are not under the law, but under grace"; and he plainly shows from these words that we are not under that law which he says, being placed in the members, fights against the law of the mind, since he who mortifies his members is certainly not under the law of the members, but under the grace of God. Concerning this law he says elsewhere too that "the strength of sin is the law." But if anyone wishes to take these things of the law of Moses, he will without doubt say that we are not under the law of the letter which kills, but under the law of the spirit which gives life, which here he has named grace.

Sin will not overcome you, for you are not children but adults. It is like the teacher who says to a student: "Avoid stylistic errors; you are no longer learning from a primary school teacher but from a professor." Paul offered teaching and example as a way to overcome sin by grace.

So faith, illumined by patience, when it was becoming propagated among the nations through" Abraham's seed, which is Christ," and was superinducing grace over the law, made patience her pre-eminent coadjutrix for amplifying and fulfilling the law, because that alone had been lacking unto the doctrine of righteousness.

Having shown that they should avoid sinning for the sake of future benefits, Paul goes on to add that they should live as though they were incapable of sinning at all. For if the time was coming when they would be transformed and act as sinless people, then here and now they ought to cleanse their minds of any thought of sin and earnestly try to do what is good.

In other words, nature is no longer struggling on its own but has the Holy Spirit to help it.

Before the coming of Christ, he says, your body was easily conquered by sin. At that time there was neither the assisting Spirit nor baptism capable of putting sin to death. Therefore the law too, by prescribing what to do, made no progress. But after the coming of Christ the struggle became easier, which is why the labors required of us, as those who have received greater help, are harder. So then, sin will not have dominion over us if we do not yield to it too much. Now it is not the law, which only gives commandments but renders not the slightest help, but grace, which forgives former sins and strengthens for the future.

Then when he says, for sin shall not, he assigns the reason for this admonition. For someone might excuse himself, alleging that sin's dominion is an obstacle to obeying the admonition. But the Apostle excludes this, saying, for sin shall not have dominion over you, i.e., if you begin to resist sin and yield yourself to God: draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (Jas 4:8). As if to say: you can observe my admonition, because you do not find sin dominating and holding you. For we have been freed by Christ, as John says: if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

Then he clarifies what he had said, saying, for you are not under the law, but under grace. Here it should be noted that he is not speaking of the law merely with respect to its ceremonial precepts, but even with respect to moral matters. For one is said to be under the law in two ways. In one way, as voluntarily subject to the observance of the law. Even Christ was under the law in this way according to Galatians: born under the law (Gal 4:4), namely, because he observed the law, not only the moral but also the ceremonial precepts. But the faithful of Christ are under the law in this way, with respect to the moral precepts but not the ceremonial. In another way, one is said to be under the law as though compelled by the law. In this way, one is under the law when he does not obey it voluntarily from love but is compelled by fear. But such a one lacks grace which, if it were present, would incline the will to observe the law and fulfill its moral precepts from a motive of love. Therefore, as long as one is under the law in such a way that he does not fulfill it voluntarily, sin has dominion over him. As a result, such a man's will is inclined to choose what is contrary to the law. But through grace such dominion is removed; consequently, a man observes the law not as existing under the law but as free: we are not children of the slave but of the free woman, by the freedom with which Christ has set us free (Gal 4:31).

This grace, making men freely obey the law, was not conferred by the sacraments of the old law, but Christ's sacraments conferred it. Consequently, those who submitted themselves to the ceremonies of the law were not, so far as the power of those sacraments was concerned, under grace but under the law, unless they happened to obtain grace through faith. But one who submits to Christ's sacraments obtains grace from his power, so as not to be under the law but under grace, unless they enslaved themselves to sin through their own fault.

Although it was right for the law to be given—for it was given in order to show that those who sinned against it were guilty before God and in order to dissuade people from continuing to sin—yet because of the weakness of its infirmity the human race was unable to restrain itself from sin and had become subject to the death of hell. God was moved by the righteousness of his mercy, by which he always comes to the aid of the human race, and through Christ he provided a way by which he could reward those who were without hope. By forgiving their sins he released them from the law which had held them subject. Restored and made whole again by the help of God, they could reject the sins by which they had previously been held down. Therefore we did not sin in rejecting the law but rather we followed the providence of God himself through Christ.

The noble apostle himself refutes the charge against him implied in their false exegesis by the words with which he continues after the saying just quoted: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid." In this inspired and prophetic way he at once destroys the device of these licentious sophists.

So he first adopted a form of adjuration, because it was an absurd thing he had named. And then he makes his discourse pass on to exhortation, and shows the great facility of the struggle.

"What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." This seems similar to that saying which we expounded above: "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid"; and therefore let one and the same explanation suffice for both places. This alone is what seems to constitute a difference, that in the earlier passage, where he says, "What then? Shall we continue in sin?" it seems to be said to those who have not yet departed from sin, lest they remain in that state in which they still seemed to be; but here the question seems to be put as though by those who have already departed from sin: and there, as it were, that grace, which did not yet exist, might abound; but here he speaks as though grace were already present, "because we are not under the law, but under grace."

If you sin, you will not be under grace.

I think that Paul is saying this to the Jews because it is the nature of the law to tell us what we should and should not do. If we find ourselves outside the law, there is nothing to stop us from doing what we like, but if there is some way of determining what should and should not be done, then we are back under the law again, and what is said here will easily apply to us. Paul has expressed himself in this seemingly contradictory way because he is saying that since we are free of sin we are no longer under the law. He does not mean that the outpouring of grace has given us license to sin.

The apostle always proposes such objections, which is why he both raises and resolves them, as he does with the present objection, answering it: "God forbid." Then he proves that it is not difficult for us not to sin. Consider, he urges, in your mind which is better: to be slaves of sin, having surrendered to it of your own will (this is what "you yield" means), and to receive as a reward death, that is, eternal punishment (for the sin of Adam produced bodily and temporal death, but sin committed now subjects a person to eternal death, that is, eternal punishment), or to obey God and receive as a reward righteousness and the blessings that flow from it?

Then when he says, what then, he raises a question against what he has said. And concerning this he does three things: first, he raises the question; second, he answers it, at God forbid! Know you not; third, he shows how unfitting it would be to misinterpret his statement, at but thanks be to God.

In regard to the first it should be noted that his statement could be falsely interpreted, namely, that Christ's faithful are not under the law with respect to being obliged to obey its moral precepts. For it would follow that Christ's faithful could lawfully commit sin and act against the moral precepts. Therefore, in this context he raises the question: what then? Shall we sin, i.e., shall we act against the moral precepts, because, as has been said, we are not under the law, but under grace? This interpretation the Apostle rejects in Galatians: for you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh (Gal 5:13).

Paul warns us not to say one thing and do another, so that when we are said to be servants of God we should be found by our actions to be servants of the devil. He proclaims that we are servants of the one whose will we do and that it is not fair to confess God as Lord but do the works of the devil. For God himself notices this and attacks it: "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me," and the Lord says in the Gospel: "No man can serve two masters," and in the law it is written: "God is not mocked."

I do not, he would say, mention hell as yet, nor that great punishment, but the shame it is in this world, when ye become slaves, and slaves of your own accord too, and sin's slaves, and when the wages are such as a second death. For if before baptism, it wrought death of the body, and the wound required so great attendance, that the Lord of all came down to die, and so put a stop to the evil; if after so great a gift, and so great liberty, it seize thee again, while thou bendest down under it willingly, what is there that it may not do? Do not then run into such a pit, or willingly give thyself up. For in the case of wars, soldiers are often given up even against their will. But in this case, unless thou desertest of thyself, there is no one who will get the better of thee. Having then tried to shame them by a sense of duty, he alarms them also by the rewards, and lays before them the wages of both; righteousness, and death, and that a death not like the former, but far worse. For if Christ is to die no more, who is to do away with death? No one! We must then be punished, and have vengeance taken upon us forever. For a death preceptible to the senses is not still to come in this case, as in the former, which gives the body rest, and separates it from the soul. "For the last enemy, death, is destroyed," whence the punishment will be deathless. But not to them that obey, for righteousness, and the blessings springing from it, will be their rewards.

"Do you not know that to whomever you present yourselves as servants to obey, you are the servants of him whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto justice? But thanks be to God, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which you have been delivered. And being freed from sin, you have been made the servants of justice." Perhaps the expression seems less than complete when he says, "You are the servants of him whom you have obeyed, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto justice"; whereas reason would have required it to be said: You are the servants of him whom you have obeyed, whether of sin, or of justice through obedience. But in one who of his own accord professes himself unskilled in speech, I think it superfluous to look for artistry in the composition of words, since the sense is held to be evident. This, then, is what the Apostle teaches in this place: that each one has it in his own hand and in the power of his choice, to be either the servant of sin or of justice. For to whichever side he shall incline his obedience, and to whichever side he shall be willing to submit, that side claims him for itself as its servant. In this, as I have said, he shows without any hesitation that freedom of choice lies within us. For it is in us to render our obedience either to justice or to sin. But "no one can serve two masters at once," sin and justice. "For either he will hate the one," namely sin, "and love the other," that is, justice; "or he will bear with the one," namely sin only, "and despise the other," that is, justice. Similar, therefore, is also what the Apostle said: "You are the servants of him whom you have obeyed, whether of sin or of justice." But also what is said, "Everyone who commits sin is the servant of sin," looks to this same point, although he did not add: And everyone who does justice is the servant of justice. Which perhaps another might think was left out for this reason, that it ought to be understood as though from what follows. To me, however, it seems that it was deliberately not added. For it would not have been fitting to say that everyone who does justice is the servant of justice. For God himself also does justice, and yet cannot on that account be called the servant of justice, but the Lord of justice. Therefore it is not the case that everyone who does justice is the servant of justice in the same way that everyone who commits sin is the servant of sin. For the devil himself also is without doubt the servant of sin, inasmuch as he departed from the service of justice and rebelled in the sight of the almighty Lord, on account of which he was also called an apostate. It is established, therefore, from these words in which Paul says, "That to whomever you present yourselves as servants to obey, you are the servants of him whom you obey, whether of sin or of justice," that of our own accord we present ourselves, with none compelling us, to serve either sin or justice through our own obedience; and therefore we ought always to remember these things, lest we bring forward empty complaints in excuse of sin — that the devil made us sin, or the necessity of nature, or the condition of fate, or the course of the stars. But hear Paul's sentence, by which he speaks openly: "To whomever you present yourselves as servants to obey, you are the servants of him whom you have obeyed, whether of sin, or of justice."

Righteousness and sin are mutually incompatible. As the Lord himself said in the holy Gospel: "No man can serve two masters."

Then he proves that it is not difficult for us not to sin. Consider, he urges, in your mind which is better: to be slaves of sin, having surrendered to it of your own will (this is what "you yield" means), and to receive as a reward death, that is, eternal punishment (for the sin of Adam produced bodily and temporal death, but sin committed now subjects a person to eternal death, that is, eternal punishment), or to obey God and receive as a reward righteousness and the blessings that flow from it?

In the same fashion he answers here, God forbid that we should sin, because we have been set free from the law; because if we were to sin, we would once more be reduced to the slavery of sin. Hence, he continues, know you not that to whom you yield yourselves of your own will as servants to obey voluntarily, his servants you are whom you obey. For obedience is a debt which slaves owe to their masters: slaves, be obedient to your earthly masters (Eph 6:5). Hence, when someone obeys another, he admits that he is his slave by obeying. But different masters are obeyed for different remunerations. For the one who obeys sin is led to death through the slavery of sin. And this is what he says: whether it be of sin, i.e., you are its slaves by obeying it, unto death, i.e., to the eternal damnation of the one who falls. Concerning this death it is said: he who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death (Rev 2:11). But the one who obeys God is made a slave of this obedience, because through the habit of obeying the mind is inclined more and more to obeying and as a result achieves holiness. Therefore, he says: or of obedience, namely, of the divine precepts, unto justice: the doers of the law shall be justified (Rom 2:13). Sin and obedience are fittingly presented as opposites, because, as Ambrose says, sin is a transgression of the divine law and a disobedience against the heavenly commands.

As it is right to obey Christ, for he is himself righteousness and what he commands is righteous, Paul therefore says that we have become servants of righteousness "from the heart," not from the law. We do this voluntarily and not out of fear, so that our confession of faith might find expression in the judgment of our mind. For by nature we have been led to faith, not by the law, in which standard of teaching we have been made for the rule of God, who created nature. For by nature we know by whom and through whom and in whom we were created. Therefore the standard of teaching is that into which our Creator has led us naturally. This is what he said above: "They are a law unto themselves," when their own natures see what they believe, that what the law and the Prophets predicted to the Jews concerning Christ is what the Gentiles have confessed from the heart. For this reason Paul gives thanks to the Lord, because when we were still servants of sin we obeyed from the heart, believing in Christ, so that we might serve God not according to the law of Moses but according to the law of nature.

After shaming them by the slavery, after alarming them by the rewards, and so exhorting them, he again rights them by calling the benefits to mind. For by these he shows that they were great evils from which they were freed, and that not by any labors of their own, and that things henceforth would be more manageable. Just as any one who has rescued a captive from a cruel tyrant, and advises him not to run away back to him, reminds him of his grievous thraldom; so does Paul set the evils passed away most emphatically before us, by giving thanks to God. For it was no human power that could set us free from all those evils, but, "thanks be to God," who was willing and able to do such great things. And he well says, "Ye have obeyed from the heart." Ye were neither forced nor pressed, but ye came over of your own accord, with willing mind. Now this is like one that praises and rebukes at once. For after having willingly come, and not having had any necessity to undergo, what allowance can you claim, or what excuse can you make, if you run away back to your former estate? Next that you may learn that it came not of your own willing temper only, but the whole of it of God's grace also, after saying, "Ye have obeyed from the heart," he adds, "that form of doctrine which was delivered you." For the obedience from the heart shows the free will. But the being delivered, hints the assistance from God. But what is the form of doctrine? It is living aright, and in conformity with the best conversation.

After these things he says: "Thanks be to God, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which you have been delivered." He seems to say this to those about whose life and progress, and concerning whom, he had already said above: "I give thanks to God through Jesus Christ for all these, because your faith is proclaimed in the whole world." Then next he also shows this, that all men first serve sin. For thus it is written: That "there is not a just man upon the earth who does good and does not sin." For first it is necessary that in every man that be fulfilled which is written: "But when the commandment came, sin revived." But what follows is said to few, and to those who are already being amended, namely what he says: "But thanks be to God, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine into which you have been delivered." We were all, therefore, the servants of sin; but when the form of doctrine was delivered to us, and we chose to obey it not in any casual way, nor with words alone, but from the heart, from the soul, with our whole devotion, we are freed from the servitude of sin, and are made the servants of justice. Whence I fear that perhaps there are rather many of us who seem to have received the form of the doctrine of justice, and in words indeed or in profession seem to obey justice, but in heart obey sin, the vices of the flesh still holding dominion in us. And therefore before all things we stand in need of that mortification of the members concerning which he taught above. But as to what he said, "The form of doctrine, into which you have been delivered," I think we must inquire how each one is delivered. For we find that those who "do not approve of having God in their knowledge," God "delivers, according to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, so that they dishonor their own bodies among themselves"; and others who "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God," he delivers "unto passions of dishonor," concerning which passages we have spoken in their proper places as we were able. These too, therefore, who present themselves as servants of justice through obedience, God has delivered that they may be instructed and imbued according to the form of the doctrine of justice. But this also moves me, that he did not say, "You have obeyed from the heart" the doctrine "into which you have been delivered," but he put "the form of doctrine." Nor do I think that the Apostle held doctrine and the form of doctrine to be one and the same thing; but it seems to me that he knew the form of doctrine to be something less than the doctrine itself; and that now indeed in the present life, while we are in this body, and "this earthly dwelling weighs down the mind that ponders many things," we have the form of doctrine, not the doctrine itself, as the same Apostle says elsewhere: "But now we see through a mirror in an enigma"; while the doctrine itself is that of which he says: "But then we shall see face to face." Whence also in the present life I think that we can hold the form and shadow of the virtues; but the virtues themselves, then, when those things which are perfect shall have come. And therefore the just man now, as it seems to me, lives rather in the shadow of the virtues than in the virtues themselves. And on this account perhaps Jeremiah says in the Lamentations: "The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord, of whom we said: In his shadow we shall live among the nations." But if Christ is justice, and wisdom, and truth, and we say, "in his shadow we shall live among the nations," then we live in the shadow of justice, and in the shadow of wisdom, and in the shadow of truth, even if we seem to be just, and wise, and lovers of truth. Therefore it is said on this account: "If anyone thinks that he has known, he has not yet known as he ought to know." For perhaps even the Word of God himself, according to that whereby "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," will be known in one way in the present state of life, and in another way when that which is perfect shall have come; and will be perceived in one way now in the form of a servant, but then in another way in the form of God and in equality with the Father. On account of all which things we seem to live among the nations either "in the form of doctrine," as the Apostle says, and not yet in the doctrine itself, or "in the shadow of Christ," as Jeremiah named it, and not yet in Christ himself.

We "were" slaves to sin, but we "are" no longer.

You who once were slaves to sin have broken away from it by the free will of your mind and have embraced spiritual teaching instead.

"Thanks be to God." Our deliverance from those evils is not a matter of human strength, but of God's; which is why one must give thanks. Then you became obedient not by compulsion, but by your own heartfelt disposition; therefore do not return to the worse things, from which you withdrew voluntarily. As proof that although they themselves came, yet all this depended also on the grace of God, he added: "you delivered yourselves," that is, you were guided by God to the form of teaching. And what is the form of teaching? To live in a devout and well-ordered manner.

Then when he says, but thanks be to God, he shows the folly of obeying sin and thereby returning to the slavery of sin: first, by considering the benefit we have received. For if someone, by another's graciousness is freed from slavery, it is unfitting to subject oneself freely to slavery. Hence, since we have been freed from sin by the grace of God, it is unfitting willfully to return again to the slavery of sin. Second, by considering the state into which we were led after freedom from sin, namely, that we are slaves to justice. But, it is not lawful for a slave to subject himself to the dominion of an opposite master; hence, it is not lawful, if we have been made slaves of justice, to return to the slavery of sin.

The Apostle touches on both of these considerations, when he says: I thank God, and you too should thank God, that you were the servants of sin, because he who commits sin, is a servant of sin (John 8:34), but have obeyed, namely, by believing: for obedience to the faith, in all nations (Rom 1:5); and this not as though compelled, but from the heart: for with the heart, we believe unto justice (Rom 10:10), unto that form of doctrine, i.e., to the doctrine of the Catholic faith: follow the pattern of the sound words you have heard from me (2 Tim 1:13), into which you have been delivered: i.e., gave yourselves entirely: but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God (2 Cor 8:5). And by this being then freed from sin, so that it is not fitting to desert justice: you were bought with a price (1 Cor 7:23) and are not your own.