6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:1-11 is a central passage in Paul’s argument that our identification with Christ fundamentally alters our relationship with sin. In baptism, we are united with Christ in his death, signifying the death of our sinful nature, and his resurrection, signifying our new life in Christ.
The rhetorical question that begins this passage, “Should we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” is answered unequivocally by Paul: “By no means!” This question arises because Paul has previously argued that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Romans 5:20). However, Paul clarifies that this is not an excuse to continue in sin.
In verses 3-4, Paul develops the theme of baptism as participation in Christ’s death and resurrection. The imagery of baptism involves dying (going under the water) and rising (coming up from the water). In this act, we publicly declare our commitment to turn from our old life of sin to a new life in Christ.
Paul expands on this in verses 5-11. We’re united with Christ in a death like his, which is a death to sin’s power because Christ, having died, is free from sin. Likewise, we can consider ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, we should no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies but instead offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.
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