Romans 6:2

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

God forbid {G3361}{G1096}. How {G4459} shall we, that {G3748} are dead {G599} to sin {G266}, live {G2198} any longer {G2089} therein {G1722}{G846}?

Heaven forbid! How can we, who have died to sin, still live in it?

Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?

Commentary

This verse is a powerful rhetorical question and emphatic declaration from the Apostle Paul, serving as a direct response to a potential misinterpretation of his teaching on grace.

Context

Romans chapter 6 immediately follows Paul's extensive discussion in chapter 5 about the abundance of God's grace triumphing over the reign of sin introduced by Adam. In Romans 5:20, he states, "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." This raises a crucial question: if God's grace is magnified by the presence of sin, should believers continue sinning to experience more grace? Paul poses this question in Romans 6:1 ("Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"), and verse 2 delivers his absolute rejection of such a notion.

Key Themes

  • Emphatic Rejection of Sin: Paul uses the strongest possible language to dismiss the idea that grace permits or encourages continued sin.
  • Death to Sin: Believers are described as having undergone a radical transformation, a spiritual death to their former relationship with sin. Sin no longer holds dominion over them as it once did.
  • Incompatibility of States: The verse highlights the fundamental contradiction between being "dead to sin" and actively choosing to "live any longer therein." These two states are mutually exclusive for the believer.

Linguistic Insights

The phrase "God forbid" translates the Greek idiom mē genoito (μὴ γένοιτο), which is a very strong expression meaning "may it never be," "absolutely not," or "by no means!" Paul uses this forceful interjection frequently (e.g., Romans 3:4, Romans 7:7, Galatians 2:17) to emphatically reject a conclusion drawn from his arguments. The phrase "dead to sin" implies a complete break, a change in allegiance and power dynamic, which Paul elaborates on in the following verses, particularly connecting it to the believer's identification with Christ's death and resurrection in Romans 6:3-4.

Reflection

Romans 6:2 is a foundational verse for understanding Christian ethics and the transformative power of salvation. It teaches that receiving grace through faith in Christ is not merely a legal transaction but a radical spiritual death to the power and dominion of sin. Because we are "dead to sin" in Christ, continuing to live habitually under its power is inconsistent with our new identity. This doesn't mean believers will never sin, but that sin is no longer the ruling principle or accepted practice of their lives. The call is to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Cross-References

  • 1 John 3:9 (14 votes)

    Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

  • Colossians 3:3 (13 votes)

    For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

  • Romans 7:4 (10 votes)

    Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

  • 1 Peter 2:24 (9 votes)

    Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

  • Galatians 2:19 (8 votes)

    For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

  • Romans 7:6 (7 votes)

    But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

  • 1 Peter 1:14 (6 votes)

    As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: