Living a New Life in Christ

¹What should we say then? Should we keep on sinning so that God’s grace can increase?

²No! As far as sin is concerned, we’re dead. So how can we keep on sinning?

³All of us were baptized into Christ Jesus. Don’t you know that this means we were baptized into his death?

⁴By being baptized, we were buried with Christ and joined him in death. But Christ has been raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, and like Christ we too can live a new life.

⁵When we were baptized, we were joined with him in a death like his. So we will also be joined with him in a resurrection like his.

⁶We know that our old self was nailed to the cross with him. That happened so that our bodies that were so used to sinning wouldn’t control us anymore. Now we’re not slaves of sin any longer.

⁷That’s because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸We died with Christ, and so we believe that we will also live with him.

⁹We know that Christ was raised from the dead and that he will never die again. Death doesn’t control him anymore.

¹⁰When he died, he died once and for all as far as sin is concerned. But he’s alive as far as God is concerned.

¹¹In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned, but consider yourselves alive in Christ Jesus as far as God is concerned.

¹²So don’t let sin rule over your mortal body and make you follow its wrong desires.

¹³Don’t offer any part of yourself to serve sin and do what’s wrong. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have been brought from death to life. Offer every part of yourself to God to do what’s right.

¹⁴Sin won’t control you anymore, because you’re not ruled by the law, you’re ruled by God’s grace.

Slaves to Right Living

¹⁵What should we say then? Should we keep on sinning because we’re not ruled by the law but by God’s grace? Not at all!

¹⁶Don’t you know that when you agree to obey someone the way a slave would, you become a slave to that person? If you’re slaves of sin, then you will die. But if you’re slaves who obey God, then you’ll live a godly life.

¹⁷You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart, you’ve now obeyed the teachings you were given!

¹⁸You’ve been set free from sin and have become slaves to living in the right way.

¹⁹I’m using an example from everyday human life to help you understand. You used to offer yourselves as slaves to dirty habits, and you did more and more things that were wrong. Now offer yourselves as slaves to the right way of living. Then you will become holy.

²⁰When you were slaves of sin, the right way of living didn’t control you.

²¹But did you gain any benefit from the things you did then? You’re ashamed of those things now. They lead to death!

²²But you’ve been set free from sin, and you’ve become slaves of God. You’re gaining a great benefit from that: You’re living in the right way, and the end result will be eternal life.

²³When you worked for sin, the pay you got from it was death. But now you’re working for God because you’ve gotten a gift: eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.