Romans 6:16-23

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:18

Verse 18 18.And having been made free from sin, etc. The meaning is, “It is unreasonable that any one, after having been made free, should continue in a state of bondage; for he ought to maintain the freedom which he has received: it is not then befitting, that you should be brought again under the dominion of sin, from which you have been set at liberty by Christ.” It is an argument derived from the efficient cause; another also follows, taken from the final cause, Ye have been liberated from... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:19

Verse 19 19.I speak what is human, etc. He says that he speaks after the manner of men, not as to the substance but as to the manner. So Christ says, in John 3:12, that he announced earthly things, while yet he spoke of heavenly mysteries, though not so magnificently as the dignity of the things required, because he accommodated himself to the capacities of a people ignorant and simple. And thus the Apostle says, by way of preface, that he might more fully show how gross and wicked is the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:20

Verse 20 20.For when ye were, etc. He still repeats the difference, which he had before mentioned, between the yoke of righteousness and that of sin; for these two things, sin and righteousness, are so contrary, that he who devotes himself to the one, necessarily departs from the other. And he thus represents both, that by viewing them apart we may see more clearly what is to be expected from each; for to set things thus apart enables us to understand better their distinctive character. He then... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:21

Verse 21 21.What fruit, then, etc. He could not more strikingly express what he intended than by appealing to their conscience, and by confessing shame as it were in their person. Indeed the godly, as soon as they begin to be illuminated by the Spirit of Christ and the preaching of the gospel, do freely acknowledge their past life, which they have lived without Christ, to have been worthy of condemnation; and so far are they from endeavouring to excuse it, that, on the contrary, they feel... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:22

Verse 22 22.Ye have your fruit unto holiness, etc. As he had before mentioned a twofold end of sin, so he does now as to righteousness. Sin in this life brings the torments of an accusing conscience, and in the next eternal death. We now gather the fruit of righteousness, even holiness; we hope in future to gain eternal life. These things, unless we are beyond measure stupid, ought to generate in our minds a hatred and horror of sin, and also a love and desire for righteousness. Some render... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 6:23

Verse 23 23.For the wages of sin, etc. There are those who think that, Paul, by comparing death to allowances of meat, (obsoniis ,) points out in a disparaging manner the kind of wretched reward that is allotted to sinners, as this word is taken by the Greeks sometimes for portions allowed to soldiers. But he seems rather indirectly to condemn the blind appetites of those who are ruinously allured by the enticements of sin, as the fish are by the hook. It will however be more simple to render... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 6:12-23

The reign of grace. We saw in last section how the leading facts of our Lord's life get copied into the experience of the regenerate; so that we have a death and burial, and crucifixion, and resurrection, and new life along with Christ. Sanctification in this way naturally issues out of justification. £ The apostle consequently proceeds to show that the dominion of sin is broken by the same means as the removal of our condemnation, viz. by outlook to Jesus. We find ourselves to be no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 6:15-16

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace! God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey (literally, unto obedience ) , his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? This is not a truism, as it would seem to be if it only meant, "whoso servants ye become, his servants ye are." "Ye yield yourselves" ( παριστάνετε , cf. Romans 6:13 ) denotes acts of yielding. "Ye are" ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 6:15-23

The two services and their rewards. In the closing part of the fifth chapter, and throughout this chapter, the apostle is contrasting the operation of two great principles. The one is the principle of sin; the other is the principle of righteousness. He compares them to two kings reigning in the world, controlling men's lives, and influencing men in certain directions and to certain actions. Sin reigns unto death. That has been its operation all through human history. But a new power has... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Romans 6:15-23

Servants to obey. A slight but suggestive difference between the question of Romans 6:15 and that with which the chapter opens. "Shall we continue in sin," the apostle had asked, "that grace may abound?" And he had flung away such a thought by the presentation of the believer's new life as a life pledged to God through Christ. In Romans 6:12-14 also he had insisted on the consistent fulfilment of the pledge. But now he supposes another and more subtle question—Shall we, not "continue"... read more

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