Romans 6

Romans 6:5

For if we have in baptism undertaken to forsake sin, and to be dead to the motions of it, and so to imitate Christ’s death, and thereby have been so graffed into Christ that we are become the same tree with him, partaking of the same juice with that root, we are then under the very same obligation to imitate and transcribe his resurrection by our new regenerate lives, which are our first resurrection, and the lively resemblance and portraiture of his:

Romans 6:6

Resolving this with ourselves, that as this was one end of Christ’s suffering for our sins and dying upon the cross, that he might give us example to do so too, (see Tit. ii. 14.) to crucify, that is, forsake our former course of life; so our forsaking of sin, and conforming ourselves to his crucifixion, which in baptism we undertake, obliges us to the mortifying of every sin so far that we no longer yield any obedience to it, that is, neither willingly indulge to any presumptuous acts, nor slavishly lie down in any habit or course of sin.

[a] the body] The phrase τὸ σῶμα, the body, &c. hath a peculiar use in St. Paul, when it is joined with a genitive case following, for then it passes into the signification of that which is joined with it, and itself loses its force; the body of sin signifying nothing more than sin here, and Rom. vii. 24, σῶμα θανάτου τούτου, the body of this death, no more than this death, this sad miserable kind of death. So σῶμα αὐτῶν, Ecclus. vii. 24, their body, signifies them, and σῶμα Χριστοῦ, Christ, Rom. vii. 4, and σῶμά μου, me, Gal. vi. 17, and Phil. i. 20; so, τὸ σῶμα ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν, Phil. iii. 21, and σῶμα δόξης αὐτοῦ, the body of our humiliation, and the body of his glory, is no more than simply our humiliation and his glory. So Col. ii. 11, ἀπέκδοσις τοῦ σώματος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τῆς σαρκὸς, the putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, is the putting off the sins of the flesh, or carnal sins. And perhaps 1 Cor. ix. 27, ὑποπιάζω τὸ σῶμά μου, I beat or cuff myself, for so the matter of the

Romans 6:7

For as a man truly dead is freed from the authority of all those that in lifetime had power over him, so he that is dead to sin (in this figurative sense wherein I now speak) is freed from the power of sin acting formerly in him; and consequently he that hath, by being baptized into Christ, so far undertaken to accompany Christ in his death as really to die unto sin, must demonstrate himself to be freed from the power of it, must not permit it to live in him, that is, himself to be acted by it, or else he doth quite contrary to his undertaking.

Romans 6:8

And if we sincerely perform our part in this, if we imitate Christ in his death, that is, die to sin, forsake and never return to it again, then we must also remember, that it is another part of our Christian faith and undertaking of our baptism to imitate Christ in his resurrection, to rise to new and holy and godly lives, (and then we have grounds of believing that we shall together with him, or after his example, have a joyful resurrection to eternal life. But upon no other terms but these do we expect or believe any good from Christ.)

Romans 6:9

This being it for which we have a copy in Christ’s resurrection also, as well as in his death, viz. so to rise to new life, as never to return to our old sins again; as his was a resurrection that instated him on an eternal life never to come under the power of death again.

10, 11. For as when he died for our sins, he died once, never to undergo that death again, but when he rose from death he was immediately instated, not into one single act of life (so only, as it might be truly said, he was once alive after death) but no more, but into an immortal endless life, a life co-immortal with the Father, God eternal; so must we, after that double example of his death and resurrection, account ourselves obliged by our baptism (which accordingly is not wont to be reiterated) so to die, to forsake sin, as that we need never die any more, die one final death, never resume our former courses again; and on the other side, for our new Christian life to take care, that that be eternal, no more to return to our sins again than we think Christ or God can die again, but persevere in all virtuous and godly living, according to the example and precepts of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died and rose again on purpose to raise us up to this kind of new life, never to die again.

Romans 6:12

And so you now see what your Christian duty is, whatsoever we are calumniated to affirm, that whereas your flesh hath many sinful desires, which if they be obeyed or observed will set up a kingdom or dominion of sin in you, make you servants and slaves to sin, you are most strictly obliged to take care that sin get not this dominion, that you obey it not in yielding to or satisfying the lusts or prohibited desires of your bodies.

Romans 6:13

But instead of offering up or presenting your members unto sin, as instruments or weapons to do what sin would have done, ye must consecrate yourselves unto God, as men that are raised unto new life, and therefore are fit to do him service, and your bodies as active and military instruments of performing to him all the obedience in the world.

Romans 6:14

It were the vilest thing in the world for sin to have dominion over you, who are now no longer under

Romans 6:15

From hence again some carnal men are ready to collect matter of security in sin; for, say they, if now under the gospel there be pardon allowed for sin, and not condemnation (as it was under the law) for every wilful sin we have committed, why may we not securely sin? This is the unreasonableness conclusion and detorsion of this doctrine, very distant from the truth of it, which is, that this pardon for sin belongeth not to them that securely go on in sin, but only to the penitent, and is offered to men that are sinners on purpose that in hope of pardon upon returning they may timely do so, and not that they may the longer continue in their course, which is the most abhorred use of God’s mercy imaginable.

Romans 6:16

It is a known thing, that he that delivers himself up to any man as a servant or slave, and actually serveth or obeyeth him, is to be accounted his servant, and to receive wages from him: and so it must be among you; if ye give yourselves up to any sin, to serve that, ye are slaves to sin, and must expect the wages of that service—eternal death: as, on the other side, if ye deliver yourselves up to serve God, in obeying his commands, ye will be reputed his servants, and have the wages that belong thereto—eternal life: (see note [a] 2 Tim. iv.)

Romans 6:17

But it is a great mercy of God to you, that having been formerly the servants of sin, having lived and gone on so long in the course of sin, ye have now cordially obeyed that summary of Christian doctrine, to the belief and practice of which ye were delivered up and solemnly consecrated in your baptism: (see note [d] Matt. ix.)

Romans 6:18

And having received a manumission from that evil master, ye have given yourselves up to a more ingenuous service, obliging yourselves to live righteously for ever after.

Romans 6:19

I shall express this by an ordinary resemblance, or I will deal with you after the mildest and most easy equitable manner, require no more than any man would in reason require, because of the weakness of your flesh, which I cannot expect should bear too much severity, or else too high expressions: all that I shall say is, that you will but have the same care of sanctity now, be but as diligent to obey the precepts of Christ, and by that means aspire to sanctification, as you were formerly industrious in the serving of your lusts and unlawful vile affections, to act all the villainy in the world. This in all reason I must require of you, and shall require no more, (though according to strict justice I might require greater care to secure your life and salvation, than to ruin and damn yourselves ye had expressed.)

Romans 6:20

For (by way of ordinary distributive justice) when ye served sin, righteousness or piety (ye know) had no whit of your service; why then should sin now have any of your service, when you have delivered up yourselves to righteousness, or Christian life, to be observant followers of that? why should ye not now abstain as strictly from all sin as then ye did from all good? sure this the rules of justice will oblige you to.

Romans 6:21

And this will be much more reasonable if ye consider the nature of your former sins, in your own experience of them, how little fruit or benefit or satisfaction they brought you at the very time of enjoying them, and how nothing but shame at the present remembrance of them, and how certain the conclusion is, that they will bring death upon you; whereas the serving of Christ, on the other side, will be matter of joy and pleasure at the present, matter of comfort and confidence after, and will bring salvation at the end.

Romans 6:22

But now having given over the service of sin, (vowed yourselves never to go on further in that course,) and undertaken the service of God, bring forth fruit, such as by which sanctification may daily increase in you, and as may reap for its crown eternal life.

Romans 6:23

For according to the law, and so still to every impenitent, the reward or payment of every deliberate sin, all that it brings in to him by way of stipend, is