Shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound? Paul will not have it. We died to sin with Christ, we are united with him in a death like his and in a resurrection like his, so count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God, and do not let sin reign in your body. Under grace does not mean without a master: you are the servant of whom you obey. Sin pays wages and the wages is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A short introduction to the whole letter, written to be read aloud or recorded as a video intro — about a minute and forty-five seconds.
Let’s talk about Romans. If you only study one letter in the New Testament, a lot of people would tell you — make it this one.
Paul writes it to a church in Rome he’s never visited. He didn’t build that team. He’s never been in their locker room. So before he calls a single play, he tells them who sent him — Jesus Christ, the risen King.
Then he hands them the whole game plan in one line: “I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation” (1:16). That’s the franchise. Everything else in the letter is how that plan gets run.
Here’s how Paul lays it out.
First, he rolls the film on the whole human race. Picture two teams. One team, Israel, was handed the playbook — God’s law and His promises. The other team, the Gentiles, never got the playbook, but the stadium lights were on the whole time: creation itself shows there’s a God. And when you watch the tape on both teams, it’s not pretty. Missed assignments everywhere. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). Nobody’s getting a game ball.
Then comes the play call that changes everything. We’re made right with God by faith — not by our stats, not by our effort in practice. Grace puts us on the team.
After that, Paul shows you what it looks like to live in the system: a new life, the power of God’s Spirit, and a promise that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ (8:38–39).
And he finishes with execution — how a team of forgiven men actually plays together.
That’s Romans, men. Let’s get in the film room.
Before you zoom into any single passage, see the whole chapter’s shape. Paul answers the objection that grace invites: we died to sin, so we cannot live in it. Then he gives the first command in the letter, to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. The second objection brings the picture of two masters, and the chapter closes on wages and the free gift.
Click any box above to jump straight to that part’s full teaching material. As a class, this works either as one sitting (walk the whole arc in 45–60 minutes at a survey level, then go deeper another time) or as four sessions, one movement per week, using that part’s own outline for the depth.
Bible arcing breaks a passage into its clauses and shows how they relate: which clause carries the main point, and which ones ground it, explain it, or push against it. Here are all 23 verses — 47 statements — on one board, in three drives: the first objection and its answer (a Handoff after verse 10), the first command and its promise (a Handoff after verse 14), and the second objection through the last line (a Touchdown after verse 23). Watch for the First Downs at verses 3, 8, 17 and 20, and for the two arcs that cross a Part break: verse 8 back to verse 5, and verse 20 back to verse 19. Chalk Marks (bottom right) draws the Bible marks into the text and closes each drive with its own mark. Play Marks is the coach’s football shorthand in the margin. Arc Lines draws the arcs instead: tick the box beside a relationship to add its arc, one at a time, and watch the argument build. Tap a relationship name for what it means, ► to watch it play, or a part title to jump there.
Every relationship has a football mark you can draw in your own Bible’s margin. Hover over or tap a mark to see what it means.
Chapter 5 ended with grace abounding where sin abounded. So Paul asks the question it raises, whether we should go on sinning so grace has more to do. His answer is that we died to sin, and the rest of the Part shows what that means.
| Part intro | 2 min |
| Pregame Huddle | 1 min |
| The Game Plan | 1 min |
| Kickoff | 2 min |
| Chalk Talk | 2 min |
| The Drive | 22 min |
| The 2-Minute Drill | 1 min |
| Review | 4 min |
| Postgame | 10 min |
Think of this page as the sideline sheet a head coach carries in his hand on game day. Every series opens with an Opening Snap to get the room engaged, then a Chalk Talk Exercise: the room marks the text in their own Bibles and you take up their answers. A Team Drill follows for a live group. Then The Play Call: what the text actually says, broken into assignments. The Sideline Call is the one line you say slowly. The Coach’s Clipboard holds the extra film — cross-references and background — for when the room wants more. One rule for every coach who runs this plan: say what the text says with conviction, and say what we don’t know with humility.
Chapter 5 ended with the line “where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly” (5:20). Chapter 6 opens with the objection that line invites: shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? Paul is not answering a stranger here, he is answering the thought a man might have after hearing chapter 5. Read it aloud once and let the room hear the question and the refusal. Then take the answer slowly. The words baptism, burial, union and crucifixion are all pictures of one fact: we died with Christ.
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20 · WEBWhere have you treated grace as the reason a sin was acceptable? What does verse 2 ask you instead?
Be able to say the objection (verse 1), the refusal and the reason (verse 2), and the chain of verse 6 in order: crucified, done away with, no longer in bondage. Be ready for questions about baptism: say what the verse says, that we were baptized into Christ and into his death, and do not argue the mode or timing from this passage.
Father, You have shown us that we died with Christ, and that sin has lost its claim on us. Teach us to take that as true and not just as an idea. Keep us from using Your grace as a reason to stay where You have brought us out of. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chapter 5 ended with grace abounding where sin abounded, so Paul asks if we should go on sinning. Never. We died to sin, we were baptized into Christ’s death, we were buried with him, and we are united with him. Our old man was crucified with him, so that sin would no longer be our master.
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; 6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin.
ROMANS 6:1–7 · WEBMark the connecting words, not whole clauses. The shape carries the meaning, so one pen is enough; colors match the arc tags below if you have colored pencils. Chalk Marks, bottom right on this page, draws these same marks into the text of every diagram. The football Play Marks are the coach’s shorthand for the diagrams on this sheet; these are the only marks you need in your own Bible.
Not every word gets marked. Mark the connectors and the flow of thought shows itself: read down the page by the marks and you can hear Paul’s argument.
Box every main clause. Run the drive line down the margin to the next one, and close each drive with a goal line where a new argument takes the ball. Every other clause gets its mark, off the drive line or off the clause it supports. One pen is enough — the shape carries the meaning. When a main clause is also a play (like the “Therefore” in 1:24), its mark sits right on the drive line, just above the box. Hover over or tap any mark, here or in the margin, to see what it means.
Ask: “If grace covers every sin, why not sin more?” Let a few guys say it the way a skeptic would. Paul asks exactly that in verse 1, and he does not argue the logic, he refuses it.
In pairs, read Romans 5:20–21 beside Romans 6:1. Which line is Paul answering? Then read verses 3–4 and say in one sentence what baptism is described as doing. Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
Paul asks whether we should continue in sin so grace may abound, refuses it, and gives the reason: we died to sin. He reminds them that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death, buried with him so that we might walk in newness of life.
“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” The question chapter 5 invites.
“May it never be!” Before the reason, the no.
“We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”
“all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death”.
“We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death”, “that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life”.
A dead man doesn't stay on in sin.
Picture a man who has served a long prison sentence for debts and walks out on the day it ends. The warden asks him, the next morning, if he is going to come back and live in the cell because he likes the food. He would say he does not belong there any more. The sentence has been served, and the door is open.
Where have you used grace as the reason a sin would be okay? Name it, and read verse 2 over it: we died to sin, so how could we live in it?
Here's the first half of the game plan: “We died to sin.” The objection is refused (v.1–2), and the reason is the death we share with Christ (v.3–4).
The verb in verse 1 means to remain, to stay on in something. Paul is not asking about a single failure, he is asking about a settled way of living, so that grace can keep on making up for it.
Verse 3 says we were baptized into Christ Jesus and into his death, and verse 4 says we were buried with him through baptism into death. That is all the passage says. It does not argue mode or timing, and the sheet does not take a side. If a man asks, say what the verses say and move on.
Verses 1–4 refuse the objection. Verses 5–7 say what the union means.
Ask: “If you were suddenly set free from a debt you could never pay, would you go on living as if you owed it?” Let it land. Verses 5–7 say what it means to share Christ’s death, and the answer is that sin loses its claim.
In pairs, read verses 5–7 and number the three things that happen to the old man in verse 6. Then say in one sentence what verse 7 gives as the reason. Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will be united with him in a resurrection like his. Paul says what we know: our old man was crucified with him, so that the body of sin would be done away with and we would no longer be in bondage to sin. The man who has died is freed from sin.
“For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection”.
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him”.
“that the body of sin might be done away with”.
“so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin”.
“For he who has died has been freed from sin.” A dead man owes nothing.
Crucified with him, so that sin no longer owns us.
Picture a company that goes bankrupt and is closed. The old creditor can still send letters, but the company they were written to no longer exists. The claim has no one to land on.
What sin do you act as if you still owed? Name it, and read verse 6 over it: crucified with him, done away with, no longer in bondage.
Here's the whole game plan: “We died to sin. How could we live in it?” We died, and are buried (v.3–4), and the union with Christ ends sin’s claim on us (v.5–7).
Readers differ on exactly what the old man is: the person we were in Adam, or the old self as a whole. What the verse says does not depend on that choice: it was crucified with him, and it is past. Say it plainly and do not settle the debate for the room.
The word means to make powerless, to put out of work. The body of sin is not destroyed on the spot, its authority is cancelled. That is why the next Part still has commands.
“We died to sin. How could we live in it?”Grace does not give sin a license. We died to sin, we were baptized into Christ’s death, buried with him so that we might walk in newness of life, and our old man was crucified with him so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
Verses 1–7, one series at a time. Ask out loud, let the room answer, then take it up. You will not have time for all of them: pick two or three from each series.
Think of the last week. Name one specific time you let yourself off a sin because “God’s grace will cover it.” What was the sin, and what did you tell yourself?
Take it to verse 2. “We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?” The line you told yourself treated grace as a cushion. The truth is that the man under grace has died to sin, and a dead man does not stay on in it. So here is the one question: what would it look like to treat that sin as something you died to, and not something you are managing?
The CallStop using grace as a cushion. Count the sin as something you died to.
Ground you take this week.
The line you hold inside.
Pray ItFather, I have treated Your grace as a cushion. Remind me that I died with Christ, and that sin no longer has a claim on me. Give me the honesty to name what I have been excusing and the strength to stop. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Gracious Father, You have shown us that we died with Christ, were buried with him, and are united with him in a death like his, so that we might walk in newness of life. Forgive us for every time we have used Your grace as a reason to stay where You brought us from. Teach us to count ourselves what we are, and to walk in the life You have given. In Jesus' name, Amen.
We who died to sin,
how could we live in it
any longer?
If we died with Christ, we will live with him, and Christ is raised never to die again. Then comes the first command in the letter: count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God, and do not give your bodies back to sin. Under grace, sin will not rule.
“Verse 7 said the man who has died is freed from sin. So what does the other side look like? If we died with Christ, what do we believe about life?”
| Part intro | 2 min |
| Pregame Huddle | 1 min |
| The Game Plan | 1 min |
| Kickoff | 2 min |
| Chalk Talk | 2 min |
| The Drive | 21 min |
| The 2-Minute Drill | 1 min |
| Review | 4 min |
| Postgame | 10 min |
Think of this page as the sideline sheet a head coach carries in his hand on game day. Every series opens with an Opening Snap to get the room engaged, then a Chalk Talk Exercise: the room marks the text in their own Bibles and you take up their answers. A Team Drill follows for a live group. Then The Play Call: what the text actually says, broken into assignments. The Sideline Call is the one line you say slowly. The Coach’s Clipboard holds the extra film — cross-references and background — for when the room wants more. One rule for every coach who runs this plan: say what the text says with conviction, and say what we don’t know with humility.
Verses 8–10 are the life side of the union of verses 5–7: if we died with Christ, we will live with him, because Christ will not die again. Verse 11 is where Paul turns from what is true to what to do with it, and it is the first command in the letter. Everything before it has been what God has done. Take your time on that, and on the two commands of verses 12–13: one for the throne, one for the tools. The Part ends on the promise that is also the seed of the next objection.
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
— Colossians 3:3 · WEBWhich of your members, eyes, hands, tongue, feet, does sin ask you for most often? What would it mean to present that one to God this week?
Be able to say the first command (verse 11), the two commands that follow (verses 12–13), and the promise that backs them (verse 14). Be ready for the question of whether verse 11 makes it true by saying it: it does not, it asks us to count what is already so.
Lord Jesus, You died once and live to God. Let us count ourselves dead to sin and alive to You, and give You what sin used to take, our eyes and hands and tongues. Thank You that sin will not have dominion over us, because we are under grace. In Your name, Amen.
If we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him, because Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more. So consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, and do not present your members to sin. Present yourselves to God, because sin will not have dominion over you: you are not under law, but under grace.
8But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him! 10For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God. 11Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.
ROMANS 6:8–14 · WEBMark the connecting words, not whole clauses. The shape carries the meaning, so one pen is enough; colors match the arc tags below if you have colored pencils. Chalk Marks, bottom right on this page, draws these same marks into the text of every diagram. The football Play Marks are the coach’s shorthand for the diagrams on this sheet; these are the only marks you need in your own Bible.
Not every word gets marked. Mark the connectors and the flow of thought shows itself: read down the page by the marks and you can hear Paul’s argument.
Ask: “When you hear that you died with Christ, what do you think comes next?” Most guys will say heaven. Verse 8 says we will live with him, and it grounds that in something about Christ, not about us.
In pairs, read verses 9–10 and list everything Paul says about Christ’s death and his life. Which words are repeated? Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
If we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more, and death has no dominion over him. He died to sin one time, and the life that he lives, he lives to God.
“if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him”.
“Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more”.
“Death no longer has dominion over him!”
“the death that he died, he died to sin one time”.
“the life that he lives, he lives to God”.
He died once. He lives to God.
Picture a man who walks out of a burning building and does not go back in. The fire did not end because he willed it, it ended because he left. Christ went through death and came out the other side, and death has no hold on him now.
Where do you fear that something you have given to Christ could still be taken back? Name it, and read verse 9 over it: death no longer has dominion over him.
Here's the game plan: “Consider yourselves alive to God.” The reason we can is Christ himself: he died to sin once and lives to God (v.8–10).
Verse 5 said we will be united with him in a resurrection like his. Verse 8 returns to the same promise after the long stretch of verses 6–7, and says it as a conviction: we believe. Readers describe verses 6–7 as the death side and 8–10 as the life side of one union.
The word means once for all. Whatever the cross had to do about sin was done in one event, and nothing is left to be repeated. That is why death cannot have dominion over him again.
Verses 8–10 give the reason. Verses 11–14 give the first command.
Ask: “What is the difference between knowing you are forgiven and living like it?” Let the room answer. Verse 11 is where Paul stops telling us what is true and starts telling us what to do with it.
In pairs, read verses 12–13 and number every command, negative and positive. How many are there, and which body parts are named? Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
Thus consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, and do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness. For sin will not have dominion over you, because you are not under law, but under grace.
“consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
“don’t let sin reign in your mortal body”.
“do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness”.
“present yourselves to God as alive from the dead”, “your members as instruments of righteousness to God”.
“sin will not have dominion over you”, “you are not under law, but under grace”.
Sin will not have dominion over you.
Picture a soldier whose commander has been replaced. The old orders still arrive, but they have no authority. He can ignore them and report to the new one. He doesn't have to pretend the old commander is not there; he just has to know who gives the orders now.
Which of your members does sin ask for most often this week, your eyes, your hands, your tongue? Name it, and present it to God by name this morning.
Here's the game plan: “Consider yourselves alive to God.” Consider it so (v.11), do not let sin reign (v.12–13), and rest in the promise (v.14).
Verse 11 is the first imperative in Romans. Ten chapters worth of “this is what God has done” come first, and only then does Paul tell us what to do. The order matters: the command rests on the fact.
The word means to reckon, to count. Counting does not make us dead to sin, it asks us to take what is true as true. Nothing in the verse says to feel it first.
“Consider yourselves alive to God.”Christ died to sin once and lives to God. So count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God, do not let sin reign, and do not present your members to it. Present yourselves and your members to God, because sin will not have dominion over you: you are under grace.
Verses 8–14, one series at a time. Ask out loud, let the room answer, then take it up. You will not have time for all of them: pick two or three from each series.
Think of the last week. Name one specific time you handed a part of your body to sin, your eyes, your hands, your tongue, your feet. What was it, and what was it used for?
Take it to verse 13. “do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness” The member you named was used as a tool, and you handed it over. The truth is that you can hand it to God instead, because sin will not have dominion over you. So here is the one question: which member will you present to God by name today?
The CallCount yourself alive to God, and hand him the member sin keeps asking for.
Ground you take this week.
The line you hold inside.
Pray ItLord Jesus, You died to sin once and live to God. I count myself dead to sin and alive to You. Take my eyes, my hands, my tongue, and use them as instruments of righteousness. Keep me under grace. In Your name, Amen.
Lord Jesus, thank You that You died to sin one time and that You live to God. Teach us to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to You, to refuse sin the throne, and to present ourselves and our members to You. Thank You that sin will not have dominion over us, because we are under grace. In Your name, Amen.
Sin will not have dominion over you,
for you are not under law,
but under grace.
Verse 14 said we are under grace. Paul hears the objection that this might make sin harmless, and answers it again with the picture of slavery: you are the servant of whom you obey. He thanks God for what happened to them, and calls them to present themselves to righteousness.
“Verse 14 ended with “not under law but under grace.” A listener could take that line the wrong way. What is the next objection?”
| Part intro | 2 min |
| Pregame Huddle | 1 min |
| The Game Plan | 1 min |
| Kickoff | 2 min |
| Chalk Talk | 2 min |
| The Drive | 21 min |
| The 2-Minute Drill | 1 min |
| Review | 4 min |
| Postgame | 10 min |
Think of this page as the sideline sheet a head coach carries in his hand on game day. Every series opens with an Opening Snap to get the room engaged, then a Chalk Talk Exercise: the room marks the text in their own Bibles and you take up their answers. A Team Drill follows for a live group. Then The Play Call: what the text actually says, broken into assignments. The Sideline Call is the one line you say slowly. The Coach’s Clipboard holds the extra film — cross-references and background — for when the room wants more. One rule for every coach who runs this plan: say what the text says with conviction, and say what we don’t know with humility.
Verse 15 repeats the move of verse 1: Paul sees where a listener would take the last line, and says it for him. The difference is small and worth noticing: verse 1 asked whether to continue in sin, verse 15 asks whether to sin at all because we are not under law. The answer is the same, and the reason is a new picture. Slavery is the picture: nobody is a free agent, you belong to the one you obey. Paul also says he is using a human picture, so say plainly that it is a picture and not a full account.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other.”
— Matthew 6:24 · WEBName one habit that acts like a master in your life this month. What does it ask of you, and where does it say it leads?
Be able to say the two masters of verse 16, the thanks of verse 17, and the command of verse 19. Be ready for the question of what “I speak in human terms” means: it tells us the picture is a picture, taken from everyday slavery because of our weakness.
Father, thank You that we were servants of sin and that You brought us out. We confess that we are still tempted to treat grace as a license. Make us obedient from the heart, and give us the strength to present ourselves to righteousness for sanctification. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Never. When you present yourselves as servants to someone, you are the servants of the one you obey: sin to death, or obedience to righteousness. Thanks be to God that you were bondservants of sin and became obedient from the heart. Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness, so present your members to righteousness.
15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16Don’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, whereas you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered. 18Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness. 19I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh; for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.
ROMANS 6:15–19 · WEBMark the connecting words, not whole clauses. The shape carries the meaning, so one pen is enough; colors match the arc tags below if you have colored pencils. Chalk Marks, bottom right on this page, draws these same marks into the text of every diagram. The football Play Marks are the coach’s shorthand for the diagrams on this sheet; these are the only marks you need in your own Bible.
Not every word gets marked. Mark the connectors and the flow of thought shows itself: read down the page by the marks and you can hear Paul’s argument.
Ask: “Is there such a thing as a man who obeys nobody?” Let it sit. Verse 16 says no, and it makes that the answer to the second objection.
In pairs, read verse 1 and verse 15 side by side. What is the same, what has changed? Then read verse 16 and name the two masters and where each leads. Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be. When you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, either of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness.
“What then?” The same turn as verse 1.
“Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”
“May it never be!”
“you are the servants of whomever you obey”.
“whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness”.
No one is his own master.
Picture a man who tells his boss he quits, and then spends the weekend answering emails from his new boss and his old creditor. He never stopped having masters, he just changed which ones he was willing to name.
Who or what do you actually obey most days? Name it, and read verse 16 over it: servants of whomever you obey.
Here's the game plan: “Whose servant are you?” The second objection gets the same refusal as the first (v.15), and the same kind of answer: you belong to the one you obey (v.16).
Verse 1 asks whether to continue in sin. Verse 15 asks whether to sin at all. The first is a settled way of living, the second a single act. The Greek verb forms differ in the same way. Paul gives the same refusal to both.
As in verse 3, Paul appeals to what they already know. He does not teach them anything new, he reminds them of how slavery works and asks them to see themselves in it.
Verses 15–16 ask the question. Verses 17–19 say what happened to them.
Ask: “What would you thank God for, if you had to name one thing he did to you, not for you?” Let a few answer. Verse 17 is Paul thanking God for exactly that kind of thing.
In pairs, read verses 17–18 and number what happened to them, step by step. Then read verse 19 and say what Paul asks them to do with the same members. Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
Thanks be to God that, though you were bondservants of sin, you became obedient from the heart to the teaching you were given. Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness. Paul says he speaks in human terms because of their weakness, and asks them to present their members as servants to righteousness, as once they presented them to uncleanness.
“But thanks be to God”.
“whereas you were bondservants of sin”.
“you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered”.
“Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness”.
“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh”.
“as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness”, “even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification”.
Obedient from the heart, by a freedom God gave.
Picture a man who spent years in a debt that was never going to be paid, and on the day it was cancelled he did not go and find another lender. He went and worked for the one who had paid it. His work was not wages, it was thanks.
What did you give your members to before, and what would it look like to give the same members to righteousness this week? Pick one and do it by Sunday.
Here's the whole game plan: “Whose servant are you?” You were bondservants of sin (v.17), you were made free and made servants of righteousness (v.18), so present yourselves that way (v.19).
Paul does not say “you decided well.” He says thanks be to God. The change in them is something God did, and they obeyed from the heart. Both are in the same verse.
The phrase is Paul’s way of speaking of the gospel they were handed. The Greek word for form is a mold or pattern, and the verse speaks of them being handed over to it. Say it in plain words: the teaching shapes the man who gives himself to it.
“Whose servant are you?”Under grace is not a reason to sin. You are the servant of the one you obey. Thanks be to God, you were bondservants of sin and became obedient from the heart, made free from sin and made servants of righteousness, so present your members to righteousness for sanctification.
Verses 15–19, one series at a time. Ask out loud, let the room answer, then take it up. You will not have time for all of them: pick two or three from each series.
Think of the last week. Name one specific habit that acted like a master over you: it called, and you came. What was it, and what did it ask of you?
Take it to verse 16. “you are the servants of whomever you obey” The habit you named was a master, and you obeyed it. The truth is that you were moved, and you can obey the other one. So here is the one question: what would it look like to obey righteousness in the place that habit has been calling you?
The CallName the master, and obey the other one in the same place.
Ground you take this week.
The line you hold inside.
Pray ItFather, thank You that I was a servant of sin and You brought me out. Make me obedient from the heart. Give me the strength to present my members to righteousness, and show me the master I have been obeying without admitting it. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Father, thank You that we were bondservants of sin and that You made us free and made us servants of righteousness. Make us obedient from the heart to the teaching You gave us. Keep us from treating grace as a license, and teach us to present our members to righteousness for sanctification. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God
is eternal life.
Then against now. As servants of sin they were free from righteousness and had fruit they are now ashamed of, and the end of it was death. Now they have fruit that leads to sanctification and the end of eternal life. The chapter closes with the wages of sin and the free gift of God.
“Paul has told them to present their members to righteousness. Why should they, and what was the old road worth?”
| Part intro | 2 min |
| Pregame Huddle | 1 min |
| The Game Plan | 1 min |
| Kickoff | 2 min |
| Chalk Talk | 2 min |
| The Drive | 15 min |
| The 2-Minute Drill | 1 min |
| Review | 4 min |
| Postgame | 10 min |
Think of this page as the sideline sheet a head coach carries in his hand on game day. Every series opens with an Opening Snap to get the room engaged, then a Chalk Talk Exercise: the room marks the text in their own Bibles and you take up their answers. A Team Drill follows for a live group. Then The Play Call: what the text actually says, broken into assignments. The Sideline Call is the one line you say slowly. The Coach’s Clipboard holds the extra film — cross-references and background — for when the room wants more. One rule for every coach who runs this plan: say what the text says with conviction, and say what we don’t know with humility.
This Part is a then and now. Verses 20–21 look back at the old life, verses 22 and 23 look at the present and the end. Paul uses the words fruit and end in both halves, so the contrast is easy to hear if you read them aloud. Verse 23 is the best-known line of the chapter and works as its summary. It is also a very good place to remember that Paul has been speaking to believers: the gift of eternal life is not a wage the Romans earned.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 · WEBWhat did the old road actually pay you? Say it honestly, then say what verse 22 says you have now.
Be able to say the then and the now (verses 20–21 against 22), and the wages against the gift (verse 23). Chapter 7 begins by picking up “not under law” from verse 14, so the room will hear it better if verse 23 has landed.
Lord, You have shown us that sin pays death and You give life. Let us remember the shame of the road we were on and the end of it, and give thanks for Your free gift in Christ Jesus our Lord. Keep us from going back for wages. In His name, Amen.
When you were servants of sin you were free from righteousness, and the fruit was things you are now ashamed of, whose end is death. But now, made free from sin and servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
20For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. 21What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
ROMANS 6:20–23 · WEBMark the connecting words, not whole clauses. The shape carries the meaning, so one pen is enough; colors match the arc tags below if you have colored pencils. Chalk Marks, bottom right on this page, draws these same marks into the text of every diagram. The football Play Marks are the coach’s shorthand for the diagrams on this sheet; these are the only marks you need in your own Bible.
Not every word gets marked. Mark the connectors and the flow of thought shows itself: read down the page by the marks and you can hear Paul’s argument.
Ask: “Think of something you used to do that you are ashamed of now. What did it ever give you?” Let it be quiet for a moment. That is the question of verse 21.
In pairs, read verses 20–21 and say in one sentence what kind of freedom the old servants of sin had. Then say what they now think of it. Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
When you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.
“when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness”.
“What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed?”
“the end of those things is death”.
The old road ended in death.
Picture a man looking at a photo of the worst year of his life. He did not enjoy it, he does not want it back, and he knows exactly where it was going. Paul asks the Romans to look at the old photo with that same honesty.
What from the old life do you still look back at with longing? Say what it paid, then read verse 21 over it.
Here's the game plan: “The wages of sin. The gift of God.” The old road gave fruit you are now ashamed of, and its end is death (v.20–21).
Paul says it flatly. As servants of sin they were free from any claim righteousness had on them. It sounds like a freedom, and the next verse shows what it was worth.
The Greek texts print the question in verse 21 as one, ending after “ashamed,” and the WEB follows. Some English Bibles split it into two. The sense is the same: the shame answers the question.
Verses 20–21 look back. Verses 22–23 say what is true now.
Ask: “What is the difference between a wage and a gift?” Let a few answer. Verse 23 puts the two side by side, and it is the last line of the chapter.
In pairs, read verses 22–23 and write the two columns, what sin pays and what God gives. Which word changes? Start them now: the show takes their answers up at the cross-reference stop.
But now, made free from sin and servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“being made free from sin and having become servants of God”.
“you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life”.
“the wages of sin is death”.
“the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Sin pays wages. God gives a gift.
Picture two envelopes on a table. One is a pay slip, the exact sum you have earned. The other has your name on it, and inside is something you could not have bought. Paul says the first is death, and the second is eternal life.
Where are you still working for wages from sin? Name it, and read verse 23 over it: the free gift of God.
Here's the whole game plan: “The wages of sin. The gift of God.” The old road gave shame and death (v.20–21), and the new one gives fruit and life (v.22), summed up in the last line (v.23).
Sin pays what it has earned, so the word is wages. When the verse turns to God, the word changes: a free gift. The contrast is in the word, and it is the whole letter in miniature.
“The wages of sin. The gift of God.”When you were servants of sin, the fruit was shame and the end was death. Now, free from sin and servants of God, your fruit is sanctification and the end is eternal life. Sin pays wages and the wages is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Verses 20–23, one series at a time. Ask out loud, let the room answer, then take it up. You will not have time for all of them: pick two or three from each series.
Think of the last week. Name one specific time you looked back at the old life with longing. What was it you missed, and what did it actually pay?
Take it to verse 21. “What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed?” The thing you missed had fruit you are now ashamed of, and its end was death. The truth is that the old road paid wages, and the new one is a gift. So here is the one question: what would it look like to remember what the old life paid, and say verse 23 over the longing?
The CallRemember what the old road paid, and receive the gift.
Ground you take this week.
The line you hold inside.
Pray ItLord, You have shown me what the old road paid. Keep me from going back for wages. Thank You for the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let me live this week as a man who has been given something he could not earn. In His name, Amen.
Lord, You have shown us that sin pays wages and the wages is death, and that You give a free gift, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us remember the shame of the road we were on, and give thanks for the life You have given. Keep us from going back, and make us servants of God, with fruit of sanctification and the end of eternal life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Romans 6 answers the objection that grace invites: we died to sin, so we cannot go on living in it. It tells us to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, and not to let sin reign in our bodies, because we are under grace. The second objection brings the picture of two masters, and the chapter ends: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (6:23). The next chapter begins by taking up “not under law” from verse 14: “Or don’t you know, brothers… that the law has dominion over a man for as long as he lives?” (7:1).
Read all of Romans 6 in one sitting, marking the relationships the way the arcing sections showed you, and watch for the first command in verse 11. Then ask honestly: which master am I obeying this week, and which member of my body am I handing it? Bring that to Christ in prayer before you do anything else today.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), which is in the public domain.
The line the rest of this passage is built around.
“What shall we say then?”
Why it matters: Paul raises it himself: what shall we say then? Everything in chapter 6 is his answer to the objection that the last verse of chapter 5 seems to invite.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“What shall we say then?”
“Shall we continue in sin,”
Why it matters: Shall we continue in sin? The word means to stay on in it, to remain. It is not a one-time slip he is asking about, it is a way of living.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“Shall we continue in sin,”
“that grace may abound?”
Why it matters: So that grace may abound. The thought is that more sin gives grace more to do. Paul will not argue with the logic, he will refuse the premise.
A question, and the answer given to it.
“What shall we say then?”
“May it never be!”
Why it matters: “May it never be!” It is the strongest refusal the language has. Notice the answer comes before the reason, as in 3:4 and 3:6.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“May it never be!”
“We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”
Why it matters: That we died to sin. The question is not how a dead man can sin, it is how he can go on living in it. The verb for died is a past event, not a hope.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?”
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
Why it matters: Baptism into Christ Jesus, and that it was a baptism into his death. He reminds them of what they already knew. This line stands under verse 2 the way a receipt stands under a purchase.
The reason comes first; this line is the conclusion drawn from it.
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
“We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death,”
Why it matters: A burial. Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death. The burial is the proof that the death was real, not a figure of speech.
Two lines set side by side so each shows what the other is like.
“that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,”
“so we also might walk in newness of life.”
Why it matters: Through the glory of the Father. The “just as” half of a pair: as Christ was raised, so we also. The second half is in the next line.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death,”
“so we also might walk in newness of life.”
Why it matters: That we might walk in newness of life. The aim of the burial is a walk, not a funeral. Every sentence after this one is about that walk.
The “then” holds only if the “if” is true.
“For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death,”
“we will also be part of his resurrection;”
Why it matters: As a given. If we have become united with him in the likeness of his death. The “if” sets the premise, the line after it carries the conclusion.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“so we also might walk in newness of life.”
“we will also be part of his resurrection;”
Why it matters: We will also be part of his resurrection. This is the reason the walk of verse 4 is possible: the One we are united to did not stay dead.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“we will also be part of his resurrection;”
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him,”
Why it matters: That our old man was crucified with him. Readers differ on what this line does: it can back up verse 5, or restate verses 4–5 from the death side. Either way it is the foundation, and it is something we are told to know.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him,”
“that the body of sin might be done away with,”
Why it matters: That the body of sin might be done away with. The word is not “killed,” it is made powerless, put out of work. Sin is not erased from the map, it is stripped of its command.
What the line above it is aiming at.
“that the body of sin might be done away with,”
“so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.”
Why it matters: So that we would no longer be in bondage to sin. The chain runs crucified, done away with, free. Bondage is the word the second half of the chapter will take up.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.”
“For he who has died has been freed from sin.”
Why it matters: He has been freed from sin. A dead man owes nothing. The word the WEB renders “freed” is the word usually translated “justified,” so the same acquittal is in view, from the angle of slavery.
The “then” holds only if the “if” is true.
“But if we died with Christ,”
“we believe that we will also live with him,”
Why it matters: Pick it up again, in plainer words: if we died with Christ. We are back at the premise, and the turn comes in the next line.
Each statement goes one step further than the last.
“we will also be part of his resurrection;”
“we believe that we will also live with him,”
Why it matters: That we will also live with him. This returns to the life side of the pair that began in verse 5. Paul now says it as a conviction, we believe.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“we believe that we will also live with him,”
“knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more.”
Why it matters: That Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. The promise holds because Christ is not going back to the grave.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more.”
“Death no longer has dominion over him!”
Why it matters: “Death no longer has dominion over him!” Death was a master he went under for a time. It has lost its hold on him for good.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more.”
“For the death that he died, he died to sin one time;”
Why it matters: One time. For the death that he died, he died to sin once, a finished event. Everything the cross was for happened then.
One line set against another.
“For the death that he died, he died to sin one time;”
“but the life that he lives, he lives to God.”
Why it matters: He lives to God. A death to sin, a life to God. This pair is the pattern verse 11 will put to us.
The line the rest of this passage is built around.
“Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Why it matters: Consider, count, reckon. Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God. It is a command to think rightly about what is already true. Nothing is added to us by counting, but we begin to live by what is real.
The reason comes first; this line is the conclusion drawn from it.
“Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body,”
Why it matters: Don’t let sin reign in your mortal body. Therefore draws the conclusion from the counting of verse 11. Sin is spoken of as a king, and the command is: do not give it the throne.
What follows from the line above it.
“Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body,”
“that you should obey it in its lusts.”
Why it matters: You end up obeying it in its lusts. This is the result of letting it reign, not the aim. The Greek manuscripts differ slightly on the wording, but the sense is the same.
Each statement goes one step further than the last.
“Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body,”
“Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness,”
Why it matters: Your members: the parts of the body, eyes and hands and tongue. Do not present them to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. The word instrument is a tool, a weapon: sin wants to use them.
One line set against another.
“Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness,”
“but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead,”
Why it matters: Present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead. The same verb is turned the other way, from sin to God. A man who only refuses leaves a vacancy.
Two statements side by side, each adding to the same picture.
“but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead,”
“and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Why it matters: Your members, as instruments of righteousness. The tool that sin was using is the tool God now holds.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body,”
“For sin will not have dominion over you,”
Why it matters: It backs up the commands of verses 12–13 as a whole: sin will not have dominion over you. The commands are possible because the promise is true.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“For sin will not have dominion over you,”
“for you are not under law, but under grace.”
Why it matters: “you are not under law, but under grace”. This line is also the seed of the next objection.
The line the rest of this passage is built around.
“What then?”
Why it matters: What then? The same turn as verse 1. Paul sees where a listener would go with the last line, and goes there before him.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“What then?”
“Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”
Why it matters: The question is not whether to continue in sin, it is whether to sin at all, an act, because we are under grace. The tense of the verb changes between the two questions.
A question, and the answer given to it.
“What then?”
“May it never be!”
Why it matters: The same: May it never be! He does not soften it. The reason follows in verse 16.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“May it never be!”
“Don’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?”
Why it matters: That you are the servant of whomever you obey. The picture is of slavery: no one is a free agent. The choice is between two masters, sin that ends in death, or obedience that ends in righteousness.
One line set against another.
“Don’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?”
“But thanks be to God that,”
Why it matters: Because the Romans are not hypothetical. The principle of verse 16 is general; verse 17 is what actually happened to them.
A point granted, and the statement that stands anyway.
“whereas you were bondservants of sin,”
GRANTEDWhy it matters: That they were bondservants of sin. He does not hide it. The thanks is for what God did in spite of that.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“But thanks be to God that,”
“you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered.”
Why it matters: They became obedient from the heart to the form of teaching they were handed. The sentence puts God first in the thanks and the heart in the obeying: both are true.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were delivered.”
“Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.”
Why it matters: Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness. Freedom from one master is, in this picture, the same event as service to another. Paul does not describe a man with no master.
It says what a word or idea in the line above means.
“Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.”
“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh;”
Why it matters: Because of the weakness of your flesh: slavery is an everyday picture and an imperfect one. He uses it because they can follow it.
Two lines set side by side so each shows what the other is like.
“for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness,”
“even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.”
Why it matters: Their members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness. The same members, the same verb as verse 13.
The reason comes first; this line is the conclusion drawn from it.
“Being made free from sin, you became bondservants of righteousness.”
“even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.”
Why it matters: Present them as servants to righteousness for sanctification. It is a command drawn from what became true in verses 17–18, and it echoes the command of verse 13.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.”
“For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.”
Why it matters: You were free from righteousness. It was a kind of freedom: no claim from righteousness on you. Paul puts the word in a flat tone and lets the next verse judge it.
Each statement goes one step further than the last.
“For when you were servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.”
“What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed?”
Why it matters: That the answer is none worth having. It asks what fruit you had at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed. The shame is what they now feel about it.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“What fruit then did you have at that time in the things of which you are now ashamed?”
“For the end of those things is death.”
Why it matters: The end of those things is death. The question was a rhetorical one, and this is the reason it needs no answer.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.”
“But now, being made free from sin and having become servants of God,”
Why it matters: They have been made free from sin and have become servants of God. Both halves are facts about them now.
One line set against another.
“For the end of those things is death.”
“you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.”
Why it matters: Your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life. Fruit now, an end later: the same two measures as verse 21, turned over.
A reason standing behind the line above it.
“you have your fruit of sanctification and the result of eternal life.”
“For the wages of sin is death,”
Why it matters: The wages of sin is death. Wages are earned, and sin pays what it has earned.
One line set against another.
“For the wages of sin is death,”
“but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Why it matters: The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not wages, a gift. The chapter that began with grace abounding ends with grace given, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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