Discovery BoxRomans 6:3
Context6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:1
Context6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?
Romans 4:1-25
Context4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, 1 has discovered regarding this matter? 2 4:2 For if Abraham was declared righteous 3 by the works of the law, he has something to boast about – but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited 4 to him as righteousness.” 5 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 6 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, 7 his faith is credited as righteousness.
4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
4:7 “Blessed 8 are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
4:8 blessed is the one 9 against whom the Lord will never count 10 sin.” 11
4:9 Is this blessedness 12 then for 13 the circumcision 14 or also for 15 the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 16 4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, 17 so that he would become 18 the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, 19 that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the circumcised, 20 who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised. 21
4:13 For the promise 22 to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 23 4:15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression 24 either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, 25 with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants – not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, 26 who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”). 27 He is our father 28 in the presence of God whom he believed – the God who 29 makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. 30 4:18 Against hope Abraham 31 believed 32 in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations 33 according to the pronouncement, 34 “so will your descendants be.” 35 4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered 36 his own body as dead 37 (because he was about one hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 4:20 He 38 did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 4:21 He was 39 fully convinced that what God 40 promised he was also able to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham 41 as righteousness.
4:23 But the statement it was credited to him 42 was not written only for Abraham’s 43 sake, 4:24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 4:25 He 44 was given over 45 because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of 46 our justification. 47
Romans 6:1-23
Context6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 48
6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 49 6:6 We know that 50 our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, 51 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) 52
6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know 53 that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die 54 again; death no longer has mastery over him. 6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 6:11 So you too consider yourselves 55 dead to sin, but 56 alive to God in Christ Jesus.
6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 6:13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments 57 to be used for unrighteousness, 58 but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments 59 to be used for righteousness. 6:14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves 60 as obedient slaves, 61 you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? 62 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed 63 from the heart that pattern 64 of teaching you were entrusted to, 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) 65 For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
6:21 So what benefit 66 did you then reap 67 from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed 68 from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit 69 leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 6:23 For the payoff 70 of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[4:1] 1 tn Or “according to natural descent” (BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4).
[4:2] 1 tn Or “was justified.”
[4:3] 1 tn The term λογίζομαι (logizomai) occurs 11 times in this chapter (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24). In secular usage it could (a) refer to deliberations of some sort, or (b) in commercial dealings (as virtually a technical term) to “reckoning” or “charging up a debt.” See H. W. Heidland, TDNT 4:284, 290-92.
[4:3] 2 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
[4:4] 1 tn Grk “not according to grace but according to obligation.”
[4:5] 1 tn Or “who justifies the ungodly.”
[4:8] 1 tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”
[4:8] 2 tn The verb translated “count” here is λογίζομαι (logizomai). It occurs eight times in Rom 4:1-12, including here, each time with the sense of “place on someone’s account.” By itself the word is neutral, but in particular contexts it can take on a positive or negative connotation. The other occurrences of the verb have been translated using a form of the English verb “credit” because they refer to a positive event: the application of righteousness to the individual believer. The use here in v. 8 is negative: the application of sin. A form of the verb “credit” was not used here because of the positive connotations associated with that English word, but it is important to recognize that the same concept is used here as in the other occurrences.
[4:8] 3 sn A quotation from Ps 32:1-2.
[4:9] 3 sn See the note on “circumcision” in 2:25.
[4:9] 5 sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
[4:11] 1 tn Grk “of the faith, the one [existing] in uncircumcision.”
[4:11] 2 tn Grk “that he might be,” giving the purpose of v. 11a.
[4:11] 3 tn Grk “through uncircumcision.”
[4:12] 1 tn Grk “the father of circumcision.”
[4:12] 2 tn Grk “the ‘in-uncircumcision faith’ of our father Abraham.”
[4:13] 1 sn Although a singular noun, the promise is collective and does not refer only to Gen 12:7, but as D. Moo (Romans 1-8 [WEC], 279) points out, refers to multiple aspects of the promise to Abraham: multiplied descendants (Gen 12:2), possession of the land (Gen 13:15-17), and his becoming the vehicle of blessing to all people (Gen 12:13).
[4:14] 1 tn Grk “rendered inoperative.”
[4:16] 1 tn Grk “that it might be according to grace.”
[4:16] 2 tn Grk “those who are of the faith of Abraham.”
[4:17] 1 tn Verses 16-17 comprise one sentence in Greek, but this has been divided into two sentences due to English requirements.
[4:17] 2 tn The words “He is our father” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to show that they resume Paul’s argument from 16b. (It is also possible to supply “Abraham had faith” here [so REB], taking the relative clause [“who is the father of us all”] as part of the parenthesis, and making the connection back to “the faith of Abraham,” but such an option is not as likely [C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:243].)
[4:17] 3 tn “The God” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
[4:17] 4 tn Or “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The translation of ὡς ὄντα (Jw" onta) allows for two different interpretations. If it has the force of result, then creatio ex nihilo is in view and the variant rendering is to be accepted (so C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:244). A problem with this view is the scarcity of ὡς plus participle to indicate result (though for the telic idea with ὡς plus participle, cf. Rom 15:15; 1 Thess 2:4). If it has a comparative force, then the translation given in the text is to be accepted: “this interpretation fits the immediate context better than a reference to God’s creative power, for it explains the assurance with which God can speak of the ‘many nations’ that will be descended from Abraham” (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 282; so also W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam, Romans [ICC], 113). Further, this view is in line with a Pauline idiom, viz., verb followed by ὡς plus participle (of the same verb or, in certain contexts, its antonym) to compare present reality with what is not a present reality (cf. 1 Cor 4:7; 5:3; 7:29, 30 (three times), 31; Col 2:20 [similarly, 2 Cor 6:9, 10]).
[4:18] 1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:18] 2 tn Grk “who against hope believed,” referring to Abraham. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[4:18] 3 sn A quotation from Gen 17:5.
[4:18] 4 tn Grk “according to that which had been spoken.”
[4:18] 5 sn A quotation from Gen 15:5.
[4:19] 1 tc Most
[4:19] 2 tc ‡ Most witnesses (א A C D Ψ 33 Ï bo) have ἤδη (hdh, “already”) at this point in v. 19. But B F G 630 1739 1881 pc lat sa lack it. Since it appears to heighten the style of the narrative and since there is no easy accounting for an accidental omission, it is best to regard the shorter text as original. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.
[4:20] 1 tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.
[4:21] 1 tn Grk “and being.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[4:21] 2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:22] 1 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:23] 1 tn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
[4:23] 2 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:25] 1 tn Grk “who,” referring to Jesus. The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[4:25] 3 tn Grk “because of.” However, in light of the unsatisfactory sense that a causal nuance would here suggest, it has been argued that the second διά (dia) is prospective rather than retrospective (D. Moo, Romans [NICNT], 288-89). The difficulty of this interpretation is the structural balance that both διά phrases provide (“given over because of our transgressions…raised because of our justification”). However the poetic structure of this verse strengthens the likelihood that the clauses each have a different force.
[4:25] 4 sn Many scholars regard Rom 4:25 to be poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage.
[6:4] 1 tn Grk “may walk in newness of life,” in which ζωῆς (zwhs) functions as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-90, where this verse is given as a prime example).
[6:5] 1 tn Grk “we will certainly also of his resurrection.”
[6:6] 1 tn Grk “knowing this, that.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[6:6] 2 tn Grk “may be rendered ineffective, inoperative,” or possibly “may be destroyed.” The term καταργέω (katargew) has various nuances. In Rom 7:2 the wife whose husband has died is freed from the law (i.e., the law of marriage no longer has any power over her, in spite of what she may feel). A similar point seems to be made here (note v. 7).
[6:7] 1 sn Verse 7 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.
[6:9] 1 tn Grk “knowing.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[6:9] 2 tn The present tense here has been translated as a futuristic present (see ExSyn 536, where this verse is listed as an example).
[6:11] 1 tc ‡ Some Alexandrian and Byzantine
[6:11] 2 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
[6:13] 1 tn Or “weapons, tools.”
[6:13] 2 tn Or “wickedness, injustice.”
[6:13] 3 tn Or “weapons, tools.”
[6:16] 1 tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”
[6:16] 2 tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.
[6:16] 3 tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”
[6:17] 1 tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”
[6:19] 1 tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).
[6:21] 2 tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.
[6:22] 1 tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”
[6:23] 1 tn A figurative extension of ὀψώνιον (oywnion), which refers to a soldier’s pay or wages. Here it refers to the end result of an activity, seen as something one receives back in return. In this case the activity is sin, and the translation “payoff” captures this thought. See also L&N 89.42.
