Romans 6:20

Romans 6:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
• New International Version (NIV)When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Context of Romans 6:20

18Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. 19Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

Romans 6:20 word by word

ὅτε γὰρ δοῦλοι ἦτε τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἐλεύθεροι ἦτε τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
• ye wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the servantsδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
• of sinὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• of sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
• from righteousnessδικαιοσύνηdikaiosunē · righteousnessG1343

Cross-references for Romans 6:20

• Romans 6:16Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.
• John 8:34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

Commentaries on Romans 6:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Ye were free from righteousness - These two servitudes are incompatible; if we cannot serve God and Mammon, surely we cannot serve Christ and Satan. We must be either sinners or saints; God's servants or the devil's slaves. It cannot be as a good mistaken man has endeavored to sing: - "To good and evil equal bent, I'm both a devil and a saint." I know not whether it be possible to paint the utter prevalence of sin in stronger colors than the apostle does…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Ye were free from righteousness - That is, in your former state, you were not at all under the influence of righteousness. You were entirely devoted to sin; a strong expression of total depravity. It settles the question; and proves that they had no native goodness. The argument which is implied here rather than expressed is, that now they ought to be equally free from sin, since they had become released from their former bondage, and had become the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Every man is the servant of the master to whose commands he yields himself; whether it be the sinful dispositions of his heart, in actions which lead to death, or the new and spiritual obedience implanted by regeneration. The apostle rejoiced now they obeyed from the heart the gospel, into which they were delivered as into a mould. As the same metal becomes a new vessel, when melted and recast in another mould, so the believer has become a…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20free from the obligation to righteousness (literally free from righteousness): Paul means either that unbelievers feel no obligation to obey God or that they are unable to do so. But the freedom that they boast of actually makes them slaves to sin.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. For when ye were the servants--"were servants" of Sin, ye were free from--rather, "in respect of" Righteousness--Difficulties have been made about this clause where none exist. The import of it seems clearly to be this:--"Since no servant can serve two masters, much less where their interests come into deadly collision, and each demands the whole man, so, while ye were in the service of Sin ye were in no proper sense the servants of Righteousness, and…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 6:20

• Depravity of Man
• Holiness
• Regeneration
• Righteous
• Righteousness
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Destroy
• Fruit
• Newness
• Obey
• Reign
• Wages
• Works, Good
• Baptismal Regeneration
• Bible, the
• Canon of the New Testament

Commentaries on Romans 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings