Word of life - Rom 6:16

Word of life: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16 ESV /English Standard Version 2001/)

Studying this verse from God’s Word, let us focus on two principal questions:

1)      Which truth (word) is emphasized in this verse?

2)      What connection does it have with other verses of this chapter?

1) Which word is emphasized in this verse? The word obedience, which entails being devoted body and soul – as a slave.

There are two kinds of obedience. Obedience to sin leads to temporal and eternal death. If man obeys sin, he becomes its slave. Obedience to God’s voice and God’s laws leads to the righteousness of God. It means that man is not only justified from sin but clothes himself with Christ’s righteousness, with the wedding garment which is a prerequisite for his participation in the feast of the Kingdom. The model of obedience is Jesus who says that His food is to do the will of the Heavenly Father, that means, to obey Him. In the Our Father this obedience to God is expressed by the words: “Your will be done...” (not mine). The Blessed Virgin calls herself a bondslave of the Lord – “h` dou,lh kuri,ou” /he doule Kuriu/ (Lk 1:38). “He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave.” (Lk 1:48) To be a slave to God and to obey Him is just. And this is true freedom – freedom from sin and from the whole system of sin as well as from the spirit of lies and death that is behind it.

Every man decides for himself every day to whom he presents himself as a slave. To the one whom he obeys. You can ask yourself: Whom do I obey? God (His righteousness) or sin (the devil)? Active surrender to God involves self-denial and the taking up of the cross. Jesus says: “Deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Me.” So we must show some activity, but still this is not enough. Therefore Jesus says further: “...without Me you can do nothing”, and He adds that we need to enter into communion with Him and abide in Him (see Jn 15:4-5).

Verse 16 begins with a question: “Do you not know...?” In other words, it says that we have to know this truth and to reckon with it in practice. If we do not know it, we cannot reckon with it. But then we do not know the basic principles of the spiritual fight and of the victory over sin.

2) What is the connection with other verses of this chapter? It has analogy with verses 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 which also speak about sin, slavery and presenting ourselves to God.

Practical application: In prayer and in a battle of thoughts try to put into practice the words present yourselves as slaves. In every situation make a resolution by word and deed: Jesus, I present myself to You. Let the awareness that Jesus shed His blood and sacrificed His life for Your sake be the motivation for you. To present oneself as a slave means to surrender one’s will, thoughts and powers to Jesus at the present moment by calling intensely upon the name of Jesus either in an interior prayer or in temptation. Presenting yourself and your concrete problem to Jesus with confidence, you will experience Jesus’ presence. You will experience the victory over depression, over the temptation to impurity or hedonism, or over various dependences to which you have been a slave for long years.