For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Those joined to Christ in His death and rising are counted dead to wrongdoing and alive to God, so they no longer let sinful desires rule or use their powers for unrighteousness but give themselves to God for righteousness, since sin pays out death while God gives eternal life. Freedom from sin's mastery belongs to all who truly trust, repent, confess and turn away from wrong and rely on Christ's strength rather than their own, so no inborn or cultivated tendency needs to enslave them. Release from condemnation does not cancel the law's claims, for its penalty fell on Christ as Substitute and its weight is held back from the guilty in order to draw them to holiness and make obedience through faith possible and acceptable. To live under grace is to delight in God's law and keep His commandments in harmony with it, finding it holy and good, a strength and protecting wall rather than a condemning bondage. In that union with Christ by faith believers lay hold of divine power to resist temptation and be changed into His likeness, gaining victory over inward corruption and growing into kindness, purity and practical godliness.
Under Law, Under Grace
Sin does not rule over believers because they are not under law but under grace, which means those dead to sin do not keep living in it. They have been baptized into Jesus Christ and into His death, and buried with Him by baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father they also walk in newness of life. They are planted together in the likeness of His death and also in the likeness of His resurrection, with the old self crucified with Him so that the body of sin is destroyed and they no longer serve sin, for the one who is dead is freed from sin. Being dead with Christ they shall also live with Him, since Christ being raised dies no more and death has no more dominion over Him, for in dying He died to sin once and in living He lives to God. Believers are therefore to reckon themselves dead indeed to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, not letting sin reign in the mortal body to obey its lusts, and not yielding their members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yielding themselves to God as those alive from the dead and their members as instruments of righteousness to God, for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To be not under the law is to delight in the law of God and to be in harmony with it. To such, the law brings no condemnation but serves as strength, as a wall of protection, and as a refuge for guardianship. To those in harmony with it the law is holy and just and good, and perfect for converting the soul. To be under grace and not under the law is to be free from the bondage of the law by keeping the commandments of God.
Grace does not cancel the claims of the law or make obedience unnecessary. The penalty of the law has fallen on Christ as Substitute and Surety, and its weight is temporarily suspended for the guilty, with this grace meant to draw people to holiness and obedience rather than to set the law aside. Repentance is the first step toward obedience, and seeing the wrong of disobedience reveals the excellence of what the law requires. Remaining under the law and under sin's dominion is a choice tied to rejecting light, for those who refuse to walk in the light given choose sin's rule and stay under the penalty. Through faith Christ's imputed righteousness makes obedience to the commandments possible and acceptable, so grace does not make the law void but enables obedience.
Sin Shall Not Rule
Sin holds people in bondage and defiles them, and knowledge of salvation and redemption from its power must be taught plainly to all. Sinful indulgence need not rule those who name Christ, and to acknowledge the evil yet excuse oneself by saying the passions cannot be overcome is a terrible admission contradicting that profession, for everyone naming Christ must depart from iniquity. The helplessness comes because animal propensities strengthened by exercise gain ascendancy over the higher powers, principle is lacking, and natural appetites pampered so long destroy self-government until its power seems gone. The lower passions take the reins while what should govern becomes servant to corrupt passion, leaving the soul in lowest bondage and dying spiritually, with desire for holiness quenched and spiritual prosperity withered.
The verse promises liberty, hope, and encouragement from the cross that sin will not rule over believers. It is to be claimed personally when accused of sin and told there is no hope, by refusing unbelief that dishonors Christ, rejecting the tempter, and trusting that God can make a dark prospect light. God not only pardons sin but gives victory over its power, creating love for what is good and a constant struggle against inward corruption. The gospel has power to enable victory, for Christ's power lifts those who trust Him and His love within leads to growth in character and blessing to others.
Being under grace rather than under the law means being freed from sin and made servants of righteousness, no longer yielding the body to sinful desires and unrighteousness but yielding self and members to God for righteousness and holiness. Where grace abides in the renewed heart sin no longer reigns in the body, dishonesty is put away, unkindness is overcome, and kindness, forbearance, and generosity are borne as practical godliness representing Christ. Those trusting in Christ are not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habit or tendency to wrong nor held in bondage to the lower nature, but are to rule every appetite and passion. Overcoming comes not by finite strength in battle with evil but through dependence on Christ and power God is ready to impart, with lives showing the sanctifying work of truth in purity and holiness.
Sin need not rule over those who truly believe, give themselves to God, and refuse service to sin, for cleansing, grace, and righteousness are for those who recognize their need rather than those content with their own goodness. Those whose hearts are pure put aside every burden and entangling sin and love God fully. Those who repent, confess, and forsake sin cooperate with Christ to bring hereditary and cultivated tendencies under God's will, receiving strength by looking to Jesus and being changed into His likeness. Sin stops ruling when a person accepts the atonement as the foundation of true faith, repents and confesses, and receives grace from the Holy Spirit to speak kind and tender words. By looking long into the divine mirror, seeing and hating unlikeness to the meek and lowly Saviour, believers gain strength to overcome, confess and forsake sin, cooperate to bring hereditary and cultivated tendencies under the divine will, and by looking to Jesus are changed into His likeness and grow to the full stature of manhood and womanhood in Christ.
Sin no longer rules those united to Christ by faith, who may share the divine nature and be directed by Christ's divinity, resisting temptation by relying on God's Word. Christ's victory over temptation makes victory possible as faith lays hold of divine power to receive the divine nature and attain perfection of character. Jesus showed how by resting on His Father's wisdom and strength, with nothing in Him responding to sophistry and never consenting to sin even by a thought, His humanity united with divinity and fitted for conflict by the indwelling Spirit. The same provision belongs to believers as God directs the hand of faith to lay hold on Christ's divinity, so that while that union lasts sin has no control and perfection of character may be attained.
The grace under which sin does not rule is the power of Christ that gives mastery over sin and delivers from the bondage of evil, giving health and life and peace. That power brings a revelation of Christ and accomplishes reform and restoration that is physical, mental, and spiritual, needed today amid prevailing crime, corruption, violence, lawlessness, and destruction of life as much as nineteen hundred years ago. God's people can triumph over sin and stand firm by learning more of Jesus day by day and trusting Him more fully, rather than creating their own obstacles and difficulties that hedge up the way.
Those joined to Christ in His death and rising are counted dead to wrongdoing and alive to God, so they no longer let sinful desires rule or use their powers for unrighteousness but give themselves to God for righteousness, since sin pays out death while God gives eternal life. Freedom from sin's mastery belongs to all who truly trust, repent, confess and turn away from wrong and rely on Christ's strength rather than their own, so no inborn or cultivated tendency needs to enslave them. Release from condemnation does not cancel the law's claims, for its penalty fell on Christ as Substitute and its weight is held back from the guilty in order to draw them to holiness and make obedience through faith possible and acceptable. To live under grace is to delight in God's law and keep His commandments in harmony with it, finding it holy and good, a strength and protecting wall rather than a condemning bondage. In that union with Christ by faith believers lay hold of divine power to resist temptation and be changed into His likeness, gaining victory over inward corruption and growing into kindness, purity and practical godliness.
Under Law, Under Grace
Sin does not rule over believers because they are not under law but under grace, which means those dead to sin do not keep living in it. They have been baptized into Jesus Christ and into His death, and buried with Him by baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father they also walk in newness of life. They are planted together in the likeness of His death and also in the likeness of His resurrection, with the old self crucified with Him so that the body of sin is destroyed and they no longer serve sin, for the one who is dead is freed from sin. Being dead with Christ they shall also live with Him, since Christ being raised dies no more and death has no more dominion over Him, for in dying He died to sin once and in living He lives to God. Believers are therefore to reckon themselves dead indeed to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, not letting sin reign in the mortal body to obey its lusts, and not yielding their members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yielding themselves to God as those alive from the dead and their members as instruments of righteousness to God, for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To be not under the law is to delight in the law of God and to be in harmony with it. To such, the law brings no condemnation but serves as strength, as a wall of protection, and as a refuge for guardianship. To those in harmony with it the law is holy and just and good, and perfect for converting the soul. To be under grace and not under the law is to be free from the bondage of the law by keeping the commandments of God.
Grace does not cancel the claims of the law or make obedience unnecessary. The penalty of the law has fallen on Christ as Substitute and Surety, and its weight is temporarily suspended for the guilty, with this grace meant to draw people to holiness and obedience rather than to set the law aside. Repentance is the first step toward obedience, and seeing the wrong of disobedience reveals the excellence of what the law requires. Remaining under the law and under sin's dominion is a choice tied to rejecting light, for those who refuse to walk in the light given choose sin's rule and stay under the penalty. Through faith Christ's imputed righteousness makes obedience to the commandments possible and acceptable, so grace does not make the law void but enables obedience.
Sin Shall Not Rule
Sin holds people in bondage and defiles them, and knowledge of salvation and redemption from its power must be taught plainly to all. Sinful indulgence need not rule those who name Christ, and to acknowledge the evil yet excuse oneself by saying the passions cannot be overcome is a terrible admission contradicting that profession, for everyone naming Christ must depart from iniquity. The helplessness comes because animal propensities strengthened by exercise gain ascendancy over the higher powers, principle is lacking, and natural appetites pampered so long destroy self-government until its power seems gone. The lower passions take the reins while what should govern becomes servant to corrupt passion, leaving the soul in lowest bondage and dying spiritually, with desire for holiness quenched and spiritual prosperity withered.
The verse promises liberty, hope, and encouragement from the cross that sin will not rule over believers. It is to be claimed personally when accused of sin and told there is no hope, by refusing unbelief that dishonors Christ, rejecting the tempter, and trusting that God can make a dark prospect light. God not only pardons sin but gives victory over its power, creating love for what is good and a constant struggle against inward corruption. The gospel has power to enable victory, for Christ's power lifts those who trust Him and His love within leads to growth in character and blessing to others.
Being under grace rather than under the law means being freed from sin and made servants of righteousness, no longer yielding the body to sinful desires and unrighteousness but yielding self and members to God for righteousness and holiness. Where grace abides in the renewed heart sin no longer reigns in the body, dishonesty is put away, unkindness is overcome, and kindness, forbearance, and generosity are borne as practical godliness representing Christ. Those trusting in Christ are not to be enslaved by any hereditary or cultivated habit or tendency to wrong nor held in bondage to the lower nature, but are to rule every appetite and passion. Overcoming comes not by finite strength in battle with evil but through dependence on Christ and power God is ready to impart, with lives showing the sanctifying work of truth in purity and holiness.
Sin need not rule over those who truly believe, give themselves to God, and refuse service to sin, for cleansing, grace, and righteousness are for those who recognize their need rather than those content with their own goodness. Those whose hearts are pure put aside every burden and entangling sin and love God fully. Those who repent, confess, and forsake sin cooperate with Christ to bring hereditary and cultivated tendencies under God's will, receiving strength by looking to Jesus and being changed into His likeness. Sin stops ruling when a person accepts the atonement as the foundation of true faith, repents and confesses, and receives grace from the Holy Spirit to speak kind and tender words. By looking long into the divine mirror, seeing and hating unlikeness to the meek and lowly Saviour, believers gain strength to overcome, confess and forsake sin, cooperate to bring hereditary and cultivated tendencies under the divine will, and by looking to Jesus are changed into His likeness and grow to the full stature of manhood and womanhood in Christ.
Sin no longer rules those united to Christ by faith, who may share the divine nature and be directed by Christ's divinity, resisting temptation by relying on God's Word. Christ's victory over temptation makes victory possible as faith lays hold of divine power to receive the divine nature and attain perfection of character. Jesus showed how by resting on His Father's wisdom and strength, with nothing in Him responding to sophistry and never consenting to sin even by a thought, His humanity united with divinity and fitted for conflict by the indwelling Spirit. The same provision belongs to believers as God directs the hand of faith to lay hold on Christ's divinity, so that while that union lasts sin has no control and perfection of character may be attained.
The grace under which sin does not rule is the power of Christ that gives mastery over sin and delivers from the bondage of evil, giving health and life and peace. That power brings a revelation of Christ and accomplishes reform and restoration that is physical, mental, and spiritual, needed today amid prevailing crime, corruption, violence, lawlessness, and destruction of life as much as nineteen hundred years ago. God's people can triumph over sin and stand firm by learning more of Jesus day by day and trusting Him more fully, rather than creating their own obstacles and difficulties that hedge up the way.