Meaning of Romans 6:14 on Sin's Dominion
Romans 6:14 declares, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace" (Douay-Rheims Bible [1]). This verse is a pivotal statement within Paul's larger argument in Romans 6 concerning the believer's relationship to sin and righteousness after conversion.
The immediate context of Romans 6 addresses the theological implication of baptism and union with Christ. Paul has just asserted that believers have "died to sin" (Romans 6:2 [8]), meaning their relationship to sin has fundamentally changed through their connection with Jesus' death and resurrection [8]. He exhorts believers not to "let sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (Romans 6:12 [9]), personifying sin as a king or tyrant seeking to control the desires and actions of the body [7].
The term "sin" (Greek: hamartia) refers to "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God," encompassing both inward disposition and outward conduct, whether by omission or commission [2]. It is an offense against a personal lawgiver, deserving punishment [2]. The "dominion" (Greek: kyrieusei) of sin implies its tyrannical rule over individuals [5].
Romans 6:14 offers a "glorious assurance" that sin will not have this dominion [5]. This is not merely a command or an expression of what ought not to be, but a declaration of what cannot be for the believer [4]. The basis for this assurance is the shift from being "under the law" to being "under grace" [1, 5]. To be "under the law" means to be subject to its demands for perfect obedience and its curse for failure, without the power to fulfill its requirements [5]. The law "exacts obedience, without giving power to obey" and condemns transgression without providing for the "extirpation of evil or the pardon of sin" [3].
In contrast, being "under grace" signifies being under the "merciful and beneficent dispensation of the Gospel" [3]. Grace provides the necessary power to conform to God's will, even while requiring strict obedience [3]. This new state, enabled by Christ's death and resurrection, ends the dominating power of sin and death [6]. While sin may still be present and exert influence, it no longer holds ultimate authority over the believer [4]. The believer's continued subjection to sin would be a result of their own choice or negligence, rather than an unavoidable fate [3]. This passage underscores that Christians are no longer helpless slaves to sin but can choose not to sin [8].
Sources
- Romans “Romans 6:14 (DRC) — For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Sin — Is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom. 6:12-17; 7:5-24). It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties. The soul that sins is always conscious that his sin is (1) intrinsically vile and polluting, and (2) that it justly deserves punishment,”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 6:14: Sin shall not have dominion over you - God delivers you from it; and if you again become subject to it, it will be the effect of your own choice or negligence. Ye are not under the law - That law which exacts obedience, without giving power to obey; that condemns every transgression and every unholy thought without providing for the extirpation of evil or the pardon of sin. But under grace - Ye are under the merciful and beneficent dispensation of the Gospel, that, although it requires the strictest conformity to the will of God, affords sufficient power to be thus ”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 6:14: For sin shall not have dominion over you,.... It has dominion over God's people in a state of unregeneracy: and after conversion it is still in them, and has great power oftentimes to hinder that which is good, and to effect that which is evil; it entices and ensnares, and brings into captivity, and seems as though it would regain its dominion, and reign again, but it shall not. This is not a precept, exhortation, or admonition, as before, though some read it as such, "let not sin have dominion over you"; nor does it express merely what ought not to be, but what canno”
- Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 6:14: For Sin shall not have dominion over you--as the slaves of a tyrant lord. for ye are not under the law, but under grace--The force of this glorious assurance can only be felt by observing the grounds on which it rests. To be "under the law" is, first, to be under its claim to entire obedience; and so, next under its curse for the breach of these. And as all power to obey can reach the sinner only through Grace, of which the law knows nothing, it follows that to be "under the law" is, finally, to be shut up under an inability to keep it, and consequen”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 15:57: 15:57 The death and resurrection of Christ ends the dominating power of sin and death (see Rom 6:14; 8:2; 10:4).”
- Romans (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Romans 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign - This is a prosopopoeia, or personification. Sin is represented as a king, ruler, or tyrant, who has the desires of the mind and the members of the body under his control so that by influencing the passions he governs the body. Do not let sin reign, do not let him work; that is, let him have no place, no being in your souls; because, wherever he is he governs, less or more: and indeed sin is not sin without this. How is sin known? By evil influences in the mind, and evil acts in the life. But do not these influences and these acts prove ”
- Romans (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Romans 6:2: 6:2 we have died to sin: As Paul makes clear in 6:3-10, our new relationship to sin is possible because of our vital connection with the death of Jesus. Just as dying means entrance into an entirely new state of being, our relationship with sin is now different because of Christ’s death. To be “dead to sin” does not mean to be entirely insensitive to sin and temptation—believers are still involved in a battle with sin (6:12-14). However, Christians no longer have to live as helpless slaves to sin; they can choose not to sin (6:6, 14, 16-22).”
- Romans (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Romans 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,.... Since grace reigns in you, sin should not: seeing ye are dead to sin, are baptized into the death of Christ, and are dead with him, and alive through him, sin therefore should not reign in you, and over you. This exhortation does not suppose a freewill power in man naturally, for this is spoken to persons, who had the Spirit and grace of Christ, and in whom God had wrought both to will and to do of his good pleasure; nor is this exhortation unnecessary to believers, though they are dead to sin, and though God has pr”