Passage

Romans 6.14

"For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14, NASB95)

This verse is the structural pivot of Romans 6. Paul has just argued that union with Christ in baptism puts the believer into a new domain (Rom 6:1-13); 6:14 names that new domain as grace and declares the result: sin's mastery is broken. The verse functions in two large debates: (1) the relation of the believer to the Mosaic law (covenantal / dispensational / new-covenant readings), and (2) the relation of grace to sanctification (the antinomian objection Paul anticipates in 6:15).

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof: 13. neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

"14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace."

"15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. 16. Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:12-16, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"12. Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13. Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."

"14. For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace."

"15. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be! 16. Don’t you know that when you present yourselves as servants and obey someone, you are the servants of whomever you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?" (Romans 6:12-16, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ^{instruments: Gr. arms, or, weapons}"

"14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

"15. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Romans 6:12-16, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"12. Let not then the sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires; 13. neither present ye your members instruments of unrighteousness to the sin, but present yourselves to God as living out of the dead, and your members instruments of righteousness to God;"

"14. for sin over you shall not have lordship, for ye are not under law, but under grace."

"15. What then? shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? let it not be! 16. have ye not known that to whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, servants ye are to him to whom ye obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?" (Romans 6:12-16, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle (Paul the Apostle)
Audience: Christian believers in Rome (Jew + Gentile)
Location: composed in Corinth; addressed to Rome
Time period: composed c. AD 57
Letter context: Romans 6 is the start of Paul's answer to the objection raised in Rom 6:1 ("Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?"). The argument runs through chapter 8.

Theological reading

Grace is a domain, not a leniency. Paul does not say sin is permitted under grace; he says sin cannot be your master under grace. The contrast "not under law but under grace" is not a contrast between strict and lax moral expectations. It is a contrast between two regimes of power: under the law, sin holds the believer at gunpoint and the law cannot rescue (Rom 7:7-25); under grace, the Spirit gives life and breaks sin's grip (Rom 8:2-4). The promise of 6:14 is therefore a promise of liberation, not permission.

The law-grace question. Paul's "not under law" has been read multiple ways. Reformed covenantal readings hold the believer is free from the law as a covenant of works for justification but remains bound to the moral law as a rule of life (the third use of the law). Lutheran and new-covenant readings press a sharper break: the Mosaic law as such (including its moral core read as Sinai covenant code) no longer functions as the believer's direct authority; Christ's law (Gal 6:2) and the Spirit's leading (Rom 8:14) do. Dispensational readings push furthest, treating the church age as wholly distinct from the Mosaic economy. See Christians Not Under Mosaic Law, Mosaic Law, New Covenant, Old Covenant for the in-house ris3n treatment.

Antinomianism preempted. Paul anticipates the obvious misreading in the very next verse: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!" (6:15). The grammar of grace is not "sin freely"; it is "you are now a slave of righteousness" (6:18). Grace produces obedience precisely because it breaks sin's mastery, Augustine's non posse non peccare (unable not to sin) becomes posse non peccare (able not to sin) under grace. The Reformers later sharpened this into the distinction between justification (forensic, by faith alone) and sanctification (progressive, by grace through the Spirit).

The pattern for sanctification. Romans 6:14 grounds the indicative-imperative structure of Pauline ethics: because sin is not your master (indicative), therefore do not present your members to sin (imperative, 6:13). Sanctification is becoming what you already are in Christ. This is the engine of Paul's whole moral theology and the answer to every charge that grace breeds license.

Key words

G0266 - hamartia, hamartia, "sin"; personified here as a power-holder, not just a deed.
kyrieuo, kyrieuō, "to have dominion over, to be master of"; the verb behind "shall not be master."
G3551 - nomos, nomos, "law"; here the Mosaic law as covenantal regime.
G5485 - charis, charis, "grace"; here a regime of divine favor and power, not a substance dispensed.

Theological themes

Sanctification by grace. Grace empowers obedience; it does not excuse disobedience. See Sanctification.
Law-grace antithesis. The believer's relation to Torah is recast in Christ. See Grace vs Law, Law as Tutor (Paidagogos).
Indicative-imperative. Paul's signature move: state the new reality, then command consistency with it.
Lordship and slavery imagery. Romans 6 trades on the ancient slave market: you are owned either by sin or by righteousness, never by no one. See Lordship Salvation.

Cross-references

Romans 7, the law cannot deliver from sin; only the Spirit can (Rom 7:7-8:4).
Galatians 2.16, justification not by works of the law but through faith in Christ.
Galatians 3.24-25, the law as paidagōgos now superseded.
Romans 8, the full deliverance promised in 6:14 unpacked: no condemnation, life in the Spirit, freedom from the law of sin and death.
Titus 2:11-14, grace itself trains believers to renounce ungodliness; same logic as Rom 6:14.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.