Romans 6:6 teaches that the person you were before Christ was nailed to the cross with him, so that sin no longer has to rule your life. Paul wrote this to the believers in Rome, who were learning what their baptism into Christ actually meant for how they lived.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
Romans 6:6 (WEB)
What Romans 6:6 Means
The phrase “our old man” refers to the self we were before we belonged to Christ, the person shaped by rebellion and by the pull of sin. Paul says this self was crucified with Christ, meaning that the old pattern of life was judged and brought to an end in his death. It is a statement about what God has done, not a list of things you must accomplish to earn it.
The verse goes on to say that “the body of sin” might be “done away with.” The word “body” here points to the whole human person, with its habits, desires, and reflexes, and Paul is not saying your body is evil. He is saying the power sin once had over your whole way of living has been broken. The result, he says, is that you “would no longer be in bondage to sin,” which means sin is no longer your master.
Notice what the verse does not promise. It does not say you will never struggle, never stumble, or never feel the old pull again. Paul himself writes elsewhere about that ongoing fight. What Romans 6:6 gives you is a new position: you are no longer ruled by sin, even when you still face its temptations.
The Context of Romans 6:6
Romans was written by Paul, traditionally thought to have written it from Corinth around the middle of the first century, to a church in Rome made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. Chapters 5 through 8 form a single argument about life in Christ, and chapter 6 takes up a question Paul expects some readers to raise: if grace is abundant, should we keep sinning? His answer is an emphatic no.
The verses just before Romans 6:6 speak of baptism as a burial into Christ’s death, and the verses after speak of being raised with him to walk in newness of life. Read in that setting, Romans 6:6 is the hinge of the argument. It explains the reason for the new life: the old self has already died in Christ, so living as though it still rules you contradicts what has happened to you.
Key Phrases in Romans 6:6
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
(WEB)
Paul’s personal testimony that he has been crucified with Christ and that Christ now lives in him. It shows how the crucifixion described in Romans 6:6 becomes a lived identity for each believer.
Romans 6:11
Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(WEB)
The verse that follows Romans 6:6 in the argument, urging you to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God. It turns the truth of Romans 6:6 into a way of thinking about daily life.
A Short Prayer From Romans 6:6
Lord, thank you that the person I used to be was crucified with Christ, and that sin no longer has the right to rule me. When I feel the old pull toward my familiar failures, remind me that I am free and help me live as someone who belongs to you. Give me the courage to say no to what has already lost its power, and let my daily choices show that I walk in the new life you have given. Amen.
