¹ Then, what should we say? “We should keep staying in deviation so that generosity would be even more”? ² Absolutely not! How can people who died regarding deviation still be alive regarding it? ³ Or don’t you know that whoever was submersed in connection with Christ Jesus was submersed in connection with his death? ⁴ Therefore, we were buried along with him through the submersion connected with death, so just as Christ was raised from among the dead through the praiseworthiness of the Father, similarly, we also should walk in connection with new life. ⁵ If we have become united through the representation of his death, we certainly will also continue to be united through the reawakening.^{a 6} We understand this: that our old Person was crucified along with him so that the body of deviation would be counteracted, no longer enslaving us with deviation ⁷ (since whoever has died has been recognized as just,^b separated from deviation). ⁸ So if we died along with Christ, we trust that we will also be alive along with him. ⁹ We understand that since Christ has been raised from among the dead, he isn’t going to die anymore; death no longer has lordship over him. ¹⁰ You see, he died; he died in connection with deviation once and for all. Nevertheless, he lives; he lives in connection with God. ¹¹ In the same way, also count yourselves both dead in connection to deviation and alive in connection to God with Christ Jesus.

¹² Therefore, deviation must not reign^c with regard to your mortal body^d resulting in listening to its desires, ¹³ and do not present your parts^e to deviation as tools of injustice. Instead, present yourselves to God as those from among the dead who are alive, and present your members to God as tools of justice. ¹⁴ You see, deviation will not have lordship over you since you are not under Torah but are under generosity instead.

¹⁵ Then, what? “We should deviate because we are not under Torah but under generosity instead”? ¹⁶ Don’t you understand that in presenting yourselves as enslaved workers consenting to listen,^f you are enslaved to whatever you consent to listen to, whether deviation toward death or listening toward justness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that while you were workers enslaved by deviation and you had consented from your hearts to listen to the template of teaching to which you were given over, ¹⁸ then after you were liberated from deviation, you were enslaved by justness ¹⁹ (I am speaking with a human perspective because of the powerlessness of your bodily efforts).^g For just as you presented your members as enslaved by uncleanness and torahlessness resulting in torahlessness, similarly, now present your members as enslaved to justness resulting in designation for sacred purposes. ²⁰ You see, while you were enslaved by deviation, you had liberty from justness. ²¹ Therefore, what fruit did you have at that time? Now you feel ashamed of them because the end of those things is death. ²² But now, after you have been liberated from deviation and enslaved to God, you have your fruit for designation for sacred purposes, and the end is agelong life. ²³ You see, deviation repays its soldiers^h with death, but God generously gives agelong life with Jesus Christ our Lord.