Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
All Commentaries on Romans 6:12 Go To Romans 6
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
After showing that we ought not remain in sin [n. 470] and that we have the faculty for this [n. 478], the Apostle concludes with a moral exhortation. And concerning this he does three things: 249 first, he proposes an admonition; secondly, he assigns a reason [v. 14; n. 496]; thirdly, he raises and solves a question [v. 15; n. 499]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he proposes the admonition; secondly, he clarifies [v. 12b; n. 494]. 493. First, therefore, he says: We have said that our old self was crucified once, so that the body of sin may be destroyed. This means that the power of sin has been so weakened that it cannot rule us. Therefore, let not sin reign in your mortal bodies any longer. He does not say: Let not sin be in your mortal body, because as long as our body is mortal, it is not possible for sin not to be in our body, i.e., the inclination to sin. But since we have been freed from the kingdom of sin by God, we must struggle in order that sin not recover its dominion now lost in our body. And this is what he says: Let not sin reign in your mortal body. This is something about which one must be on his guard, as long as we wear the mortal body: "The corruptible body is a load upon the soul" (Wis 9:15). 494. Then (v.12b) he clarifies this admonition. In regard to this it should be noted that sin reigns in man in two ways: in one way, through internal consent of the mind. To remove this he says: to make you obey their passions. For it is by obeying the passions of sin with our minds that sin reigns in us: "Go not after thy lusts" (Si 18:30). 250 In a second way sin reigns in us by performing the act. To exclude this, he adds: do not yield your members to sin, i.e., to the inclination to sin, as instruments of wickedness. For when man commits sin through his members, he yields to sin. In this way he seeks to restore sin’s dominion, which grows in us through the habit of sinning: "They went down to hell with their weapons" (Ex 32:27). 495. Then (v.13b) he urges them to the opposite, namely, to mold themselves to God. And first with regard to the internal faculties when he says: But yield yourselves to God by submitting your mind to God: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of you but that you fear the Lord your God and walk in his ways" (Dt 10:12). And you ought to do this as men who have been brought from death to life, i.e., as led from the death of sin to the life of grace. Hence it is fitting, since he died for all, "that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor 3:15). Secondly, with respect to outward actions; hence he says: Yield your members to God, i.e., to his service, as instruments of righteousness with which to fight against God’s enemies: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph 6:11). 496. Then (v.14) he assigns the reason for this admonition. For someone might excuse himself, alleging that sin’s dominion is an obstacle to obeying the admonition. But the Apostle excludes this, saying: For sin will have no dominion over you, i.e., if you begin to resist sin and yield yourself to God: "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Jas 251 4:8). As if to say: You can observe my admonition, because you do not find sin dominating and holding you. For we have been freed by Christ, as Jn (8:36) says: "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." 497. Then he clarifies what he had said, saying: For you are not under the law but under grace. Here it should be noted that he is not speaking of the Law merely with respect to its ceremonial precepts, but even with respect to moral matters. For one is said to be under the Law in two ways: in one way, as voluntarily subject to the observance of the Law. Even Christ was under the Law in this way according to Gal (4:4): "Born under the law," namely, because he observed the Law, not only the moral but also the ceremonial precepts. But the faithful of Christ are under the Law in this way, with respect to the moral precepts but not the ceremonial. In another way, one is said to be under the Law as though compelled by the Law. In this way, one is under the Law when he does not obey it voluntarily from love but is compelled by fear. But such a one lacks grace which, if it were present, would incline the will to observe the Law and fulfill its moral precepts from a motive of love. Therefore, as long as one is under the Law in such a way that he does not fulfill it voluntarily, sin has dominion over him. As a result, such a man’s will is inclined to choose what is contrary to the law. But through grace such dominion is removed; consequently, a man observes the Law not as existing under the Law but as free: "We are not children of the slave but of the free woman, by the freedom with which Christ has sat us free" (Gal 4:31). 252 498. This grace, making men freely obey the Law, was not conferred by the sacraments of the Old Law, but Christ’s sacraments conferred it. Consequently, those who submitted themselves to the ceremonies of the Law were not, so far as the power of those sacraments was concerned, under grace but under the Law, unless they happened to obtain grace through faith. But one who submits to Christ’s sacraments obtains grace from his power, so as not to be under the Law but under grace, unless they enslaved themselves to sin through their own fault. 499. Then (v. 15) he raises a question against what he has said. And concerning this he does three things: first, he raises the question; secondly, he answers it [v. 16; n. 501]; thirdly, he shows how awkward it would be to misinterpret his statement [v. 17; n. 502]. 500. In regard to the first it should be noted that his statement could be falsely interpreted, namely, that Christ’s faithful are not under the Law with respect to being obliged to obey its moral precepts. For it would follow that Christ’s faithful could lawfully commit sin and act against the moral precepts. Therefore, in this context he raises the question: What then? Are we to sin, i.e., act against the moral precepts, because, as has been said, we are not under the law but under grace? This interpretation the Apostle rejects in Gal (5:13): "For you were called to freedom, brethren, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh." 253 23 Ambrose, De Paradiso, ch. 8. 501. In the same fashion he answers here: By no means should we sin because we have been set free from the Law; because if we were to sin, we would once more be reduced to the slavery of sin. Hence, he continues: Do you not know that if you yield yourselves of your own will to anyone as obedient slaves, you are voluntarily the slaves of the one whom you obey. For obedience is a debt which slaves owe to their master: "Slaves, be obedient to your earthly masters" (Eph 6:5). Hence, when someone obeys another, he admits that he is his slave by obeying. But different masters are obeyed for different remunerations. For the one who obeys sin is led to death through the slavery of sin. And this is what he says: either of sin, i.e., you are its slaves by obeying it, which leads to death, i.e., to the eternal damnation of the one who falls. Concerning this death it says in Rev (2:11): "He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death." But the one who obeys God is made a slave of this obedience, because through the habit of obeying the mind is inclined more and more to obeying and as a result achieves holiness. Therefore, he says: or of obedience, namely, of the divine precepts, which leads to righteousness: "It is the doers of the law who will be justified" (Rom 2:13). Sin and obedience are fittingly presented as opposites, because, as Ambrose says, sin is a transgression of the divine law, disobedience against the heavenly commands.23 502. Then (v.17) he shows the folly o obeying sin and thereby returning to the slavery of sin: first, by considering the benefit we have received. For if someone, by another’s graciousness is freed from slavery, it is foolish to subject oneself freely to slavery. Hence, since we have been freed from sin by the grace of God, it is foolish willfully to return to the slavery of sin. 254 Secondly, by considering the state into which we were placed after freedom from sin, namely, that we are slaves to righteousness. But, it is not lawful for a slave to subject himself to the dominion of an opposite master; hence, it is not lawful, if we have been made slaves of righteousness, to return to the slavery of sin. 503. The Apostle touches on both of these considerations, when he says: I thank God, and you too should thank God, that you who were once slaves of sin may become obedient, namely, by believing, not as though compelled but from the heart: "For man believes with the heart and so is justified" (Rom 10:10) to the standard of teaching, i.e., to the doctrine of the Catholic faith: "Follow the pattern of the sound words you have heard from me" (2 Tim 1:13) to which you were committed: i.e., gave yourselves entirely: "But first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God" (2 Cor 8:5). And having been set free from sin, so that it is not fitting for you to return to the slavery of sin, you have become slaves of righteousness, so that it is not fitting to desert righteousness: "You were bought with a price" (1 Cor 7:23) and are not your own.
