Albert Barnes Commentary Romans 6:2

"God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?" — Romans 6:2 (ASV)

God forbid. By no means. Greek, It may not be. (See Barnes on Romans 3:4).

The expression is a strong denial of what is implied in the objection in Romans 6:1.

How shall we, etc. This contains a reason for the implied statement of the apostle, that we should not continue in sin. The reason is drawn from the fact that we are, in fact, dead to sin. It is impossible for those who are dead to act as if they were alive. It is just as absurd to suppose that a Christian should desire to live in sin as that a dead man should perform the actions of life.

That are dead to sin. This means all Christians.

To be dead to something is a strong expression meaning that it has no influence over us. A man who is dead is uninfluenced and unaffected by the affairs of this life. He is insensible to sounds, tastes, and pleasures; to the hum of business, the voice of friendship, and all the scenes of commerce, gaiety, and ambition.

Therefore, when it is said that a Christian is dead to sin, the meaning is that sin has lost its influence over him; he is not subject to it. In this respect, he is like a man in the grave in relation to the busy scenes and cares of this life.

The expression is frequent in the New Testament. For example, Galatians 2:19: For I am dead to the law.Colossians 3:3: For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And 1 Peter 2:24: Who...bore our sins...that we, being dead to sin, etc. The apostle does not attempt here to prove that Christians are dead in this way, nor to state how they become so.

He assumes the fact without argument. All Christians are thus, in fact, dead to sin. They do not live for sin, nor does sin have dominion over them. The expression used here by the apostle is common in all languages. We commonly speak of a man being dead to sensual pleasures, to ambition, etc., to indicate that these things have lost their influence over him.

Live any longer in it. How can we, who have become aware of the evil of sin and have renounced it by solemn profession, continue to practice it? It is therefore abhorrent to the very nature of the Christian profession.

It is remarkable that the apostle did not attempt to argue the question on metaphysical principles. He did not try to show by abstruse argument that this consequence did not follow; instead, he appeals at once to Christian feeling and shows that the supposition is abhorrent to that feeling.

To convince most people, such an appeal is far better than labored metaphysical argumentation. All Christians can understand that, but few would comprehend an abstruse speculation. The best way to silence objections is sometimes to show that they violate the feelings of all Christians, and therefore the objection must be wrong.