1 What shall we say, then? Should we continue sinning so that more of God's unearned favor will [have to] be shown?
2 Certainly not! How can we, who died to sin [i.e., stopped living under its power], go on living in it [i.e., practicing it] any longer?
3 Or, do you not know that all of us who were immersed into Christ Jesus were immersed into His death?
4 Therefore, we were buried with Him through [our] immersion [in water] into [a relationship with] His death, so that, just like Christ was raised up from the dead through the glorious power of the Father, so we also can [be raised up from the water to] live a new life.
5 For, if we have become united with Christ in an act similar to His death [i.e., by being buried in water], we will also be [united with Him] in an act similar to His resurrection from the dead [i.e., our rising from the water to live a new life].
6 We know that our old self was [figuratively] crucified with Christ, in order that the body of sin [i.e., our whole life of sin] might be destroyed [i.e., become powerless to control our actions and thoughts], so that we should not be enslaved to the practice of sin any longer.
7 For a dead person is freed from [the control of] sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ [i.e., to the practice of sin], we believe we will also live with Him. [Note: This "living" probably refers to our spiritual relationship with Him during our Christian life].
9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead, never to die again, because death does not have control over Him any longer.
10 For [in] the death He experienced, He died to sin [i.e., to remove sin] once for all. But the life that He [now] lives, He lives [fully] for God.
11 So, you [too] should consider yourselves dead to sin [i.e., no longer under its power], but [spiritually] alive to God, in [fellowship with] Christ.
12 So, do not allow [the practice of] sin to rule your mortal bodies, so that you obey its desires.
13 And do not offer the parts of your bodies [i.e., hands, eyes, etc. See Matt. 5:29-30] as tools for [accomplishing] evil purposes; but [instead] offer yourselves to God, as [people who are] alive from the dead [i.e., no longer under the power of sin] and the parts of your bodies as tools for [accomplishing] righteous purposes for God.
14 For sin must not be your master [i.e., it must not have power over you], for you are not governed by law, but by God's unearned favor.
15 [So], what then? Should we sin because we are not governed by law but by God's unearned favor? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that you are the slaves of whoever you offer your obedience to? If you obey [the desire to] sin, it leads to [spiritual] death; or if you obey [God] it leads to righteousness.
17 Thank God that you people, who were once slaves to [the practice of] sin, became obedient from [your] heart to the pattern of teaching [i.e., the Gospel message] you committed yourself to.
18 And when you were freed from [the practice of] sin, you became slaves to doing what is right.
19 I am using human reasoning because of your human weakness. For just as you once offered the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity and to wickedness, which led to further wickedness; so now [you should] offer the parts of your body as slaves to do what is right, which leads to holy living.
20 For when you were [once] slaves to [the practice of] sin, you were free from [being controlled by] righteousness.
21 What benefit did you receive at that time from doing the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of such behavior is [spiritual] death.
22 But now, since you have been freed from [the practice of] sin and have become slaves to God, the benefits you receive are a holy life [here] and never ending life in the future.
23 For the wages for sinning is [spiritual] death, but God's free gift is never ending life in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus our Lord.