Romans 6:11
What does Romans 6:11 mean?
A plain-English look at Romans 6:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Romans 6:11 means
Paul moves from truth about Christ to the believer’s mindset: count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. “Reckon” is an accounting term—set it down as true and live by it. This is not wishful thinking; it is faith aligning with God’s accomplished facts. In Christ Jesus, sin’s dominion is broken and God’s life is ours. The call is to embrace that identity. Christian holiness begins with believing what God has done and who we now are. From that conviction flows practical obedience. We are not being told to make ourselves dead to sin, but to regard ourselves as such because of our union with Christ.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Even so see yourselves as dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862so also ye, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to the sin, and living to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752So do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890So also ye, reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive toGod in Christ Jesus.
Context
This verse is the hinge between the theological indicatives (verses 1–10) and the practical imperatives (verses 12–13). Having established Christ’s decisive death and unending life, Paul exhorts believers to think and count in line with those realities. That reckoning prepares for the concrete commands to resist sin’s reign and to consecrate our bodies as instruments of righteousness. The promise in verse 14 will undergird these commands by assuring believers of grace’s superiority to law and sin’s broken dominion.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Romans 6:2
God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?
- Romans 16:27
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen.
- Romans 5:1
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
- 1 Peter 2:5
ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 2:7
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
- Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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