Romans 6:16 (ASV)

Passage

Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Nearby Context

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves [as] servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered;

Romans 6:18 and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "present", "yourselves", "servants", "obedience", "obey", "whether", and "death". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "present" and "yourselves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "What then shall we sin because we..." into verse 17's "But thanks be to God that whereas...", so "present" and "yourselves" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "present" and "yourselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.