Romans 6:17 (DBY)

Passage

But thanks [be] to God, that ye were bondmen of sin, but have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which ye were instructed.

Nearby Context

Romans 6:15 What then? should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Far be the thought.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves bondmen for obedience, ye are bondmen to him whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:17 But thanks [be] to God, that ye were bondmen of sin, but have obeyed from the heart the form of teaching into which ye were instructed.

Romans 6:18 Now, having got your freedom from sin, ye have become bondmen to righteousness.

Romans 6:19 I speak humanly on account of the weakness of your flesh. For even as ye have yielded your members in bondage to uncleanness and to lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now yield your members in bondage to righteousness unto holiness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thanks", "bondmen", "obeyed", "heart", "form", "teaching", and "instructed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thanks" and "bondmen", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Know ye not that to whom ye..." into verse 18's "Now having got your freedom from sin...", so "thanks" and "bondmen" 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 "thanks" and "bondmen" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.