Romans 6:20 (DBY)

Passage

For when ye were bondmen of sin ye were free from righteousness.

Nearby Context

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.

Romans 6:20 For when ye were bondmen of sin ye were free from righteousness.

Romans 6:21 What fruit therefore had ye *then* in the things of which ye are *now* ashamed? for the end of *them* [is] death.

Romans 6:22 But *now*, having got your freedom from sin, and having become bondmen to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end eternal life.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bondmen", "free", and "righteousness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bondmen" and "free", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "I speak humanly on account of the..." into verse 21's "What fruit therefore had ye then in...", so "bondmen" and "free" 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 "bondmen" and "free" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.