Romans 6:17 (LSB)

Passage

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over,

Nearby Context

Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over,

Romans 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Do you not know that when you..." into verse 18's "and having been freed from sin you...", so "thanks" and "though" 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 "though" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.