Romans 6:12 (WEB)

Passage

Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Nearby Context

Romans 6:10 For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God.

Romans 6:11 Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:12 Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Romans 6:13 Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "reign", "mortal", "body", "should", "obey", and "lusts". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "reign", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Thus consider yourselves also to be dead..." into verse 13's "Also do not present your members to...", so "therefore" and "reign" 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 "therefore" and "reign" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.