Romans 6:16 (YLT)

Passage

have ye not known that to whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, servants ye are to him to whom ye obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

Nearby Context

Romans 6:14 for sin over you shall not have lordship, 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? let it not be!

Romans 6:16 have ye not known that to whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, servants ye are to him to whom ye obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

Romans 6:17 and thanks to God, that ye were servants of the sin, and--were obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which ye were delivered up;

Romans 6:18 and having been freed from the sin, ye became servants to the righteousness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "known", "present", "yourselves", "servants", "obedience", "obey", and "whether". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "known" and "present", 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 "and thanks to God that ye were...", so "known" and "present" 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 "known" and "present" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.