ACC ~ Romans 6 v15

ALREADY UNDER GRACE. ORIGEN: Paul repeats here what he said [in verse 1] above. The only difference is that [in verse 1] he posed the question as if he were speaking to people who had not yet abandoned their sinning, and so he appears to be telling them not to persist in what they had been doing up till then. Here, on the other hand, he seems to be talking to those who have already given up sinning. [In verse 1] he spoke as if abundant grace did not yet exist, but here he speaks as if grace is already present, because “we are not under law but under grace.” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

NO LONGER UNDER LAW. AMBROSIASTER: Although it was right for the law to be given—for it was given in order to show that those who sinned against it were guilty before God and in order to dissuade people from continuing to sin—yet because of the weakness of its infirmity the human race was unable to restrain itself from sin and had become subject to the death of hell. God was moved by the righteousness of his mercy, by which he always comes to the aid of the human race, and through Christ he provided a way by which he could reward those who were without hope. By forgiving their sins he released them from the law which had held them subject. Restored and made whole again by the help of God, they could reject the sins by which they had previously been held down. Therefore we did not sin in rejecting the law but rather we followed the providence of God himself through Christ. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NO LICENSE TO SIN. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: I think that Paul is saying this to the Jews because it is the nature of the law to tell us what we should and should not do. If we find ourselves outside the law, there is nothing to stop us from doing what we like, but if there is some way of determining what should and should not be done, then we are back under the law again, and what is said here will easily apply to us. Paul has expres-sed himself in this seemingly contradictory way because he is saying that since we are free of sin we are no longer under the law. He does not mean that the outpouring of grace has given us license to sin. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

PELAGIUS: If you sin, you will not be under grace. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

Rom