Romans 6:19 Meaning and Explanation
“I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Using a human comparison for clarity, Paul urges them to offer themselves to righteousness leading to holiness as fully as they once gave themselves to impurity.
What Does Romans 6:19 Mean?
Paul pauses to explain his master-and-servant language, speaking 'after the manner of men' because of human weakness in grasping spiritual things. Then he turns the comparison: as they once handed their faculties over to uncleanness and lawlessness, with sin breeding more sin, so now they are to hand them over to righteousness, which leads on to holiness.
The call is to whole-hearted devotion that matches, and surpasses, the old devotion to sin. The energy once spent in wrongdoing is to be redirected toward God. And the destination differs entirely: where sin only deepened into more sin, righteousness ripens into holiness, a life increasingly set apart for God. Paul invites believers to pursue goodness with the same earnestness they once gave to sin.
Romans 6:19 in the Original Language
hagiasmos (ἁγιασμός), 'holiness' -- the state of being set apart and made holy for God.
Frequently Asked Questions About Romans 6:19
What does Romans 6:19 mean?
Using a human comparison for clarity, Paul urges them to offer themselves to righteousness leading to holiness as fully as they once gave themselves to impurity.