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But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.
Romans 6:22 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life.
  • KJV But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
  • NKJV But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
  • NASB But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
  • NLT But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Now freed from sin and enslaved to God, believers reap the fruit of holiness and, in the end, eternal life. God's service yields a harvest of life.

Overview

Paul sets the believer's new condition against the former one: freed from sin, bound to God, bearing fruit unto sanctification. The end is no longer death but eternal life, the gracious goal of God's saving work. Holiness here is both the present fruit and the path leading to glory.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 39

  • 1 Pet 2:16Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
  • Rom 6:18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
  • Rom 8:2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
  • Gal 5:13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
  • John 8:32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
  • Isa 54:17No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
  • Rom 6:14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
  • 1 Cor 7:22For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman. Conversely, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave.
  • 1 Pet 1:9now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
  • Gal 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  • Gal 1:10Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
  • Rom 7:4Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
  • Rom 6:21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.
  • Dan 3:26Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,
  • John 15:2He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
  • Ps 143:12And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.
  • Ps 92:14In old age they will still bear fruit; healthy and green they will remain,
  • Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
  • John 4:36Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
  • Job 1:8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
  • 2 Cor 3:17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
  • Phil 4:17Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.
  • Titus 1:1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
  • Col 1:10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
  • Phil 1:11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
  • Gen 50:17‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
  • Ps 37:37–38Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.
  • Matt 13:40As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
  • Rev 7:13Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”
  • Rom 7:25Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
  • Num 23:10Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
  • Matt 19:29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
  • Matt 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
  • Eph 5:9for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
  • John 15:16You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
  • Dan 6:20When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
  • Ps 86:2Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You.
  • Jas 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
  • Col 4:12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in the full will of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Romans videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Romans 6:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RomansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.

How Romans 6:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.