Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
- BSB Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
- NKJV Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
- NASB So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
- NLT Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.
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
Believers owe nothing to the flesh and are not obligated to live by it. We have no debt to our old sinful nature.
Overview
Paul draws a practical conclusion from the Spirit's indwelling: we are debtors, but not to the flesh. The flesh has given us nothing worth repaying with continued obedience. This frees believers from any sense of obligation to the very nature that leads to death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Rom 6:2–15God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
- 1 Pet 4:2–3That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
- 1 Cor 6:19–20What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
- Ps 116:16O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:12 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.