Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
- KJV Therefore, brethren, 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.
- 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 6:2–15May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer?
- 1 Pet 4:2–3that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
- 1 Cor 6:19–20Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
- Ps 116:16Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your servant. You have freed me from my chains.
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.