Romans 6:12 (KJV)

What does Romans 6:12 mean?

Paul tells the Christians in Rome not to let sin rule their mortal bodies by making them obey bodily desires. The verse describes sin’s rule as something expressed through obedience: desires become commands that a person follows.

The key word is “reign” — βασιλευέτω (basileuetō), meaning “let … rule as king.” The KJV’s “Let … reign” translates one Greek verb. Paul presents sin as a ruler seeking obedience, and the body as the place where that rule operates. Paul has just described these believers as alive to God through Jesus Christ; “therefore” connects that new position with the command here.

The Greek behind Romans 6:12

• “sin” — ἁμαρτία (hamartia): The word means “sin.” Here, sin is pictured as an active power that rules and receives obedience. Paul is describing the authority sin exercises through a person’s actions.

• “mortal” — θνητός (thnētos): This means “subject to death.” Together with “body” — σῶμα (sōma), the phrase identifies the believers’ present physical bodies, which remain subject to death even though Paul has described the believers as alive to God.

• “obey” — ὑπακούω (hypakouō): This means to obey or comply with someone’s direction. In “that ye should obey it,” the KJV’s “it” refers to sin. The phrase explains what sin’s reign produces: obedience to sin through bodily desires.

• “lusts” — ἐπιθυμία (epithymia): This means “desire” or “craving,” and is not limited to sexual desire. The word can describe good or bad desires elsewhere; here, the desires serve sin’s rule. In “the lusts thereof,” “thereof” refers to the body: the body’s desires are the means through which sin seeks obedience.

Why Romans 6:12 matters

• The command follows from the preceding argument. “Therefore” links verse 12 to Paul’s statement in verse 11 that these believers are dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ.

• Sin’s reign has a concrete expression. The wording moves from “reign” to “obey”: Paul identifies sin’s control by the obedience given to it through bodily desires.

• The body belongs within Paul’s argument about allegiance. The next verse develops the point by speaking of bodily members being presented either to sin or to God.