Many
interpreters take Romans 6:5 as pointing forward to the future resurrection. Paul
writes, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will
certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” On the surface, a
reading of the text as referring to future resurrection is understandable, as
the future tense of the verb would seem natural to anticipate a participation
in Christ’s glorious resurrection. If we consider the passage more closely,
however, a better reading would take Romans 6:5-7 as continuing to speak of
present behavior rather than future hope. On this reading, the future-tense
verb of verse 5 should be understood as a logical future rather than a temporal
future (the technical term for this is the “gnomic” future). The emphasis in
these three verses remains on sin, with the added imagery of slavery to and
liberation from sin (6:6-7). In verse 6 Paul writes, “We know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and
we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” Paul thus focuses on the
immediately consequences of liberation from sin rather than on the future
resurrection. Moreover, he connects the baptismal death with justification in
verse 7, where he writes, “For whoever has died is freed from sin.” The Greek
verb translated “freed” comes from the word group relating to justification or righteousness,
a major theme throughout Romans. Justification has been the source of much
debate since the time of Reformation, and it would be impossible to do the
question justice in such a short space. Suffice to say, on a Catholic [RB: I
would also add Latter-day Saint] understanding, justification entails,
among other things, conversion to God and liberation from sin. The root of this
teaching can be found here in Paul’s words to the Romans.
With
Romans 6:8, Paul shifts his focus from the present life to the future
resurrection. A subtle but important difference between verse 5 and verse 8
signals this transition. Whereas in verse 5 Paul says, “We will certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his,” in verse 8 he writes, “But if we
have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” The
use of the verb “believe” in the latter verse suggests that Paul is now
speaking about something for which Christians hope, and the verses that follow
bear this out. In verse 9 Paul speaks of the indestructibility of Christ’s
resurrected body: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never
die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” Paul continues this emphasis
on a resurrection to immortality, referring first to the death of Christ died
and then to the life he (currently) lives (6:10). In contrast to Romans 6:6-7,
which focuses on liberation from sin, verses 9-10 present a future-orientated
hope. Paul rounds out this part of his exhortation by reminding the Romans, “So
you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”
(6:11). The baptized ought to think of themselves as presently alive to God,
though not in the same way that Christ is alive through the glorification of
his body.
It
is important to note that these two understandings of resurrection—a present
life of upright conduct and a future glorious resurrection—are related. This
hope for the future undergirds and motivates proper behavior in the present. In
fact, walking “in newness of life” anticipates the future glory for which
believers hope and prepares them for it. Toward the end of Romans 6, Paul makes
the connection explicit: “But now that you have been freed from sin and
enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end if eternal
life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:22-23). A new life of sanctification, which
begins with baptism, leads ultimately to eternal life.
In
light of the connection between baptism and liberation from sin in Romans 6:6-7,
it seems likely that Paul’s comments later in the chapter continue to explicate
some of the consequences of baptism, even though the rite is no longer the
central focus of his argument. Through baptism, believers have been transferred
from the reign of sin to obedience to God. Paul thus exhorts them to lead their
lives in light of the implications of their baptism (6:12-14). For Paul, as for
many ancient and medieval thinkers, freedom does not mean complete autonomy.
Rather, paradoxically, freedom comes about through obedience, and this
obedience is made possible by the transfer from death to life that baptism
brings about.
Paul
develops this notion of slavery, contrasting his audience’s former slavery to
sin with a new kind of slavery. He describes this new slavery in three
different but related ways. Whereas previously the baptized were enslaved to
sin, now they have become slaves to obedience (Rom. 6:16), to righteousness
(6:18-19), and, ultimately, to God (6:22). Through this “slavery” they will
attain to sanctification and, through sanctification, eternal life (6:22-23). (Isaac
Augustine Morales, The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation [A
Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic, 2022], 128-30, comment in square brackets added for clarification)