4th Sunday after Pentecost
Romans 6: 18 - 23

A reading - from the Letter of St. Paul the apostle to the Romans

Brothers and sisters: freed from your sin, you became slaves of justice. (I use the following example from human affairs because of your weak | human | nature.)

Just as formerly you enslaved your bodies to impurity and licentiousness for their degradation, make them now the servants of justice for their sancti| fi| cation.

When you were slaves of sin, you had freedom from justice. What benefit did you | then | enjoy?

Things you are now ashamed of, all of them tending | toward | death.

But now that you are freed from sin and have become slaves of God, your benefit is sanctification as you tend toward e| ternal | life.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is - eternal - life - in - Christ - Jesus - our - Lord.