Romans 6:17

“But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, etc..] Not that the apostle must be thought to give thanks to God for that these persons had been the servants of sin, than which nothing is more disagreeable to God, or caused more shame to themselves; but that inasmuch as they had been in the drudgery and service of sin, they were now freed from it. Just as if a person, that has been a slave for some time in Algiers, should bless God, or be thankful to the instrument of his deliverance, that whereas he had been in such slavery, he is now redeemed from it: wherefore it is added, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. By “the form of doctrine”, is…”

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of Sin--that is, that this is a state of things now past and gone. but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you--rather, "whereunto ye were delivered" (Margin), or cast, as in a mould. The idea is, that the teaching to which they had heartily yielded themselves had stamped its own impress upon them.”

“But God be thanked - The argument in this verse is drawn from a direct appeal to the feelings of the Roman Christians themselves. From their experience, Paul was able to draw a demonstration to his purpose, and this was with him a ground of gratitude to God. That ye were ... - The sense of this passage is plain. The ground Of the thanksgiving was not that they had been the slaves of sin; but it is, that notwithstanding this, or although they had been thus, yet that they were now obedient. To give thanks to God that people were sinners, would contradict the whole spirit of this argument, and of the Bible. But to give thanks that although people had been sinners, yet that now they had become…”

“The form of doctrine into which ye have been delivered - Literally it is, The mould into which ye have been delivered; which, as it contains a beautiful allusion, conveys also a very instructive admonition; intimating that our minds, all pliant and ductile, should be conformed to the gospel precepts, as liquid metal, take the figure of the mould into which they are cast. Romans 6:18”

“But: Rom 1:8; Ch1 29:12-16; Ezr 7:27; Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26; Act 11:18, Act 28:15; Co1 1:4; Eph 1:16; Phi 1:3-5; Col 1:3, Col 1:4; Th1 1:2, Th1 1:3, Th1 3:9; Th2 1:3; Ti2 1:3-5; Plm 1:4; Jo2 1:4; Jo3 1:3 that: Co1 6:9-11; Eph 2:5-10; Ti1 1:13-16; Tit 3:3-7; Pe1 2:9, Pe1 4:2-5 but ye: Rom 1:5, Rom 2:8, Rom 15:18, Rom 16:26; Psa 18:44 \*marg. Co2 10:5, Co2 10:6; Heb 5:9, Heb 11:8; Pe1 1:22, Pe1 3:1, Pe1 4:17 that form: Ti2 1:13 which was delivered you: Gr. whereto ye were delivered Romans 6:18”