Paul’s question, What, then?, reminds one of the question that he raised in verse 1, What shall we say, then? It is best to understand this, not as a rhetorical question, but as a question which he thinks might be asked by his opponents. Paul’s argument—that the Christian lives under God’s grace and therefore should not sin—could be reversed, and so he begins in this verse to protect himself against such an argument. Most commentators and translators assume that by the use of the word law in this verse Paul has reference to any command of God, and not merely to the Jewish Law. By no means translates the same expression that Paul used in Rom 6.2.

If the question and answer technique cannot be employed as a rhetorical device, it is generally possible to use a strong negation—for example, “we must not sin, for we are not under law but under God’s grace” or “since we are not under law but under God’s grace, we must therefore not sin.”

Under law may be rendered as “abide by law,” “are controlled by law,” or “are ruled by law.” The choice of a term for under law must in some measure be determined by the corresponding term, under God’s grace; this may be expressed in various ways—for example, “God’s grace controls us” or “God’s grace compels us.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .