Paul’s answer to the question he has raised is in the form of a very strong negative: Certainly not (see also 3.4, 6 where the same reply is given).

Died (an aorist tense in Greek) points to a definite time in the past, and on the basis of the following verse Paul evidently has the moment of baptism in mind. As a general rule, the Greek simple future does not describe action in progress, and so Paul adds a particle to the verb tense here in order to describe the continuation of the action: how then can we go on living in it? (see An American Translation* and New English Bible “how can we live in it any longer?”)

We have died to sin may be rendered as “we have died as far as sinning is concerned,” “if it is a matter of sinning, then we are dead,” or “we have seemingly died; sin cannot move us.” It may be necessary to introduce some such expression as “seemingly” in order to indicate clearly that the “dying” is to be understood metaphorically. In some languages, however, died to sin must be rendered as “dead from sin,” that is to say, “dead, and in this way separated from the power of sin.”

The final question, how then can we go on living in it?, may be rendered as either a question, “how can we go on sinning in our lives?,” or as a statement, “we must not go on living and continuing to sin.”

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 .