Do Not Let Sin Reign in Your Life

Paul writes these words in Romans 6:12-13,

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
(Rom. 6:12-13 ESV)

In these verses, Paul continues his argument by drawing a conclusion from what he has said so far in the previous verses. In verse eleven he wrote, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” As a result of considering oneself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, sin should not be allowed to reign in one’s mortal body. Paul is telling his audience that because they have died to sin and are now alive to God in Christ, they should not let sin reign in their lives, to make them obey its passions. As believers, sin should not be allowed to hold sway over them. It should not rule over them. Sin should not be allowed to exercise dominion over them, but notice what else Paul says. He states that sin should not reign in their mortal bodies, that is, their whole person. Mortal bodies represent the person in his entirety. Sin should not be allowed to reign anywhere in one’s life (thoughts, desires, words, deeds). Sin should find no home anywhere in the believer because where sin reigns, it demands obedience. If sin is allowed to rule, the result will be obedience to all that it demands. If sin has control, one’s body will obey its passions—those desires that are contrary to God’s will. Paul says this situation ought not be the case for believers.

Friends, sin is not to be given any quarter. It is not to be given any ground. Sin is not to be allowed to rule or to reign in your mortal bodies. Do not let sin find a home anywhere in your life. It is not to have control over your thoughts, your desires, your words, or your actions. Anywhere it has control in your body, your body will obey its evil desires. So, is there anywhere that sin reigns in your mortal body in such a way that it is making you obey it? If so, today, now, is the time to kick sin out, to dismantle its reign. Today, now, is the time to obey God. Check your thoughts. Are they pleasing to God? Check your desires. Are they pleasing to God? Check your words. Are they pleasing to God? Check your actions. Are they pleasing to God?

Paul continues in verse thirteen by stating, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Interestingly, the word Paul uses here for instruments is a military reference to weapons. So what Paul is saying is do not
present your members to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. He is telling his audience to not offer their members, that is every part of what makes up who they are, to sin. They are not to place their members at the disposal of sin. They are not to give their members over as weapons for doing those things that are not righteous, those things that are not according to God, things not in keeping with all that God has said.

Instead, Paul says, “but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Rather than presenting themselves to sin, Paul instructs them to present themselves to God because they have been brought from death to life. As those who have participated in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, they are now alive in Christ by the power of His resurrection, so they should present themselves to God. In addition to presenting themselves to God, they should also present their members to God as instruments/weapons for righteousness. So, instead of presenting their members to sin, they are to present them to God and, instead of for the purpose of unrighteousness, it is for the purpose of righteousness. It is for the purpose of doing those things that are pleasing to God, those things that honor God. Paul paints a picture of stark contrast in order to make his point—there should be a drastic difference between the lives of believers and their old non-believing selves. Instead of giving themselves to sin, they should now be giving themselves to God for the purpose of pleasing Him.

Friends, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

By His Grace Alone,

Josh