Kick Sin Off The Throne Of Your Life: Romans 6:12-14
“12) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13) and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14) For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:12-14
I find these verses to be very interesting in the discussion of free will and human responsibility. Notice that the text makes us responsible to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies. It seems that we have a choice in presenting the members of our body to serve sin as instruments of unrighteousness, or to present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead. We can dedicated ourselves as instruments of righteousness.
The reason is found in verse 14; “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” So we are forced to ask the question; “What is the difference between the two systems?” Paul takes the next 2 1/2 chapters to answer that question.
We are about to discover that a life of self-righteousness under legalism and the law is dependent on the flesh and self effort for the results. The problem is that our flesh serves the law of sin and death. (See Galatians 5:19-22) This results in the deeds of the flesh.
On the other hand, grace opened up the age of the indwelling Holy Spirit and walking in Divine enablement. Believers can walk in the Spirit. The human spirit empowered by grace and the Holy Spirit produces totally different results. (See Galatians 5:22-24) The results are the fruits of the Spirit.
When you compare the two lists they are radically different. I remind you that grace is not the freedom to do whatever you want, rather it is the strength to live pleasing to God. As Christians we have the means to kick sin off the throne that governs our lives. I view this as part of the maturing and sanctifying process.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
