As we continue through the book of Romans, we’re talking about the victory that Christ won over our sin nature. The last verse we looked at told us to offer the parts of our bodies as weapons of righteousness.

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

Romans 6:13

This verse is the key to the road Paul has us on. It will culminate in chapter 12 where he takes it to its full expression.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God– this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1

But, it’s a long journey from here to there. We’ll need to understand a few important principles along the way.

First, we must look at the underlying concept.

For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:14

We’re told that everything hinges on the fact that sin shall not be our lord. That’s because we are no longer under law, but grace.

Remember what we learned earlier; the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. If I put myself under the law, then I’m under the power of sin. So if I don’t want sin to be my master, I have to keep away from legalism.

It’s important at this point, that you understand the flow of the book of Romans. Paul has shown us the need for salvation, for both the ungodly and religious. He then showed us the wonderful work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Now that the apostle has explained how Christ defeated death and sin in our lives, he’s taking us on a spiritual path. He’s going to show us the progression from being a carnal, fleshly Christian to becoming a soulish and then a spiritual believer.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey…

Romans 6:15-16a

This passage is the first step down that path. It’s actually quite a question. It reveals the struggle that many people are going through.

This may sound like the question he asked in verse 1, but it’s actually not. At that point, he was talking about totally going into sin. This is different.

This verse shows us that even though the reign of sin has been ended by Christ, there can be a voluntary slavery. The fact is, that as a carnal, fleshly believer, I can choose to sin because I want to, from time to time. After all, there are certain sins that I like.

Paul’s short answer is, “No way!!!”

We have made an offering of ourselves to God for His purposes. This is a concept that needs to be explored in detail. We’ll get to that in my next post.

Question: What is your view of the power of sin?

© 2021 Nick Zaccardi