Don’t Be a Weapon in Sin’s Hand
Thinking about Romans 6:13.
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And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13)
After telling Christians that we are in the fight of our lives against sin, Paul urges us not to be an “instrument,” a “tool,” or a “weapon” in the hands of sin.
The word for “presenting” conveys the idea of “assisting” or “serving” in a religious way. Since sin no longer has mastery over our bodies, Christians are not to use their “members” as “instruments of unrighteousness” in the service of sin. — Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 214
Don’t use your body as a weapon for sin.
The members of our body should no longer be presented as weapons in the hands of sin.
As a solider submits himself to his superiors over him, so one living in sin is submitting himself to the practice of sin and the will of the devil. — Wacaster, Studies in Romans, 236
Christians have died to sin (Romans 6:7) and have removed sin from the throne of their lives by being buried with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:12).
The words we say, the thoughts we think, the places we go, and the things we do with our hands should demonstrate that we are keeping sin off the throne.
Use your body as a weapon for God.
Instead of using ourselves as a weapon for sin, we should be weapons or tools presented to God for righteousness.
Since we have been raised from being buried with Christ in baptism to walk in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4), the life we lead should reflect that fact.
Presenting our selves unto God is an act that includes rejection of a life of sin. — Wacaster, Studies in Romans, 237
Paul continues to point out that the gospel does not encourage Christians to live sinful lives taking advantage of God’s grace (Romans 6:1–2). The gospel teaches Christians to leave sin behind to live for God.
