Sin (Part 2)

Lead

Big Idea: Whatever leads you, rules you. Sin leads to slavery. God leads to freedom. Key Takeaway: You are following something — make sure it’s leading you toward life, not away from it.

Today we’re going to be reading from Romans 6:12-18.

Romans 6:12–18 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Who wrote Romans? Paul. Why did Paul write Romans? It was a letter. Who was he writing to? The Roman Christians.

In this part of his letter, we can see that Paul is showing believers that:

Sin is not just an act.

Sin is a leader — its a master — that wants to be in charge.

And every day you make a choice on who you let lead you: sin or righteousness.

In the first part of this sermon series, we saw how sin began. This week Paul shows us what sin becomes — a leader, a master, a voice that wants control of your life.

1. Something Is Always Leading You

Romans 6:12–13 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

These verses are saying that if you have new life (saved) then you should use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Its hard to straddle the line because sin wants to take lead in your life.

A. Sin Wants to Be the Leader

Sin doesn’t just want a moment, it wants management.

It wants to “reign,” to control your decisions, habits, and desires.

Sin will always take you further than you meant to go.

You may think you have control over whatever it is you’re struggling with, but you don’t. I’ve been there. The more you give in to sin, the more control it has over you.

Who here has ever done something wrong and the more you do it, the easier it gets?

That’s sin. The conviction you once had, starts to leave. Don’t let sin have control.

B. You Choose Who You Hand the Steering Wheel To

“Do not let sin control the way you live…” What does that mean for us? That means you have a daily choice.

Illustration: A car only goes where the driver leads it. If you hand temptation the keys, don’t be surprised where it takes you.

The bible says, Matthew 5:30

Matthew 5:30 NLT

And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

So, Carter, you’re saying to cut off my hand? No. What the scripture is trying to tell us here is that if something tempts us, get rid of it. If its your hand, cut it off. Another verse says, if its your eyes, pluck them out. That’s how serious this is. What does that mean for you? If its your friends, don’t go hang out with them. If its your phone, put a screen time lock on it. If its alcohol, pour it out. If its a vape, throw it away. If its pot, throw it in the garbage. If its sex, don’t give yourself alone time with someone. The bible says its better to go to the extreme and cut it off so it can’t tempt you.

Application: Who’s really leading you right now — your feelings? your friends? your desires? your habits? Someone is steering your life.

2. Sin’s Leadership Always Ends in Slavery

Romans 6:16–17 NLT

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.

What’s Paul’s point? You don’t just “commit” sin. You obey it. You serve it. You follow it. Again, sin becomes your master.

A. You Think You’re in Control — But You’re Not

Sin promises freedom but gives bondage instead.

You may think… “I can quit any time, but you don’t have the control”

“It’s just one more, but you said that last time.”

“Nobody will ever know, but God sees.”

“It doesn’t affect anybody, but it distances you from Jesus”

Romans says: you obey sin like a slave obeys a master. You may not feel like it has control of you, but that’s Satan’s goal.

I told ChatGPT that I was preaching a sermon on Sin. I wanted it tell me what its strategy would be if it were Satan trying to tear down teenagers attempting to live for Jesus. This was its response...

“If I were your enemy…

I wouldn’t start with your actions. I’d start with your attention.

I don’t need you to fall — I just need you to look away.

If I can keep your eyes on anything but Jesus… your friends, your phone, your image, your feelings — I win without a fight.

I don’t rush. I don’t push. I don’t show up with a pitchfork and horns. I show up in whatever feels normal.

A little compromise. A little comparison. A little secret you think no one will ever notice.

You’ll call it stress. You’ll call it being a teenager. You’ll call it ‘not that big of a deal.’ And I’ll smile… because the quieter the chain, the stronger it becomes.

You’ll think you’re choosing for yourself. You’ll think you’re leading your own life. But your choices will look suspiciously like the ones I whispered.

And when you finally realize you’re stuck… you’ll also believe the lie I’ve been preparing for you the whole time:

‘You can’t go back.’ ‘God won’t want you.’ ‘You’ve gone too far.’

That’s my favorite part — not trapping you, but convincing you to stay.”

B. Sin’s Leadership Looks Like:

Addictions

Compromises

Secret patterns

Shame cycles

Habits you keep going back to

Temptations you feel powerless against

Application: Whatever leads you will eventually own you.

3. God Wants to Lead You to Freedom

Romans 6:17–18 NLT

Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Here’s the good news:

In Christ, sin loses its leadership.

You get a new leader: Jesus Christ. The King of the world.

And His leadership is freedom, not oppression.

A. Following Jesus Doesn’t Limit You — It Liberates You

Sin leads you into chains. God leads you into:

Identity

Purpose

Holiness

Joy

Peace

Real life

B. Common misconception: You’re Not Just Saved From Something — You’re Saved To Something

Not just rescued from sin… You’re called to follow righteousness. Accepting Christ as your savior isn’t just a get out of jail free card, its the start of a relationship.

Application: You’re always following something. Why not follow the One who leads you to freedom?

4. What You “Offer” Determines Who You Follow

Romans 6:13 NLT

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Whatever you:

give time to

give attention to

give your heart to

give your mind to

…is what leads you.

A. Sin Leads When You Offer It an Opportunity

Sin doesn’t need a wide-open door — just a crack to get in.

Protractor Picture

Imagine this: you start walking and your foot is pointed just 2 degrees off. Barely noticeable. You wouldn’t even think about it.

But if you walk 10 miles, you won’t be a few steps off… You’ll be almost a third of a mile to the side.

That’s about 1,800 feet — more than six football fields away from where you meant to be.

You didn’t turn around. You didn’t make a huge mistake. You were just 2 degrees off.

A tiny drift becomes a huge destination change.

It will control you, don’t offer it the opportunity.

B. God Leads When You Offer Yourself to Him Daily

Through prayer

Through worship

Through Scripture

Through obedience

Through surrender

Challenge: This week, who will you offer yourself to?