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Choose Wisely
Previously we learned that the spirit inside a believer is dead to sin.
Which just means that the basic desires of that spirit are no longer to sin, but to obey God.
These spirits are the atomic, primary representation of who we are.
The spirit within us directs our motivations.
Those motivations direct our actions.
We’re all born with spirits that desire sin, and thus we’re ruled by sin.
We’re ruled in the sense that we’re completely given to its desires.
However, for those who are saved, upon being saved are given a new spirit through a process that reflects Christ’s death and resurrection.
Once saved, the spirits inside of believers don’t desire sin and so believers are no longer ruled by sin.
The believer’s primary self is no longer controlled by the compulsion to sin.
They’re free from the requirement to obey our sinful spirit’s desires because a new spirit has been put inside us.
In past weeks we also talked about the necessity to continually die to sin.
This act of dying to sin is necessitated by the tension all believers feel to follow Christ while continually feeling our bodies(our flesh) pull us towards sin.
That pull towards sin is because our bodies are still sinful.
So even though our spirits are free from sin, our bodies are not.
This pull towards sin is called temptation and it doesn’t cease when you become a believer.
In fact it doesn’t stop until you die.
But because our spirits have been redeemed by Christ, we don’t have to obey our body’s temptations.
The text this week is a continuation of that line of thinking.
Paul starts very strong
Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,”
He’s exhorting believers to take dying to sin seriously.
If a believer no longer has a spirit of sin - why are you letting sin reign in your mortal body?
In other words, “Don’t live in a way that mirrors your old sin-ruled state.”
However, believers have to accept the fact that we live in bodies that aren’t renewed.
They’re still sinful!
They still want to sin.
They plead with us to gratify their desires.
They beg us to take the easy path, telling us that satisfaction awaits if only we just do what feels natural.
Paul is exhorting us not to do that.
Do not let sin reign in your mortal body.
We’ll see Paul revisit this concept in chapter 13 verse 14, saying there “Make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
He’s saying make no provision, don’t give your sinful flesh an inch.
Because soon it’ll have taken a mile.
The concept here is one of self-denial and discipline.
He’s calling us to bring our bodies into submission.
If sin doesn’t reign over your spirit - do not let sin reign in your flesh either!
Resist that tugging you feel towards sin.
When everything in you is screaming to give in to sin - You must not let sin dictate your actions.
You must not give sin the position of ruler in your body.
If you do, it will gladly oblige and your life will start sliding away from Christ.
It’ll be glad to govern how you use your time, your money, your attention.
And your life may start to look successful by the world’s standards.
But your heart is worshipping another and your love for Christ will grow cold
Scripture is full of warnings against this
And I want us to look at one verse in particular that paints a picture of one who has let sin reign in their mortal bodies.
Please turn to 2 Timothy 3:2-5
We’ve all heard this list before - and it should cause dread to settle on us like a chilling dew.
Know that you are capable of all these things.
The seeds of arrogance, conceit, treachery, brutality, unholiness are all in you right now.
You must realize that your victory over sin depends solely on your willingness to destroy sin in your flesh.
Starve it.
The most frightening part of this passage from 2 Timothy is at the end.
holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power
What does that mean?
They have denied its power.
Is this person still a believer?
Let me ask you this - if you deny the saving power of Christ’s death on the cross, are you a believer?
If you go to church and put on a happy face, and you try to live a good life, but you obey someone other than the almighty God are you a believer?
If your life at its core is a pursuit of self-fulfilling pleasure, making yourself happy, doing what you want, you need to ask yourself who you are obeying.
You might be thinking to yourself - It sounds like he’s teaching that you can lose your salvation!
I’m not!
But if you call yourself a believer and you’re obeying the lusts of sin, letting sin sin reign in your body - you should be wondering whether you were a believer in the first place.
The book of Matthew tells us that the one who’s love does not grow cold, the one who does not fall away
The one who endures to the end - he will saved.
Let’s endure to the end by serving Christ and him alone.
Let’s endure to the end by resisting sin’s attempt to reign in your flesh.
Letting sin reign in your flesh, obeying its lusts subjects you again to be a servant of sin.
Think about the relationship between a ruler and their subjects.
The one who is obeyed has the power.
The ruler gives the commands, and those under rule obey those commands.
Those who obey are like tools in the hand of the one who rules.
And in fact the word “instruments” in verse 13 can be translated as tool.
Even though it’s translated as instrument - it’s more like a surgeon’s scalpel than a flute or guitar.
To be even more specific word used here is hoplon.
And it means weapon in greek.
The picture that’s being painted for us is not soft.
Paul is calling believers to become instruments of war.
The saint that has died to sin and come alive to God is a weapon of war in the hand of their maker.
We’re instruments of righteousness to God.
His purposes for us are not to sit quietly waiting for a moment when He will choose to pick us up for a bit of music.
No.
Our lives are weapons in his hands.
Slashing, severing, beating down sin and the plans of the enemy.
Establishing righteousness in our families, workplaces, communities.
That’s our purpose.
To destroy sin and uphold righteousness.
Weapons can’t serve their purpose if they’re dull, or not well balanced or sighted in properly.
So make sure your sights are accurate, and your edges are sharp.
Make sure you’re where you need to be, ready to be used by God to establish His kingdom.
Paul sums up the previous few verses succinctly in verse 14.
He’s also laying a foundation for the next question he’ll bring up.
NEED A BETTER PHRASE FOR THE QUESTION
He’s again calling into question the necessity of abstaining from sin, but this the question has a slightly different angle.
Another way to say it could be “Based on the truth that our spirits are renewed, and sin no longer has power over us - what’s the harm in indulging a little here and there?“
“After all Paul, you yourself just said that sin is not master over us.
Sin doesn’t have power over us, and we’re not slaves to it - so what’s the big deal?
Sin doesn’t affect us anymore, right?”
If you paid attention in the first portion of this sermon you already know the answer to this question.
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