Romans 6.13a-Do Not Present the Members of Your Body as Instruments of Unrighteousness
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday July 1, 2008
Romans: Romans 6:13a-Do Not Present the Members of Your Body as Instruments of Unrighteousness
Lesson # 192
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 6:1.
This evening we will study Romans 6:13a, in which the apostle Paul prohibits the Roman believers from placing the members of their bodies at the disposal of the sin nature as instruments of unrighteousness.
Romans 6:1-13, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts 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.”
“And do not go on presenting” is composed of the negative particle mede (mhdev) (may-deh), “and not” and the second person plural present active imperative form of the verb paristemi (parivsthmi) (par-is-tay-mee), “do go on presenting.”
The negative particle mede means, “neither” and continues the prohibition from verse 12.
Romans 6:12, “Therefore, do not make it a habit to let the sin nature reign as king in your mortal body with the result that you habitually obey its lusts.”
In Romans 6:12, Paul prohibited the Roman believers from making it a habit to let their sin natures’ reign as king in their mortal bodies with the result that they habitually obey its lusts but now in Romans 6:13, he extends this prohibition with the negative particle mede.
The verb paristemi means, “to place yourself at another’s disposal” and is used in a prohibition continuing the metaphor of a king or tyrant and his subjects.
The second person plural form of the verb denotes that Paul is addressing this prohibition to all of the believers in Rome as a corporate unit and means, “all of you.”
The present imperative form of the verb paristemi is a “customary present imperative,” which emphasizes that the Roman believers were “to make it their habit” of not placing the members of their bodies at the disposal of the sin nature.
Romans 6:13, “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.”
“The members of your body” refers to the different parts of the human body and is used with reference to the old Adamic sin nature, which resides in the genetic structure of the human body.
It is used in this manner in other portions of the New Testament.
Romans 7:22-23, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.”
Colossians 3:1-5, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
James 3:1-6, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses' mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.”
James 4:1, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”
Romans 6:13, “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.”
“To sin” refers again to the sin nature.
“As instruments of unrighteousness” is composed of the accusative neuter plural form of the noun hoplon (o%plon) (hop-lon), “as instruments” and the genitive feminine singular form of the noun adikia (a)dikiva) (ad-ee-kee-ah), “of unrighteousness.”
The noun adikia is the antithesis in meaning to the noun dikaiosune (dikaiosuvnh), “righteousness,” which is a general term for “virtue” and “integrity” of character, thus, adikia is the state of possessing no virtue or integrity.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “integrity”: (1) Soundness of and adherence to moral principle and character; uprightness; honesty (2) The state of being whole, entire, or undiminished (3) A sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines “virtue”: (1) Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness (2) Conformity of one’s life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness, rectitude.
Therefore, in Romans 6:13, the noun adikia refers to actions that do not adhere to the will of God, and that are not upright, honest, perfectly whole, thus leaving them in an unsound, impaired and in a bad condition.
The noun adikia describes actions that have no virtue in the sense that they have no moral excellence, goodness, and do not conform to the will of God.
The noun adikia, “unrighteousness” functions as a “genitive of production” indicating that the members of the human body “produced” this unrighteousness.
In Galatians 5:13-21, Paul presents the different manifestations of unrighteousness that are produced by the members of the body.
Galatians 5:13-21, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”