"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Romans 6:12-14
I like this idea of fighting the dominion of sin, as though sin were an unrighteous leader trying to get us to go along with evil. If we realize that it is something external like that, we might start a rebellion, standing up to it, or participate in the underground, trying to save people in the midst of terror and tyranny. The insidious thing about sin is that we start thinking that it is part of us, or that it is our idea. We think, oh, that's just the way I am... I like this sin, I want to keep it... in fact, it is really a large part of how I self-identify. We label ourselves... we're smokers, we're gamblers. We start justifying sin by saying it is natural... we evolved that way, we were born this way, it is just built into our DNA to cheat on our spouses, or the impulse to rape or abuse, or whatever it is. It helps the species survive, or whatever the argument is. But sin is not a part of us. We have a choice, always. To let it have dominion and control of us, or to choose a better path... a better ruler--one who will actually protect us, rather than eroding our consciences and corrupting our souls.
Today, let's choose God. He works tirelessly for our freedom and happiness rather than for our entrapment and slavery. Going along with the symbolism of baptism which they use in this chapter, let's die to sin and live again, free to choose so many good things and bright paths. Let's break off our chains and follow God to happiness.
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Romans 6:12-14
I like this idea of fighting the dominion of sin, as though sin were an unrighteous leader trying to get us to go along with evil. If we realize that it is something external like that, we might start a rebellion, standing up to it, or participate in the underground, trying to save people in the midst of terror and tyranny. The insidious thing about sin is that we start thinking that it is part of us, or that it is our idea. We think, oh, that's just the way I am... I like this sin, I want to keep it... in fact, it is really a large part of how I self-identify. We label ourselves... we're smokers, we're gamblers. We start justifying sin by saying it is natural... we evolved that way, we were born this way, it is just built into our DNA to cheat on our spouses, or the impulse to rape or abuse, or whatever it is. It helps the species survive, or whatever the argument is. But sin is not a part of us. We have a choice, always. To let it have dominion and control of us, or to choose a better path... a better ruler--one who will actually protect us, rather than eroding our consciences and corrupting our souls.
Today, let's choose God. He works tirelessly for our freedom and happiness rather than for our entrapment and slavery. Going along with the symbolism of baptism which they use in this chapter, let's die to sin and live again, free to choose so many good things and bright paths. Let's break off our chains and follow God to happiness.
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