Romans 6:12-13 NKJV
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 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.
One of the greatest discoveries I made was when I realised that Satan no longer had control of my will. I used to think my will had been completely stolen by Satan and, to some extent, God. I believed that somehow I had no power to do right because the devil had locked my ability to choose, and I was now powerless to choose. Because of this idea, I was bound by habits, spiritually dull, and defeated.
But the day I realised that my willpower had been released from the enemy’s control and handed to me, I knew my victory over sin was possible, because it meant I was in charge of my choices and, therefore, my actions. When I realised that by default, my will or ability to choose was now mine through the new birth, I became free to act the way I wanted.
You’re not a robot controlled by Satan
From scripture, we find that every believer has been made free from the control of sin. No longer are they slaves to sin. No longer are they bound by Satan and the flesh. No longer are they controlled by the fleshly desires. Our co-death with Christ meant crucifixion of the flesh, so by default, every believer is free from the control of sin.
However, so many saints still find themselves bound by habits and are constantly defeated in their attempt to lead a holy life. The reason for this outward defeat is that they are first defeated in their minds.
Many of God’s children do not believe they have control over their wills. Many saints believe that the devil is moving them to live sinful lives, and so for them to become free from sin, God must move them.in return.
This cannot be further from the truth. Neither Satan nor God is in charge of your actions. By default, every believer has been redeemed from the control of sin. God is not in charge of what you or I do, nor is Satan through the flesh. Neither God nor Satan is in charge of your will. Your ability to choose is your actions are a product of your decisions. You decide what to do.
The Lord or even Satan, through the flesh, can only suggest, but cannot make you do either good or bad.
Slavery is a choice
Romans 6:16 NKJV: Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Galatians 5:1 NKJV: Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
To become a slave of sin or righteousness is a choice, and the price for this kind of slavery is obedience. If you obey sin, you become a slave to it. If you obey righteousness, you become a slave to it. So it’s a matter of obedience. Every believer bound by sin is bound because they chose sin. When you present your body to sin, you become a slave to it.
Therefore, to walk in victory, follow Paul’s instruction in the scripture quoted above–do not allow sin reign in your members and do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.
‘Do not let’ shows that the choice to let or not is yours to make. The Lord will not instruct you to do something that isn’t within your power to do or that you have not been enabled to do. He commands you not to allow, permit, or give room for sin to reign in your mortal body. He charges you not to present or submit your body to be an instrument of sin. That is, do not permit the devil to use your body for his purpose’. Romans 8:12 NKJV
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
You do not owe the flesh anything.
You don’t have to fulfil its lust. Do not give yourself to it. Do not give in. You can, you should, you must not give in. When next sin presents itself to you, remind yourself that you don’t owe it. You are free from its authority and have the power of choice to say no!
Do not allow sin reign in your mortal bodies, and do not yield your members as instruments of sin.
Prayer and confession
I confess that I am not a slave to sin and the flesh. I abhor slavery and disobedience.
Holy Spirit, please help me not yield my body as an instrument of sin.
