We must remember that sin is not our master and we don’t have to do the things we feel give us satisfaction for our flesh. We have the Spirit in us because of what Jesus did so we can listen to the Spirit who is our guide and comforter. Warren Wiersbe shares this in his commentary on chapter 6, “Sin is a terrible master, and it finds a willing servant in the human body. The body is not sinful; the body is neutral. It can be controlled either by sin or by God.”
Look at what Paul says in Romans chapter 6 verse 12, “Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to sinful desires.” God has given us free will to choose Him and we need to remember this as we live in Christ. Verse 13 goes on to say, “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.”
We as believers no longer live for ourselves we live for the glory of God so we need to continually pray and work on listening to the Spirit, who will always lead us to do right, and choose to follow not lead. Verse 6 says, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” We are not bound to good deeds or earning salvation, we should be thankful it is a free gift that we can accept and choose life in Christ. Think of the beginning of chapter 6 verses 1-2 which say, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
Our acceptance has given us the power to choose what is right and the more we study and grow the more we choose right and our faith has a chance to develop. I love what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2 verses 12-13, “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him.”
We are new creations and should act like it so the light of Christ shines through us and makes a difference. We can’t just live like we did and say we are good because we know Christ, we must continue to transform and mature so our work keeps us from choosing our sinful desires. Amen