“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.” “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” (Romans 6:12-13,16 NASB1995)
As those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are to be those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are no longer to let sin reign (be in control) in our mortal bodies to where we obey its lusts. Sin should no longer have mastery over our lives, but our lives should now be dedicated to living holy and godly lives for the glory and praise of God, because we love God.
And this is not something that is just being recommended, as though it is optional, as though we have a choice in the matter as to how we choose to live our lives while still promising ourselves forgiveness of all sins and heaven as our eternal destiny. It is not a mere suggestion as something that we ought to do, but with the qualifier of, “but of course no one does that.” And I have heard that many times! But this is a command of God that we die to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, as faith which saves.
For if we continue to live as slaves to sin, under the control of sin, addicted to sinful pleasures and desires, we have no part in Christ and in his salvation. And this is not to say that we will never sin again, but that sin should no longer be our master, and us its slaves. We should no longer be living in deliberate and habitual sin, returning to the same sinful behaviors over again, fully aware that what we are doing is wrong, that it is against God, and that it is harmful and hurtful to those we sin against.
Instead, we are to be slaves (servants) of God and of his righteousness and holiness, in walks of obedience to his commands, in daily living and practice. God should now be in control of our lives, and no longer our human flesh. Our desire should now be for our Lord to please him in all of our ways, to do his will, and to fulfill his purpose in creating us, by his grace, and in his power. For if sin is what we obey, we will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life with God. But if we obey God, we have eternal life with God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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