Romans 6:12-14 | Verse by Verse Bible Study

Romans 6:12-14

Father God, thank you so much for this time that we can spend reading and studying your holy word rightly divided. Thank you for teaching us Lord how that we should live unto God instead of just living for our flesh. Thank you that as believers we can read and study your word rightly divided and that it will work effectually in us. In Christ's name we pray, amen. 

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Having understood that we are dead to sin but alive unto God we need to then CHOOSE to live unto God. We have the choice now, every moment. Before salvation we were spiritually dead and all we did was live for the flesh and we followed after Satan's course for this world. 

Eph 2:2 KJV - 

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Paul tells us NOT to let sin reign in our mortal bodies. This means to not just cave in to every fleshly desire that we have. We need to have God's word working in us to make better decisions based upon sound doctrine, in our lives. The only way that we can do this is by getting sound grace doctrine built up in our inner man. We have God's Spirit in our spirit but we also need God's word daily to keep our minds renewed or else we will just continue to live like our old selves!

There are a lot of believers who live just like the world. They are either very worldly or very religious (both are legalistic), which are both works of the flesh. Our flesh wants what it wants, whether that is to engage in things like fornication and using foul language, or to boast in itself through religious works and efforts like "fasting to hear from God" (we do not need to fast today because we are complete in Christ, and God only speaks to us today through his word rightly divided). These are just a few examples. But Paul tells us NOT to let sin reign in our mortal bodies. So first and foremost we need to understand that we are dead to sin and alive unto God, then make the DECISION to walk in the Spirit instead of after the flesh. 

13 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.

We need to decide that we want to yeild our bodies over as instruments of righteousness unto God. We do not use our flesh to serve God, because our flesh is still vile. The flesh does not have the capacity to serve God. But we can yeild ourselves over to God so that He may use our bodies “as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

Yeild is a grace word. It's important to notice the words that Paul uses in his epistles. Yeild in this case essentially means:

• To give way; not to oppose.

• To concede; surrender; allow.

We are to ALLOW Christ and His word to live in and through us as believers. Our bodies can now be instruments of righteousness unto God. 

God didn't save us just so that we can live for our flesh. God wants to live in and through us. There are several reasons for this:

1. God loves us and wants to show his love to us by helping us overcome the strongholds in our minds and hearts - such as teaching us to forgive and love others.

2. God wants to show his love to others by living in and through us. For example, when we truly forgive others it shows others God's love working in us and they might desire to also be saved and have God's love work in them.

3. God is teaching the angels about his manifold wisdom by Him living in and through us. However, it has to be our free will decision and not something that is forced.

4. God wants others to be saved. He wants to live in and through us so that we will share the gospel with unbelievers. The more sound grace doctrine we have in our inner man, the more boldly we will share and proclaim the gospel. 

5. God wants other believers to be established and edified in sound grace doctrine. He wants to live in and through us so that we will share sound grace doctrine with fellow believers who have less understanding than we do and to encourage others with the word with those who have the same or more understanding. He wants us teaching others His word and how they can also study out God's word more for themselves. 

6. God wants us earning rewards for heaven. We earn rewards by allowing Christ to live in and through us as believers. We mature spiritually through the word and this leads to higher positions in God's heavenly government after the rapture. The more believers that are earning higher positions, the sooner the rapture might occur! 

Christ living in and through us isn't about "stopping all sin". You will inevitably sometimes sin. But you don't have to let sin REIGN in your mortal body. 

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Paul says that sin doesn't have to have total dominion over us anymore. We are not under the law but under grace. If we try to keep the law, we will just sin more! But because we are under GRACE, we can now walk in the Spirit. Again, this is ONLY accomplished by getting sound grace doctrine in our inner man by reading and studying God's Word rightly divided, believing it and obeying it. Sound Grace Doctrine is in Paul's Epistles of Romans through Philemon. We are to understand that it is in Paul's Epistles that are written specifically TO us today, though we should read and study the whole Bible as well but the rest of scripture is for our learning, not for our obedience. God then does the good works through you, as you use “the mind of Christ” to make decisions based upon the sound doctrine built up in your inner man.

1 Cor 2:16

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

1Th 2:13 KJV - 

13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

Walking in the Spirit is NOT accomplished by trying to put yourself under the old testament law, or any law for that matter!

Galatians 3:24-25 says, 

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 

But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

In Christendom after a person is saved, they usually try to immediately put you under the law. They might tell you that you must:

• Be water baptized 

• Join a church or denomination 

• Start volunteering right away 

• Give you a bumper sticker and T-shirts that say "I love my church" which pleases your flesh (pride) and might make you act more religious (law-keeping) and loyal to that particular church without questioning their doctrine 

• Tell you to start tithing 

• Tell you that you must continually confess your sins 

• Tell you to keep holy days, Jewish feasts, a liturgical calendar or the sabbath 

• Give you a corrupt Bible to read and tell you that God doesn't have a perfectly preserved word for us today (the KJB is the perfectly preserved word of God for us in the English language) causing you to question God's word. 

• Perhaps even get you to go to seminary school which kills your faith because they are not Bible believers, rather they simply teach whatever theological system that they are aligned with. This might also make you increasingly more religious, promoting more law keeping.

Etc. But we are not under the law but under grace! 

What they DO NOT DO that they SHOULD be doing FIRST is:

• Preach a clear gospel message of grace. 

• Help you to be properly established in foundational grace doctrine in the book of Romans or at least teach you that you should study that book first. Then, help you to be further stablished in Paul's Epistles (sound grace doctrine).

• Teach you how to rightly divide the scriptures 

• Teach you about grace living; about allowing Christ to live in and through you as a believer. 

• Keep encouraging you through the word and keeping you in prayer.

Homework: Think over the verses. What do the words "reign" and "dominion" mean? 

Also, have you ever thought of your body as an instrument that God could use for his purpose and glory?

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