Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.     Romans 6:12-13 HCSB

When you see therefore in the Bible, it is referring to the passage that came before it. In Romans 6:1-11, Paul is talking about our new life in Christ. Christ became sin for us. He died and rose again, victorious over death. When we accept Christ as our savior, we are buried with Him in baptism and raised from the dead by God’s glory.

We become new creatures and walk in a new way of life. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior and been baptized, you should have died to sin. You should be walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 tells us if we walk in the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. It doesn’t mean we never sin again; it means we don’t want to. It means we try our best not to.

The problem with sin is that a little bit of sin can take control over us. One lie can lead to another lie. One flirtatious little comment or act can lead to adulterous acts. The list goes on and on.

God doesn’t force Himself on us, we have the freedom to choose Him or the devil. There is only black and white. There is no gray. There is no middle ground. We live for God, or we live for the devil. The choice is ours to make.

If we continue sinning intentionally, we consciously choose not to follow God, but to follow the devil. Hebrews 10:26 tells us if we deliberately sin after knowing the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of fire about to consume the adversaries.

Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us what the Lord hates. It lists, arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. It lists all these body parts that can cause us to sin.

To walk in the Spirit, we must confess our sins to Christ and repent. We must accept His forgiveness and stay in close communication with Him. We must trust in Him and acknowledge Him in all we do (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If you give sin an inch, it will take a mile. We often think that we can control sin. We think that we can just sin a little bit and it will be okay. Don’t deceive yourself, the devil is looking for any tiny little crack he can slither into. He is looking for an opportunity to take over. Don’t give it to Him. We can’t control sin, but sin will take control of us before we know it.

Stay close to God through Bible study and prayer. Trust in Him and ask Him to guard you and protect you from evil and temptation. Focus on Him and allow Him to take care of the rest for you (Matthew 6:33).

You will either be ruled by God or by the devil and sin, there is no in-between. Don’t let sin rule over your life, trust in God and allow Him to rule over you and help you to resist temptation.

Have a great day!