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. Romans 6:13
We were reminded during the weekend message that, “It is easy to be free, but it takes work to live like it.” Indeed, in order to be free from sin and all of its consequences, what we have to do is place our faith in Christ. Jesus took care of everything else when He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave. After we have placed our faith in Christ, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “Are we living like we have been freed?” You see, as long as we are living on this earth, we will face temptation after temptation to sin. Yes, we have been freed, but we have to live like we have been freed and choose to say “no” to sin when temptation comes our way.
The apostle Paul wrote about the freedom from sin that we have in Christ in Roman 6. In this passage of Scripture, he commands us to stop living according to our sinful nature after we have placed our faith in Christ. He wrote, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin” (verses 12-13). Because we are followers of Christ and no longer slaves to sin, we have a responsibility to live differently. We have a responsibility to live in obedience rather than live according to our sinful nature. Paul continued writing, “For you were dead, but now you have new life…Sin is no longer your master” (verses 13-14). Do not miss the significance of this truth. We are no longer slaves to sin. Sin has no hold on us. We are, instead, sons and daughters of Christ. Instead of living as slaves to sin, Paul wrote, “Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy” (verse 19). In other words, we are to live in obedience, honoring God through our words and actions. This is the way we honor God as His sons and daughters. It is not always easy. It takes work and perseverance. We need God’s help and the help of fellow followers of Christ who are walking this life alongside us to live this way.
We have a choice today, friends. We can either live according to our sinful nature and keep giving in to sin, or we can live like we have been freed from sin, because we have. We can choose to obey God, realizing that sin no longer has a hold on us. We are God’s children, and we can live accordingly. May each one of us live as people who have been freed, because, indeed, we have if we have placed our faith in Christ!
Answer the question honestly, “Are you living like you have been freed from sin?” Maybe there is a sin that you cannot let go of or a temptation you are currently facing. I urge you, my friend, to take a step toward living in freedom today. First, ask God to help you in the fight against the temptation or sin you are facing. Next, reach out to a trusted friend today and ask them to hold you accountable when it comes to the temptation or sin you are struggling with. You do not have to walk through this battle against sin and temptation alone!
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray
“God, as I seek to live in Your freedom, help me to…”
Romans 6:1-23
1Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 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. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 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. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. 21 And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. 22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
©2026 Sagebrush Church
