In verse 13, Paul says, "Neither yield ye your members (as) instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield...your members (as) instruments of righteousness unto God." By members, he means parts of your human body--the heart, hands, eyes, feet, ears, etc. By instruments, he implies "arms" or weapons of war. So basically, Paul refers to the struggle between sin and godliness that we face every day and admonishes us to decisively give the weapons we possess to God, not to sin.
So, let's consider some decisions that we can make to use the weapons of our body for God. Let's start with our heart; if we decide to fully give our heart to the Lord, many other members will follow. From our heart, we should decide to love God, and thus take joy in following His commands. We can use our hands to open God's Word, to write notes of encouragement to others, to give our all to the talent He has gifted us with. Our feet can decide to take us to church every time it meets, to righteous places and activities with friends, or over to a stranger that needs to feel Christ's love. The tongue He's given us can speak and sing praises to Him, share the Gospel with others, and decide to speak only words of kindness and other fruit of the Spirit to those around us. By refusing to let our eyes look upon sin on our computers or cell phones, but rather the Words of God and books that grow our knowledge of God, we can use this important member as a weapon for righteousness. Our ears will be better weapons when we decide to let them hear the songs and Scripture that takes place at church or from online sermons.
It takes many definite decisions every day to use our body to glorify God and not for our sinful desires. But Paul says it is our "reasonable service" to God for all that He has done. You will be faced with many decisions today to give your members to sin or to the Lord. When those choices arise, recognize that Paul calls it "war" and give everything you have to fighting for the Lord's side. You won't regret it--it's the winning side.
Food for Thought: Read Romans 6:11-13. List three ways that you can use your members as “instruments” of righteousness.
Amber Allen
My Wife and Best Friend
Amber and I have been working together in youth ministry since 2008. We have two beautiful children - Graham and Cecelia.
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