We continue today in our study of the Book of Romans. So we're in Romans chapter 6, and it says that we're going to be looking at 12 through 14, but we're going to stop at verse 13 today. So just two verses, just two verses in the Book of Romans. And as I turn there since my little sticky note disappeared. All right, Romans 6. beginning in verse 12. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it and its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. This is God's holy, inspired, inerrant, life-giving, powerful, convicting, converting, encouraging word. May God speak to each of us as we pray. Father, thank you that you recorded. You had men write down and record what you told them to write. A word from on high. This is what we need. And I pray, Lord, that through my words, which are fallible, that the infallible truths of scripture would come forth, and Lord, that we would heed them, hear them and heed them, in Jesus' name, amen. This past week, you may have noticed here and there some people who were walking around with a smudged sign of a cross on their forehead. made with ashes. Wednesday, in case you know, this past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of Lent. What is Lent, you ask? Well, Lent is a 40-day period which represents the time that Jesus fasted and was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40 days. And as you probably know, people observe this today And usually giving up something for Lent, it may be something like candy or alcohol or, you know, social media or who knows what, but for 40 days they give something up for the observation of Lent. It's actually an ancient practice. It dates back to the 4th century AD. But the question is, why don't we observe Lent in our church? because the observance of Lent is actually a man-made practice which is found nowhere in the scriptures. Nowhere are we told that this is an observance that we ought to participate in or to do. But surely someone would ask, can't this be a useful practice to help us draw closer to God? And we could fill in the blank with other practices that the church and that some Christians have developed. But let me just read a few verses from Colossians chapter 2, verses 20 to 23. Think of Lent as you hear these verses. Paul writes, therefore, why do you subject yourselves to regulations, do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom and self-imposed religion false humility and neglect of the body but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Isn't that interesting? Paul says that man-made traditions that teach that you deny yourself certain things, but they're according to the doctrines and commandments of men. He says these are self-imposed and they have no value in our battle against sin. Wow. You mean I can't just decide how to live this Christian life and how to overcome sin? No, God has given us directions. That's why we go to places like Romans chapter 6. The Word of God is where we turn to teach us how to overcome sin and win the war against the flesh. The Word of God is our source. So, Romans 6, Paul is at the beginning of this chapter, he's laying the foundation sanctification. Sanctification is our growth in grace, growth in holiness, growth in Christ's likeness. You remember justification is an act of God that's once and for all where we are when we trust in Jesus Christ and receive him as Lord and Savior we are forgiven of all our sins and counted righteous in his sight. But sanctification is another matter. And so in this chapter Paul started out in verse one. He says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And of course, in the following verses, he's been refuting that idea that, well, since we're forgiven, then it doesn't matter how we live. And he says, you know, may it never be that we even think that way. The believer cannot continue in sin. Why not? Because we've died to sin, he taught. And the reason we've died to sin is because those who have believed in Jesus have been baptized, that is, brought into union with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. He went on to say that our old man is crucified with Christ, that we've been set free from sin's power and penalty. and that we're no longer slaves. So these are truths that lay the foundation for the growth of a Christian. And so we are to reckon these things to be true. We are to count them as facts, as hardcore truths that are true of us now that we believe. To reckon is to say, I believe this to be true, I know it to be true, and I'm counting on it. to be true. It's an act of faith. But that is the beginning of sanctification. Some call this definitive sanctification. It's the moment you believe, not only are you justified, but you're set apart unto God and you're put in Christ and you reckon to be so the fact that you are in Christ and that means dead to sin and all the rest. But that's not all, of course. We must actually go on to do something, to live a certain way, the way that God has commanded us to live. But how do we do that? Well, there's a lot. The whole Bible teaches us, in a sense, how we are to do that. But in these next two verses, 12 and 13, Paul gives us some of the instructions about the how to go about it. And so there are two things in the passage, two points today. And the first one we will look at is simply a command, and it's, don't let sin reign in your body. Don't let sin reign in your body. Verse 12 begins with the word, therefore, and of course, he's looking back, you know, to what he's just said. Since you are dead to sin and alive to God, therefore, don't let sin reign in your body. You are responsible. Therefore, what God has done gives you You see a responsibility now for you to do something. Again, with justification, there's nothing for you to do. You simply receive what has been done for you as a free gift. It's already done. Can't be improved upon. There's nothing you can add to it. There's nothing you can do for it. It's by the grace of God alone through Jesus Christ alone. But with sanctification, not only must you believe something to be true, you must cooperate with the grace of God. So sanctification is a work of God. It's an ongoing process. It's God's work, the Holy Spirit's work, by which he conforms you into the image of Christ. But in this process that he accomplishes in you, you cooperate, you discipline yourself, you strive to become holy. These are things that you must do. In Philippians 12, Paul put it this way. He said, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. He didn't say work for your salvation. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is at work in you to work for his good pleasure. So work out what God is working in you. He's going to do the work. but there is something for us to do. So justification, a gift to be received. Sanctification, an ongoing work of God that occurs as you work. It's not a once-and-for-all experience. Justification is a once-and-for-all momentary gift that you receive. It can't be improved upon, as I said. It can't be expanded. But sanctification is something in our lives that is ongoing. But some people think of sanctification, they want to think of sanctification as a once-and-for-all thing. Wouldn't it be great today if I could tell you I have a secret, and if you follow these steps, then you'll never sin again, right? You can be done with sin the rest of your life. Well, there is no such thing. But many have sought such an experience by which they can be completely delivered from sinning in this life. They tried to find that experience to get rid of sin once and for all. But the Bible, again, doesn't teach that such an experience is available to us. But what the Bible does teach is this, is that God has done something in the believer's life. He has dethroned sin. weakened its power by the mighty work of Jesus Christ on the cross and the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. All that's left for us to do, I say all, it's a lot still, but all that's left for us to do is some mopping up, okay? Jesus has done the greater part, all right? The problem is we don't like to mop. I had to try to find a mop the other night because I had mistakenly spilled a bunch of sticky stuff on the floor. I didn't even know where the mop was or what it was, which tells you a lot about what I do around the house. And so we try to, you know, God says all you have to do is, you know, some mopping up, but we want to give the mop back to God. In other words, There's some people who have taught and are still teaching today that all you've got to do is just let the Lord live through you. Let go and let God or just look to the Lord. Let him do the work of sanctification. Well, he does the work of sanctification. But there's a subtle error that's taught, and I remember hearing this form of teaching when I was a young Christian, and I looked up to another individual who was leading a Bible study, and he quoted from Psalm 46, verse 10. And that verse says, be still and know that I am God. Well, it can be translated, rightly be translated, cease striving and know that I am God. Now, he took that verse to say that the reason we don't have victory in the Christian life is that we're striving for it. We're striving to overcome sin. And we just need to let God do it. You see, I don't think that's what that verse was meant to teach us. And, you know, that's not what Scripture teaches. Scripture teaches in so many places that in order to be sanctified, We don't just it's not just quietism. We're not quietest. We're not pacifist in sanctification There's something for us to do and the first thing Paul says in verse 12 is don't let sin reign in your mortal body You are responsible You, not God, don't let sin reign in your mortal body. Well, can't God just do it for me? Well, maybe he could have, but this is not the way he's chosen to work in this life as believers. So Paul is speaking to those who have already died to the reign of sin. We know that. He says, you know, you have died. You're dead to sin. You've died to sin. So why would he say, don't let sin reign, if you've already died to sin's reign? That's a good question. But notice he says this, he says, don't let sin reign in your mortal body. Remember that sin still clings to your body. It hasn't been eradicated, and it won't be until Jesus comes back. So a Christian is, you might say, a redeemed person living in an unredeemed body. You have been redeemed, but your body is not fully redeemed. That, again, will happen at the resurrection, the final resurrection, when Jesus returns. And so when Paul speaks of our mortal bodies, he's talking about, I believe, And many commentators believe that he's talking about our actual physical bodies, which we know have been programmed and conditioned by sin, and of course are subject to death, hence mortal bodies. So then, we who are no longer under the reign of sin must not let sin reign in our bodies. As long as we live in this mortal body, We're going to be bothered by sin, old habits and ways that flesh is going to try to tempt us to sin. But as those who are new creations in Christ, we've been delivered from the rule, the reign of sin, but sin still remains and is at work, especially in our bodies. Sin is not our master, but it will try to regain mastery through our bodies. So Paul says, you must not obey its lusts, its desires. The body has desires. The body, as influenced by sin, always wants to be gratified, and usually instantly, right? And so we have to, he says, don't obey its desires. So sin is not our master. Don't let it boss you around. Don't let it tell you how to live. Jesus Christ is your master. And so that means you don't have to obey the sinful desires of your body. Instead, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God. Reckon yourselves to be one who is in Christ. And that means, by God's grace, you can say no to these desires. You're not a slave anymore. Okay? And that's something we need to be reminded of. And to illustrate this, Dr. John Murray shared this in his commentary. He said, imagine someone who has been a literal slave for many, many years, maybe all their lives, and you tell that person, you go up to that person, you say, don't act like a slave. Well, that would be absurd. I mean, that's what he is. And that's all he can do is be a slave. In the same way, if you go up to a person who doesn't know Jesus Christ, who has not been set free from sin, who has not been saved, and you go up to that person and say, don't sin, stop serving sin. Well, that's something they can't do because they don't know Christ. But imagine, again, going back to the actual slave, imagine that person who's been a slave for many years most of his, all of his life, and then one day he's been given his freedom. Now he's been used to living as a slave. In fact, living and thinking and acting like a slave, it's ingrained in him. At that point, he's been free. It would be right to remind that person of his freedom. to enjoy the privileges and rights of his liberation. In the same way, Paul is telling those who've been justified by faith, you are no longer a slave. It may feel like it. You may still think like a slave, but Paul's going to get to that later in Romans 12, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Remember now that you are free. You're no longer a slave. Don't let sin therefore reign in your mortal body. Don't act like a slave to sin. You're actually free now. That's the message. So notice Paul didn't say, don't let sin reign in you. He said, let it reign in your mortal body. You, you as a believer are not under sin's reign, but sin can still reign. It can still come back and gain some traction in our lives. So here's the thing, Paul never says that sin is dead, but he does say we're dead to sin. There is a distinction there. Sin is very much alive in our bodies and in the world, of course, and it will dominate your body if you're not careful. We have to be careful about sin. As soon as we're careless, we enter into temptation and give in to it. So has some sin reigned in your body as of late? Has some sinful habit begun to control you? Hebrews speaks of the sin which so easily entangles us. Again, this is something we all face. None of us are immune to the temptations and the sins that easily entangle us. But if you're a Christian, you're in Christ, and you are in a position to say no, to stop. You've been given a position of victory. You've been given the weapons of victory. You have the power to overcome because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world, the Bible says. But what if you do? Let sin reign in your body. And we all have at times done that. What if you don't stop and you keep on going? Well, you need to first of all realize that you are going against God's purposes in your life. And God's purpose for all his children is to walk in holiness. Walk according to his commands. Be holy for I am holy, God says. So if you're a believer, you need to look at your body differently than you used to. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. God wants you to use his body you use your body for his glory and So he created you body and soul Remember how God created Adam? and he and he breathed into him and he became a living soul so his body and soul and so God therefore wants us to wants to use us and honor Him with both our body and our soul. So 1 Corinthians 6, 20 says, for you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So God, God doesn't just want you to give up sweets or swearing for 40 days. He desires you to give up yourself, body and soul to Him Every day, all the time, is the constant practice of your life. As Romans 12 once says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Not just once, but continually. And that leads into the second point this morning, that you and I must present ourselves to God. Present yourselves to God. Verse 13, do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God. So first of all, he mentions, you know, the members don't present your members, the members of your body as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. Your members are the various parts of your body. You can look at it as your hands and your feet, your eyes and your ears, your mouth, your mind, your emotions even. And so the members of your body is a way to describe all the things that make up your humanity. And first he says, don't let sin reign in the body as a whole, but now he says, He gets down to the particular parts, right? The generalizations, the generalized guidelines, we can take almost as religious platitudes and kind of let them roll right past us. But when God gets particular, it gets our attention. So now he says, don't present any part of your body as an instrument. And a key word in this verse is that word present. It can also be translated yield. Don't yield the members of your body. Don't present the members of your body. It means to put at the disposal of or allow to use. Before a person is converted to Jesus Christ, their body is really at the complete disposal of sin and sinful desires. But after a person is born again, sin, of course, still wants to control every member of the body. So hence the battle, the spiritual war that we're in. And we'll see that as we get into chapter 7 a little bit more. But the members of your body were made to be instruments in the hands of God. He created you and now has recreated you to be an instrument and to all the parts of your body, the members of your body, to be instruments for God, not sin. Now we use lots of things as instruments, as tools today. The surgeon has his scalpel and so on. A tennis player, for example, It uses a tennis racket for a specific purpose. It's designed to hit a fuzzy yellow ball over a net and land in the opposite court without going outside of the lines. But that tennis racket is not made, it was not created or designed to be a hammer or a shovel. Now I'm sure that some people have used it as a hammer. They usually break their racket when they do that. In other words, something that's designed for one thing and it's used for another, it usually ends up destroying that instrument. So your body and the parts of your body were made to serve, they were designed by God to serve him in righteous living, to serve him in obedience to his commands. So when the parts of your body serve sin, what happens? Well, then they're not gonna function as God intended, and indeed they will become broken. And the effects of sin, some of the effects of sin on the body are obvious. Gluttony is a sin and it leads to obesity and poor health. Drunkenness leads to debauchery. Sexual immorality leads to Broken marriages leads to disease and other things. There's the tongue, our speech. James says that it's a small member of our bodies, but it is an unruly evil and full of poison. Our tongues can be used to poison the lives of others, poison ourselves and others. So we must not present the members of our body as instruments of unrighteousness to sin. But the Christian life, as we know, is not only about what we should not do, It is mainly even about what we are to do, what we should do. And so this is the first positive command here in our text. Present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead. Present yourself to God. You now have an entrance to God. Jesus Christ is by him a new and living way has been opened up into heaven, into God's presence. We have access to the throne of grace. And so now we can actually present ourselves to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And that means that we should come before him daily. The first thing we do is to say, God, here I am. Here's my heart. Here am I. I am at your service, Lord. Take my heart, seal it for your courts above. Take my life, take all my life, and let it be used for your purpose. So our focus now in life is to be as one who's dead to sin and alive to God, is to serve the Lord. We are here to serve him, to be used by him, presenting ourselves to Him, taking orders from Him, and obeying His command. 2 Corinthians 5, 15 says, He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves. That's what they used to do. That's what we used to do. No longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. So before you were saved, it was all about yourself, all about self-interest. That was number one. You did what you wanted to do. But now you belong to Christ. You're still going to be tempted to do what you want to do, but you're called to present yourself to Him. And also, as verse 13 goes on to say, to present your members now as instruments of unrighteousness. Use the members of your body as they are intended to be used. not as sin twists and distorts them and ends up breaking them and destroying them. Present the parts of your body as instruments to God. That word instruments can also be translated as weapons in this text. And so the instruments, your eyes, your ears, your speech, your mind, your hand and feet are weapons. of righteousness in the service of God. So imagine this, you're in the army and you are called, of course, first thing in the morning to present yourself, reporting for duty to your commanding officer. You're up on time, you're standing at attention, but you have no shoes on. You forgot to put a shirt on. You presented yourself to the officer, but not all the parts, just some of the parts. That's not acceptable, right? And if you're in the army, you would know that. So likewise, it's not enough for you to present your heart to God, but then to keep back certain parts of your body to be used the way you want them to be used. So all things must serve Him, beginning with the heart. The heart is first and foremost, and then all the parts, all the members of your body. So are you presenting yourself and your members to God? unto righteousness in the service of Jesus as your Lord and your Master." Is Jesus your Master? Well, it's easy to say that. You know, Jesus said, you know, not everyone, though, who calls me Lord, Lord, who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. How do we know if Jesus is really our Lord, our Master? Ralph Erskine was a pastor and evangelist in the Scottish Presbyterian Church during the 18th century, and he gave an illustration which helps us to know who is really our master in life. He said when you see a dog following two men as they're walking along the way, you don't know which one the dog belongs to, because they're all walking together. But when the two men come to a parting road, One of the men goes one way and the other man goes the other. You'll know which one is the dog's master." And so he said, and likewise at times the Christian religion and the world do go hand in hand. And while a man may have the world and a religious profession too, we can't tell often which is the man's master, God or the world. But he says, stay until the man comes to a parting road. God calls him this way, and the world calls him that way. Erskine said, well, if God is his master, he walks by faith and he lets the world go. But if the world is his master, then he follows the world and the lust thereof, and lets God, his faith, and his conscience go. Well, you may be at a fork in the road this morning. You may come to a crossroads or a fork. And you're faced with a choice. Will I keep going the way of the world in selfish desires, or will I follow Jesus? Will I surrender all to Him and follow Him in the way of righteousness? This is a choice that we make, and that choice will reveal, often, who is truly our master. So today, if you're serving sin, if you're following sin, I urge you to submit to Christ. Turn to Him. You'll never regret that decision to follow Him. There was a missionary by the name of Simon Maric. He was a missionary to India and he wrote a little song. Many of you are probably familiar with it. It's titled, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. And I'm condensing all the verses into one little stanza here, but it goes like this. I have decided to follow Jesus. Though none go with me, still I will follow. The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back. That's the attitude we need to have. Now we come now to the table of the Lord, this sacrament of the Lord's Supper that Christ instituted for us. And in this meal, we are reminded that Jesus did not choose the world ever. He did not choose sin ever, but he only chose to do the will of his father and to give his life as a ransom for many, to give his body and his blood shed for our sins. As we see the visible elements of Christ's body and his blood, his sacrifice, that he gave up everything for us. How can we turn back to the world? It's a matter of seeing things plainly that are before our eyes. So let us come to Jesus this morning, turning from our sin, knowing that there is only one path, that narrow path that leads to life that we should take and present ourselves to God as we come to the table of the Lord. I'm going to ask the elders now if they would come forward as we partake of this covenant meal.