Our Flesh Can't Help But Sin. Really?

Been sitting on Romans 6 for three weeks. It's not about how much you read. It's about how deep you meditate and live in it.

One of the most common errors is to interpret Romans 7 as the life of a believer, if we don't read in context. Because there is still Romans 5, 6 and 8. Furthermore, the conclusion of Romans 7 reveals that Christ is our victory over sin.

If our flesh is sinful, we can't help but sin. We give ourselves an excuse to sin. We expect to sin. But Romans 6 reveals that our flesh has become an instrument where we can choose to sin or live in righteousness.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. - Romans 6:12-14

It's clear that when Paul said, "do not let sin reign in your body", he meant that we have a choice. We have the power to choose whether we want to sin or not. If we have the power to choose, we cannot have a sinful flesh, because a sinful flesh will only sin.

"do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts..." Notice, Paul did not say, "so that you obey your lusts". He said, "its lusts". Whose lust? Sin's lust. If Paul separated sin's lusts from you, then you are not the problem. Nothing is wrong with you in Christ. You have been perfected by His perfect sacrifice (Heb 10:14). You have a clear conscience (Act 23:1). You don't live in consciousness of sin (Heb 10:2).

When a sinful thought or desire comes to you, it is not you. It is trying to knock at your door from the outside. If your flesh is sinful, there is no way you can overcome sin. But if sin is knocking at your door, you can choose not to respond to it. You can choose not to respond to the door bell.

...consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. - Romans 6:11

If you are dead to sin, you can't respond to it. You can only respond to Christ because you are alive to Him.

...do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. - Romans 6:13

If you can choose not to present your body to sin, it means that you can choose to present your body to God. Now the body (flesh) has become an instrument. It is either an instrument used for unrighteousness or an instrument used for righteousness. An instrument is neutral. It is neither sinful nor godly. It has to do with how you use it. This instrument refers to our present body, our flesh.

Today, if a sinful thought or desire comes to you, you can praise God that it is not who you are. It is not you thinking about it. It is trying to come in and make you think that it's your identity. Because the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy.

How do you present yourself to God as those alive from the dead? You can't do it by efforts and works. "The righteous shall live by faith." Therefore, it has to be BY FAITH.

"...so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification." - Romans 6:19

The more you come before God and present yourself righteous in His sight (despite the fact that you still stumble at times), the more it leads to sanctification of your soul and body. It is always the inward that transforms the outward. You can't change your action unless you change your belief. The more you believe that you are righteous before God, the more it changes your emotions and actions.

Romans 12:1-2 - I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

“And do not be conformed to this world...” 

How do you not be conformed to this world where it's filled with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride in possessions? It is first and foremost, not about renewing your mind. Because there must be a benchmark which you can renew your mind to. The word "And" tells us what the precedence is.

 

v1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God..."

A sacrifice has to be dead. If it's living, it's not a sacrifice. In the Old Covenant, a sacrifice is only accepted before God when the blood is shed and the animal is dead.

 

So what does it mean to present your body as a living sacrifice? 

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” You and I are dead. It is no longer about our efforts. It is no longer about our denying of ourselves that make us an acceptable sacrifice to God. 

The only perfect sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God is Jesus. On the Cross, He became the ultimate sacrifice by dying without any sin. And now, the only reason we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God is because "it is no longer I who live, but Christ, the perfect Sacrifice lives in me" – and that makes me a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

We are not trying to sacrifice anything to God. Because of the Cross, we are all now living sacrifices – holy and acceptable and righteous before God. If we don't understand who we are in Christ before the Father, we will always conform to the patterns of this world. Because if we don't know who we really are, we can never see what Christ sees. We can never get our mind renewed. Until we know who the Father says we are, we will not be able to walk out the life that Jesus lived.

This is why we need to constantly present ourselves to God (by faith) as His righteous sons. The more we present ourselves that way, the more it leads to sanctification of our soul and body. And the more we walk free from sin.

This is why John could write such a strong statement in 1 John 2:1 - "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may NOT sin. And IF anyone sins..."

It is no longer about "WHEN" we sin. It is now "IF" we sin...

"Our flesh can't help but sin." That was a life without Christ.

Now, our flesh can choose to walk in righteousness. This is Christ IN us, the hope of glory.

This is why we sing, "My chains are gone. I've been set free."

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. - John 8:32