Romans 6:12

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.  Romans 6:12 ESV

In verse 11, Paul explained that, as a response to the regeneration that God has worked in us, we ought to consider, or see ourselves, as dead to sin and alive to God.  Here, in verse 12, Paul explains further how this 'being dead to sin' ought to play out in our lives.

Keep in mind that these commands are very serious...they are about God getting glory for the powerful miracle that He has performed in the life of every single one of His children. We don't obey these commands as a way to earn or purchase something from God, but to reveal God, in all of His power and glory, to those around us.

When we refuse to pursue God, and instead embrace the sin that used to condemn us, we are in a terrible place. Two tragic results of our embracing sin:

ONE: When we embrace sin, we rob God of the glory He deserves, by hiding His presence in us from the world. Robbing God of His glory is not something He takes lightly. In Acts 12:22-23, King Herod was struck down and killed by an angel of the Lord...why? For one specific reason: "because he did not give God the glory" That is a pretty powerful warning!

We all fail to give God the glory like we should, and the fact that He doesn't strike us down immediately like He did Herod proves He is full of grace and mercy. As God's children, we dare not embrace sin - NO! Instead, we need to be aware that we are guilty of robbing God of His glory through our sinfulness, and repent! This repentance includes pursuing a life that displays 'death to sin'.

TWO: When we embrace sin, we give sin power. This is what Paul talks about in Romans 6:12: 

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions

Paul, leading off this command with the words 'let not', indicates that we have a choice to make...will we or won't we let sin reign? Paul says, since we have died to sin, do not let it reign.

What does Paul mean by not letting sin reign? - I think this is an important question since we are commanded not to do it. To reign means to rule over, like a king. We know that, since we have died with Christ, sin can no longer control us or condemn us - therefore any power that sin has in our lives is allowed by us. Paul is telling us, commanding us, not to give sin any power in our lives.

Giving sin any power in our lives is very, very dangerous. Satan would have us think that a little sin, sin that doesn't seem to have any lasting affects, is not a huge deal. Satan will deceive by convincing us that, by only giving in a little to sin, we are still in control...we can stop the flesh before the sin gets out of hand. This is not absolutely true...Paul says in Ephesians 6:12:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

When we embrace even a little sin in our lives, we give power to these forces that are far more powerful than we are as humans...and as humans, we have no power whatsoever to stop them. This analogy came to mind as I thought about this:

Picture yourself in the Rocky Mountains. When one visits the mountains, there is always an element of awareness while there because of the ever present steep, dangerous slopes. Of themselves, these slopes have no power to harm us. The only way they can influence what happens to us is if we allow them to by getting too close...and by getting too close, we not only allow the slopes power to harm us, but we lose any control of stopping them.

That analogy is 'speaking in human terms' as Paul says, but paints a clear picture:

When we give Satan's powerful, evil forces a foothold in our life (which would be the embracing of any sin), we are allowing them power...power beyond our control to stop them. These evil forces have the power to cloud our minds, causing us to justify actions that hinder our relationship with God (who initially freed us from these forces), and robbing Him of His glory.

Paul says here in verse 12 that if we embrace sin rather than die to it, it will reign in our lives - making us obey its passions. We do not have the power to overcome this evil...only God does...and He did, making that powerfully evident through the death and resurrection of His Son!

It's painfully obvious that we all struggle with sin, especially the longer we walk with our Lord, and He reveals who we really are in light of who He really is. BUT we don't have to embrace this sin...we don't have to let it reign, we don't have to allow it any power in our lives. Since we are now living to God in Jesus Christ, we have the power to continually move away from sin, destroying its power and influence in our lives, glorifying God as His power, grace, and mercy is revealed through us!

God has set us free from the bondage that was our sinful, lost state - completely controlled by Satan's evil forces. Spiritually, as His children, we have entered into eternal life - that cannot be taken away. If this is true, as the Bible promises it is, why would we ever think its ok to give our mortal bodies over to sinful bondage again? Why would we let sin reign in our mortal bodies, making us obey its passions?

Father, cause us to fix our eyes on YOU...for YOUR glory! Every day, remind us of Your command...to die to sin and live to You - so that our relationship with You would not be hindered, that You will be glorified through us!!!