“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.”
Romans 6:13

Do not present yourself…

Sin comes when we present ourselves to it. We choose what we read, where we go, with whom we associate. These are free-will choices. If you’re an alcoholic, it’s your free will choice to go or not to go to a bar. If pornography beckons you, it is your choice whether to go there or not. If you find yourself weak when you’re with friends, it’s your choice whether to continue going with them, or not.

It’s all about choice. If you want to be clean and to walk in purity and holiness, if you care to please God, it will be up to you to remove from your life those things to which you easily fall. He won’t do it for you, it’s always going to be your choice. You may not have a choice in what your weakness is, but you do have a choice whether to tempt yourself.

Do not present yourself…

vs 16:
“Do you not know that to whom
you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death,
or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

If you are a SLAVE to a certain sin, the message of the Gospel is that Christ will set you free if you surrender to him, for our Redeemer will not leave us slaves. Surrender means asking him to change you, and then COOPERATING with him as he leads you through deliverance, and at times that cooperation can be painful. Obedience is almost always painful. It involves choosing to go against our own will when Christ bids us to. If he tells the alcoholic to never again go into a bar, the power of the temptation may be very painful to avoid. If he asks you to stop associating with certain friends, the decision to part ways with those friends can be very painful indeed.

The follower of Jesus Christ must keep his eyes on the prize, knowing that in every act of obedience there is going to be a blessing beyond all expectation. Ask any person who has been delivered from evil by the Lord, and not one of them will express anything but utter relief and thanksgiving, and shudder at the very thought of going back to what they were delivered from. They wouldn’t trade their freedom for anything in the world.

Vs 21:
“What fruit did you have then in the things
of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.”

No good can come from sin. It’s always going to end in destruction. Satan lures with pleasure, but he never tells you the price tag.

“Sin fascinates, then it assassinates.
It thrills, then it kills.
It will take you farther than you wanted to go,
keep you longer than you wanted to stay,
and cost you more than you were willing to pay.”
-Adrian Rogers

Sin is deception. Yes, it thrills …but it kills. It kills conscience, and prevents the blessing of God. And …sin is NEVER satisfied. As long as you feed it, it will always want more.

Obedience on the other hand, though painful, brings a sense of well-being, establishes one in faith, brings the pleasure of feeling God’s approval, and results in joy and peace and love and in all things good. Make the right choice. Once the decision is firmly made, the struggle is over. Being right with God brings joy forever.