Romans 6:13–14

Freedom from the clutches of sin

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Refusing to “let sin reign” in our lives and not offering our bodies to sin as instruments of wickedness (6:12) is, however, only part of the Christian life. The third pair of Paul’s imperatives is directed toward encouraging the positive activity of putting ourselves into the service of God. Instead of succumbing to evil, Paul urges, “rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”

When Paul speaks of offering “the parts of your body,” he seems to be using the analogy of an Old Testament child of God bringing an animal sacrifice to God’s altar. What Paul is referring to, of course, is the use we make of our hands, feet, eyes, ears, and the like. In chapters 12 to 14, Paul will be bringing some practical examples of how Christians can offer themselves to God in daily lives of love and service.

We have stressed that the sequence of events is important for a proper understanding of Paul’s encouragement to live the Christian life. Unconverted people are not able to count themselves dead to sin nor able to do good things pleasing to God. This can happen only after Christ’s redemptive work has been accepted by faith, thus creating the new life to which Paul is here making his appeal. Simply giving somebody a command, that is, applying the law, will never produce the God-pleasing results that our Lord looks for and that Paul is urging. 

The apostle himself indicates this when he points to the proper motivation: “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” Good works can’t be produced by commands or demands. Only appreciation for what God in his grace has done for us is able to provide proper motivation. When such appreciation exists, it will invariably show itself in the good works that spring up and grow in our lives. Such works are truly pleasing to God.