Do Not let Sin Reign in You

 We don't use the word "reign" very often these days. We associate it with a country which has a king who is the one in control of everything. We say he reigns over the people. He has the power to do the right things, and he has the power to stop the wrong things from happening. Now, we need to take that understanding and apply it to what the Bible tells us when it uses the word "reign."

The Lord gave Paul a command to give to all believers. He explains our salvation by trusting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and then he gives this command. (Romans 6:12) "Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts." The word "therefore, shows that the command is based on what he said about our salvation. Once we have died with Christ, sin's power over us is broken. We need to hear this verse and apply it well in our lives.

Once we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are not to go back to living a we lived before that event. We are to walk in the newness of life. We must not let sin have control over us. As Christians, sin can't take over our lives, unless we allow that to happen. We must be determined that we will not let that happen. We must trust the Lord and the power of the Spirit to get rid of sins that might have been in our lives before salvation or that have come after salvation.

Any time God gives us a command, it is possible to obey it, but we have to make that choice. When we have lusts, which means strong desires of any kind, we can stop them from having control or reigning in our life. We are to be set free from giving in to those desires. Then, we are free to live in God's will, not according to our desires. Of course, we will never get to be perfect while in this world, but we can eliminate the power of sin with the power God gives us in salvation.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Romans 7-9.