EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers are to offer themselves to God for the accomplishment of His righteous purposes.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body,
so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin
as weapons for unrighteousness.
But as those who are alive from the dead,
offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God
as weapons for righteousness.
14 For sin will not rule over you,
because you are not under the law but under grace.
Therefore.
Explain how Paul turned his attention to the newfound freedom believers enjoy in Christ.
Explain the “ruler” image Paul’s wording conveys in these verses.
Highlight the challenge to decide who or what will govern our lives as believers.
Paul portrayed sin as a cruel taskmaster.
Sin dominates and enslaves those who live under its authority.
But everything changes in Christ.
The phrase “do not let sin reign” is a command in Greek.
Throughout this passage, Paul has referred to sin as a monarch, reigning over those who do not believe.
Not letting sin reign over us involves an exercise of the will.
It is not completely divorced from grace, though, as Paul says in verse 14.
However, as believers, we have a responsibility to declare war on sin in our lives.
To consider ourselves dead to sin (v. 11),
we actively struggle against its temptations and lure in their own lives. (PSG, p. 52)
Romans 6:12 is a command, indicating believers have a choice and a responsibility.
We are dead to sin, but we still need to reject sin’s temptations and influence.
We need to replace that desire for sin with
a passion for obeying God and being used by Him
to fulfill His purposes in our lives and in the world.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 54 of the Personal Study Guide:
Lead adults to talk about the imagery of baptism in this session’s verses and its significance
for believers.
If adults have not been baptized, challenge them to take that step of faith.
Direct adults to read the second set of questions on page 54 of the PSG silently. Suggest they spend time this week talking with God about what His new life should look like in them. Urge them to make changes that He reveals.
Remind adults that salvation comes to us as a free gift from God because of His grace. Call on a volunteer to close in prayer, thanking God for His gift of salvation and asking that each adult will have the strength to abstain from sin and to follow Christ in obedience during the week ahead.
Reinforce the session by sending the group a text or an email that encourages them to consider how effective they are at denying sin and offering themselves as instruments of God’s righteousness. Remind them that spiritual warfare is a part of the Christian life, but God has given us everything we need to be victorious. Challenge them to reflect on the gift of God’s justification with a commitment to sanctification in
their lives.
Baptism is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. (See Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42.)
Create a compare/contrast chart.
On one side of a vertical line, identity words and phrases that describe life that is lived with sin as the monarch or ruling authority. On the other side, note words and phrases that describe life that is lived with God as the monarch or ruling authority. Use the first six chapters of Romans that we’ve covered so far to inform the list that you make:
Sin as the Monarch