Be Steadfast in Fighting Sin
Romans 6:12-14
February 4, 2024
On a very limited number of occasions — once, maybe twice — I have felt like I had reached the limits of my physical ability. My arms and legs trembling with weariness, I was near the end of my body’s strength.
On a few of occasions I’ve watched sporting events and seen athletes expend themselves to such a limit that they had to be carried off the field by their teammates. They had not suffered an injury; their exhaustion simply prevented them from physically continuing their activity.
Numerous times I’ve stood at a bedside and seen someone at the end of life — his or her body failing from weariness and the cumulative effect of a lifetime of ills and weaknesses bringing them to their final breath.
All these manifestations of weariness, and more, are not uncommon experiences to us.
But there is another kind of weariness as well — a spiritual weariness that tempts one to say, “I quit — I’ve done all that I can do. I can’t do it any longer. I’m too tired and the attraction of sin is too strong.” Of all the dangers of spiritual weariness, this is the greatest danger — the danger of not warring against sin.
In his book Comrades, historian Stephen Ambrose writes about the nature of war:
Combat requires all the nerves, all the physical attributes, every bit of the training. It is only in combat, nowhere else, where time is measured in other ways than by clocks or calendars. Only in combat does the soldier realize that he is in the worst situation that can ever be imagined, that nothing else can compare to it, that the longer he stays where he is the more likely that he will be dead, or if he is extremely lucky he will be wounded. Only in combat is one in a position in which youngsters his age he doesn’t know, has never met, are trying to kill him — and he is trying to kill them. [109]
While Ambrose was writing of physical war, his description is a fitting analogy for the spiritual life. The spiritual life is war. Our spiritual battle has infinitely more costly implications for victory and loss than physical war. And the enemy we battle is far more devious than any worldly commander. And the General we serve is far greater in equipping us than any earthly general.
If we will succeed in the spiritual battles we face, we will need to assume the mindset that we are not on vacation, but that we are in a succession of battles against sin. We are not fighting to save our souls (only God can save us, which is what Romans 4 is all about), but we are in a battle to live the salvation that God has granted to us. And that is Paul’s point in Romans 6:12-14 — because we were identified with Christ’s death and resurrection when we were justified, we must therefore “not let sin reign” over us (v. 12).
Sin is not our master, and because sin is not our master, we should not live in a way that makes it appear as if sin is our master. That is our battle. And it is a battle we must be steadfast to fight.
Now Paul does not use words like “be steadfast” or “endure” in this section, but he does use words like “consider” and “do not let sin reign” and “do not present yourselves to sin” in the present tense. And that tense indicates the same meaning as “be steadfast” — he is compelling our ongoing, steadfast, unwavering battle against sin.
As we come to these important verses we summarize the theme of this passage this way:
Because we are united to Christ, be steadfast to fight against sin.
We are in a battle against sin, how will we fight that battle? We will fight the battle by living out four implications of our union with Christ.
- Be Steadfast Not Let Sin Rule Your Life (v. 12)
- Be Steadfast Not Use Your Life in Unrighteous Service (v. 13a)
- Be Steadfast to Use Your Life to Serve God (v. 13b)
- Be Steadfast Because You Will Master Sin… (v. 14)
Download the rest of this sermon on Romans 6:12-14.
The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.
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