“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:12-14 ESV)
There are five regions of sin that must constantly war against. These five are the gateways, if you will, of either victory or defeat in our lives. They are the mind, the heart, the physical body, our spirit, and our soul. Let’s take a look at each of these.
Mind - “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Our mind controls our thoughts and imaginations, both of which are areas the enemy likes to attack on a regular basis.
- Thoughts: Psalm 139:23-24 tells us, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Our thought patterns can either destroy us or build us up. We must guard our mind so that our thoughts are not allowed to run rampant.
- Imaginations: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, says it straight forward, pulling no punches. It says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” We need to learn how to use the weapons of our warfare and pull down all imaginations that are not in alignment with God’s Word and His plan for our lives. The realm of imaginations is a dangerous place. Imaginations can lead to fantasies. Fantasies then lead to sin. Sin leads to death.
Heart - “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Is God talking about our physical hearts? No, He is talking about our spiritual hearts. He is talking about the wickedness that can exist deep into us, and that controls why we do the things we do.
- Intentions: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Too many Christians today have no concept of what really constitutes sin. We think that as long as we are not doing the major ones, covered in the Ten Commandments, that we are okay. But, the Word of God tells us plainly that God looks at the “intentions” of our heart. Why we do things; why we say what we do; why we act the way we do.
- Purposes: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). What is your purpose? To serve God or to serve the flesh? The emphasis placed here, in these two passages of Scripture, is the question; are you going to make up your mind to do something? It’s a strong decision. When Daniel “purposed in his heart,” what did that mean? It meant that Daniel made up his mind to not defile himself–he decided, he chose, he made up his mind–that he was not going to give in. We need such strong conviction in the day we live in.
Physical Body - “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). What we do in, or with, our physical bodies matters. One day, we will be judged for what we have done with these bodies that Yahweh has so graciously allowed us to live in while here on this earth. We must make sure that we use them wisely.
- Actions/Deeds: “for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.” (Romans 8:13 AMP). Our actions and deeds matter more than most people think. A lot of people live their life with no thought to their actions and deeds. The Word of God, though, is crystal clear that what our actions and deeds are does indeed matter. If we allow ourselves to live according to the flesh by sinful actions and deeds, it will lead to death. But, if we allow our actions and deeds to be ruled by our devotion to the Holy Spirit, it will lead to eternal life in the presence of God.
Spirit - “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). The Hebrew word for Spirit is ruach, which means an invisible force, wind, breath, or spirit. We, as human beings, are a tripart being, meaning that we are a spirit being, housed in a body that possesses a soul. Although we can only see the physical/natural body, we are in reality a spirit just housed in our bodies. Our spirit is directly tied to our will.
- Will: When God created mankind, He gave us free-will in order for us to make our own choice as to whether or not we were going to serve Him. God does not want to force His will on us. He wants people to serve Him freely. He does not drive us, but He wants His sheep to follow Him. God did not create Adam and Eve (and you and me) to be puppets. In John 7:17, Jesus tells us, “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” We must make it a matter of priority to conform our will to the will of the Father.
Soul - “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The soul refers to a person’s core identity, their true life. The Greek word used for the soul is “psuche.” The “psuche” is the essence of who a person is. It is their inner character. The “psuche” continues to exist after the body returns to the earth as dust. The organs of the “psuche” are the heart, mind, and will. In these last days, before Jesus comes back to take us home, we must have character that is unblemished by the sins of this world we live in. Everything about us needs to be clean and holy before the Lamb of God. Proverbs 21:10 says, “The soul of the wicked desireth evil.” Matthew 28:10 says, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus tells them not to fear men who can only harm the body but not the “psuche” (life/soul). Instead they are to fear God who can destroy both the body and the “psuche” (life/soul) in Gehenna.
- Passions: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions” (Romans 6:12 ESV). We, as humans, are passionate people. Sadly though, many take their passions and use them for evil things. We must keep our passions holy before the Lord. Do not be passionate about things. Be passionate about God.
- Desires: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Romans 13:14 ESV). Our flesh desires many things. Those desires aren’t necessarily sinful, as long as they do not lead to sinful practices. For instance, we can desire more of God–that’s a good thing. We can desire our neighbor’s possessions–that’s a bad thing. Allow your desires to be washed by the blood of the Lamb. Else, satan will take your desires, use them against you, then destroy you.
- Appetites: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive” (Romans 16:17-18 ESV). Desire is an inward longing for something we do not have but feel we need. Hunger and thirst are appetites God gave humans to make us aware of a need. Hunger for God's Word and His attributes are the spiritual appetite God gives Christians to make us aware of spiritual needs. On the other hand, spiritual appetites can also seek our unholy things that will satisfy the body rather than the soul. We must be aware of what appetites we are feeding.
Romans 6:13 (ESV) tells us, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” The Greek word for instruments is hoplon, which means “weapons.” In other words, if you don’t yield your mind, heart, body, spirit, and soul unto sin, they can then turn into weapons to be used against sin!