DON’T YIELD
Romans 6:13 Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
We always have a choice of where and what we yield our bodies to. It is not automatic, and there are only two ways to go. You can either yield yourself to the Holy Spirit and produce the fruit of the Spirit by walking in the Spirit and pleasing God, or you can yield to the lusts of your flesh, which produces sin and then, will produce some kind of death.
The word “instruments” could be translated “tools” or thought of as the road or avenue by which something can happen. The body or flesh has lusts, and the war is over the members of your body. This fight will end up with you yielding your members to the Spirit of God or to the lusts of your flesh. What members are we talking about? Your eyes, your ears, your mouth, and yes, your hands, your feet, and on and on. We’re talking about all of your body. You and I know how to yield to the flesh. We have dealt with that all of our lives. Winning the fight requires us to find out how to yield our members to righteousness. If you have trouble doing this in a particular area, you should start there. Ask the Holy Spirit for ways to yield yourself to Him instead of yielding to the lusts of your flesh.
Sexual sin is not the only sin of the flesh. So, if you have that one under control, what other areas of your flesh do you deal with? The Holy Spirit wants you to experience victory in every area of your life. Here are some things we can do to achieve the victory. We can yield our mouth by confessing the Word and praising God. We can yield our hands by lifting them to God in worship, and not just when we are in church. We can yield our eyes by reading the Word of God. We can yield our ears by listening to the Word of God. These are starting points, but you can also ask the Holy Spirit for specifics for you. When you know the lusts of your flesh are operating in a particular area of your life, ask the Spirit of God for a strategy to help you overcome, so you can yield to righteousness instead of yielding your members to sin.
We used to be dead in our trespasses and sin but now, we are alive to God. Talk to the members of your body and tell them they will no longer serve sin but will serve God and His righteousness.