“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:12-14).
Our bodies can be used one of two ways – either for God or for sin. As Christians, we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1). Our bodies are “for the Lord” (1 Corinthians 6:13); therefore, Paul said, “Glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
How do we use the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness? Let us consider what the Scriptures teach about this.
Our Minds
When Peter rejected Jesus’ foretelling of His death, the Lord said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matthew 16:21-23). If we are to please the Lord, we must set our minds on spiritual things. “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Our minds are what we use to understand God’s word. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He reminded His apostles, “All things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” He then “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). Under the new covenant, the law of God is to be in the minds of His people (Hebrews 8:10). We use our minds as instruments of righteousness by acquiring knowledge of God’s word and understanding what He expects of us.
Our Ears
God has given us the ability to hear so we must exercise that ability. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). However, it is not enough to simply hear. We must listen the right way. Jesus made this point not long after His call for the people to hear: “So take care how you listen” (Luke 8:18). Listening must come before responding to the gospel (Acts 16:14; Romans 10:17). Therefore, it is important that we are among those “who have heard the word in an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15), rather than hearing through the filter of bias, preconceptions, and human opinion.
In order to use our ears properly, we must have them open to the truth. Truth is found in the teaching of those who speak of the wisdom from above (Proverbs 22:17; cf. 1 Peter 4:11). We see the truth in the teachings of Jesus (John 18:37). The can find the truth contained in the Scriptures (Psalm 119:160). But we must be willing to listen (Proverbs 19:20) and study the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) in order to learn the truth. We must not be like those who “turn away their ears from the truth” (2 Timothy 4:4), otherwise we will never be able to please God (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:10).
Our Eyes
We cannot always control what we see, but we need to control where our focus is directed. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23). Focusing on evil things is detrimental to all areas of our lives. In his warning about false teachers, Peter said they had “eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin” (2 Peter 2:14). Their lives were not full of the actual sexual relationship of adultery, but they focused on that evil. As a result, they would “never cease from sin.” It is important that we do not use our eyes to focus on those things which are evil.
Instead, we need to have the determination of David: “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3). In particular, we are to avoid lust – something David failed to do in his infamous affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2). Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you…” (Matthew 5:27-29). We must not look at (focus on) those things that are worthless and sinful. Instead, we must fix “our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and on those things which are right and good.
We can also use our eyes to focus on the beauty and wonder of God’s physical creation. The psalmist wrote, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1). It is important to appreciate the natural world around us, as this has been given to us as a witness of God’s “eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20).
Our Tongues
What we say is important. The wise man wrote, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). James stressed the importance of controlling our tongues and not using destructive speech. “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire…” (James 3:5-6). If we are to use our tongues properly, our hearts must be right. Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matthew 12:34). [We will consider the heart in more detail later in this article.]
What are we to speak? We must speak the truth: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor” (Ephesians 4:25). We must speak words of encouragement to edify others: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification” (Ephesians 4:29). When necessary, we must offer words of rebuke: “Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:5-6). We are also to use our speech to offer praise to God: “Let us continually offer us a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). And of course, we must take advantage of opportunities to teach the gospel to others: “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Our Hands
Hands are used in reference to one’s work. God’s people must be willing to work diligently (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Paul cited himself as an example of hard work: “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either” (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).
However, we are not to work simply for empty pursuits, but to fulfill our God-given responsibilities. Jesus said, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life…” (John 6:27). Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Colossians 3:23). As God’s people, we must be willing to work to provide for ourselves (2 Thessalonians 3:10) and our families (1 Timothy 5:8), to help those in need (Ephesians 4:28), and to support the work of the church (1 Corinthians 16:2).
The Bible also describes hands as they relate to control. Before Jesus was arrested, He said, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Matthew 26:45). Those who arrived “came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him” (Matthew 26:50). This means they took Him into custody – Jesus allowed Himself to be put under their control. We are familiar with this figure of speech. We sometimes refer to those things which are out of our control as being “out of our hands.” Many things in life are out of our control. Jesus said we are not to worry about such things: “Do not be worried about your life…” (Matthew 6:25). “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). However, those things which we can control need to be handled in a way that keeps our focus on our service to God: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Our Feet
The feet are used in the sense of going. As the Lord’s disciples, we need to be sure we are headed in the right direction. The Israelites were told, “So you shall observe to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32). Though the law which the Israelites lived under was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14), the responsibility to walk straight down the path of God remains the same. We are to “walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light” (1 John 1:7). Jesus admonished, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
How can we stay on the narrow path that leads to life? We must be sure we take the word of God with us. The psalmist wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). In discussing the armor that Christians are to put on, Paul said, “Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). Wherever we go, we must go with the gospel. We must keep the word of God in our hearts to help keep us from sin (Psalm 119:11).
Our Hearts
In the Bible, the heart generally refers to the seat of our thoughts, intentions, motivations, and priorities. Everything we have considered in this article is tied to the heart. Using our bodies as instruments of righteousness does not mean we simply go through the motions of service to God and expect Him to be pleased. Paul said we must be “obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:17). In writing about giving, Paul told the saints in Corinth that it must not be done “grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). This principle applies to all that we do in service to God. Fulfilling commands is meaningless if we do not do it out of love for God and a desire to please Him. Because of this, we must be sure our hearts are right.
The wise man said, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). If our hearts are right, that will lead us to use our minds, ears, eyes, tongues, hands, and feet in a way that will please the Lord. It is as Jesus said: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Conclusion
Everything that we say, think, and do must be for the Lord. We must not give any part of our lives over to sin. Instead, we are to serve Him with our whole being. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27).
Andy,
I always enjoy reading your articles. They are an inspiration to me as I read such good teaching as this. Thank you for your good heart in trying to encourage everyone to follow the Lord. Words such as these are very needful and they are always appreciated by those who love the truth. Thank you!
Thanks, Wayne. I always appreciate your encouraging comments.