Weapons of Righteousness

Read the Text: Romans 6

Memorize the Text:  

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 6:23, CSB)

Consider the Text: Romans 6:12-14

A battle between good and evil takes place constantly. Every day we face decisions that demonstrate obedience or rebellion in response to the Lord. We contend to remain faithful to the Lord while the influence of the world and the flesh bombard us with temptation. As a result, we battle to be weapons of righteousness in this ongoing battle. In Romans 6:12-14, the apostle Paul charged us to battle well to exist as weapons of righteousness.

The apostle Paul identified the ADVERSARY in the fight as unrighteousness. Sin is unrighteousness. Sin carries a constant nature of war against the mortal body. The attack of sin comes against our minds and threatens the way we think, our eyes and what we watch, and our hearts and what we love. Of course, there are plenty of other attacks by sin, but the truth rest in the constant and complete attack of sin against the mortal body. The attack's impact comes as sin approaches the believer in a manner that tempts our cravings, lust, and desires. It searches for the weak part of our life and centers the heaviest battle there. The deep desire of sin is to cause us to become controlled by the influence of sin. Thus, as believers, we must recognize the threat of the adversary of sin that tempts us toward unrighteousness and against righteousness.

The apostle recognized the ACTION of the fight for righteousness. As the enemy comes against us, we must take action and battle. The battle includes a commitment to see every member of our body surrender to the Lord and not give into the threats of sin. The battle occurs when we bind ourselves to the Lord. The binding occurs in our salvation through a relationship with Jesus and includes our complete surrender and commitment to Christ. This commitment and surrender open the ability to battle for righteousness well and become members of God's family as instruments of righteousness. Thus, we become used by the Lord to combat the impact of sin in this world.

Paul spoke of the ASSURANCE that comes through the fight. The Lord revealed in the Bible with clarity that sin loses. As followers of Christ, we find assurance in the promise that Christ has already claimed the ultimate victory over sin, and as a result, we receive the guaranteed victory through Christ. Thus, the law understood in the Old Testament lessens because we now live under grace instead of the law. As believers, we live under the landslide of grace because God poured out unmerited favor upon us and performed the needed work of redemption so that we could experience the eternal promise of life. So, believers live in great assurance as they battle against the world's influence and sin because of the guaranteed victory in Christ.

We must challenge ourselves to battle well for righteousness. We must guard against the threat of becoming a weapon of sin and be used to demonstrate and reveal righteousness. We need to identify the areas of life where the adversary attacks us. We must constantly prepare and engage in the battle for righteousness and remain strengthened through the assurances found in the battle. Are you being used as a weapon of righteousness or unrighteousness?

This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.