Romans 6:13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

I don’t know the Greek here, but the NIV seems a bit better than the Japanese in saying “the parts of your body.” The Japanese is a little too specific with “your hands and feet.” Hands and feet are certainly included, but in modern society, genitals are a major target of what Paul is saying here. I was reading a very accurate and to-the-point article from the Family Research Council yesterday about how we need to go deeper than “pro-life” and “anti-abortion” to “pro-morality,” because there will be little to no demand for abortion if people live by Biblical morality. The devil has used contraceptives as a tool to mount a major attack on morality ever since the 1960s and we are seeing the chaos that has resulted, with countless lives destroyed, and not just in the womb. It is, frankly, not easy to buck the trends of society, and particularly not in this area, where our flesh can be all in favor of the sin, at least in the moment. Human nature actually has not changed since creation, so the Bible is just as applicable today as when it was written. For once the King James seems more hard-hitting than more modern translations: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:16 KJV) Those are the categories, and we need to stand against them and offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness, just as Paul said.

Of course this applies to me, just as it does to everyone. I wish I could say I’ve been immune, but that would hardly be honest. I too need to be active in my resistance to the devil, because he never gives up. Too many Christian workers have let their guard down and been totally sidetracked, and I must not be among their number. I deal with people of all levels of spiritual maturity, and I am to be an example and a coach in each case, not putting people down, because I’ve been there too, but encouraging them to live as Christ has made possible, both by His atonement and by His indwelling Spirit.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me indeed live as Your child, fully submitted to You so that I may effectively resist the devil (James 4:7) and walk in Your victory, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!