Instruments of righteousness

Before coming to Christ a person has neither the presence of God nor the knowledge of His ways. The parts of such a person’s body are used as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. Proverbs 6:16-19 reads, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among others.” 
The members of the body are the means by which a man expresses himself and tools by which sin or righteousness is served.
In some cases the whole person becomes an embodiment of evil like a false witness or a talebearer who sows discord among people.
It is very easy to serve sin because an unsaved man has a sinful nature that produces fruits of sin naturally and automatically. And this fruit of sin finds expression through the various members of the body as illustrated above in Proverbs chapter six.
The man is ruled by the soul which is influenced by the world, the flesh and the devil. The mind is hostile and has an inclination to think evil.
So the mind receives negative information from the world, the flesh and the devil and instructs the body to express the same.
In such circumstances the man’s will has no power to oppose the natural course of life dictated by the mind, therefore the man is not said to yield to sin but is living in sin.
So the mind, the will and the emotions as well as the overt parts of the body all voluntarily and instinctively serve sin.
When the man is born again, his spirit is united with God and becomes alive. According to the scriptures the saved man must be ruled by the spirit, so the spirit will assume leadership of the man. But the spirit will be opposed by the soul which has been on the throne for a long time.
When the spirit leads, godly information is passed to the mind which in turn instructs the body to express it. If this happens successfully then the members of the man’s body are used as instruments of righteousness.
But this may not always happen if the mind is not renewed first. A natural or carnal mind rejects the things of God and is not subject to the law of God.
The mind is part of the soul, which opposes the rule of the spirit. The body is not a problem; it is just a means of expression to whatever is ruling the man.
If the spirit rules, the body’s members are instruments of righteousness but  if the soul rules the members serve sin.
God, through the spirit, wants us to use the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness but Satan, through our soul, fights to use our body members as instruments of unrighteousness.
You determine whether your body members are used as instruments of righteousness or otherwise.
If you yield to the soul, you will walk according to the flesh and you will serve sin with your body members. If you yield to the spirit, you will walk according to the will of God and your body members will be instruments of righteousness.
The opening scripture tells a saved person not to yield himself to sin but to God.
To yield is an act of the will. You have to choose whom to serve between God and the devil or between sin and righteousness.
You will find that every genuinely born again person would want to use his body members as instruments of righteousness and serve God.
But he will frequently fail to do so because the mind needs to be renewed through the word before real transformation takes place in the character and circumstances of the believer.
Since you are what you think in your heart, it pays great dividends to think and contemplate on the word of God all the time.
God’s word renews your mind and transforms you so you can yield your body members as instruments of righteousness.
This outworking in the members of our bodies of the righteousness that God imparts into our spirits at salvation is called progressive sanctification. This is not achieved overnight.
However, the holier you become the more you subdue the flesh, the world and the devil and the use of your body as instruments of righteousness becomes easy. – For counsel or feedback call 0772889766 or e-mail mairos78@yahoo.co.uk