13 Neither yield ye 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. (Romans 6:13 KJV)
William Burkitt’s Commentary
As if the apostle had said, “Sin, which has such a kingly and commanding power, will be calling upon you to give up the members of your bodies and the faculties of your souls as instruments or weapons for its service: but yield not your consents thereto, turn a deaf ear to the voice of sin, and hearken to the call of God who commands you to yield yourselves to him, and your members as instruments for his service.”
Here note, 1. A negative exhortation, Yield not your members as as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. Let not sin or Satan have an eye, an ear, a tongue, a foot, a hand, nay, not so much as a little finger devoted to their service, how strongly soever they may solicit and move for it.
Note, 2. A positive injunction, But yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Learn hence, That Christians ought not to suffer any members of their body to be employed in the service of sin, but to yield them all up unto God, in obedience to his will. Here are two opposite masters, God and sin; one is a tyrant and usurper and the other is a rightful lord and master. And here also are two opposite employments: unrighteousness, by which is meant all sin, whereby we deal unrighteously with God, our neighbour, and ourselves; and righteousness, whereby we give to God, to others, and ourselves, their respective dues.
Now the apostle calls loudly upon us to render to God the things that are God’s; to yield every member of the body to him, and employ it for him; for the members of the body were all created by him and redeemed for him, and shall be glorified with him.
O let us then take heed of abusing any members of our body; let us not employ so much as a little finger or hair of our heads in the service of sin: for it is the Lord’s: And let everyone take heed of dishonouring God with his bodily members, lest he provoke God to deny him the comfortable use of the members of his body. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand against the prophet of God, he presently lost the use of his hand.
Oh! how suddenly can God wither a hand or arm that is stretched out to do mischief? ’tis a righteous thing for God to smite an abused eye with blindness, an abused ear with deafness, an abused foot with lameness, a swearing or forswearing tongue with paralytic deadness.
Lord, how justly mayest thou recall thy favours when we fight against thee with them? Yielding the members of our bodies as weapons of unrighteousness unto sin!