Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:12-14
In August 1991, as the Soviet Union was unraveling, a group of hardline communist leaders attempted a coup against President Mikhail Gorbachev. During those tense days, Boris Yeltsin, then president of the Russian republic, became the symbol of resistance. One of the most memorable images of that historic moment was Yeltsin standing atop a tank outside the Russian parliament building, calling on the military and the people to oppose the coup. When the armed forces chose to back his authority, the coup collapsed—and with it, the old Soviet order soon came to an end.
Any time there is uncertainty about who is in control—whether in a nation, a business, a church, or a family—confusion and chaos follow. The same is true in an individual life. Every one of us serves a master, and the choice of whether we serve sin or serve God dictates the course of our lives.
Before we were saved, we were servants of sin. Living a life dominated by sin was our only option. No amount of willpower, character, or determination can give a lost person heart-level victory over sin.
But when we trusted Christ as our Savior, we received a new Master. Jesus not only forgave us, but He gives us His grace to enable us to say no to sinful temptations. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11–12). Each day, the question is not whether we have a master, but whether we will yield ourselves to our fleshly desires or to our good and gracious Lord.
