Bible Strands
Romans 6:13
Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Roman believers, positioned between the warning against letting sin reign (v.12) and the assurance that sin is not their master (v.14).
The words — ὅπλα (hopla), literally "weapons" or "military equipment," frames the body's parts as tools deployed in a conflict rather than neutral objects.
The thread — The same logic recurs in Romans 12:1 (bodies as living sacrifices), Romans 6:16 (you are slaves to whom you obey), and Colossians 3:5 (put to death the members of the flesh).
Why it lands — It is an imperative, not a description: the reader must actively choose what their body serves, and the choice is binary — sin or God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?
- Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- 1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Romans 7:5 For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.
- 1 Corinthians 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
- Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,
- 1 Peter 4:2 Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.
- 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- 1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!