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1st PAIR.--Your members as instruments of unrighteousness.
Your members as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6: 13).
2nd PAIR.--Your members slaves to uncleanness.
Your members slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6: 19).
3rd PAIR.--Bring forth fruit unto God.
Bring forth fruit unto death (Rom. 7: 4, 5).
4th PAIR.--Another law in my members.
The law of sin which is in my members (Rom. 7: 23).
Let us look at the contexts of these four pairs. The first pair of references, namely,
those that occur in Rom. 6: 13, have as their context an emphasis upon the reign and
dominion of sin:--
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (Rom. 6: 12).
"Sin shall not have dominion over you" (Rom. 6: 14).
This dominion and reign takes practical effect through the members of the mortal
body. Those particularized in Scripture are: the right eye (Matt. 5: 29); the right hand
(Matt. 5: 30); the foot, the hand, the ear, the eye, the nose, the less honourable members,
uncomely members (I Cor. 12: 15-24); the tongue (James 3: 5, 6).
A further list is given in Col. 3: 5, but there a figure of speech is used, and the
members which commit certain sins are passed over and the sins themselves substituted.
We must therefore include this verse in our list of members: "Fornication, uncleanness,
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness." These members, and their
frightful working, belong to the reign and dominion of sin, but with the new disposition
to righteousness, the self-same members belong to the reign of grace. How blessed to
know that there is such a possibility! Apart from that knowledge, Rom. 7: 24 would be
our continual cry.
The context of the second pair of references (Rom. 6: 19) speaks of slavery and
freedom:--
"His slaves ye are . . . . . Ye were the slaves of sin . . . . . Being then made free from
sin . . . . . Ye were free as to righteousness . . . . . Now being made free from sin, and
become slaves to God" (Rom. 6: 16-22).
In both the first and second pair we find the idea of "yielding":--
"Neither yield ye your members . . . . . unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God"
(Rom. 6: 13).
"To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey" (Rom. 6: 16).
"As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness" (Rom. 6: 19).
This word and the doctrine associated with it come to light again in Rom. 12: 1,
where it is translated "present".