Paul writes in Romans chapter 6:5-10 that we are to be enslaved to righteousness and not enslaved to sin. Then in verse 12 we are instructed to refuse allowing sin to reign in our lives. Instead of doing evil, we are to present ourselves as Yahweh’s righteous people. In the next verse, we are instructed how to live.

Romans 6:13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

In verse 13, the Greek word for “presenting” means to surrender, lay alongside, or yield. We are to surrender ourselves to the lordship of Christ so that we live in the new man nature. As an example, when we hold a door open for someone, we freely choose to allow the other person to go through the door before us. We surrender going in first, and we yield to another. It is a freewill choice we make. We surrender ourselves to righteousness for His good purposes.

Another word in verse 13, “instrument,” is translated in other verses as “weapon” or “armor.” An instrument or weapon of righteousness is the means whereby something is achieved, performed, or furthered. A believer is to be the means by which Yahweh’s purposes are achieved by His righteous acts.

What actions do we take to be instruments of righteousness? Our actions include being grateful, giving comfort, pursuing peace, and being instant in prayer. Surrendering to all of these godly behaviors is important, but loving as Yahweh loves, is of utmost importance.

1 Cor.13:1-3, 6-8a If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love never fails;

As weapons we will love as Yahweh instructs us and will not fail because He is in charge of the doing of it and the results.

How are we instruments who show the love of Yahweh? One main way is to be obedient to the Scriptures.

John 14:21a He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me;

To be obedient to Yahweh’s commands comes from our will that is inspired by the holy spirit to obey. When we find ourselves struggling to obey Yahweh, it is a clear sign that we are drifting away from the basics of maintaining a love relationship with Yahweh.

Presenting ourselves as instruments of righteousness means that we love with selflessness.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Loving with selfless intentions is extremely powerful. We make an about-face from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. Do I want to acknowledge what it is that Yahweh has for me to do and relinquish my will for that purpose? It takes selflessness to be a righteous instrument.

The Apostle Paul is an excellent example of being selfless. He risked his life often, withstood many evil plots, beatings, shipwreck, prison, and remained undeterred. Loving selflessness brought the Word of God to the known world. Getting ourselves out of the way and letting Yahweh have His way makes us a mighty weapon for Him to unleash His great and mighty works.

Yahweh’s love is persistent, nonstop, never-ending. To show this persistent love, in the book of the prophet Hosea, Hosea’s marriage represents how Yahweh loves Israel. Hosea was instructed to marry a woman who had no possibility of a good life. She was very well cared for, and even though she had everything she could want, she left her husband Hosea for her old degrading life. One would think, “Just let her go because she is so ungrateful.” Instead Yahweh told Hosea to go find her and take her again as his wife with love and respect as before.

We love others in such a relentless way when we present ourselves to Yahweh for His use. The love of Yahweh surely never fails, and this relentless love is unleashed through us and produces miracles. Whether we are with our family, at work, in classes at school, or just running routine errands, are we ready to yield to being an instrument for Yahweh’s righteousness when adversity hits or problems arise? Instead of giving way to sin patterns, let us lay them aside and yield to being a weapon of Yahweh for good.