Fifty Godly and Learned Sermons (The Decades)

Paul in the sixth Chapter to the Romans saith, Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should thereunto obey by the lusts of it: neither give ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but give your selves unto god, as they that are alive from the dead, and your members, as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have power over you, because ye are not under the Law, but under Grace. In these words he exhorteth them, that are purged and made free by Christ, to live holily in their spiritual bondage. Now he saith not, Let not sin be in you, or in your mortal body: but he saith, Let not sin reign in you, or in your mortal body. But when reigneth sin? Forsooth sin reigneth then, when we obey it thorough the lusts thereof, that is, when we ⟨p. 445⟩resist not, but do fulfil the lusts of the flesh.

Paule in the sixte Chapiter to the Romanes sayth, Let not sinne reigne in your mortall bodie, that ye should therunto obey by the lustes of it: neither giue ye your members as instruments of vnrighteousnes vnto sinne: but giue your selues vnto god, as they that are aliue from the dead, and your members, as instrumentes of righteousnesse vnto God. For sinne shall not haue power ouer you, because ye are not vnder the Lawe, but vnder Grace. In these wordes he exhorteth them, that are purged and made frée by Christ, to liue holilie in their spirituall bondage. Now he saith not, Let not sinne be in you, or in your mortall body: but he saith, Let not sinne reigne in you, or in your mortall bodie. But when reigneth sinne? Forsoothe sinne reigneth then, when wée obey it thorough the lusts thereof, yt is, when we ⟨p. 445⟩resiste not, but doe fulfill the lustes of the fleshe.

Sin therefore doth not reign in our mortal body, so long as it is but felt in the body, and not obeyed or permitted to rule, but rather resisted and trod under foot. This same sentence doth he expound by an other somewhat more easy to be understood, I would not have you to permit your members to sin, as to a tyrant, to use them as instruments to work all unrighteousness. I rather require you to give your selves to be ruled and governed by God. For since he hath set you free from death, & brought you to life again, it is requisite that ye should give your members to God as lively instruments to work all righteousness. And that shall ye be easily able to do, because ye are not under the law, but under grace. Upon this doth all the rest of that Chapter depend unto the end. What then, saith he, shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not how that to whomsoever ye commit your selves as servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether it be of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed with heart, the form of doctrine into the which ye are brought unto. Being then made free from sin, ye are become the servants of righteousness. And yet he showeth that the freemen of Christ do not abuse their liberty, and give themselves again to be governed by their old & tyrannous master Sin. For he maketh Sin and Righteousness to be, as it were two masters: and addeth to each of them the hire or reward that they give to their servants, the one Life, the other Death. Lastly he saith generally that we are his servants to whom we give our selves to obey. Upon which he inferreth, Being redeemed by the grace of God from the bondage of sin, and from death which is the reward of sin, we are translated into the bondage of righteousness (whose reward is life) that thereby we may live. For he doth more significantly express his meaning in that which followeth saying, I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. As ye have given your members servants to uncleanness and iniquity, unto iniquity: even so now give your members servants to righteousness, unto holiness.