Romans 6:13 (KJV)

What does Romans 6:13 mean?

Romans 6:13 tells believers to place themselves and their bodies at God’s disposal, rather than letting sin use their bodies to do wrong. Paul addresses Christians in Rome as people who have already passed from death into life through their connection with Christ.

The key word is “instruments,” Greek ὅπλα (hopla). The word can mean equipment or weapons, and Paul uses it elsewhere for weapons. Here, sin and God are presented as rival masters: the body’s parts can serve as equipment for wrongdoing or for righteousness. The language makes bodily conduct part of the struggle described in the surrounding passage, where sin seeks to reign.

The Greek behind Romans 6:13

• “yield” — παρίστημι (paristēmi): To present or place someone or something at another’s disposal. “Neither yield ye” and “but yield yourselves” use the same Greek verb. The first forbids making the body available to sin; the second commands presenting the whole person to God. “Yield” here describes active presentation, not merely giving in under pressure.

• “members” — μέλη (melē): The parts of a body. Paul means the bodily parts through which people act. The movement from “yourselves” to “your members” connects the whole person’s allegiance with the body’s actual activity.

• “sin” — ἁμαρτία (hamartia): Sin or wrongdoing. In “unto sin,” Paul speaks of sin as a power that can receive someone’s service. That continues the preceding verse’s picture of sin trying to reign in the mortal body.

• “unrighteousness” — ἀδικία (adikia); “righteousness” — δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē): Wrongdoing and what is right. These words describe the opposing purposes for which the body’s parts are used. In this sentence, “righteousness” concerns conduct serving God, paired directly against wrongdoing serving sin.

Why Romans 6:13 matters

• The command rests on a change Paul treats as already real. “As those that are alive from the dead” identifies the believers’ present standing. Paul has just said that they share in Christ’s resurrection life; he now describes conduct consistent with that life.

• The whole person and the body belong together in the sentence. Paul first says “yield yourselves unto God,” then adds “your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Presenting oneself to God includes making the body available for actions that serve him.