Muscle Memory and Sin

Your body learns fast and remembers well. Once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget. You can go for years without riding one, get on, and pick up right where you left of years ago. Other things, like speaking a language, or not like that; you will lose it if you don’t use it. The only muscle you use with speaking a language is your tongue. But when you engage your whole body into something like swimming, your body never forgets.

The apostle Paul said, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Romans 6:12 – 13. The word “present” is the Greek word paraestimi, which literally means to stand beside. It described the position of a bond slave standing beside his master. The slave would take a position at the right elbow, standing slightly behind the master, waiting for the command. This was the place for the trusted slave, the personal servant of the master.

Your body was created to serve. It is a servant, a slave, not a master. It learns quickly, remembers, and continues to carry out the command from your will; good or bad, it learns, remembers, and carries out the command. It has a mind of its own at this point, and will continue the action without repeated commands. Once you learn to drive, you can drive without thinking much about it. Some can talk and carry on deep conversations while driving whether anyone else in the car or not.

The problem comes in with sin that we inherit from our parents, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. It is in you from the beginning and the first chance you got to carry it out, you willfully chose it, and sinned all by yourself. You appropriated your inheritance; and your body learned it and remembered it well.

But when you were born from above, by the Spirit, born again, you were given a new inheritance; the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. You now have a new spirit where the Holy Spirit lives, a new mind, the mind of Christ, to inform and transform your new will, the will of God. As you do, your body is given a new command to carry out, the will of God. Your new inheritance can also be appropriated and carried out.

At first there is tremendous resistance, but your body is a servant, not a master, and so it will submit; but not without a fight. As your body begins to learn new ways, the ways of God, it picks it up and remembers. There is peace and strength in learning the ways of God. There is fellowship with other believers. There is joy because God is being glorified. Your body begins to enjoy the actions of God’s will even when the environment around your body is not conducive to it.

So, the next time you give the command from the Bible to your body and it begins to argue, tell it to suck it up and to quit whining like a cry-baby, and just do it! It is a slave, not the master. Your new Master is Christ. He is leading you, not your appetites. Your identity is found in Him, not in your passions. You are not your appetites, whether they be sexual, nutritional, or recreational; all of them are gifts from God but are given to serve, not rule. Serve Christ living in you, with you, through you, as you, before the Father and the watching world around you. Present your body to Him today; your body will learn quickly and remember it for a long time! AMEN and Hallelujah!!!