Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.

If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the LORD."

"You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus said to them, "I am telling you the truth: everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits---for we are slaves of anything that has conquered us.

Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self.

But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received.

(I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes.

What did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of ? The result of those things is death!

For sin pays its wage---death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.