Why should believers not let the old Adam have dominion over them?
Believers should not let the old Adam have dominion because they are not under law but under grace. Paul admonishes that sin, the old Adamic nature, shall not rule like a king over them. Instead, they are alive unto God and should yield their members as instruments of righteousness, not live for the flesh.
Les explains that verse 14 and 15 speak of sin singular, the old Adam, and that the old Adamic nature shall not have dominion. Dominion means to rule like a king. Paul admonishes believers not to let old Adam have dominion or influence them to live for the flesh. The surprising reason is that they are not under law but under grace. Les points out this seems anticlimactic and opposite of what one might expect—that law would be the reason to resist sin. Instead, because believers are under grace, they have full freedom, not under a set of rules and regulations. They have been raised from deadness in the old Adam and are alive unto God, so they should yield themselves to God and their members as instruments of righteousness.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
More Questions
Why won't old Adam have dominion over a believer?
Old Adam will not have dominion over you because you are not under law but under grace.
What is the 'old Adam' in Romans 6:14?
In Romans 6:14, 'old Adam' can be synonymously interchanged with 'old sin nature'; they are the same thing.