The gospel is not a set of rules but a new way of living that brings renewal, restoration, liberty, and peace to our lives and to those around us. It is the “good news” of being set free from the tyranny of our own flesh—our appetites, or “sinful nature”—so that we can have connection with our Maker, again.
It is easy to talk about freedom from sin and staying in connection with the Spirit. But what does a consecrated life—a life lived “according to the spirit” actually look like?
Philippians 4:13 says, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
This is a passage we like to rattle off before a football game or before we try to do anything that might seem beyond our strength. Many of us memorized it in Sunday school and use it to encourage our own children when they are fearful of trying something new or performing. But how many of us apply this to the day-to-day mundane tasks that require us to “put off the old man” and “put on the new” in order to live like Jesus in this world?
How many of us say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” when the “all things” of the moment is having to respond to someone else’s unkindness in a godly way? Or choosing to say no to that extra drink that would cause us to be intoxicated? Or choosing to breathe instead of exploding in anger over the dirty socks and toys scattered around the house?
Living our lives in the “new way” described in Romans 6 requires us to depend fully on God moment by moment, as Jesus did when he walked this earth in human form.
God will be faithful to do the work in and through us—but we have to cooperate.
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