FREE TO CHOOSE
The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
The Spirit-filled walk is neither characterized by license nor
legalism, but liberty. Paul stated that we are "servants of a new
covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the spirit gives life . . . Now the Lord is the
Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2
Corinthians 3:6, 17).
I believe that our freedom in Christ is one of the most precious
commodities we have received from our spiritual union with God.
Because the Spirit of the Lord is in you, you are free to choose
to live a responsible and moral life. You are no longer compelled
to walk according to the flesh as you were before conversion. And
now you are not even compelled to walk according to the Spirit.
You are free to choose to walk according to the Spirit or to walk
according to the flesh.
Walking according to the Spirit implies two things. First, it's
not passive. We're talking about walking in the Spirit, not
sitting in the Spirit. One of the most dangerous and harmful
detriments to your spiritual growth is passivity--putting your
mind in neutral and coasting. The Christian classic War on the
Saints, by Jessie Penn-Lewis, was written to combat such passive
thinking. Sitting back and waiting for God to do everything is
not God's way to spiritual maturity.
Second, we're talking about walking in the spirit, not running in
the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is not achieved through
endless, exhausting activity. We mistakenly think that the harder
we work for God, the more spiritual we will become. That's a
subtle lie from the enemy. Satan knows that he may not be able to
stop you from serving God by making you immoral, but he can
probably impede your service by simply making you busy. Our
service for God can become the greatest detriment of our devotion
to God.
Lord, I desire to walk according to the Spirit today at Your
pace, not sitting passively through inactivity or running myself
ragged by becoming too busy.
The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
The Spirit-filled walk is neither characterized by license nor
legalism, but liberty. Paul stated that we are "servants of a new
covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter
kills, but the spirit gives life . . . Now the Lord is the
Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2
Corinthians 3:6, 17).
I believe that our freedom in Christ is one of the most precious
commodities we have received from our spiritual union with God.
Because the Spirit of the Lord is in you, you are free to choose
to live a responsible and moral life. You are no longer compelled
to walk according to the flesh as you were before conversion. And
now you are not even compelled to walk according to the Spirit.
You are free to choose to walk according to the Spirit or to walk
according to the flesh.
Walking according to the Spirit implies two things. First, it's
not passive. We're talking about walking in the Spirit, not
sitting in the Spirit. One of the most dangerous and harmful
detriments to your spiritual growth is passivity--putting your
mind in neutral and coasting. The Christian classic War on the
Saints, by Jessie Penn-Lewis, was written to combat such passive
thinking. Sitting back and waiting for God to do everything is
not God's way to spiritual maturity.
Second, we're talking about walking in the spirit, not running in
the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is not achieved through
endless, exhausting activity. We mistakenly think that the harder
we work for God, the more spiritual we will become. That's a
subtle lie from the enemy. Satan knows that he may not be able to
stop you from serving God by making you immoral, but he can
probably impede your service by simply making you busy. Our
service for God can become the greatest detriment of our devotion
to God.
Lord, I desire to walk according to the Spirit today at Your
pace, not sitting passively through inactivity or running myself
ragged by becoming too busy.
So very true. I liked the part about not being passive in our walk, so many times it is easy to just be a pew warmer and go through the motions, but God wants us to be passionate for Him. We have to find that right place where we can grow!
