Read: Romans 8:6-8
"So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God." Romans 8:6-8 NLT
Everyone who is the true child of God has the Holy Spirit. In the Abundant Life (Study Book) in lesson 6, it speaks about the Holy Spirit. Everyone who is a true child of God has a Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers makes it possible to turn away from sin.
The Holy Spirit in the life of the believers makes it possible for us to turn away from our sins. It’s not about our own obedience, it’s not our own power to turn away from sins but with the help of the Holy Spirit. Some of us, we can say that it’s hard, it’s hard to obey the Law of the Lord. The past chapters of Romans tell us about how we are incapable. The first to the seventh chapter of Romans talks about the Law and if you read it, you’ll see that you are incapable of keeping the Law on your own.
But in Romans 8, that’s when Paul was saying, “Lord, why is it that I want to do good but I can’t.” That’s how Paul was feeling.
But in Romans 8, that’s where Paul said everything. If you read the previous chapter, it says there that we humans living in the flesh are so carnal. We can’t keep up the Law by our own strength. Don’t you realize that there is something with this Holy Spirit? Sometimes, we treat the Holy Spirit, just being around the corner. Our knowledge about the Holy Spirit is not profound, we know it like that, the Holy Spirit. Our counselor, our helper. But as we read 1 Corinthians 3:16, it says there, "Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT)
As I read this verse, I remember Pastor Jonah would always say “You are God’s temple. The Holy Spirit lives in you.” And as I ponder upon this word. It’s the Spirit of Jesus Christ. It’s not only the ‘Holy Spirit’ but it’s the Spirit of Jesus Christ that lives in you.
“No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” (John 14:8 NLT)
Jesus Christ as He departed said, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.” If we recall our Abundant Life, God comes to us nowadays as a Holy Spirit.
Not just only He lives in us but He also has the power. You know, it’s Jesus Christ, not any spirit but the Spirit of Jesus Christ. You know the story of Jesus Christ that He has the power, the authority, and He is the Lawgiver. Not only did He live in us but also He has the power.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. (Romans 8:11 NLT)
When we are only leaning on our own self, leaning only on our own ability to follow the Law that was given by the Lord. It’s more than 600 mosaic law in the Bible. But living by the Spirit is not by our own mind, it’s not our own obedience by the Law. It’s the power of Jesus Christ living in you so that you may conquer, you may obey the Law of God.
Sometimes we acknowledge that we are messed up. We are so messed up because in our own mind it’s like, “Lord, I want to be good, to do good but I can’t do it.” And we always end up defeated. We always end up in shame and guilt. But living by the Spirit, sometimes we do mess up on our own. But always there is the blood of Jesus Christ. He has the power to cleanse us, to forgive us, to empower us again, to bounce back, to run again back to God. And it’s not the reason why you can commit the sin again. Its main goal is to empower you to be strong, to be mature enough, to strive more to follow God. It’s the power of Jesus Christ.
By our obedience, it’s really impossible to live a life in the Spirit by our own mind, by our own strength. But by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be victorious, we can win this life, we can run and live a life that is pleasing to God.
“It is the Spirit that makes you born again” (John 3:6)
So, as we see, the Law Giver is in you. Jesus Christ lives in you. The Holy Spirit lives in you. Now listen to His voice. Sometimes we know that what we are doing is wrong, we know that we are watching what is not pleasing to our God. We know that there is a small voice that is convicting you that what you are doing is not right, it is not pleasing to our God. So always follow that small voice.
You know that you are in Spiritual malnutrition.
You are not feeding your spiritual body; you are not doing what God wants you to do. You know that the Holy Spirit is in you; there is a conviction of the Holy Spirit. He is the one whispering to you what you are doing is wrong and you need to do what is right. That small voice is the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
So we must follow it. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that makes you always obey the small voice. Always follow the small voice.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, you can do it. You can win that battle; you can be victorious by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not just the Holy Spirit but it’s the Spirit of Jesus Christ that’s living in you.
As I end, in Romans 8:1, this is how Paul introduced Romans chapter 8. His past verses would seem like we are being condemned that we cannot do it, that we are incapable of keeping the Law. That we are so carnal. We are condemned in the previous chapters. But the next chapter says otherwise.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1 NLT)
This verse is very famous. This verse may make us feel satisfied like it is already finished. But as you read the succeeding verse, what Paul is saying might hurt us. Paul said in Romans 8:3, “The Law of Moses was unable to save us.” These Laws we had abode to can’t save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. We, ourselves can’t do it because of sinful nature. So God did what the Law could not do. He sent His own Son in the flesh (we sinners have) and that body God declared an end to sin's control by giving His Son as the sacrifice for our sins. There is an exchange. Jesus Christ was condemned before us. Jesus Christ was crucified before us.
This is why Paul was able to say that there is now no condemnation in Jesus Christ because He was already condemned on the cross. There must be a fulfillment of the Law. There must be a sacrifice so God sent His Son in the flesh. He paid the price for us so we will no longer be condemned for Christ was condemned for us.
The message is so wonderful: that we need to have a life that is Spirit-filled. We need to follow what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do because Jesus Christ lives in us and Jesus Christ has the power.
“The Spirit of God that who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you.” (Romans 8:11 NLT)
It’s the same power that can conquer sin, we can live by the Spirit. It is the same power that helps us conquer. We can walk with Him with the right to go on our journey with God ,with the right mindset, and with peaceful life.
It has the power to motivate us to come back again to our Lord and to continue our walk with God.
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