“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” -Romans 8:1-4

At the heart of the Christian Life is to ‘Walk by the Spirit.’ To learn this is to be free, to be more whole. That is my desire, and I trust it is your desire also. As a church family we are on this journey together, learning to ‘walk by the Spirit.’

One common mistake is to be too passive in our walk with God. It is true that part of faith is the passive receiving of all that God has given us in Christ. There is a ‘yielding’ to God, and offering of ourselves to him. But we can become too passive because of discouragement, or because of unbelief, or fear. The Apostle Paul exhorts us in Galatians 5:25 to “keep in step with the Spirit.”

Another common mistake is to strive or to press in our Christian walk – as if it all depends upon us. This can be a form of pride, or even of unbelief. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 6:25 & 33 to “Not worry about our life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?....Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

And of course the reality of sin in our lives always keeps us from ‘walking by the Spirit.’ There are all those addictive behaviors with which we tend to try to fill our need for God and relationship to him – all to no avail. Ultimately they are all idolatry and disobedience, as we place created things above the creator.

The result of sin is a ‘small life.’ Sin always contracts our life – even if we believe otherwise. God wants to expand our life, to give us abundant life, and He does that through the Holy Spirit in our lives.

There is a lot at stake in our lives – our life is a battleground in which abundant life can be robbed from us. We must remember that we are God’s dwelling place, the dwelling place of the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) God wants us to really live.

Biblically, we know that Jesus came to the earth, lived a righteous life, died for our sins, rose again, and is coming again. In the meantime he has sent the Spirit to be our comforter, our helper. We live in the ‘age of the Spirit’ as we wait for the return of Christ.

May we learn to walk more fully by the Spirit of God and experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. (Romans 8:12-17)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23)

-Pastor Tim, April 30, 2007