Hey Garden Fam 👋🏾
I hope you are doing well and that you’ve had a wonderful week!
God has really had me driving home this topic lately, but it is soooo key to our walk with Him.
Walking by the Spirit and trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ is a foundational truth, posture, and privilege that is not only available to us as children of the Most High, but also, it is absolutely essential to living out this life as followers of Christ.
There’s a subtle misunderstanding that we need to ‘get things right’ so that our works may show our faith, but it’s really the other way around; that when we truly have faith in and lean on Jesus, our works will reflect that. The Pharisees thought so highly of themselves for how pious and religious they were, but their works were of the flesh, meaning, they themselves were the source of their living. Their religious legalism required no trust in God and thus, shined the light and put the glory back on them, not God. Even when Jesus arrived on the scene, they not only missed the fact that He was the Messiah, but also, they failed to see their need for Him as their Savior, and worse, persecuted Him because He relied on and operated by the power of the Father. Though they were “doing all of the right things,” they were still under the ‘law of sin,’ the one Paul told us only had the power to point out what is wrong, but lacked the power to modify those wrongs (Romans 8:2-3).
What does this mean for us today?
Well, unfortunately, many of even the most well-meaning Christians still find themselves under bondage to the law of sin. To clarify, being under the ‘law of sin’ does not necessarily mean living a life full of sin per say—I mean, like I said, the Pharisees were under the law of sin, but did “all the right things” (or so they liked to portray at least). Being under the law of sin simply means living by works, trying to be made right with God and continue doing what is right in God’s eyes by the power of human strength. Today, I find that showing up as striving to be a ‘good Christian,’ to avoid sin, and to represent Christ well, and overall, this IS something we should desire to do. However, it is often presented and internalized as if it is up to us to make this our reality. It is not. Our part is to choose to yield and submit to Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, to put our trust in Him and the finished work of His death, burial, and resurrection, and the power that operates through us because of His sacrifice! It is up to us to choose to allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives. Otherwise, even in believing in Christ, we live Christ-less lives. When Jesus died, He defeated the law of sin in the sense that through His sacrifice, we were freely made right with God through our belief in Him (Jesus). Then, after His resurrection, He left the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us to live lives that are pleasing to God, not only in avoiding sin, but even more so to go forth and do even greater works than Jesus did while on earth, like casting out demons, healing the sick, and working miracles by His power that works in us. That power is available, but not active in us as long as we are stuck operating in the flesh, trying to produce good works, and not relying on and living through the finished work of the cross.
So, long story long, in today’s video, I talk about the importance of not returning to bondage under the law of sin (works) once you’ve been set free by Jesus to live in freedom under the law of the Spirit (grace). I discuss the misconceptions, deceptions, and misunderstandings that have led to much of the church (the body of Christ) leading lukewarm, carnal, powerless lives, which was NEVER our portion!
I believe God has me sharing this before we get into the rest of the series, because it is so important that when He sets you free from bondage, you don’t submit yourself back under another form of bondage (ie. trying to get things right in your own strength). When we are delivered from bondage, it is to serve God, but we are to do so through the power of His Holy Spirit. So, Kill the flesh and embrace the grace daily to maintain your freedom in Christ Jesus!
Focus Scriptures
I definitely recommend reading the full chapters, and even the whole books for the scriptures mentioned below.
They will definitely help to deepen your understanding and strengthen your relationship with Christ!
Matthew 12:43-45
Colossians 2:20-23
2 Peter 2:17-22
Galatians 5:4, 7-18, 24-25
Romans 7-8
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