The Way We Live

Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no longer under God's sentence. I am now controlled by the law of the Holy Spirit. That law gives me life because of what Christ Jesus has done. It has set me free from the law of sin that brings death.

The written law was made weak by our sinful nature. But God did what the written law could not do. He made his Son to be like those who have a sinful nature. He sent him to be an offering for sin. In that way, he judged sin in his Son's human body. Now we can do everything the law requires. Our sinful nature no longer controls the way we live. The Holy Spirit now controls the way we live.

Don't live under the control of your sinful nature. If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants.

The way a sinful person thinks leads to death. But the mind controlled by the Spirit brings life and peace. The sinful mind is at war with God. It does not obey God's law. It can't. Those who are controlled by their sinful nature can't please God.

But your sinful nature does not control you. The Holy Spirit controls you. The Spirit of God lives in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.

Christ lives in you. So your body is dead because of sin. But your spirit is alive because you have been made right with God.

Romans 8:1-10

For a Christian, it is easy to dive back into old ways of sin out of sheer habit because of the many temptations we face in this world.

God paid a very heavy price to take us out of the realm of sin.

When you are tempted to dive back into old sinful ways, will you instead allow the Holy Spirit who resides in you to help you live more consistently with your standing “in Christ?”

When you are born again, you become a citizen of heaven.

Our Daily Bread - December 29, 2009