Law of the Spirit

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Jesus Christ, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:1

The apostle Paul wrote the greatest treatise regarding sin that has ever been written. The content begins in Romans 6 and continues through Romans 8. In the sixth chapter, we are taught to reckon or count ourselves dead to sin through Jesus' death and resurrection. We must know that he has paid the price and we no longer are sentenced to death because of our sin. He has stood in the courts of heaven and taken the sentence for all of us. He paid the ultimate price and in doing so, defeated all sin in every person.
    However, the struggle with sin continues for many. Romans 7 tells us that living out our new found righteousness can be difficult. Although we have been declared righteous, we continue to struggle with old sins that have been deeply engrained in our lives. Some of these may include addictive behavior, lust, pride, and other weaknesses of the flesh. It may seem that no matter how mature we are in our relationship with God, these sins continue to haunt us. We find ourselves confessing them again and again. Paul dealt with this issue and was very transparent about his own life through the words he wrote in Romans 7. Near the end of the chapter, he writes: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). The answer, of course is Jesus Christ. But in order to live out the righteous life offered to us, we must take a powerful step.
    We must live life in the Spirit. The entirety of Romans 8 teaches about the blessing of living in the Spirit of God. We love to quote the promises that are written in this chapter, but many times we fail to live life in the Spirit. I think the reason we fail, is that we really don't understand how to do it. Really, it is a lack of spiritual power. To live in the Spirit, we must be willing to receive him, submit to him, receive counsel from him, and allow him to be our Helper. I'm not sure that will happen for us if we aren't willing to seek God with all our hearts. There must be a longing for him that outweighs everything else. We must desire him instead of the sin. When we begin to walk in this, we will then walk in the Spirit, fully equipped to defeat sin in our lives.
    No matter where you are in your life, you can live in the Spirit of God. I encourage you to reckon yourself dead to sin first. If you are continuing to struggle with sin, seek God with all your heart. I don't mean that you must repent for the same sin over and over again. You should seek God and his righteousness. Take the time to be with him. Allow a desire for him to build in your heart. Fall in love with him to the point that you feel an ache in your heart when you aren't with him. This is living by the Spirit of God. It is coming. God promises to pour out his Spirit in these days. No one is excluded. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit in part, to convict the world of sin. When your heart is convicted by him, he also empowers you to do something about it, to change and defeat the sin in your life. It will be glorious, it will be powerful. You will live by a new law, the law of the Spirit of life!