LEARNING DAILY

Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (New King James Version)

What does Paul mean when he writes those in Christ must walk according to the Spirit? The Holy Spirt comes to live within each Believer the moment he/she asks the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. John 14:16, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” Other names for the Holy Spirit are “Comforter” and “Advocate.” The Holy Spirit is given the believer to teach God’s Word, convict of sinful behavior, bring God’s Word to their memory, and to guide the Believer as he/she walks the narrow way. The Holy Spirit lives within the Believer (John 14:17) and is given “forever.”

Galatians 5:16-17 explain that walking with the Holy Spirit leads the Believer into righteousness. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (ESV). It is not natural for Believers to live a life of self-sacrifice which is a response to God’s love for them. They have lived too long in self-centeredness and living by the world’s standards of success. The Holy Spirit teaches Believers how to love as God loves; that is not natural. The Holy Spirit empowers the Believer to do Christ’s will and teaches him/her to walk the narrow way in righteousness.

The Holy Spirit, dwelling within the Believer, teaches them to use their freedom in Christ to walk, and keep walking the narrow way with His help and guidance. To live this way the Believer must lay aside their own desires and power to depend on God’s. If you have walked with the Lord for any length of time you know the difficulty in doing this. No one can do this in their own strength. Stop trying and allow the Holy Spirit to be your strength and power to live as God desires. Paul writes that this is the way to stop gratifying the desires of the flesh.

Another way to say this is to stop believing, “If it feels good, do it.” Stop following religious rules and seeking worldly pleasures and live the meaningful lives God wants you to live. When one walks with the power of the Holy Spirit, he/she will be strengthened to not indulge their own desires or those things of the flesh. Read a few verses further and you will see that the Holy Spirit gives evidence of a new life by producing the fruit of the Spirit in the Believer’s life.

One of the important aspects of walking daily with the Holy Spirit is that He convicts one of sin committed (Ephesians 4:30) and convicts the Believer to confess their sin to the Lord (1 John 1:9) to restore fellowship with the Lord.

When you accept Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your heart, bringing with Him an entirely new life of love, relationship, and service to the Lord.