6/23

Romans 8:13

¹³For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Those who have placed their faith in Christ have received the Holy Spirit. The life of Jesus lives in them. That is why we are obligated to live according to the Spirit's leading. In context, Paul is emphasizing that our carnal nature is dead because of sin, but our spirit is alive because of righteousness (8:1-12). That doesn't mean that we suddenly become sinless or he wouldn't have gone on to add our verse for today.

Putting to death the practices of our carnal nature is something we actively do moment by moment. The Spirit of God gives us the discernment to know what is of the old nature and what is of Him. He also supplies the power we did not have before to yield to the new nature. That is life in the present and life eternal. Jesus said He is life (John 14:6). To live in the Spirit is to live in Jesus and have Jesus living in you.

Jesus will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), but we can choose to not experience His life in us at any time. Even with Jesus is still residing in us we have the choice of refusing to kill the old nature. When we satisfy its demands, we step out of the fullest life. We tell people to "choose life" in regards to the abortion issue, but shouldn't we remind ourselves and our brothers and sisters in Christ to choose life moment by moment?

Consider: After all He has done for us to give us the blessed opportunity of truly living, it must grieve Him when we let the old nature reign over us.