What Just Happened?

Congratulations! You’ve just made the single most important decision of your life! Your choice to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is something that has absolutely changed everything - everything in your life now and everything in your eternal future! This one moment in your life has changed so much, it’s easy to miss some of it. So grab your Bible and take some time to walk with me through what has just happened to you.

(I encourage you to look the Bible references up in your own Bible. This will help you learn to navigate this precious book - and once you see these references in your own Bible, you can highlight them if you’d like)

Because You’ve Made Jesus Your Lord

#1 - You’ve been delivered from Hell

Matthew 25:46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Without Jesus, every person on earth is going to Hell. That’s simply how it is.

It’s not that God wants them to go to Hell. On the contrary, God didn’t make Hell for humans - He made it for Satan and his fallen angels. (Matthew 25:41) No, God has done everything He could to save people from Hell! And He has saved you out of there!

Look at Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death (this isn’t about your body dying, it’s referring to Hell itself), but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Glory to God!

You’ve been saved from eternal death and have been given eternal life!

In fact, you may have already heard a verse that says this same thing - John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him (the Son - Jesus) will not perish but have everlasting life.

You don’t have to be afraid of leaving this life anymore. Once you check out of this life, you go instantly to be with Jesus! This wasn’t true before salvation - your sin wouldn’t allow it. But now Jesus has wiped out everything that was separating you from Him!

#2 - Your past sins have been completely washed away

This is why you came to Him, right? You knew you were a dirty, rotten sinner. David said it this way in Psalm 51, “My sin is always right in front of me…” And this is why you came to Jesus for help.

Well I’ve got good news for you - He has helped you!

Every single sin, every single bad decision, every time you hurt someone, every time you knew right but chose wrong...all of it has been washed away! You now stand before God as someone with no trace of sin...completely righteous!

2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God “made Him who had no sin (Jesus) to become sin for us so that we may become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus took all that filthiness and sin to the cross. In return, He gave you His own righteousness! As far as God is concerned, you are just as righteous as Jesus Himself.

He carried your sin, so that you can carry His sinlessness (1 Peter 2:24).

Now, God says that He won’t even remember those things that you did wrong (Hebrews 10:17).

And what’s more...this forgiveness doesn’t just extend to what you did before your salvation. 1 John 1:9 says very clearly that if you sin from this point forward, you need only to confess it to Him and He will once again wash away all of it!

You, my friend, are permanently righteous! Hallelujah! (That means “Praise the Lord!”)

#3 - You’ve been made into a brand new creature

Now, obviously you still look the same. You still have the same hair, the same scars, and even the same tastes. You still enjoy the same things (although as you grow in faith, some of these desires will be curbed by your righteousness). If you liked football before you were saved, you’ll still like it after salvation. If your thing was comic books - you’ll still have that interest afterwards. If this is the case, then how can we say that you’re a brand new creature? Doesn’t all of this prove that you’re still just the same person?

Not at all!

You were created with three parts. They are your spirit, your soul, and your body. (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

What other people see as the real you - what they see and hear and touch - is your body. That is the “suit” that you live in - a temporary “tent” that functions as your home here on earth. One day, you’ll take that tent down and move to your new home. 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in Heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands.” So you are living in the same body as you were before you were saved.

You have also been given a soul. This is what you use to connect with other people. Your soul is made up of three things; what you think (your mind), what you’ve always wanted to do (your will), and the things you feel (your emotions). Just like you have the same body, you still have the same soul now as you did before you got saved.

The fact that you still have the same soul is sometimes a good thing - all the things you’ve learned, all the memories you have, and even the skills you’ve honed in your lifetime...these are all housed in your soul. So you wouldn’t want God to wipe that all out upon salvation.

But you’re going to discover that these things in your soul are going to start giving you problems. All the sins you enjoyed, can still cause pleasure (Hebrews 11:25). The ungodly entertainment that you fed yourself with can still entertain you. And all the wrong kinds of relationships that you were a part of still feel binding on you. Thankfully, God has provided a way to overcome these conflicts, and we’ll talk about that in point #7. Don’t give up my friend!

The real you is your spirit. God is a spirit (John 4:24), and you were made in His image (Genesis 1:27). This means that you are a spirit. So the correct way of thinking is this; you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live inside a body.

Before you were saved, you were dead in your spirit. Ephesians 2:1 says this, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.” With your spirit dead, you were left to live by your natural soul and fleshly desires - like a brute beast. But when God called you out of that mess, and you gave your life over to Him, look at what happened! Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.”

Your spirit, the real you, was just re-created when you were saved. This is what it means to be “born again” (John 3:3). God has become your Father (1 John 5:4) and you are a brand new creature. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 and know this means you! “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

#4 - You were separated from the world you’re living in

As we’ve already said, the world is going to Hell without Jesus. We were all a part of the fray. We were by nature “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). But when you got saved, you were separated from all of it.

True, we still live here - we have a job to do here now - but we don’t belong to this world any longer. In John 17:16, Jesus had this to say about you and I: “They are not of the world just like I am not of the world.”

Jesus came down from Heaven to earth to live here and fulfill God’s plan. He was here in the world, but He didn’t come from it. That’s the way it is with you and I now. Our new spirit was made by God in Heaven and sent to the earth with a plan. We live here, but we’re not from here.

1 Peter 2:11 tells us “Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.” You’re a foreigner here. This means you’re never going to blend in with them any longer. You’re different now - in the same way an ambassador from another country is different from the country he lives in.

This is where your responsibility now lies - you are now called to live out your separation from the world. 1 Corinthians 7:31 tells us that we should be using the things of this world, but 1 John 2:15 says that we should not love the things of this world. This is major - if you’re going to live in God’s system, you’re going to learn to depend on Him and not the things of the world that you used to look to.

You’ve been brought out of the kingdom of darkness and have been brought into a new kingdom - a kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:13). You are now as different from your old worldly buddies and the culture you were raised in as light is different from darkness.

#5 - You’ve been given the same measure of faith as every other believer

Romans 12:3 “...as God has dealt to each one the measure of faith.”

You probably think that you made the choice to believe in God, right? But the truth is, God gave you that faith! And He didn’t give any one of us more than another. We have all received the same measure of faith, it’s the faith that you used to believe what you heard about the Gospel and what Jesus had done for you.

Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing. That’s how it worked with you, my friend. You heard someone talk about God and how good He was, and hearing that brought faith. This is how we all received the faith that we have.

As you grow in the Lord and go one in your Christian walk, you’re going to notice people that seem to have no problems believing God in every situation. It will seem like their faith can move mountains and change bad situations around in an instant. When you see these people walking in faith like this, you may even end up saying something like, “I wish I had that kind of faith!”

But look back up to Romans 12:3...we all received the same measure of faith! How is then that some people have more faith than others? That’s simple, they have grown and strengthened their faith over time.

The Bible compares faith to a seed (Matthew 17:20). Like any seed, it can be grown into something bigger and stronger than it was at the beginning. God gave you the same faith as everyone else...now, what you do with it is up to you! Are you going to keep it as a seed in your pocket, or are you going to grow it and become “strengthened in the faith?” (Romans 4:20)

How do you grow your faith into something more, something stronger? It’s simple; faith comes by hearing! You continue to grow your faith by continuing to hear God’s Word (another term for the Bible). This is why getting into the pages of the Bible is so important. It will feed and strengthen your faith as you read it and keep it on your mind each and every day!

#6 - Every promise that you see in the Bible has been freely given to you

There are some amazing promises that God has given to his people! This is one reason you need to spend daily time reading the Bible, you will never have faith in a promise that you don’t know.

Think about this, if you never heard that God would save you from your sin, would you believe it? No you wouldn’t. You didn’t receive that promise of salvation until you knew about it!

There are more promises in the pages of the Bible that also are received by faith. This is why reading that book each day is so important. It’s similar to a legal contract or a will - studying it will reveal the new entitlements (or blessings) that you have access to!

There are so many promises of God in the His word! Peace instead of fear, joy instead of sorrow, triumph in the face of trouble, healing from sickness, prosperity and provision...all of these are now available to you! As you read these promises in the Bible, keep your faith out there!

Just like salvation came by faith, each of these promises are received by faith! (Hebrews 6:12) You my friend, have so much more at your disposal than you know right now...but as you grow in the Lord, you will begin to stretch out faith and see these promises be kept in your life.

Lastly, whenever you see a promise from God in the Bible and you wonder “does this apply to me?” - remember 2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’”

#7 - You’ve been given the grace to completely obey God

God’s grace saved you. Ephesians 2:8 says that you were “saved by grace through faith.” That grace invaded your life, washed away your past sins (Ephesians 1:7), and pointed your life in the right direction. But that wasn’t the end of it! He didn’t leave you to walk alone!

So many people think of Christianity as an attempt to reform your life. But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The reality is, you have been given a grace that will completely transform your life! His grace will empower you to follow His directions. You couldn’t obey God before salvation - your fallen nature wouldn’t allow it. But now, by grace you are completely free to do whatever He says to you!

Hebrews 12:28 says that we serve God by grace. 1 Corinthians 15:10 tells us that His grace will actually work through us. This is complete freedom from sin!

So yes, your soul still likes to do things its own way. Yes, you still have all the habits and hangups that you had before salvation. But the great news is you now have all the grace you need to completely annihilate all of that old mess!

If you fall back into sin, God’s grace will catch you. Just turn back to Him again and allow His grace to start working in you all over again. Sin’s grip has been broken off of our lives...praise God!

#8 - You’ve been made a part of Jesus’ body on Earth

Ah yes...now we come to what you were expecting. Now let’s talk about church. Do you really need to attend a church? Absolutely! But there’s more to it than that. It isn’t that you are now required to go to church. You have been made a part of Jesus’ church!

Ephesians 1:23 tells us that the church is also called the Body of Christ. This is exactly how it functions. Jesus is the head, He’s in charge. Like the body working with the head, we go where He sends us and do what He tells us. And now you have been made a part of this body.

You need to gather together with other believers. You grow from them and work with them. There are gifts that Jesus gave to the church (Ephesians 4), men and women who teach us and help us grow in the faith. The church is where the truth is made known and Satan’s lies are exposed. You need a church to connect with!

Hebrews 10:25 “...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the day [of Jesus’ return] approaching.” God makes it clear to us in this verse, gathering together with other believers isn’t optional - it’s absolutely necessary for us.

But this isn’t about the rules, it’s about who you are now. 1 Timothy 3:15 calls the church “the house of God.” It’s where we come together to meet with Him together. Now look at 1 Peter 2:5, “...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house…” Do you see that? We are compared to spiritual stones that together make up a house for God.

God has a church for you, and He’ll lead you to it. Once you get there, make this decision; “I am not moving from this spot - this is where God placed me, and this is where I’ll grow!”

So welcome to the family brother/sister! Thank God for your decision to follow Him, and He is faithful to finish the good work He started in you!

I want to leave you with one final thought. Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” That moment you prayed and confessed Jesus as your Lord, Heaven erupted in shouts of joy over you! Right now, my friend, angels are celebrating your salvation!

The Freedom of Grace

Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect in the flesh?”

The book of Galatians was written to a church that was being misled. Paul started this church himself. He taught them the Gospel, brought them into the faith, and raised up leadership in their congregation. These were people who understood salvation by grace through faith – they were genuinely born-again.

But after Paul left, new teachers (false teachers) came in that began to teach different doctrines – things that sounded good and even made sense. They declared that Paul's gospel of grace was a good start – but now that the Galatians were a part of God's covenant people, they had to conform to the law. In other words, they were being taught, “God did save you by grace, through faith. But now that you're saved, He expects you to get to work and keep His laws.” This makes sense, right? Shouldn't someone obey God's commands after they've been saved?

These Galatian brothers and sisters truly did have a heart for God. So when they heard that they needed to do more, they dug in and tried their hardest to make God happy. Unfortunately, there were disastrous consequences to their attempted obedience. Let's read Galatians 5, verses 19-21:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Remember who Paul was talking to? This wasn't a wild group of sinners – it was a church that was doing their best, trying to obey God's commands! But no matter how hard they tried, these works of the flesh became more and more common. The false teachers used these manifestations of the flesh to prove their point: "See what you're doing? There needs to be some law and order here! Here's the rules - follow them!"

And right here is where we see truth that has plagued mankind since Eden: The more you try to obey, the more disobedience creeps in. Paul explains this paradox further in Romans 7 – a well-known passage to anyone who has struggled with sin.

Romans 7:15-21 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I want to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I don't want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for the want is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I want to do, I do not do; but the evil I don't want to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I don't want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Can anyone relate to this struggle? How often have you been trapped in a sin – knowing that's it's wrong, hating it with every ounce of your spirit, and yet constantly going back to it? Does it ever seem like the harder you try to keep away from sin, the quicker you fall right back into it? If so, then I have amazing news for you – God never intended to leave you in this struggle!

You see, what the false teachers were telling the Galatian church – and what many believers are misled to think today – is that God saved them by grace, forgave their sin, and then said “Go try again. Good luck!” Too many Christians believe that Grace is about forgiveness and being let off the hook when you sin. It's like they believe that God knows that you're only human and there's no way for you to really be free from sin - so He gives grace to cover you when you inevitably mess up. But that is not what grace is about!

Colossians 2:6 tells us “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him...” Friend, how did you receive Jesus? It was by grace, through faith! So how are you supposed to walk in Him? By grace through faith! You weren't meant to be saved by grace, and then perfected by trying to do what's right. You see, God's grace isn't only the forgiveness of sins – it's the freedom from sin! Let me show you what I mean:

Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Do you see? When you have faith in the grace of God, it will empower you to serve Him in an acceptable way! Grace isn't about what you can get away with - grace is the power to do what you can't do on your own! This is living by faith. This is walking in the spirit! And when you walk in the spirit (that is, when you put your faith in the grace of God, knowing that grace will empower you to do what's right), you WILL NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh!

Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

There is a way out of the sin that you're trapped in. There is a way to live a righteous life like you've always wanted. And that way isn't by trying to do what's right. When you try to obey God, you'll fail - we've proven that time and time again. No matter how hard you work at keeping God's commands, the result will always be the works of the flesh. But when you place your faith in God's empowering, glorious, amazing grace – it will break every trace of sin's power off of your life!

"I Wish I Had A Testimony!"

Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony...”

Let me be clear about this...I believe that every person must be born again. No matter what walk of life you come from, no matter what religion you follow, no matter how hard you try to be a good person; you must be born again. Even if you were born into a Christian house and to godly parents – you were still born into a sin nature that will drag you to Hell. The only answer to the life we're all born into is to confess Jesus as Lord and be born into His new life. So whatever I'm about to say in the next paragraphs, don't think that I'm diminishing the importance of a genuine encounter with Jesus.

I was one of those kids who was raised in a believing home. I learned at an early age, along with my brothers and sisters, to love God and follow His leading. And while there have been many (many, many, many....) times that I fell into sin and did the wrong things, I always knew Who to turn to in repentance.

There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus is Lord. He is my Savior Who gave His life to set me free. He died to pay my debt of sin and then He rose again, breaking the power that sin had over me. According to Romans 10:9-10, this confession of faith is what ushers people into this new life in Christ. So, regardless of what you're about to read, you'll never be able to convince me that I'm not born again because my experience is different than yours. As you read this, I hope you'll see that, while the process of salvation must be the same, the experiences of salvation will be as different as one person is from another.

Why do I say this? Because there's always been something bothering me, like a cloud over my head. You see, there have been many times I've declared Jesus as Lord of my life...you've just read one of them. Many times I've considered how amazing it is that Jesus gave His life for me and then rose from the dead by the power of God. But if you were to ask me, I couldn't tell you when I did this for the first time.

Like so many kids who were raised in church, I listened to many different speakers telling their amazing testimonies of salvation. I was fascinated by the incredible stories of dramatic and miraculous rescues from lives of sin. Inevitably, one of them would say something like, “I wonder about people who can't tell me when they gave their life to Jesus.” Later on, after hearing something like that, I would wonder why I didn't have a “spiritual birthday” like those speakers. Sometimes I would say a prayer and confess Him as Lord...just to be safe. But I wouldn't really consider that a testimony, right?

Are there any other “church kids” who can relate to this? How many people are there who have a genuine relationship with Jesus – a relationship that formed while they were still very young – and couldn't tell you exactly when this relationship started? If we overcome our enemy by the “word of our testimony” - shouldn't we have a testimony to tell?

This really bothered me up until a few weeks ago. But then God ever so sweetly revealed something to me. And it all started with a verse that we all know – Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This verse has been well known to American Christians. It's been used often for inspiration during rough days– as if it meant “today is the day that the LORD has made”. But a closer look at this verse shows us that it means so much more that what we've been using it for. Let's look at this verse in context and find out what it's really saying:
Psalm 118: 22-24 “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes, this is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

There you see it. The day we rejoice in is the day that the stone was rejected. According to Acts 4:10-11, that day was the day that the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and had Him crucified. We don't rejoice in just any day – we don't even rejoice in the day we first confessed Him as Lord! We rejoice in the day He gave His life to save ours!

You and I don't have different “spiritual birthdays”. We rejoice in the same day, the day Jesus saved us! According to 2 Corinthians 6:2, we are living in the “day of salvation” that began when Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. When we confessed Jesus as our Lord and believed that He rose from the dead, we entered (or were born) into our common salvation. And we all have this one testimony, “Jesus saved me from my life of sin and my future in Hell!”

This salvation experience can happen in a dramatic, night-to-day event – like Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Or it could take place at an incredibly young age and unfold throughout a lifetime – like it did in Paul's disciple, Timothy. Timothy had a testimony like many “church kids” have today. His faith was instilled in him by previous generations. His grandmother and his mother together raised him to serve God, and He never left it while growing up. Scripturally speaking, Timothy still must have been born again. But there was no mention of his conversion anywhere in scripture. It's possible that Timothy may not have even remembered life before his salvation, or the moment when he received Jesus as Lord!

In spite of the differences between Paul and Timothy's salvation experiences, they had the same testimony...Jesus saved them both on the day He died for their sins! This is the same testimony you and I have too. This is the testimony that overcomes every enemy. This is the testimony of our salvation. It's the testimony of the day that we were saved...the day that Jesus rescued us from the cross! Let's stop comparing the story of our entrance into this salvation with other peoples'! If you have confessed Jesus as Lord and have entered into this new life with me – then let's celebrate the day we were all born again!

How To Obey The Ten Commandments

Galatians 3:13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’”

Sadly, this beautiful verse has been used out of context all too often. Many people claim that the message of this verse is that we have been redeemed from the ten commandments, that we’ve been redeemed from the law. They combine this verse with Matthew 22:37-39 and try to claim that the law has no relevance to us - that the only thing we need to do in the New Testament is love God and love our neighbor. After all, we’re under grace in the New Testament - right? They don’t seem to recognize that Galatians 3:13 tells us that Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law - not the law itself!

The mindset of some believers is, “I don’t have to obey all of the commandments now that I’m saved. I only have to love God and other people.” But read closely what Jesus said in Matthew 22. “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” Jesus wasn’t taking away the law and giving us something easier to do. The point is that love will keep the law!

I’ve said this before, but there is a great misunderstanding in modern Christianity of what God’s grace is. It’s not merely unlimited forgiveness or a license to live however you want. Rather, it’s the power of God for a new start, wisdom for the right way to live, and the ability to do what God commands.

We’re saved by grace through faith. Romans 3:20 makes it clear that salvation cannot come through obedience. “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight.” It’s true that the ten commandments don’t have a cause/effect relationship to our salvation. We can’t earn our forgiveness and salvation by the law. Ephesians says it this way, “By grace you have been saved through faith, not of works...” So salvation comes through faith alone.

But look at what Romans 3:31 says, “Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.” Faith isn’t unrelated to works. Paul says here that faith is what empowers us to obey the law. This agrees with the what the epistle of James tells us - faith leads to obedience. So after salvation, God’s grace and our faith work together to fulfill the law! Romans 6:14 illustrates the sin-free lifestyle that grace empowers us to live: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

The point is, it’s only through the power of grace that we can obey the commands of the law. When you try to obey the law through your flesh, you’re going to be frustrated. Romans 7:14-20 describes the frustration that comes when we try to obey the law on our own strength: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it isgood. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”

We can’t obey the law on our own. If we could, we would be able to save ourselves. But we can’t, because our natural flesh can’t keep God’s spiritual commandments. The only answer is to live your life by your born-again spirit. Romans 8:2-6 says this: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Do you see it? When we live our life by the Spirit of God, we are empowered to fulfill the law!

The key book on law vs. grace - Galatians -has this very fact as its central theme. Galatians 5:18 says it this way, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Why? Because when you’re led by the Spirit, you have the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) growing in your life. And when you live in the spirit, the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) have no more place. You begin to naturally fulfill the law!