Tag: Devotion

The redeemed man, therefore, is holy in the sight of God in that he is made holy by the merits of Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of the phrase “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us”. When we repent of our sins and received Jesus Christ into our hearts, believing that He died and rose from the dead the third day, we are saved. By the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have the divinely-endowed strength to reject the way of sin and walk after God in holiness. Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

When the mind is yielded to God, it brings forth spiritual fruit in the believer’s life. What is the Spirit’s fruit? In Galatians 5:22-23, the Apostle Paul tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” When the believer is blessed with the fruit of the Spirit, the is no law to condemn or judge such a one! The fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of the character of God in our lives. When God endows us with such spiritual blessing, we are a blessing to the people around us.

With a sound mind, the Christian serve the law of God. Such a mind is led by the influence of the Holy Spirit undergirded by God’s Word. Such a mind is disciplined, taught, trained to do good, serve God. The Apostle Paul took time to cultivate such a godly mind! He testified spending time with God in imbibing the truth of God into his very heart after his conversion.

The Apostle Paul understood well the first law of Christ’s kingdom! (Matt. 5:3) This, I believe, is the testimony of a child of God who realized his unworthiness before God. He cries out to God for mercy. If God will not intervene to grant him deliverance, he will fail miserably! Therefore, we dare not live far from His presence but seek to experience His sanctifying presence by a poverty of spirit. Amen.

The indwelling Holy Spirit coupled with the indwelling Word strengthening the mind is the secret of victorious Christian living. The Christian is able to see sin for what it is at all times. He is able to see the spiritual warfare within him and take precaution to protect himself from being brought into captivity to the law of sin which is in his members.

The Apostle Paul praises God for giving him His Word and is resolved to all the law of God to guide his life. He loves God’s Word because it brings to his life God’s blessing. He rejoices in embracing God’s Word. What about you? How much is God’s Word an integral part of your life? In psalm 119, the psalmist speaks of the blessedness of embracing God’s Word. It benefits him.

The Apostle Paul sees in his heart both the propensity for good and for evil. He has to actively choose to do good whilst he sees an evil tendency seeking to pull him down. He sought the Lord to help him do good and finds in the Lord a present help. James Smith echos the Christian’s victory over sin as he waits upon God, “What a mercy that evil does not reign in you, and over you. It did reign once, and would reign but for free and sovereign grace.”

The Apostle Paul describes the war within him that is waged between the Spirit and the flesh. It is a very real battle. He saw the rottenness of the flesh. It is corrupt and evil. He calls this the sin that dwells in him. He saw also the Spirit prompting him not yield to sin. He could differentiate well between good and evil and he realizes the pull toward evil is such a contending force within him. This acknowledgment leads him to endeavour by prayer and supplication to keep close to God and not yield to sin.

The Apostle Paul identified the source of mischief in the believer’s life as the sin that is within him which he identified as his “flesh”. It entices him to sin. And he speaks of a conflict within him, a tug of war between the flesh and the new nature within him. The new nature was formed in him when he received Jesus Christ into his life. The Holy Spirit now indwells him. The flesh does not speak of his body. His body is not evil. In fact, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God.

The Apostle Paul acknowledges that the law is indeed good because it warned him against yielding to temptation and sin against God. As the psalmist testified, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellers.” (Psalm 119:24) The word of God is valuable to him because it helps him to navigate and keep clear of the landmines of life.

He understood that if he sinned, he is culpable. He is without excuse. The Holy Spirit by the Word brings conviction to his heart giving it no rest until it surrenders. He has an awakened conscience, sensitive to sin. This heightened spiritual awareness is the mark of spiritual maturity.