17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
We are free in Christ to obey the Spirit and fulfill God’s intentions for our lives. We are not stuck in the Old Testament having to fulfill the provisions of the Law. Our righteousness before the Lord does not depend on our meticulous adherence to the letter of the Law. The letter of the Law was fulfilled in Christ, so it would be redundant for us to work toward fulfilling what has already been fulfilled. We are not free from the constraints of the letter of the Law. We are now free to live holy lives. We are free to live lives pleasing to the Lord. Some have taken freedom out of context and made freedom an excuse for living selfish and sinful lives. The Lord is still holy and requires holy living from His people. Have you ever tried to drive you car for a long distance in reverse while only looking in the rearview mirror? How about driving forward while only looking backward? We can’t live lives pleasing to the Lord by only looking backward. We must keep our eyes fixed on Him. He leads, we follow. If we are in step with the Spirit, we will be where He is. And when we are where He is, we have freedom. If we are always looking back, we will miss the movement of the Spirit in the now. We are responsible for keeping in step with the Spirit. The past is gone. It serves only a limited function in guiding our present. We have the Spirit of God who will guide us if we are listening. He can lead us in a personalized plan of holy and fruitful living, unlike the Law. The Law’s plan led all Israel to acknowledge their need of God’s grace. It was there to point out their need and God’s provision of forgiveness. It was one plan for everyone. Now the Spirit leads us each individually in line with the Word of God to live lives pleasing to Him. Are you in step with the Spirit today?
The Arnold Journey 