The Practical Value of Life in Christ

Our new heart, our new spirit, and having the Spirit of God living in us, has practical value for our daily lives.

Because of Jesus, we are freed from the need to continually examine ourselves.

We no longer have to check every choice, every behavior, to see if it's sinful or not.

We no longer need to worry about whether we are doing permissible things and refraining from prohibited things.

We no longer have to search the scriptures for checklist items that govern our every thought and action.

In short, we are freed to stop focusing on ourselves.

We are freed to focus on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

Paul frames it very well in Romans 8:2, where we see that the law of the Spirit (of life in Christ Jesus) has freed us from the law of sin and death.

God did this so that the righteous requirements of the Law could be fully met in us. (see Romans 8:4) Since we meet the requirements, we no longer have to try to meet the requirements.

Instead, we recognize that the desire of our heart has changed. We agree with God that He is working in us giving us godly desires and prompting us to do godly things. (see Philippians 2:13) Instead of focusing on whether we are sinning or not, we trust that His great grace is teaching us to live upright and godly lives in this world. (see Titus 2:11-12) Instead of thinking that we have to fight against ourselves, we acknowledge that Holy Spirit is waging the war against the earthy, fleshly, sensual way we used to live (see Galatians 5:17) and that His leading is not just and idea, but a fact of our life in Him. (see Romans 8:9 & 14)

That, my friends, is good news.