Serving the New Way of the Spirit

4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature,^[a] the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. - Romans 7:4-6

For those of us who have grown up in church, we are very familiar with what Paul calls the "written code." Even before we were introduced to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our parents probably at one point or another told us not to eat cookies before a meal, or something to that effect. We were introduced to moral obligations and the rules we were to follow if we were to have happy coexistence with the rest of society.

The trouble is, many times we as a church don't take deliberate steps to go beyond this simple truth. True, there are rules to follow, but as Paul has said, "we are no longer law ..." Talking to many Christians, we seem to be struggling over keeping all these things, and forgetting the freedom that Christ's sacrifice affords us.

True, sin is still an ugly thing; and true, temptation still manages to ensnare even the most devoted Christian. And true, we have to be on guard for the "lion" that prowls, waiting to "devour" us. BUT! We have been "released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit"! No longer are we as the Israelites were; serving out of obligation to appease a wrathful God; we have a relationship with Christ that is like no other, and is unlike anything that people had experienced before His ultimate sacrifice. And yet .. we still fret about keeping the rules? Are we not in a sense cheapening the price He paid...if we are still so hung up on the details?

I respect those who try to live a holy life; by God's strength. But I believe it is impossible to live a holy and wholly satisfied life without being in relationship with God. We can do all the things we are able to: serve, study the scriptures, stay pure before marriage, etc., but if we do all these things outside of a living and breathing relationship with Christ; we've missed the point.

It saddens me that we have such a blessing and joy that is found in our relationship with God, yet we tend often to focus on the dos and don'ts of Christian living. I'm all for no complacency and of course as Christians we have to strive to live in purity because we are representing Christ. But, all this stems out of our relationship with God and our love for Him; not the other way around. Sometimes, it feels like we have things backward.

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
- How Can I Keep From Singing - Tomlin