Do you honestly believe God allowed His only Son Jesus to be tortured, beaten and crucified just for us to say "well OK I accept Jesus as my Savior" and then continue to live by our old lives? The Bible says we have been incredibly blessed by having the Spirit of God come to live in us when we were saved. The Bible says we are called to live a Holy life, a Sanctified life and to not continue to live by our old fleshly sin nature. We should be transformed by the renewing of our minds and living by the Spirit and not our old flesh.
God is not calling us to try to be “nice” or “good” or “helpful”. The Bible does not tell us to find opportunities to be nice or show someone love in “your own efforts”. In fact that is ignoring the existence of the Holy Spirit living in you and that is a sin. We should be allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest and flow through us. But, we keep stopping Him, because we are being taught to be nice, show people love, be patience, be kind, etc. through our own efforts. We are being taught to just keep “practicing” being a better person, and make the changes in our OWN efforts, and that is a works mentality and that denies the existence of the Spirit living in you.
The anointed word of God calls us to stop living by the flesh and allow the Holy Spirit and His fruit to manifest and flow through us. Galatians 5:16-23 (NKJV) says:
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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, murders, 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. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Notice the Bible says by the “fruit of the Spirit” and not your own efforts!
The Bible has many warning in the New Testament about Believers that continue to willfully sin. Shocked? How can this be? It’s because God has called us to give up living by our old fleshly sin nature and live by the Spirit. Understand God’s GRACE is always there waiting to forgive you when you sin and repent. But God is expecting you to stop willfully sinning which happens when you live by the flesh, and to start living by His Spirit. He has given us the Spirit to live the life He is expecting, but we are ignoring Him.
In 1 Corinthians 11: 28-31 (NKJV) Is warning Believers about taking Holy Communion in an unworthy manner it says:
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drink sin an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (die). For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”
A Stern warning to Believers that take Communion in an unworthy manner. There will be consequences of judgement and punishment. If you have done this then apologize to God (repent).
Romans 8:1 (NKJV) says:
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
Notice: it says to be free from condemnation we must not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This isn't a game and too many churches are just trying to preach a happy go lucky message that is leading innocent Christians down a dangerous road.
Having the Holy Spirit living in us, is a blessing beyond anything we can imagine. The same Spirit that lived in Jesus now lives in us as believers. But we have to "live by the Spirit" and get close enough to Him so that He can freely manifest and flow through us.
The anointed word of God in John 14: 12 (NKJV) Jesus Himself says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Jesus said that because He KNEW he was going to Heaven to sit next to our Father and the Holy Spirit was going to come to live in all of us as believers. The same Spirit that filled Him when he was Baptized.
BE BLESSED - Your Spirit Filled Life is waiting for you.