God's Holy Fire: 'The New Covenant of Life'

Unfortunately, many of us who claim to follow Jesus can miss the incredibly radical claims of the apostle Paul. One of these claims is simple and clear: "[We] are not under law" (Romans 6:14 & Galatians 5:18). It's not that the righteous demands of law are bad, but they have no power to change us - not down inside where the problems in our attitudes and behaviors really reside. Instead, when we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. With the gift of the Spirit's presence come both the power and the urge to be more and more like God - to be holy and righteous, gracious and compassionate. Written laws can convict us of our failures, but this new "law," i.e., the principle of living by the Holy Spirit of God within us, is life-inspiring and enabling. Rather than a law demanding us to be holy, we have the presence of the Holy One inside us urging, leading, empowering, convicting, and transforming us to be like Jesus.

Note: Translations of Romans 6:14 & Galatians 5:18 frequently say "you are not under the law," but the definite article "the" is not in either verse in the Greek. A literal translation without "the" is used above.