Monday's Thought of the Day !!

But you are not controlled by your sinful nature.  You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.  (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) – Romans 8:9 (NLT)

Paul tells the Roman Christians (and us today) that instead of being controlled by their sinful nature, they’re controlled by the Holy Spirit because they’ve accepted Jesus and His ways. They will still struggle and even loose battles with this sin at times.  But ultimately they belong to God and are controlled by His Holy Spirit.  

He also makes it clear that if the Holy Spirit is not in us, we do not belong to God.  Let’s put this another way.  If you don’t have the Holy Spirit within you, controlling you…if you’ve not said yes to Jesus and his free gift to you…if you’ve not allowed his ways to gradually become your ways…then you’re not saved.  

Salvation is not about a moral list of do’s and don’ts.  It’s not a 12-step program.  It’s not about saying a prayer or being baptized.  Salvation is not even a one-time event.  Salvation is a process.  We’ve come to see it as that point in time in history when we “got saved”.  But if truth be told, there are three phases to a person’s salvation.

There’s the time before they accept Christ and turn to Him, falling in love with him.  Then there is that moment of new birth when the Holy Spirit connects with us and our spirit…the time when Jesus is actually accepted.  Then comes the living with Christ part of our lives where we grow in him and become closer to him.  

May you live out your salvation guided not by your sinful nature, but by the Holy Spirit within you.  

In the love of Christ,

greg