God's Holy Fire: 'Released!'

We could not, and cannot, keep the law of God completely. Trying to be righteous when one failure, one transgression, one sin, makes us guilty ensures that we cannot be righteous. We cannot be made righteous through works of law-keeping — or any other works-based attempts at being righteous! But, we have died to that false way of determining our righteousness. We've died because we surrendered that way of trying to be declared righteous when we confessed Christ as Lord and were baptized into his death (Romans 6:3-5). This death — our death to ourselves and our baptism into Jesus' saving death — frees us from the law. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the presence of God within us. This holy presence gives us the power to overcome sin and leads us in the way of righteousness. The Spirit ensures that we will be raised victoriously from the dead. Jesus' sacrifice is the pivot point of all human history, ensuring forgiveness when we are saved and ongoing forgiveness when we falter. The Holy Spirit is God's tuning fork that places us in tune with the will of God and then empowers us to live according to his will. We serve in the new way of the Spirit! We cherish the will and the character of God revealed in the "old way of the written code." We rejoice that we are now called to a higher standard and empowered to holier living through the Spirit of God.