Page 39 - First Steps 2023

When the Holy Spirit shows up, there’s a new sheriff in town.
Consider this illustration….
If you drop a hammer, it falls to the ground, hopefully not on
your toes. That’s the law of gravity at work, and it applies to not just
hammers but cellphones, laptops, crystal goblets, and anything else
you wish you hadn’t dropped.
Let go, see it hit the ground, sweep up the pieces.

But if you drop a helium balloon, another law kicks in: one that
factors in what happens when gasses are lighter than air.
Grace disrupts the law of sin causing death in much the same
way. Grace gives eternal life through Jesus, and as the Holy Spirit
calls believers to that truth, they rise above the law of sin and death.
They’re saved from the eternal consequences of sin—though
they may temporarily suffer painful toes if they continue dropping
hammers.

The Holy Spirit empowers an understanding of your new reality: the
Kingdom of God. The Spirit draws you toward truth and away from self-
condemnation and sin.
Don’t be surprised if you continue sinning—but don’t beat yourself
up, either. Instead, confess sin, repent of it, resist the temptation when it

next appears, and ask God for help.
As you experience God’s grace, forgiving even those sins for which
you struggle to forgive yourself, you’ll come to love him more and more.
You’ll draw closer to him, and in time, pleasing God will become more
important than your attraction to sin.
You’ll be a saint who’s becoming holy, a disciple who’s following
Jesus faithfully.

7. Let’s talk freedom—to do what we ought to do rather than
what we want to do.
The Bible is packed with advice about how to get past your default

setting of sin. This is where you can exercise your freedom to choose holi-
ness—and that happens best if you make these choices along the way:

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