The Gospel Is More Than Law Keeping

"I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."Ezekiel 36:26-27When you come to faith in Jesus Christ, God puts His Spirit within you. That’s His promise.The first evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life will be that you have a deep desire to please God and to serve Him by being a channel of His love into the lives of others.This will be the greatest struggle of your life, and so before you set out on this journey, you need to know if it’s possible. The Heidelberg Catechism faces this issue head-on:Q: Can those converted to God obey these commands perfectly?A: No. In this life, even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience. Nevertheless, with all seriousness of purpose, they do begin to live according to all, not only some, of God’s commandments.No Christian is everything that God calls him or her to be. The finest Christian you have ever met has only a small beginning of obedience.But there is a beginning of true holiness in every believer. No Christian is completely pure, but there is the beginning of purity in every Christian. No Christian is completely content, but there is the beginning of contentment in every Christian. What we have now is a beginning of truth, of peace, of integrity, of rest, and of worship. We truly begin to live according to all, not only some of God’s commandments.Every day of your Christian life offers opportunities for the new life that God has begun in you to grow stronger. And when you stand in the presence of Jesus, what He has begun in you will be complete.Are you living in the power of a new life?Or are you simply trying hard, in your own strength, to do what God commands?