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Before we were born again, we lived according to our 'old self' which was corrupted by sinful lusts, easily yielding to the temptations that came by, in order to enjoy the pleasures they offered. But when we heard the Gospel and saw ourselves as sinners in the sight of God, we repented from our sins and received Jesus as our Saviour. Then God did a miracle by giving us a new heart and spirit that did not want to sin, but wanted to be pleasing to Him (Ez.36:26,27). Now that we have received the 'new self', we are expected to put the old self aside and be led by the Spirit (Ep.4:22,23).

We could wish that once we are born again, the Holy Spirit would take over the control of our life, we would not be even tempted to sin, but we would be transformed to become like Jesus automatically. Certain verses seem to give us that kind of ideas. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Ro.8:2). "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you" (v.9). But then there are other verses. "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (v.13). "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (6:12-14).

What it means for the Spirit of life to have set us free from the law of sin is not that we no longer have any problem with sin. But He has given us a new heart and spirit that is set against sin; we no longer want to sin, whereas our old man wanted to enjoy the pleasures of sin. Armed with this new mind, whenever we are tempted, we choose not to yield the members of our body to sinful desires, and we decide, instead, to yield to the Spirit and do His will. If we won't deliberately make this choice, we cannot be disciples of Jesus nor become like Him (Lk.9:23).

One mistake which many believers commonly make is to look at sin only as external acts such as the ones given in the Ten Commandments. They are satisfied when they keep that standard, and are not aware how sinful desires control their thoughts, attitudes or motives and defile them in the sight of God. They consider themselves as being good Christians. But as long as we do not allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our inner life, we cannot be transformed to become like Jesus.

Others think of being led by the Spirit only in terms of ministry. We must allow Him to lead us, rather than make our own plans. But not seeking to be increasingly set free from sinning by allowing the Holy Spirit to work inside us will cause us to miss out on sanctification.

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