Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Walking in the Spirit

G-d’s plan made it possible through the atonement of Israel’s Messiah Yeshua for all people to be spiritually transformed, to be made positionally righteous before G-d, and therefore capable both to be in relationship with G-d and also to live according to G-d’s expectation of order. The sign of this spiritual transformation is the immediate indwelling of G-d’s Spirit of Holiness within the true believer which at the moment of decision makes them righteous before G-d. The Spirit then works within the true believer to progressively change their actions and values into alignment with G-d’s expectations as long as they continue to submit to the Spirit’s leading, guiding and conviction in their lives.

It would seem based on this spiritual transformation that from the moment a person chooses to accept Messiah Yeshua’s atonement that they would be not only spiritually transformed from G-d’s perspective, but also from an obvious human perspective; that all sin (anger, lust, jealousy, disrespect, laziness, bitterness, etc.…) would just disappear, and that the believer would never again be tempted to do anything displeasing to G-d. But this doesn’t happen. I personally know believers who have murdered, committed adultery, have stolen from their employers, who gossip, lie, and who hold serious bitterness against other people. How is this possible? Are they not transformed? The problem is not because of what G-d has done, it’s because of who we are, and our sinfulness and lack of obedience to G-d’s instruction in the Scriptures.

The Spirit of G-d desires to work in the life of a believer to progressively change their actions and values from the inside out, but only as long as the true believer continues to submit to the Spirit’s leading, guiding and conviction in their lives. We need to understand and see sin the way G-d understands and sees it. We need to recognize how influenced we are by the values and priorities of the world and repent of choosing the world and its ways over G-d and His ways. May we remain sensitive to G-d’s Spirit of Holiness!

Forward for Messiah!

Kirk Gliebe

Rabbi & Director