SCRIPTURE
Romans 7:6
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
COMMENTS
Here is what I want to take away from this verse: We still serve!
I know there are some who say that since we are not under the law, we have the freedom to do whatever we want. Paul handles this thought on several occasions, and the answer can be summed up with the words, "by no means!" But then there is also a group that preaches that we are not under the law, but under grace, who are accused of saying that we don't have to do any good works. Who accuses them? Those who would put them under works. Here, Paul makes it clear that works are still important, we still serve, but in a new way. The old way had a list of rules, laws, commandments, so much so that no one could follow them. The new way was to be in the Spirit. This is not some mystical set of feelings that lead the believer, it is the Spirit of love, the Spirit of grace. It is the Christian's heartfelt response to salvation from God. I always go back to Romans 12:1,2. This teaches that we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice because of (as a response to) the mercy of God. This creates transformation, which in turn gives us discernment as to what God desires from us.
Is there a danger here? Absolutely. If we are not honest with ourselves, we could say what we want when it comes to what God wants from us. Jesus addressed this with the parable of the wheat and tares when he told them not to pull the weeds, lest they destroy some of wheat in the process. He said to let them grow together until the harvest, then let God's judgment resolve the issue.
That is tough to do, but I believe that there is so much wisdom in that.
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