by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Romans 6:14-18
Bookstores devote entire sections to self-help titles. However, the self-help concept is flawed, since people cannot get rid of their fleshly nature. We can clean up our attitudes and actions temporarily, but lasting change is possible only through the Lord Jesus Christ. When His Spirit is living within us, we can be shaped into successful followers of God.
It’s critical to realize that the Law wasn’t intended for salvation. The commands given through Moses were designed to teach us what sin is and how mankind violates holiness. To lead a God-pleasing life, we must follow biblical principles, but doing so isn’t enough to get us into heaven. The Law was created to drive us to the Savior for salvation; through it, we understand our inability to adhere to the Lord’s rules without His help (Gal. 3:24).
The Law warns that the penalty of sin is death. (See Gen. 3:3; Rom. 6:23.) Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law since He took our sin upon Himself and died. When we accept His sacrifice on our behalf, we’re covered by divine grace, and the Holy Spirit comes to permanently indwell us.
Using Scripture, God’s Spirit challenges Christians to bring fleshly habits and thought patterns under submission. He illuminates the believer’s mind with regard to biblical meaning and application. Therefore, the Word is useful for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). The Lord doesn’t want us to go to the self-help section of the bookstore; He wants us to trust Him and surrender to the work of His Spirit. We are to depend on God’s strength, not our own, to conquer the flesh.