The key to the way slavery to sin is dealt with under the new covenant is found in the above verse from the eighth chapter of Romans.

Remember, Paul is speaking to those who know the Law of Moses. Paul is telling them if they live according to the Spirit of God, God will regard them as having kept the Law of Moses perfectly.

The key is living according to the Spirit of God. "Who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

Here is where we Gentiles misunderstand the Divine plan of salvation. We are teaching that if we put our faith in Christ for salvation, Christ's righteousness (the One who kept the Law of Moses perfectly) is imputed to us.

We often do not insert the qualifier: "Who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

Because we do not insert the qualifier, we are not candidates for imputed righteousness. God's Evangelical people are continuing in slavery to sin, heading for spiritual death, destroying their own resurrection. Yet they are looking forward to an unscriptural "rapture." It is a tremendous mess of confusion!

Maybe God has been winking at our ignorance. Let us hope so. In any case, now is the time to ask God to help us grow in the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and in the strength to embrace the good and to renounce and resist the evil.

The power God has given us to overcome sin, under the new covenant, is the Holy Spirit of God. We are to live according to the Spirit of God.

Paul proceeds to elaborate on this thought:

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8 NIV)

We have been crucified with Christ and have been resurrected with Christ. In addition we have been raised with Christ to the right hand of God.

Now that we are dead with Christ it no longer is appropriate that we sin. Yet we have a sinful nature. How do we proceed?

We proceed by first of all realizing that we are without condemnation before God. We must be full of joy and strength before we can continue with the removal of sin from our personality.

We must present our body a living sacrifice to God. We must pray, read our Bible, and gather with the saints (as possible) on a consistent basis. As we seek the Lord each day the Spirit of God will point out some aspect of our behavior that is not in accord with God's will for us. It may be in the area of the love of the world, or the passions and appetites of our flesh, or our self-will and personal ambition.

This is our sinful nature and those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

To be continued.