A man declared innocent in court must change out of his prison uniform and remove his chains to live as a free person truly. If he keeps wearing prison clothes and walking with a prisoner’s demeanor, everyone around him will still treat him like a prisoner – even the guards might try to return him to his cell.

His legal freedom becomes meaningless if his appearance, behavior, and mindset remain bound to prison life. The declaration of freedom from the judge must be matched by actions that show he is no longer bound – he must walk, dress, and carry himself like the free man he now is.

The same applies to the life of the believer. While salvation has freed us from sin and death, we sometimes continue in old patterns that don’t reflect our new life in Christ. Our words say we are saved, but our lives still carry the marks of our old nature. Salvation isn’t just about avoiding hell – it transformed our very identity. We are now God’s children, filled with His Spirit, called to a new way of living. When we truly understand and embrace this truth, it changes how we think, speak, and act in our daily lives.

Ephesians 2:1-5
New King James Version
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

The passage above helps us understand how we were before salvation. We were spiritually dead, enslaved by sin, and separated from God. Our lives were dictated by the desires of the flesh, but we are told that because of mercy and love, He intervened and made us alive in Christ. This transformation we now have affects how we are called to live.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
New King James Version
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Long ago, God promised us His Spirit, who would help us live the kind of life that pleases Him. It is by His Spirit that we are empowered to walk in His statues and keep His commandments. This promise finds its fulfillment in our new covenant reality.

In the Old Testament, they were given the law and it was evident that they couldn’t keep it. The nature of sin at work in our members doesn’t allow us to keep the 10 commandments. However, for those of us who have been born in Christ, it’s important to recognize that God did not leave us to navigate this on our own.

So Instead of giving new regulations again in the new Covenant, He has now given us a regulator by placing His Spirit within us to guide, convict, and empower us to live in alignment with His will. The Holy Spirit is not a taskmaster but a helper who enables us to walk in righteousness.

The moment we accepted the life of Christ, we were given a new identity by the Holy Spirit. No longer are we slaves to sin; we are children of God, seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

This position comes with responsibilities. As new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), it now means that our actions must align with the reality of our new nature and yield to the leadings of the Spirit. We must, just as the Apostle instructs, “put off concerning our former conduct, the old man” and “put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Romans 8:9-10
New King James Version
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

This means we are no longer striving to earn God’s approval; we are living from a place of acceptance and grace. Obedience flows naturally when we understand that we are already loved, redeemed, and even more empowered by His Spirit to fulfill His purposes. Our actions, then, are an outflow of the transformative work that Christ has done in us. Holiness for us now is not a condition for salvation but a response to it.

1 Peter 1:15
New King James Version
15 But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’

This call to holiness is not burdensome because it is rooted in the empowerment by the Spirit. We are not striving to achieve victory; we are living from the victory Christ has already secured. All we need to do now is to partner with the Spirit within us, by making vital that which already is legal.

Colossians 3:1-3
New King James Version
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Your life in Christ is secure, and His Spirit empowers you to give expression to His holiness, then live boldly, not as one striving for approval, but as one who knows that they are already loved and accepted by the Father.

Prayer Point: Father, I thank You for redeeming me and giving me a new identity in Christ. I remind myself that I am no longer a slave to sin but empowered by Your Spirit to live in righteousness. From today, I walk in the reality of who I am in You, my actions reflect the work You have done in my life. I live boldly, knowing I am already accepted and loved by You.