You’ll be happy if you walk by the Spirit

Romans 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. Today, let’s consider the attitude we are to have regarding the faith God has given us. First, faith is God-given. If we believe in Jesus, thanks be to God! He has justified us in His presence in Christ. Paul wrote of this in Rom. 5 where he said believers, through Jesus Christ, have been introduced by faith into the grace in which they stand before Him. Faith is the means by which we stand before God. In this verse, Paul has one’s standing before God in view. As we live with Jesus, our faith is tested on a daily basis with one situation and relationship after another. We learn what pleases the Lord and what grieves Him as we walk with Him. In that process of testing, our convictions on various matters are established. Our convictions are established in two ways. First, we stand on issues about which God’s Word is clear exactly where God’s Word stands. For instance, God’s word clearly states that lying, stealing, fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are sins and displeasing to the Lord. So, before God, we have His word as the basis of our convictions. Second, on issues where God’s Word is silent, we stand where the Lord wants us to stand by testing to see if our consciences condemn us or don’t condemn us on those issues. We know that the Bible tells us clearly to love our brother for God’s glory. We also know that faith works through love. So we ask ourselves on these issues, “Does this action result in the highest good of my brother—which is his glorifying God by loving Him and others in the power of the Holy Spirit?” If as I think of doing the action in the presence of God I find nothing to condemn, then I’m happy. Paul told the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit is Lord, and where He is Lord, there is liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). Peter understood that it is the Holy Spirit who cleanses the heart with faith (Acts 15:8-9). Rom. 14:22 ties these two truths together. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to do certain things and faith not to do certain things. He is Lord. He is able to make us stand where He wants us to stand, to have the convictions He wants us to have before God. The person who is led by the Holy Spirit will put to death the deeds of the flesh because his faith in Jesus won’t allow him to practice them. He learns by testing what pleases or displeases the Lord, the Spirit, and that’s what Paul meant when he used the word approves— Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. Today’s encouragement from this verse is this: You’ll be happy if you walk by the Spirit, living by what you’ve learned from the Holy Spirit pleases Him. This is another way of saying, living to love with Jesus brings joy. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com