One of the greatest sources of misery in our lives flows from “if, then” living. The attitude goes like this: “If I get life right by doing right things or believing right things, then life will go the way I want it to.” This is the essence of the law: “if you are careful to obey everything written in the book of the law, then I will bless you and things will go well with you” (Deuteronomy 30:16).

When we try to live “if, then” circumstances become incredibly important in the evaluation of our lives. If things are going well then we attribute it to our good living. This creates pride and condescension. When things are not going well, we wonder what we did wrong. This creates despair, anxiety, and blame: blaming God, others, and/or ourselves.

This is especially important in our lives with God. God has set “if, then” aside as the rule for living. Paul says in Romans 7 that the Law is our first wife that died and now we are freed to marry another. He says that we no longer serve in the old way of the written code, but in the new way of the Spirit. So “if, then” is no longer relevant when it comes to our life with God. Now the new “rule” of living is the Holy Spirit.

So this makes instruction on the Holy Spirit vitally important. The leadership of the Holy Spirit is how we live our Christian lives right now. He guides, comforts, convicts, challenges, gives wisdom, and points us to Christ’s work and not our own. The Holy Spirit produces what God commands. His power and presence is accessed by faith.

That is why life in the “new promise” of Jesus is so much better than the “old promise.” The old covenant said that if we obey, God will bless. The new covenant says that God has blessed us in Christ, and our present obedience is the work of another: God himself, living in us, carrying out His will.