For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Rom

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). This is a really significant scripture in the Bible, and we need only look at the flip side of this verse to see that. If we are NOT led by the Spirit of God, then we are not the children of God. That is the flip side and that goes for everyone, especially those who have received God's Spirit. That is who the scriptures were written to and for, and that is why we have statements like this in the Bible. WE need to heed these things, and WE need to learn how to follow God's Spirit, if WE expect to finish our course as we have begun, meaning being God's children (Heb. 2:1). John made it very clear in his first epistle that being a child of God means that we do the righteousness of God: "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil... In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (I Jn. 3:7,8,10). A lot of people who have the Spirit, meaning those who have been baptized with the Spirit, think of being led by the Spirit only in terms of God leading them to speak to someone, or pray for someone, or some other act of this nature. But the truth is, being led by the Spirit of God is something that we are in the main part of our lives either doing or not doing; and it is not always an easy thing to know which direction it is leading in. There are things in life involving things that don't have to do with being led by the Spirit, but by and large the holy Ghost is usually drawing us and leading us to go in a certain direction in things. Sometimes it's easy to tell and sometimes it is not. Sometimes we can feel that leading and other times we have to just decide what to do in a given situation. Sometimes we miss the mark but that's alright because God knows our hearts and he knows we are continually learning. But when it's all said and done. it comes back around to what John said, that "he who does righteousness is righteous." The most valuable asset we can have spiritually is that we love the righteousness of God. The significance is that the Spirit of God IS the righteousness of God, as the scripture also affirms to us: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17).

If we love the righteousness of God, and we hate the things that are contrary to it, we are going to generally be able to be led by God's Spirit. Reason being that the righteousness of God is always what the Spirit is leading us into, because as we have seen, the holy Ghost is the righteousness of God. I just can't emphasize enough that keeping our hearts pure and clean from any kind of sin, including things like fear, is the key to understanding the direction to take in all things. Jesus once said the same with a very profound statement of truth: "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness" (Lk. 11:34). Light is how we are able to see, so the analogy here is evident. The 'eye' that Jesus is speaking of is the eye of our heart, so if our heart is 'single,' which is to say pure, then we will have light to be able to see where we are going. If our heart is not pure, then as he also said, we are quite simply walking in darkness, which of course means that we can NOT see where we are going. So what this comes down to is that we either love the righteousness of God in our hearts, or we will not be able to be led by God's HOLY Spirit. That is where everything starts, meaning in the heart. That is where we first either love or do not love God's holiness, which translates as pureness of heart in us. After that we will demonstrate outwardly in our lives and our decisions what we love or do not love in our hearts. The ancient proverb says it best I believe: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). The word 'issues' in this verse is translated as 'outgoings.' Again, that means that whatever we are doing on the outside is something that began in our heart and comes out. Jesus made it clear that all sins for example originate in the hearts of men: "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mk. 7:20-23). That in fact is the condition that all have been born in, and that is what Jesus hung on a cross for six hours and died for; to change that condition and eradicate sin from our lives. His spiritual baptism for the inner man is the experience of faith that washes our sins away and imparts the divine nature of himself and the Father into those who truly believe (Jn. 7:38,39; I Cor. 6:11; I Cor. 12:13; II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 3:14; Tit. 3:5; I Pet. 1:22).

It's no wonder the baptism of the holy Ghost is what both God and John the Baptist said Jesus was coming to provide for mankind (Mk. 1:7,8; Jn. 1:33). And no wonder the final instructions that Jesus gave to his followers before he went back to heaven was to wait for the baptism of the holy Ghost (Acts 1:4,5). So it is certain that no one can be led by the Spirit of God unless they have been baptized WITH the Spirit of God, because RECEIVING the Spirit and being baptized with the Spirit with the accompanying sign of speaking in other tongues, is in fact the same thing. Jesus made it clear that no one could receive the holy Ghost until AFTER he went back to heaven, and it was only after he went back to heaven that the Spirit came upon his followers (Jn. 16:7; Acts 2:4). This is all very vital understanding, seeing that the scripture plainly tells us, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). I'm quite aware of the modern Christian tradition that sates that we 'receive' the Spirit when we 'get saved,' and are 'baptized' with the Spirit later. I am also aware that this modern Christian tradition is simply misguided, neither is there one single record in the Bible of anyone who ever 'got saved.' The Spirit baptism is the only new birth that exists or has ever existed, and two scriptures alone can show us that plainly: "Therefore if any man be IN Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17). That verse shows us that we are a "new creature," which obviously comes about by a new birth, IF we are IN Christ. And this verse tells us HOW we get IN Christ: "For BY ONE SPIRIT are we ALL BAPTIZED into one body [of Christ], whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (I Cor. 12:13). So it quite simply comes down to us first having the Spirit, and then just continuing to love the righteousness OF the Spirit. If we do this we will always find our way and be led by the Spirit of God, even if sometimes we have to back up and do it over to get it right. God looks on the heart, and he rejoices at the heart that is trying to do the right thing, even if the perfectly right thing is missed at first. Thanks be to God for his unfathomable grace! Amen.