It seems like the answer to so many things in the Christian life is to just peel back the law, remembering that we aren't under the old covenant (law) now but the new (grace). (I'm getting the phrase "peel back the law" and some of the ideas that come out of it from a blog called Truly Amazing Grace. I thought it was a neat concept and I sort of ran with that idea in the following paragraphs.)
How do I walk by the Spirit or be led by the Spirit? Peel back the Law. We are free from the law, free from rules and regulations, free to do as we want. And we want to hang out with Jesus, love people, and enjoy real life! Peel back the law, and the natural desires of Christ in us just come to the surface and we live "freely and lightly"! Without even trying, we live by the Spirit as easily as we breathe. Peeling back the law makes everything so easy and natural.
How do I convince myself I'm okay with God even when I sin? Peel back the Law. Where there is no law, there is no transgression. There's no punishment, then, either. So even if we sin, nothing at all has changed in our relationship with God. Nothing that we do can get between us and God since our relationship is based on grace instead of law. We're never lawbreakers in His eyes!
How do I have the close and intimate relationship with God that I so desire? Peel back the Law. God is not holding us to a bunch of standards to meet in order to be close to Him. Intimacy with Him is not earned but freely given ALREADY in Christ. There are no "shoulds" hanging over our lives that will pull us from Him if we fail to comply. We cannot mess this relationship up! God has no demands upon us, so we are FREE to fellowship with Him completely unhindered and uninhibited and unashamed.
I love it when God peels back the law ideas I may have so I can see clearly through grace eyes!
