First, we must worship in spirit. And second, we must worship in truth.

The central theme in our Scripture reading comes at the end of verse 7: for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. It's a simple principle. No gardener plants beans and harvests cantaloups. This remains true even if you pray very hard for canteloupes. You reap what you sow. In the Bible, this principle is ancient and widespread. It touches every aspect of our lives.

Do not carry alone what Christ never intended you to carry alone. Let the gospel speak to it. Let Christ bear your burden. And let others carry YOU the way Christ has carried them.

When Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, he said that the Holy Spirit would glorify him. The Holy Spirit deepens our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The main point of the passage is this: what we are on the inside reveals itself on the outside. And Paul says, what we are on the inside is pretty obvious.

The truth of this passage, like many things in the Bible, is clarifying, challenging and yet comforting, all at the same time. It is the counterintuitive truth that the context for authentic Christian living is a conflict that goes on deep within your heart and soul.

We see three things in these three verses: The Power of Freedom (13a), The Purpose of Freedom (13b-14), and The Peril of Freedom (v15).

If, as Nehemiah 8:10 puts it, the joy of the LORD is your strength, where do you find the strength to run your race well when you are burdened with the weight of trying to earn the favor of God instead of accepting by faith the grace God gives in Christ?

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. This is certainly a critical truth to understand and apply in everyday life. It is in the Bible because from the days of the Bible to the present, it is common for people to fall into a way of living that looks Christian and, in a sense, is partially Christian but it is less than what God wants. It is critical because without it you can lose the strength and enjoyment of the Christian life even while continually trying to do a lot of things right.