A pastor argues that avoiding sin isn't enough for Christian life. Using a wedding vows analogy, he shows how promising not to cheat is empty without genuine love. Real faith means actively pursuing righteousness and submission to the Holy Spirit, not just checking off a list of don'ts.
Imagine you attend a wedding ceremony and the groom gives a speech. He gives his vows, and in those vows, he simply states to his bride, I promise to not cheat on you. Now imagine how romantic that would be. Not at all. And if that was the totality of his vows, if that's all he said, you would think there was some emptiness there because marriage is more than just not cheating on someone. In the same way, Living in the Spirit, living righteously is so much more than just not sinning. You see, you can make your checklists. Don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. You can lay out your strategy. Have this friend on speed dial, make sure to put the phone away at this time. I mean, you can have all of that, and that's all good. You should have that. But ultimately, if there's not a standard to which you're aspiring, if you're just sin conscious, and not righteousness conscious, you're not going to fulfill the desires of the Spirit. The key to not living in the flesh isn't just not living in the flesh. The key to not living in the flesh is living in the Spirit. It's submission to God. It's surrender to the voice of the Holy Spirit. So adjust your thinking from don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, to do this, do this, do this. Recognize this is who God has already created me to be.
