“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Gal 5:18
This verse is talking about how being led by the Holy Spirit frees you from having to remember and follow a whole bunch of rules. The bible lays down two main rules that we are to follow and the rest of our moral choices are to be made by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The two commandments are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the other is to love you neighbor as yourself. If you strive to obey these commands you’re going to be alright. Those commandments and the leading of the Spirit replace the old testament law. Some people say, “Well, it’s hard for me to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.” If that’s the case then you aren’t obeying the two commandments. Get back to those and everything will fall into place.
The Holy Spirit will also lead us in other areas of our lives. Look at what David did over in 1 Chronicles 14:8-17. He was led by the Spirit. He was in a situation where the written word of God wasn’t giving him the specific information that he needed. The Philistine army had come out against him and he needed to know what he should do. So he asked God in verse 10, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into mine hand?” God said, “go.” So he did and won the victory. Then the enemy army came back and David just didn’t assume that God had the same answer. So he went to God again, “Should I go?” Now the Lord gives him some specific directions, v14-15 “You shall not go up after them; instead circle around them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
If David hadn’t have gone to God again the second time then he probably would have lost the battle.
This is a good lesson for us to learn. It’s important for us to always go to God for the answers to the decisions that we need to make. It could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Sometimes God will not need to answer us by His Spirit, because the answer is already in the Word. If the answer is not in the Word and we need something more specific, God will give us spiritual insight into what we should do. Most of the time He answers in a still small voice in your spirit and you’ll need to listen carefully, not with your physical ears, but with the ears of your heart. You may need to wait before to Lord for a while. He doesn’t work on your timetable. Set aside time, wait for Him until the answer comes.
Hal Chaffee 