ll care and worry and anxiety as to the decisions which we must make
at any turn of life. The Holy Spirit undertakes all that responsibility
for us. A true Christian life is not one governed by a long set of rules
without us, but led by a living and ever-present Person within us. It is
in this connection that Paul says, "For ye received not the spirit _of
bondage_ again _to fear_." A life governed by rules without one is a life
of _bondage_. There is always _fear_ that we haven't made quite rules
enough, and always the dread that in an unguarded moment we may have
broken some of the rules which we have made. The life that many professed
Christians lead is one of awful bondage; for they have put upon themselves
a yoke more grievous to bear than that of the ancient Mosaic law
concerning which Peter said to the Jews of his time, that neither they nor
their fathers had been able to bear it (Acts xv. 10). Many Christians have
a long list of self-made rules, "Thou shalt do this," and "Thou shalt do
this," and "Thou shalt do this," and "Thou shalt not do that," and "Thou
shalt not do that," and "Thou shalt not do that"; and if by any chance
they break one of these self-made rules, or forget to keep one of them,
they are at once filled with an awful dread that they have brought upon
themselves the displeasure of God (and they even sometimes fancy that they
have committed the unpardonable sin). This is not Christianity, this is
legalism. "We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear," we
have received the Spirit who gives us the place of sons (Rom. viii. 15).
Our lives should not be governed by a set of rules without us but by the
loving Spirit of Adoption within us. We should believe the teaching of
God's Word that the Spirit of God's Son dwells within us and we should
surrender the absolute control of our life to Him and look to Him to guide
us at every turn of life. He will do it if we only surrender to Him to do
it and trust Him to do it. If in a moment of thoughtlessness, we go our
own way instead of His, we will not be filled with an overwhelming sense
of condemnation and of fear of an offended God, but we will go to God as
our Father, confess our going astray, believe that He forgives us fully
because He says so (1 John i. 9) and go on light and happy of heart to
obey Him and be led by His Spirit.

Being led by the Spirit of God does not mean for a moment that we will do
things that the written Word of God tells