The past couple of days we have been talking about what it means to be a slave to sin. Jesus has made the case that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. It seems to me that the concept of being a slave to sin has a lot of ramifications. One of the most obvious ramifications of being a slave is that a person no longer has the freedom do what they think is right. A slave must do what he or she is told to do, there really is no choice.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8: 36
So what happens when a person is set free? Do they go tearing down the street yelling “Woo Hoo!”? Do they do what they always have wanted to do? Ironically, as Paul explains in his letter to the Romans (Chapters 7 & 8) there are two wills at work within us. The will to do what we want to do is what leads us into sin. It is choosing to do what the Father wants us to do that is what leads to true freedom.
Q: How do we know if what we are doing is what God wants us to do?
We know through His Word and through His Spirit in us as well as other believers.
Yes. I agree with Nathan. We can know through God’s word. There are things He tells us that are specifically His will – such as in 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 – 18 or Ephesians 5: 18 or 1 Thessalonians 4: 3 – 5. We also have the conformation of the Holy Spirit and the objectivity and wisdom of other mature believers.