THE COST OF HAVING THE INDWELT SPIRIT IS EVERYTHING

 

 

 

The Cost of Having the Indwelt Spirit is Everything

SRB 15 Jan 2026​

I think the first thing emphasized to us in church is:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Eph 2:8–9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast

I think it is critically important for those who have chosen to follow Yeshua and have everlasting life to make sure that they don’t skip passage related to these that I have listed.

That passage in Romans above is led by:

Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, everlasting life.

Even in the book of Ephesians, we stop reading and do not note:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ever wonder why “salvation” is not closely related to sacrifice and works during sermons? Well, it should be because scripture makes that point very clear in several places. One can find in scripture:

Luke 9:23-24 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

What do we call a person who claims that Yeshua is our King and Teacher? The term is disciple. Do we believe that we can spend forever with God when we have neglected to follow His Son and obey the will of His Father?

The good news for me - I have noted that this obedience and discipleship has come to be more common knowledge than it used to be. At least, in my little corner of this planet. Your mileage may very.

So, I want to share my views on what it looks like when a person denies his- or her- self and takes up the cross of Christ to follow Yeshua into everlasting life.

I’m certain that this is redundant information for those who have been given the Holy Spirit to dwell within and guide their lives already, but then; the person reading this may be still young and having the New Man but still be a child.

While salvation (being justified to remove the sins of the past) is received freely by faith alone, but following Jesus as a disciple comes with a very real cost. In Luke 14:25–33

Luke 14:25–33 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Has anyone ever pondered this suggestion? Why would the Son of God warn us about not considering what all this surrendering our life and will to God would cost? Do you suppose He was trying to scare us off? Maybe He was getting the attention of those who would simply warning those who make an emotional decision that is short-lived?

These passages are followed by:

Luke 14:34–35 "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

I think it is important to understand what cautionary statement. If we pair it with the statement in Hebrews, it becomes more important. This paper is thought to benefit those who may not have considered the seriousness of the warning. Truthfully, I think these passages are seldom put together to have people understand that the sacrifice that the Son of God made is HUGE and not to be taken lightly, as are the teachings of God given through His Son.. If we do believe that God exists and His Son bought us with this high price, we should recognize our decision to become a disciple was also HUGE. This is not the cheap greasy grace that some have accepted.

Heb 6:4–6 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

We are slaves to God, disciples of His Son, and going on in our lives to sanctification. I hope this point has been made. I feel certain that we all would understand that the way we live our lives is to be a testimony regarding our faith and obedience. But, for some; it may not have been considered before now.

What does that life look like to observers? Are we valid testimony of our faith?

First off, considering that we may never understood our obligation as slaves to our God Yahweh and our obedience to our King Yeshua; we may never have received the spirit that was promised to those who have been told that they are “saved.” That conversion does not happen just because you walked to the front of a church and were congratulated for the “new life” you will lead now.

I’m convinced that the spirit of God comes to us when we truly surrender our lives to God. That is not just words – that is real surrender of our hearts and minds. That is accepting all the truths that God gives us regardless of how the local church feels about it. That is being willing to stand alone on God’s word and live for Him as a living sacrifice.

It is at that point that we truly have God’s spirit dwell with us. That is when the fruit of the Spirit becomes recognizable attributes of our lives. Each of us who are led by Yahweh and His Son, have the spirit within that convicts us of error and which leads to repentance. We can evaluate ourselves or accept correction from our brothers and sisters.

Ga 5:22–6:10 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (die to ourselves daily)

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Once one is a host to the spirit of God, life changes. Fear gets eliminated, contentment reigns, and joy grows. That is why we are told:

Matt 11:28–30 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Holy Spirit makes righteous living possible.

To help illustrate the daily life we will lead, consider that we:

• Recognize that we no longer live for ourselves but for God and others. Let our actions, even the very small ones, reflect our consideration of others as more important than ourselves.
• Choose to live as one who was bought with a price, who surrender our will to God’s will
  
• We choose forgiveness of hurts and abuse over angst and vindictiveness
• We see the needs of others as more important than our own
• We learn to continuously say “no” to temptation and seek sanctification
• Accept whatever difficulties, sacrifices, and abuses that come from obedience to God
• Take all our cares and concerns to Yahweh in the name of His Son
• Forsake the world acknowledging that it is not our home

Care to add others to this list?