The Leading of the Spirit (Rom. 8:12-14)
One of the phrases that is common in Christian talk is ‘the leading of the Spirit’ and it is used to describe a wide range of spiritual experiences. Paul mentions the phrase in verse 14 and we may be surprised at what he links the leading with. We can see that he uses it in connection with what has preceded it, and in those previous verses he describes the Christian activity of slaying one’s sins. He also uses it in connection with what follows verse 14, and those following verses he speaks about prayer and the witness of the Spirit in the hearts of believers. So we can see already from Paul’s connections that a person who is led by the Spirit will be concerned with prayer, mortification of sin and assurance of salvation. Being led by the Spirit The first point to note is that Paul says that the Spirit leads every Christian. We may be surprised by this emphasis because often it is assumed that only devout believers are led by the Spirit. I can think of two ways in which the Holy S...