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When you use a screwdriver for a hammer, you can possibly get hurt, it will likely take longer to do the job, and you seldom get the results you want. Using the wrong tool is a bad idea. That same principle is at work in living the Christian life. When we try to shed sinful habits by simply using our own will power, we seldom get the results we want. In Romans 6, Paul explains an important principle. He says, it is our union with Christ that makes victory over sin possible. He says God united us with Christ when he died and raised us with Christ when He arose. Our union with Christ is what makes it possible for us to gain victory over sin. So now, instead of trying in our own strength to break a sinful habit, we yield ourselves to God’s Spirit who lives inside of us. God’s Spirit in us will produce these outcomes — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our part is to yield to God’s Spirit. His part is to empower us to live in ways that please God. As we submit ourselves to Him, rely on God to help us bear fruit, we will have greater inner control. We will have a greater capacity to help others and treat them fairly. We will have greater power to fulfill God’s purpose for us-the purpose He had in mind when He created us.
