A few weeks ago, I made the statement that while we receive our salvation all at once, our dedication - our commitment - grows after that moment that we accept grace. It takes time to learn to, as verse five says, live in accordance with the Spirit. It takes learning to keep our minds set on what the Spirit wants and off what our flesh wants. That takes dedication and it takes work.
Have you ever tried to keep your mind off of a thing? It’s very hard to do. Generally, the only way to keep your mind off of something is to replace your focus with another focus. From the moment that we accept salvation, we should be working toward shifting our focus from what our carnal self wants to what the Spirit wants. The only way that we can even try to submit to God’s law is by keeping our mind on God’s Spirit.