But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6 NKJV)

We don’t serve God by following a checklist, but by living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Legalism does not please God as it only reveals more of our unrighteousness and prideful hearts. This “newness” of serving God in the Spirit is not about effort or earning, but believing and receiving. Those who have identified with Christ’s death and resurrection have the law once inscribed in stone, now written on their hearts. They now are able to “serve,” to worship God, in Spirit and truth in newness of heart.