Pentecost is the season of the Spirit. It is on that miraculous, transforming gift that Paul focuses in today’s epistle text. Paul asserts that the presence of the Holy Spirit is nothing less than the difference between life and death. Choosing between life and death is a daily obligation of those who confess Christ, but that “debt” (“opheiletes”) can only be met because of the presence and actions of the living Spirit. For those who live without the Spirit, who continue to live “according to the flesh,” there is only one certain outcome — death.

Faith is the first action that must be taken in this life and death struggle — the faith that accepts Christ and invites the Spirit to become an active presence in the disciple’s life. But a second action, a life-long, on-going action, is require…