To walk in newness of life with Jesus is best done in Gospel community.  Like the story of the paralyzed man whose friends carried him to Jesus, sometimes we need to be carried, and sometimes we help pick others up.  Both are what it means to be in Gospel community, walking in step with God.

To walk in newness of life with Jesus means a journey of good days and bad, days where we stay yoked to Jesus in relational obedience, and days where we miss the mark.  Confession to God and others of our sin is the key that continues to unlock the jail cell doors of guilt and shame on this long journey of sanctification.

It is not newness of life and freedom if we don't walk out of the jail cell.  Jesus offers us a way of life that is more about abiding than achieving, and it is found walking in step with God.  Over time we find that God is inviting us to depth instead of distance, a life of rest under His yoke.

When we give our mind and heart to Jesus we join him in the resurrection power of his life.  It means we can walk "in newness of life"; no longer dying in brokenness and shame but instead "alive to God".