Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd
Episode: Coming Alive to the Holy Spirit Within
Date: December 18, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd deeply explore what it means to move from "living in the flesh" to "becoming alive in the Holy Spirit." They focus on how our self-understanding, rooted in God's truth about us, is crucial both to overcoming struggles with sin and to living with genuine hope and influence. Drawing on Romans 7, their extensive ministry experience, and real-life applications, Bill and Scott challenge the "sin management" mindset prevalent in much of Christian culture, offering in its place a foundation built on grace, trust, and spiritual identity.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Wrestling with Romans 7 and the Christian Reality

• Timestamps: 00:36–03:33
  • Scott opens by reading Romans 7:13–25 (00:36).
  • The hosts discuss the internal conflict Paul describes—flesh versus inner being/righteousness.
  • Scott: “To me it's actually talking about the Christian condition. And I actually find it beautiful that Paul talks about two elements that are at work within us … our flesh and our inner being.” (02:30)

2. The Power of Sin vs. the Power of the Spirit

• Timestamps: 03:34–07:46
  • Bill unpacks the reality that Christians have the Holy Spirit dwelling within but still contend with the flesh and sin.
  • Bill: “There’s nothing in our human creation that can cause us to deal with the power of sin that is in our flesh.” (03:49)
  • The hosts break down how “sin management theology” keeps believers focused on their failures instead of their spiritual reality.

3. The Futility of Working Harder on Sin

• Timestamps: 07:46–11:06
  • Bill describes decades of pastoral experience helping people who are stuck trying to “fix” themselves.
  • Bill’s fundamental advice: “Working on your issue will never resolve your issue.” (08:31)
  • He stresses that merely trying harder leads to frustration and that the foundation for resolving sin must change.

4. Changing the Foundation: Identity in Christ

• Timestamps: 11:06–14:53
  • The key to transformation is realizing your identity: “What if foundational to who I am, I am made holy and righteous in his image?” (10:39)
  • Through shifting the focus away from the issue and onto who they are in Christ, people “begin to experience grace... one of the great byproducts of grace is hope.” (11:33, 11:47)
  • Scott underscores the significance of separating identity from sin: “You are not the issue... Sin management makes you the issue.” (12:38, 12:50)
  • Bill: “Grace always causes me to deal with my reality, or it isn’t grace. Only grace can deal with my reality.” (09:56)

5. Trust: The Simplicity at the Heart of the Gospel

• Timestamps: 13:15–16:27
  • The difficulty many have with “just believing” or trusting God’s truth.
  • Bill: “Do you really believe that Christ is in you?” (13:43) and “[Grace is] the process of applying truth to our reality.” (14:37)
  • Scott compares this to golf coaching—knowing what’s true but needing to trust and apply it for it to become real (14:53).

6. The Holy Spirit’s Role: Moving from Effort to Trust

• Timestamps: 16:27–18:52
  • Bill retells a counseling story emphasizing that the foundational question isn’t how to trust, but whom to trust.
  • “[Romans] chapter 8 says, if by the Spirit you put in the place of death the deeds of the flesh... Stop working on sinning less. Stop working on trying to master your flesh. Start trusting the Holy Spirit that is in you.” (17:06, 17:27)
  • The answer to “Who will deliver me?” is “Christ in me... the Holy Spirit in me.” (18:38–18:43)

7. Mature Faith: Letting God Define Identity

• Timestamps: 18:52–19:43
  • Maturity means letting God’s truth permeate every part of you—not letting the flesh define you.
  • “When my flesh no longer defines me, how am I defined? I'm defined by God.” (19:16, 19:19)
  • When free from self-focus and hiding, the flesh comes into the light, allowing true resolution (19:32).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bill Thrall [08:31]:
  “Working on your issue will never resolve your issue.”
• Scott Boyd [12:50]:
  “Sin management always keeps me preoccupied with me and what I've done and ... what you're doing to me.”
• Bill Thrall [10:39]:
  “What if foundational to who I am, I am made holy and righteous in his image.”
• Bill Thrall [13:32]:
  “You mean all I would have to do is believe? Ah, yeah. Now we're back to the Christian faith. Yeah. All I would have to do is what? Trust.”
• Bill Thrall [17:27]:
  “Stop working on sinning less. Stop working on trying to master your flesh. Start trusting the Holy Spirit that is in you... In my flesh I have sin that is greater than me, but in my new reality, I have the Holy Spirit that is greater than my flesh.”
• Scott Boyd [19:19]:
  “I'm defined by God. And when I'm defined by God and not my flesh, I don't have to hide my flesh.”
• Bill Thrall [09:56]:
  “Grace always causes me to deal with my reality, or it isn’t grace. Only grace can deal with my reality.”

Important Timestamps

• Romans 7 Foundation: 00:36–03:33
• Power of Sin vs. Spirit: 03:33–07:46
• Pastoral Experience and Sin Management: 07:46–11:06
• Identity and Hope: 11:06–14:53
• Trust as the Core Issue: 13:15–16:27
• Letting the Holy Spirit Lead: 16:27–18:52
• True Maturity and Resolution: 18:52–19:43

Conclusion

Bill and Scott invite listeners to stop striving to fix themselves through self-effort and to anchor their lives in the reality of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The episode’s central message is clear: Lasting change, hope, and influence are found not in managing sin but in trusting the Spirit within, resting in a new identity defined by God’s grace—not our flesh.

This summary brings forward all major themes, moments, and practical wisdom discussed, giving non-listeners a thorough sense of the episode’s richness and tone.