Read Romans 8
Life Through the Spirit
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Go Deeper
As we step into Romans 8, we have to look back at what Paul has been trying to get across in Romans 1-7. Romans 1-3 says that every person has embraced sin. Every person is guilty of sin before God. In Romans 5, he goes on to say that we were born into sin. Every descendant of Adam is guilty of Adam’s sin. So, we are guilty on two fronts⏤the sin we have chosen and the sin we were born into. Finally, Romans 6-7 highlights how we have been saved by grace though we still struggle with sin and feel the war inside of us. We long to be with Christ, but we see the work of sin inside of our bodies.
Here we are, sitting in total depravity. Not only are we guilty for embracing sin, but we were born into it. We have been saved, but we still battle it.
Romans 8 starts with a “therefore.” The “therefore” indicates that Paul is stating an important summary and conclusion related to all that he previously stated in chapters 1-7. Paul writes, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.”
Here we find hope. Not in the flesh, but in Christ Jesus, who gives us His Spirit. There is no condemnation. There is no judgement or disapproval before God. Why? We are in Christ Jesus.
We are set free from the law of sin and death. How? Through Christ Jesus. What the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering.
This is not the world saying, “You are capable.” This is God’s Word reminding us, “Only He is able.” Romans 1-7 reminds us how far we are from salvation in our own flesh. Romans 8 begins by pointing us to the only place that salvation is found and ends by reminding us that it can never be lost.
Questions
- Is there any part of you that feels condemnation before God? If so, confess this to God and spend time thanking Him that you are free from this in Christ Jesus.
- Are there any places that you are still working in your weakened flesh rather than through Christ Jesus? What are these places?
- Spend some time reflecting on the final two verses of Romans 8 and thanking God for this truth.
Did You Know?
By living a sinless life, Jesus accounted for the sin we have chosen and committed. What about the sin we were born into? Jesus is unique in His birth. Jesus had no human father. The sin nature was not passed down to Him. However, since He had a human mother, He was fully human without the original sin.
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2 thoughts on “Romans 8”
This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. As I read Romans 8, I was reminded of these words:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Believers in Christ receive the life-giving Spirit freeing us from the guilt that sin produces, our present suffering is turned into hope, and in the end we triumph with Christ in eternity. Today whatever comes let’s remember that NOTHING is powerful enough to separate us from God’s love. We can step into victory because of Christ who died on our behalf and is seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. What a Savior!
Yesterday a young man at Church under the Bridge asked to speak to us about a “life and death” situation. We listened to his story, which was one of anger and, in his opinion, having been wronged by many. He was desperate, and had no hope. He told us he didn’t believe in prayer and wasn’t sure there was a God. He didn’t want us to pray with him, but we assured him that there is power in prayer and believing in Jesus Christ. We told him that we would introduce him to someone at Church under the Bridge that might be able to help him. That conversation centered around him being responsible for at least part of the problems he was having, and that he needed to take responsibility for his role. Not what he was hoping to hear, but we agreed. At the end of the morning, we saw him on our way out. I looked him straight in the eye and said that I WOULD be praying for him this week. He said, “please do. I feel it.” I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes. A seed was planted.
Would you pray that “K” has others share God’s love with him, and that he will have the hope that Romans 8 speaks about.