Romans 8

Our New Life in the Spirit

Life sometimes has a way of moving along without us paying attention. Such was the day yesterday when I did not post this segment of Romans. So, here it is today. In actuality, I believe this was fortuities as I was at a Lenten lunch today where the pastor touched on these very verses. I am reminded that during the Lenten season, we are to reflect on the amazing work Christ did on the cross for us. We also remember it was His righteousness and holiness that has fulfilled God’s holy law. We thank Him for His work of grace in our lives and celebrate that we have been set free from the law of sin and death because of the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus. In other words, we have a new life in the Spirit. As we reflect on Romans 8, let this season of lent be a reminder of the grace God has shown us through His Son Jesus Christ.

Vs 1-11 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him, Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.

Paul begins by recalling the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. John 3:16, (“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life,”) is the oft quoted and most recognized scripture in the Bible, but, it is the next two lines that convey the very heart of God.  For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Anyone who believes in Him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God,” John 3:17-18. God didn’t send Jesus to condemn us, but to save us. God’s intention has always been salvation for His precious creation. And so, for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. Why? Because life always conquers death, just as love always conquers hate, and light will always overcome the darkness. Death, hate and darkness cannot exist in a place where life, love and light reign. In Christ, we have been set free from the law of sin and death. Before coming to Christ, we were subject to the law – shackled by it in fact. It’s perfect holiness condemned us and we couldn’t stand up under it. In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says, ”For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.” And that’s what Christ did. His perfection and holiness fulfilled every stroke and letter of the law so, instead of condemning us, Jesus condemned sin and death. He became our sin offering. Leviticus 4 describes in detail what the Israelites had to do in order to fulfill the law’s requirements in regards to sin offerings. Suffice it to say, it was a long involved process that had to be repeated over and over and over again. It was a temporary solution that foreshadowed God’s permanent solution for the problem of mankind.

And, what is that problem? The problem of sin. Paul said it this way: For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. It is the flesh verses the Spirit. Our natural inclination is to live according to the flesh. One thing I’ve learned throughout this pandemic is the flesh will always rear it’s ugly head. Don’t get me wrong, it was always there before covid, but it really manifested itself during covid. Those secret fears became ugly realities. Those secret thoughts were displayed for all to read on Twitter, Facebook, My Space… We hoarded and spewed hate at every turn. Even the church got caught up in it at times. It’s so easy to revert back to our fleshly desires and ways. But, as children of God, we are to be Spirit filled. Instead of hoarding, we share and look out for one another. Instead of spewing hate, we sow seeds of love and kindness. Instead of speaking, we listen and walk a bit in someone else’s shoes. We are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law,” Galatians 5:22-23. What is “natural” is no longer our nature if we have the Spirit reigning in us. Paul reminds us that “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you.” Because of this, we have life and are enabled to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Paul goes on to say:

Vs 12-17 So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

To me, Romans 8:12-17 is one of the most exciting scripture passages in all of Romans. We have been adopted as sons of God and can cry out Abba Father! We are no longer enslaved by sin and death – but take on the full qualities of children of God: that being heirs of God and coheirs with Christ! Can you imagine? We are heirs of all that God has. In realizing this, I also realize many of us (me included) do not live like we are heirs of anything. I have to confess, I was caught up for a time in all the chatter over the past couple of years. Then one day I woke up and realized – “Wait a minute! I am a child of God!” I don’t have to worry about what is going to happen – He is in control. I don’t have to get caught up in all the chatter and allow anger to control my thoughts – I am able to bear the fruit of the Spirit, because God’s Spirit enables me to. I can live my life in the light of hope, because Christ is my hope, my security and my refuge. I can cry out Abba Father, and I am an heir to all that He has. This realization led me in a new direction. I began to look for ways to help, not hinder. I looked for ways to exercise the fruit of the Spirit. Do I still struggle at times? Absolutely. But, as a child of God, I can always cry out Abba Father and He will come to my aid, pick me back up and lead me in the right direction. Another thing I learned in this present trial is what Paul says next:

Vs 18-25 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. And not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. This is a word for today if I’ve ever heard one! In other words, the suffering we encounter in this life will be overshadowed by God’s glory in the end. Here is the key – and it’s a small word – the glory is going to be revealed to us. The Greek word for “to” is eis and actually indicates the point reached or entered. The full meaning is the glory is not revealed to us, as in we are told about it, it is revealed so that we experience it. It has reached us or entered us. When this happens, Isaiah 11:1-2; 6-9 will be fulfilled: Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord… The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. None will harm or destroy another on My entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. This is a description of the redemption of all creation. Christ has come and the Spirit of the Lord rests on Him. When we come to Christ, His Spirit now rests in us and hope sprang throughout all creation. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and now we live in hope for our ultimate redemption – that is the redemption of our bodies. The prophets before us hoped in the salvation of the coming of the Messiah. Now we hope in the redemption of our bodies – that is the resurrection – when Christ comes again. As Christ was resurrected, so we will be as well. This is why we can wait for it eagerly with patience. Those two things don’t seem to go together – eagerness and patience. But, here they can. We are like the runner, eager for the start of the race, yet patiently waiting in the blocks for the gun to go off.

Vs 26-30 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

Have you ever struggled with how to pray in a certain situation? I have. There are those times when no amount of words is going to help. It is a sorrow so deep or a situation so overwhelming, we can’t think of what to say. The good news is, the Spirit always knows how to pray. He always knows the deepest needs and the perfect way to express it. If we open up our heart to Him, we will also be able to express the inexpressible. And here is the promise – all things, not just some things, work together for the good of those who love God, those called according to His purpose. But here is the reality of that: sometimes, the “good” is not always going to be what we have in mind. What is good to God may not be what we expected, but, we can stand firm in hope, because God knows what is good. If we follow in faith, the good will become apparent to us in His time. Sometimes, this will mean a recall of Romans 5:3-5 – And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” What is that hope we have? Paul spells it out for us in a triumphant poem to end this chapter:

Vs. 31-39 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

In his book Romans Verse-By-Verse, William R. Newell says of verse 31: “Our weak hearts, prone to legalism and unbelief, receive these words with great difficulty: God is for us… They have failed Him; but He is for them. They are ignorant; but He is for them. They have not yet brought forth much fruit; but He is for them.” If God is for us, who can be against us? No one. This doesn’t mean we can just do anything “in the name of God” and have this statement be true. This scripture clearly states “if” God is for us – not the other way around. We must God’s direction. He is the one guiding the us on His path. When we follow Him, nothing can be against us. There will be those who bring accusations against us, but they are not the ones who justify us. We can be condemned by every court in the world, but it is Christ who died and was raised to life and now sits at God’s right hand interceding for us. His court is the one that matters. I believe we are often so worried about the rights we might lose in this world, that we forget the rights we have in Christ. The only judgment seat we need to concern ourselves with is the judgment seat of God. Paul clearly explains here: there is nothing of this world that is going to separate us from the love of Christ. They can do anything they want to us, but they will not triumph because God has already triumphed for us through Christ’s death and resurrection. This is the rock hard truth my hero Corrie Ten Boon stood on when she and her family went to the concentration camp. This is the truth Dietrich Bonhoffer stood on when he stood in faith against the evils of Nazism that resulted in his death. This is the truth believers around the world stand on today in the midst of persecution for their faith. It doesn’t matter what the world may do to us – even kill us – we can’t be separated from God’s love.

To illustrate this fully, I will share a story of a pastor by the name of Paul Schneider. Paul was a pastor in Germany during the Nazi regime. He was a member of the Confessing Church, a Protestant organization that opposed Hitler and the Nazis. Because of his opposition to Hitler, he was eventually arrested and taken to a concentration camp. There he continued to stand for Christ, preaching to whoever would listen and refusing the Hitler salute saying “you can only receive salvation (Heil) from the Lord and not from a human being”. He was tortured severely, but this did not stop him from climbing to the window one Easter morning to shout: “Comrades, listen to me. This is Pastor Schneider. People are tortured and murdered here. So the Lord says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life!” He understood what Paul meant when he said nothing can separate us from the love of God. The hostile powers that opposed him were nothing in his eyes. The message of God would continue even after his death. A few months later, Paul Schneider was murdered by lethal injection. Despite a heavy surveillance by the Gestapo, hundreds of people attended his funeral. The great Dietrich Bonhoffer would say of him “you must never forget the name of Paul Schneider. He is our first martyr.” One pastor who spoke at the funeral said: “May God grant that the witness of your shepherd, our brother, remain with you and continue to impact on future generations and that it remain vital and bear fruit in the entire Christian Church”. This pastor understood what Paul, the writer of Romans, meant when he wrote that nothing could separate us from the love of God. Paul Schneider also understood that God was for him, so even the entirety of the Nazi regime could not come up against him. Yes, they could torture and kill his body, but his message was never going to be kept quiet, or die out. The fruit of his stand for Christ was going to bear more fruit through the community of faith. He was truly persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!