Lesson 3 - Romans 8 from a Romans 7 View

The great book of Romans, Paul's incredible letter, written while he was in Corinth, written between 54 and 57AD, 25-30 years after Christ.

It is said to be one of the fullest, most glorious statements of the Gospel and it is filled, among other things, with meaty truth on grace, sovereignty, sanctification, election, overcoming sin, salvation and the life of a believer in the Spirit.

Great saints of our faith down through the ages like Augustine, Luther and Wesley have pointed to this book of Romans as the key deciding Scripture which God used to bring them to faith in Christ.

It is a powerful treasure of truth and Romans 8 is smack in the midst of all that great wisdom and teaching. All that to say that it is well worth our time for us to open up the window just a little and take a good look at Chapter 8 of this powerful book.  Let’s get started -

If we get nothing else from our look at the 8^th chapter over these 3 weeks, I want us to get this – we have done wrong things, sinful things, and will continue to do so to some degree until the Lord takes us home or He returns.  Nonetheless, Jesus Christ paid the full price for our redemption and salvation and THAT is a truth worth living for every day!

Now, here are the key verses for these next 3 lessons delving into Romans 8. Why provide them in advance? So you can read ahead, of course!

Lesson 4 – GROANING WITH CREATION – Romans 8:22-23

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Lesson 5 – HE DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON – Romans 8:32

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

And now this Lesson 3, – the Key Verses for the beginning of our Study on Romans 8 are FROM ROMANS 7!!!!

O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM – Romans 7:24-25

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 8:1-17

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Let’s look at this a bit closer

What are the different “laws” mentioned?

Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

Law of sin and death

Law (could not do)

This “law” God gave us was to show us how to live holy lives.

Why is the law “weak through the flesh”?

Because in our flesh we are sinful and can not live perfectly according to it.

Do you see the Gospel here?  What the law / flesh could NOT do, God DID! By sending His own Son.

He condemned sin through Jesus for those who trust in Him and walk by His Spirit, verse 5 continues

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

What are some things we do that might mean we “live according to the flesh” or “according to the Spirit”?

Flesh – greed or hunger for money or possessions/material things, envy, gossip, bad language, lack of prayer, no interest in Bible reading, selfish type things

Spirit – well we know the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control

And, according to the Scripture, how do we do one or the other?

We purposely, consciously, work at setting our minds on them! There is no other way.

And now look what Paul says

6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Many search for the "mystery" of life. We wonder and explore, looking to "find" ourselves. Do you see the secret to life that everyone is always seeking?  What is it?

To be Spiritually minded, yet so many pursue EVERYTHING and ANYTHING else.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You can NOT please God, in ANY way, if you are in the flesh - this is a stern WARNING to all of us.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

What does all of this mean?

We have HOPE!  If you have received Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you have life and you CAN please God.  In fact, He will give real life to your flesh filled, mortal bodies through the indwelling of His Spirit which will give you strength to live for Him and bring Him glory.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

How do we avoid our fleshly desires? By the Spirit is how. This is one of my all time favorite fighter verses. You know what that is, right? When I come up against a temptation, and there are many, I have tried to train myself to call on God's Word and ask that "by the Spirit" I put to death the deeds of the body. Then I overcome; then I live.

 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

We have been made free. We are not to be all tied up and dragged down by this spirit of bondage again, this bondage that brings fear and anxiety. No, we RECEIVED a Spirit of adoption by whom (attribute of a Person) we cry out "Abba, Father", Daddy, Dad, Pa; intimate, close, personal, warm and inviting - the Spirit of adoption, where there is no fear or anxiety drawn close to Him.

The Spirit Himself bears witness (again attribute of a Person), and the Scriptures say the Holy Spirit dwells in us after we believe in Jesus, and that same Spirit bears witness that we are children of God – and heirs!

Next time we will cover Romans 8, verses 18 through 30 with the key verses again being 22 and 23

But for now, let’s finish with a reminder of the verse we started with today, that first cries out with the Christ follower’s lament and then answers with the only answer that matters at all - from a Romans 7 view -

24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Lesson 2 - One Who Knows

I woke up the other day very prayerful. In the quiet darkness of an early start I sought the Lord and He drew me close. Praises & petitions, overflowing from my grateful heart, pulsed through my voice; earnest petitions laid bare and vulnerable at His feet. I called on Him to give me strength for the day and to allow me to proclaim His victory to others. Assured and abounding … and then I arrived at work.

The storage room was flooded, the dirty towel bin overflowed, chefs informed me that not one but two pieces of equipment were not working and one of the needed employees had decided to just not show up!

Prayerfulness, and my desire to be Holy as He is Holy, quickly dissipated into ranting and raving. I wanted to respond right but I wanted to respond wrong. Know what I mean?

Paul sure did and told us about it in Romans 7 – “¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
and
“¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

He even goes on further, giving wrenching words to what I know to be true of me – “²⁴What a wretched man I am! 

But, in the midst of that self-assault, in the condition he is in, and knowing the condition we would be in, he asks the question we all MUST ask is we seek after God – “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”

And then, in one of the most humbling, yet encouraging, statements written in all of Scripture, Paul reminds me, and all of you too, that there is help for even us – “²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

I didn't handle things well that morning, even with the very best preparations, but it is okay. It was not right; it was a failure. It was sinful, and I asked for forgiveness and repented; and you know what, I will stumble again, but He understands, and Paul understood, and gave us this passage so we would not lose heart through the failures and struggles; so don't.

Ponder this, meditate on it, let it sink in deeply. Then join me next time as we explore Romans 8 and the great “THEREFORE…”

Lesson 1 - Renewal in Remembrance

Can I be vulnerable with you? As I write this, I am struggling – not with family, not with friends, and not even with faith, really – but struggling nonetheless.  My wife, Anne, says it well "We have never felt God's silence so strongly, yet felt Him so clearly carrying us daily at the same time." Our restaurant has been sold after two challenging years and our future seems uncertain. We are not sure where we will work, where we will live or, at times, where to turn. I don't know where God wants to use me next.  I even wonder if He has forgotten me. Have you been there yourself?  

Psalm 77 declares my prayer:

 ⁷ “Will the Lord reject forever?
   Will he never show his favor again?
⁸ Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
   Has his promise failed for all time?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be merciful?
   Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

… but before I can even finish praying, the rest of the passage comes powerfully to mind and, as a gift, I remember to Whom I am appealing:

¹⁰ Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
   the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. ¹¹ I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
   yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. ¹² I will consider all your works
   and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
 ¹³ Your ways, God, are holy.
   What god is as great as our God? ¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles;
   you display your power among the peoples. ¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
   the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. 

… and I am brighter and filled with hope again.  

 

Whether soaring or sinking, gleaming or groaning right now, the Lord knows and the Lord cares, JUST AS HE HAS DONE IN THE PAST, HE WILL DO AGAIN.  Our God is faithful, and keeps His promises to a thousand generations. He is an Awesome God and we are surely His children, and there is NOTHING that He will not do for our good.

That provides such comfort this very minute.

God’s Word, the LIVING Word, alive, never changing but yet always relevant, often easy to understand but yet infinitely unfathomable, mere printed words but yet life giving nutrients on every line.  If you have God’s Word, you are rich, and your future IS certain!

And so I carry on, I continue…none of the facts changed over the last few moments but I have again been uplifted by my ever-present, faithful God, and I AM CERTAIN that my heart is very, very rich.

So renewed through remembrance, we faithfully wait ...

“3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.” – Isaiah 64:3-5