The gospel explained through Romans 8
Romans 8:1-11
[R 8:1] There is therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. Romans 8 starts
strong by giving Christians one of the greatest reassurances of all. Verse 1
can help us understand the theme of this chapter by helping categorize people
in two categories. Category A. are those who are in Christ and after the
spirit, these people are not condemned. This means that those who are not in
Christ and are after the flesh are condemned. The Greek word for condemned is
katakrino, meaning to involve passing judgment or condemnation on someone or
something because of a declaration of guilt. Therfore one group is guilty
without Christ, one is innocent with Him.
[R 8:2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. We now understand
that a life without Christ is condemned, but why? The Old Testament is full of
laws that God gave for us to follow. The Pharisees, the Jews Jesus used his
harshest words on, began to worship the law. What the law actually shows us is
that we cannot live up to the standards of a perfect God. That is why those
condemned are SLAVES to the law of sin and death. However, the spirit of life
releases us from that bondage because we are after Christ.
[R 8:3-4] For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.
We are born with two things in this world, Sin and the knowledge of God [Rom
1:20][ref. John 8:44] Therefore our initial flesh is condemned, making it
impossible to live up to Gods perfect standards. By being freed from the law of
sin and death, we can actually fulfill what God had initially planned for us;
but this can only be accomplished by walking after the spirit. Walking after
the spirit will be explained a little more in this chapter, but we see that
doing this means denying ourselves and carrying our cross [Mat 16:24].
[R 8:5-6] For they that are after the flesh do mind
the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the
Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. Verse 5 brings up the question of what is of the flesh and
what is of the spirit. As already stated, denying yourself and carrying your
cross is of the spirit. Things that satisfy the flesh while taking away your
ability to work for God can fall under the category of flesh. Premarital sex,
drinking, and other habits which don’t advance Gods kingdom but rather satisfies
ourselves are of the flesh. Living in the flesh condemns us and makes us
available to the law of sin and death. Carnally minded means to have a worldly
mind, but Christ tells us that he is not of this world. Therefore, having a
mind that is the opposite of Christ will lead to death and disharmony.
[R 8:7-8] Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 7 is interesting because it shows us
the perils of someone that is not in Christ. A worldly mind is enmity against
God, or in other words being opposed to God. Think of God as being a positive
charge(+), and when we are born we are a positive charge(+). When we sin, at
that moment it is like we are deciding that we’re right and God(+) is wrong.
Therefore we are little g god’s(+). However when we turn from sin and are in
the spirit we are negative (-) because we deny ourselves. When we are negative
we become attracted to God and not repelled. This helps us understand that if
we are far from God we cannot know what he wants, and cannot please Him. People
assume that if they are good then they should have a pass into heaven. Our
standards of good are nowhere near Gods standards of good, which means that any
good person is still flesh driven. As we know those who are after the flesh are
unable to be with God. It takes Christ to allow us to please God.
[R 8:9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This verse clearly speaks to
reassure Christians of their safety in God. The spirit referred to here is the
comforter, the Holy Ghost. If there is evidence of the Holy Spirit being in
someone, whether it is signs or fruit, they are with God. Refer back to the
charge analogy, being of the spirit allows us to be near God. If we are with
Christ than we are not subject to the law of sin and death, and that we have
life everlasting. This should motivate believers even more to follow God’s
commands.
[R 8:10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead
because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. There
might have been a question running through your head this whole lesson. “How
can I be near God or know that I am in the Spirit when I still fall subject to
sin.” Being human, we have this thing called pride. Pride is what allows us to convince
ourselves for that moment that we are right and God is wrong. Pride leads us to
sin, it was Satan’s sin, it was Eves sin, and it will be everyone’s sin until
paradise comes. Verse 10 tells us that the sinful body that separates us from
God is dead when we pursue the spirit. After salvation a Christian is
amphibious. Half Spirit and half flesh, as spirit we belong to the eternal
world but as flesh we inhabit time and are surrounded by sin. Even if the body
still sins we’ve been promised life in the spirit. I’m not saying that we
should allow sin to fester in our lives, but unless we are in paradise there
will be some sin trying to pull you away from God. Sin is the charge that
repels us from God; it doesn’t matter if you’re a negative charge when you’re
surrounded by positive charge. If God is the positive charge then you will
repel more and more.
[R 8:11] But if the Spirit of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. The
Spirit that raised up Christ is understood as God, and as we know having the
spirit of God means that we are free from the debt of sin. The second portion
of this verse refers to the resurrection. This verse can be considered a taste
of revelations in Romans 8. This verse is also very reassuring, telling us that
when we are resurrected for Judgment day, we are resurrected with the Spirit of
God still. God doesn’t leave us in death, but carries us all the way to the
promise lands.
Pursuing the
spirit means denying the flesh and carrying the cross God has given you. By
doing this you submit your pride and are no longer separated from God. Being
with God results in the debt we owe being covered. We can never live up to the
law and pay back our debt, that is why God gave us Christ. Pursue the spirit
and abandon the flesh.
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