Adopted Heirs: Part 1 of 3

The Law:

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.