notes by Rhyne Putman

Delivered...
Romans 8:1-25

Three Laws In Romans

·        “Law” is a reference to an authority, pattern, or principle in our lives.  (See A Metaphor From Marriage, Romans 7:1-3) With the law of gravity, everything that must go up goes down. 

·        The Law (of Moses)

1)    The Ten Commandments and Levitical laws given by God to Moses in the Torah.   (Romans 2:12-15, 7:7-12)

2)    The Old Testament as a whole.  (Romans 2:17)

·        The Law of Sin & Death

1)    Born with a sinful nature, we come out of the womb spiritually dead.  (Romans 5:12-14)  

2)    Because we have sin in our lives, we will one day physically die.  (Romans 5:12-21)

3)    The sinful nature is adamantly opposed to the things of God, taking every opportunity to break His law.  (Romans 7:7-8, 21-25)

·        The Law of the Spirit of Life

1)    The new authority of the Holy Spirit that spurs the believer to obedience. 

2)    Through Jesus, the law of the Spirit of Life has set us free from the authority (or law) of sin and death.  (Romans 8:1-2) 

3)    This refers to regeneration, which is “the spiritual change brought about in a person's life by an act of God. In regeneration a person's sinful nature is changed, and he is enabled to respond to God in faith.”[1]

No Condemnation Whatsoever

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

Romans 8:1-2 (NASB Update)

·        Jesus has justified us, taking away our condemnation.  The Holy Spirit, through the law of the Spirit of life, sanctifies us. 

“For what the Law* could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Romans 8:3-4 (NASB Update) 

* The Law here refers to The Law of Moses. 

What was the law powerless to do? 

·        Because we couldn’t keep it, the Law could not save us. 

·        God’s wrath, or His need to condemn sin, was satisfied on the cross where His own Son was a sin offering.  

Of all the Biblical judgments, we find that the very worst was on Calvary.  Jesus, who came in human likeness (Phil 2:9) did what the law could not—He saved us. 

The Mind of Christ

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Romans 8:5 (NASB Update)

“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NASB Update)

·        “set their minds”—refers to inner desires.[2] 

·        The lost have no desire to follow anyone but his or her sinful natures. 

·        In their inmost being, Christians desire to be obedient to God and made like Jesus.

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:6-8 (NASB Update)

·        The sinful nature (and the mind controlled by it) is dead set on death, hostile and opposed to everything of God.  

Can you think of how our flesh (or the law of sin and death) leads towards death?  Can you name a sin that doesn’t lead to death? 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8 (NIV, emphasis added)

Spend some time in God’s Word this week taking up the command, “take every captive thought and make it obedient to Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 10:5)  Using Phil. 4:8 as your base, list some things you can focus your thoughts on.  Shift your energy in your quiet time, and throughout the days this week thinking on the things you find for this list. 

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

Romans 8:9-10 (NASB Update)

·        Because of Jesus, God has taken residence in our hearts.

·        The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives is evidence of our salvation.

·        Though we will physically die because of sin, our spirit has been reborn because of Jesus’ righteousness imputed to us. 

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Romans 8:11 (NASB Update)

·        The Holy Spirit has given us power to defeat sin in our lives.

·        We have the promise that one day our mortal bodies will be physically resurrected, just like the Lord Jesus’.  (1 Corinthians 15)

“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Romans 8:12-14 (NASB Update)

·        We are indebted, with an obligation to be obedient to the Holy Spirit.

·        We can know who the sons of God are by the evidence of obedience in their lives. 

An Intimate Walk With The Father & The Hope of Adoption

  “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

  Romans 8:15-17 (NASB Update)

·        ‘Abba’ is the Hebrew equivalent to ‘Daddy’—the mark of an intimate relationship with God the Father. 

·        The Holy Spirit testifies we are children of God.

·        “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- (John 1:12, NIV) We are adopted as children of God because of what Jesus has done.   We are NOT by nature, children of God, but instead children of wrath. 

·        We are co-heirs with Jesus.  One day, we will be glorified with His righteousness and share in His glory. 

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Romans 8:18 (NASB Update)

Suffering culminates in glory.  Through suffering, we know Jesus better—and knowing Him, resulting in the rewards of knowing Him, far outweighs present suffering.  Notice the Apostle doesn’t say, when you get to Heaven, you’ll see that it was worth the suffering.  It isn’t worth the suffering—the suffering isn’t worthy of being compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. 

“For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Romans 8:19-21 (NASB Update)

·        Creation in its present state is marred by sinfulness.  On the day of the Lord Jesus, it will be made a new, and redeemed. 

“When the children of God attain glory, creation itself will be delivered from its slavery.”[3]

--St. Jerome, Latin Church Father

“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

Romans 8:22-23 (NASB Update)

·        On the glorious day of our Lord Jesus, our bodies will be restored, and so will creation.

    Adoption here, from the two Greek words huios (lit. “son”) and thesis (lit. “to place”) means—“to place as sons”.  One day, in God’s great love, we will be placed as his sons, glorified with Him. 

“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Romans 8:24-25 (NASB Update)

·        From the knowledge of our coming deliverance, we draw hope.  With this hope we can preserve, eagerly awaiting Jesus’ triumphant return.