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The
eighth chapter of Romans has stamped its mark on the
church
down through the ages.
It follows the
Christian from the moment the burden rolls off at the
cross
until the moment he is called to go through
the gates of heaven
where he will see Jesus face
to face.
In
Romans 8 Paul draws the ultimate conclusion of his theme.
It
is that the Christian through faith is righteous, and
that the Christian is free from wrath, sin, and the
law, and also "free from death."
The
Christian is "free from death."
The
Spirit has been given to him, and the Spirit gives life.
Chapter
8 falls into four divisions:
1. Free from death,
through the Spirit. (Vs. 1-11)
2. Free from death,
that we may have life. (Vs. 12-17)
3. The sufferings
of this present age and glory of the age that is to
come.
(Vs. 18-30)
4. Conclusion: God's love in
Christ. (Vs. 31-39)
Living In The Eighth
- 8:1f
--
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus. "
The word, no, is as great as it is brief.
It declares that God has
placed those who are in union with Christ on ground
where they will never
be condemned - now or never.
No Condemnation
- 8:1
--
The Christian does not have to face judgment, for we have already passed
from
death to life. ( John 5:24)
It is not possible to exaggerate the
importance of the affirmation of Romans 8:1.
Here we are told most emphatically
that there is now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus.
In
Jesus - New Life - 8:1-4
--
The one who receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour is pardoned.
By the grace of
God he is brought into a new position of righteous living.
All that God has is
his through Jesus.
His past sins are no more.
His present is provided for by His
heavenly Father.
His future is assured forever in Christ
Purpose Of The Law
- 8:4
--
When we are “in Christ,” the law’s positive purpose is fulfilled in us.
It Is
not fulfilled in us by our keeping the of the law, but through Christ,
and by
the fact that we are “in Him.”
Two Great
Results - Life Or Death - 8:5-8
--
No one minds all things of the flesh, yet each one of us
mind one or the other
of these things.
Even the spiritual man may often struggle with the lusts of the
flesh,
and be for a moment cast down by them.
The Indwelling Spirit Of
Christ - 8:9
--
To be in Christ means to be free from wrath, sin, the Law, and death.
Christ in
us is therefore both the place where we are deprived of our liberty
and the
place where we receive it. It is both the place where we are judged
and the
place where we are justified.
Man Cannot - God Can!
- 8:5-8 --
Of ourselves we can do nothing.
There is no Creator, but God!
There is no
Saviour, but Jesus!
Led By The Spirit
- 8:14 --
It is necessary that believers be led by the Spirit of God,
for the believer is
a traveler to the eternal world.
And in spiritual things, we are little children
who need to be led because of our weaknesses
Sons
Of God - 8:14
--
If led by God's Spirit, rejoice in the reality of your divine sonship.
As God's
children, let us evermore seek to be led by His Spirit.
By this we may know that
we are sons of God.
Two Spirits: Bondage And Adoption
- 8:15
--Those with the spirit of bondage do not see themselves as slaves.
There is no
fear of God in their minds.
Two Witnesses
- 8:16 --
So, as the Spirit witnesses with us, not only by way of assurance,
but by way
of assistance, His testimony has an influence upon ours.
He helps us to witness
to ourselves.
If
Children - Then Heirs - 8:17
--
So, we are heirs of God, not because we succeed Him,
but because we are admitted
by God into the enjoyment of Himself.
Joint Heirs And Sufferers With
Christ - 8:17
--
It is with the exalted Christ that we are joint heirs.
Joint heirs means that
the children of God enter into the possession
of the inheritance which was
bestowed upon them.
Not Worthy Of Comparison
- 8:17
--
Paul would compress all the suffering of the world into a tiny spark,
while he
expands its glory as the blaze of a burning forest
or as a drop of water into a
mighty ocean.
So, Paul encourages us to endure afflictions because
there is no
comparison between this present suffering
and our future glory.
Firstfruits
- 8:23 --
The influences of the Spirit are not merely a promise of the future,
they are
the actual commencements
of the golden harvest of eternal glory.
Whatever
blessings the Spirit has bestowed are pledges
of the future possession.
Redemption
Of The Body - 8:23
--
In the last analysis -- this is all we know:
God in Christ stands at the
end of history in general.
God in Christ stands at the end of the life
of every individual person.
Saved In Hope
- 8:24 --
The soul of man, looking onward in faith, is conscious of hope,
and the soul,
looking around in faith, is conscious of peace.
We Wait For Patience
- 8:25 --
The men of the world hope for riches and the material,
the perishable things of
this life.
But we, as believers, hope for an inheritance in heaven
that will
never fade away.
The person who is earth-bound is not
heaven-bound.
The
Spirit Helps Our Infirmities - 8:26
--
The Holy Spirit indwelling the Christian, comes to the aid of that
Christian
in his spiritual problems and difficulties, not by taking
over,
but by helping him to bear his weaknesses.
If we are not
delivered from them, we are enabled to bear them.
What To Pray For?
- 8:26-27
--
This is one of the most important passages on prayer
in the New
Testament.
Paul says we do not know what to pray for
because of our
weakness, but the prayers we ought to pray
are offered for us by the Holy
Spirit of God.
Unutterable
Groanings - 8:26
--
It is our hearts that groan, but the operation and emotion are from the Holy
Spirit.
The Holy Spirit who produces them
must not be confounded.
The Searcher Of Hearts
- 8:27--
Our heavenly Father searches the hearts of His children,
and
understands the intent of our unutterable prayers.
The Spirit's
Intercession - 8:27
--
Our text says that God searches our hearts
and knows the
intentions of the Holy Spirit
who is interceding for us even
when we cannot
properly express the objects of our prayers.
We Know!
- 8:28 -- We know it because God has said it, and because saints
of God
have testified of it from Joseph all the way to Paul
and to us.
All Things
- 8:28 --
Paul was not hesitant to claim that nothing can take place,
which does not fit with God's purpose for His children.
Work Together!
- 8:28 -- The working of God is made up of so many parts,
it tends to
baffle the mind and the understanding of man.
Yet
all is
clear to the eye of God,
and all is
under the sovereign
hand of God.
To
Those Who Love God - 8:28
--
What is said of all things working together for good
is
limited to those who love God.
All believers love God, and
only believers love Him.
The Called
- 8:28 --
God has called us to salvation, and has sent into our heart
such an influence, as to make the call effectual to our
salvation.
In this way, our salvation is traced to its
source -- God.
Predestination
- 8:29 --
So, the destiny of those who abide in Christ have His
destiny.
His destiny is our destiny.
He is the
predestinated One, and we, as believers,
are
predestinated in Him.
Firstborn
Among Many Brethren - 8:29
--
So, He who is the firstborn is not alone in the Father's house
of many
mansions;
He has many brethren who are members of the divine household.
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Welcome! 