Father God gave us two important gifts for salvation and deliverance from sin. The first was Jesus (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”), and the second was the Holy Spirit who came down to live in us (John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever). Jesus came to provide salvation for all who would believe in Him, and then He released the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to live in us so that we would be able to live a victorious life conquering sin, walking in righteousness, which brings about Gods abundant blessings. Show More
One of my favorite chapters in the book of Romans is chapter 8. Remember, the entire book of Romans is doctrinal. The word doctrine means truth or truths. Jesus proclaimed the truths of the Kingdom; the Apostle Paul explained how to apply the truths, how to live in the Kingdom while on earth.
Four Principles of Romans 8
There are four important principles that we can learn from Romans 8 that will help us to understand how we are to become victorious in this life:
- The only way we can successfully overcome temptation and sin is to recognize that as a believer in Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit lives in. The Holy Spirit is available to teach us, lead and guide us, and most importantly, empower us to do what is right in God’s eyes which brings the blessing!
- The presence of the Holy Spirit (seal, and awareness) confers upon us a new relationship with the Lord, and that is sonship. We are, in reality, sons and daughters of God through adoption and therefore brothers with Christ and heirs of all that the Father has. In other words, we get to inherit.
- The Holy Spirit encourages and gives us the confidence that we will overcome and see the victory no matter what we are going through now. In the end, we win!
- As Believers, we can be sure that God’s love for us will never fail. Never think that your behavior can cause God to love you less. We live in a “fallen” world consumed by sin. (Isa 5:20, Rom 1:18-23) and the enemy of your soul, the devil wants you to reject the Love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today we only have time to cover the first principle; we will continue with the others next time.
Romans Chapter 8:1-13
Free from Indwelling Sin
Romans 8:1 “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.”
If you are in Christ, you are not condemned. Condemnation is a sentence to punishment in the same manner as an earthly Judge sentences a criminal to prison or death. Condemnation means guilt, shame, separation, and does not come from God. Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren,” and he tries to condemn us before God, but Jesus is our intercessor who sits at the right hand of the Father, and Jesus claims us as His own. Furthermore, Jesus says that no one can “snatch us out of His hand”, John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
Now, the evidence that you are in Christ is that you behave in a manner that reflects God in you. That means to walk in the Spirit, notice that the Spirit has a capital “S,” which refers to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God. Christianity is not about belonging to a Christian organization or institution; it is about a relationship with the living God! Remember, when Jesus ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He went to sit at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. When Jesus went up, the Holy Spirit came down to dwell in the believer just as Jesus promised in the Gospel of John.
- John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
- John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
As a side note, don’t fall into the trap of “self-condemnation” or let others heap condemnation on you! Feeling condemnation will only cause you to separate yourself from God. Instead, pick yourself up, run to Him and repent. Be assured that the Holy Spirit lives in, and you are loved, forgiven, and accepted.
Romans 8:3 “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.”
The Law, or the Law of Moses, was given so that we would know what sin is. It also was given so that we would know what God expects from us; the law is like a set of train tracks to keep us going in the right direction. God’s desire is to bless His creation, and when we live to please Him, we have access to the abundant life. The problem is that we don’t want to stay on the “tracks”; we want to go to the left or the right, and when we do, we sin. So, the temptation to sin is powerful because we all want our own way; we want what we want! All of this is because of what Paul calls the “Sin Nature” that all of mankind acquired due to the “Fall” in the Garden of Eden. Paul makes the case in Romans 7 that we wind up doing what we don’t want to do or unable to do what we want to do. The problem is that we operate in the flesh, that is, doing what we think is right in our own eyes or opinion.
What Jesus did was to fulfill the Law through His final sacrifice once and for all on the Cross; now who ever accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior has been delivered from condemnation and receives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and is able to lead us into righteousness!
Romans 8:5 “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. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
What you set your mind on, you will follow. The Scriptures say that who you obey is master over you. Obey the carnal desires, and the flesh is your master and death will be your outcome; obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and God is your master resulting in life and peace. Something I’ve learned in life is that if your focus is on sin, it will lead you to sin, but if you focus on righteousness and grace, it will lead you to righteousness. So, instead of concentrating on avoiding sin, focus on doing right, and temptation will fall away!
Romans 8:7 “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.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, it should be obvious that without the Spirit of God working in us, it is impossible to avoid sin and do the right thing. It is so difficult to rely on your own self-control to please God. That’s what “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” means. You need the Helper; the Holy Spirit helps you overcome temptation and sin!
Romans 8:9 “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”.
When you allow the Spirit of Christ to empower your life, you won’t be controlled by the flesh. By the way, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t live in you, you can’t belong to Jesus! You cannot pick and choose your doctrine! On a positive note, now that Christ lives his life in you even though your body may be dead because of the effects of sin, his life-giving Spirit imparts life to you because God fully accepts you. Yes, the Father raised Jesus to life! And since God’s resurrection spirit lives in you, He will also raise your mortal body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you!
Romans 8:12 “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”.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, the flesh has no claims on us, and we have no further obligation to live in obedience to it. For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste His abundant life.
Let me close this section with the words of Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
