The Book of Romans

Chapter 8

All of chapters one through seven of the Book of Romans are cumulative, leading to their conclusion in chapter 8. The problem in our lives has been sin—our sin nature. Who, then, is able to deliver us from the sins that so easily beset us? The answer lies in Jesus Christ. For this we, too, can say with the Apostle Paul at the end of chapter seven: Thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ, who has delivered and set us free.

Chapter eight begins by answering the question of how Jesus Christ delivers us from our sin nature and sets us free to live for Him. You will find this chapter to be one of the most profound in the entire Bible. Once understood, it provides the tools to walk in victory through the Spirit. Truly, this chapter can be a life changer.

Rom 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. 

The meaning of the word "condemnation" in the Greek (from the Strong's Concordance) is an adverse sentence - a verdict. In other words, already condemned and sentenced.

There is no place in Scripture where God has already condemned AND sentenced anyone. It has always been God's desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of His truth (1 Tim. 2:4). The Holy Spirit, as the third Person of the Godhead, however, does convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

John 16:8 And when He (Holy Spirit) has come, He will "convict" the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. 

Once a person becomes saved - having faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residency within the heart of that believer and will continue to "convicts" him or her of sin. But the Holy Spirit NEVER condemns. What then is the meaning of the word convict?

"Conviction" brings awareness of sin, righteousness and judgment to an individual -  first to lead a person to repentance and faith in Christ for salvation. That, however, is only the beginning of the work of "conviction." 

Once a person accepts Christ personally by faith, the Holy Spirit indwells that believer and works within him or her to practice daily self-examination, because God is also working within that believer’s heart, stirring a yearning for righteousness to take over his or her life. That is the work of redemption. That is how God works! “Conviction” is not merely a feeling of guilt or sorrow—though that often happens—but the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit for the believer to repent, asking the Lord to bring about transformation in his or her life, which then leads the believer to draw closer to the Lord (1 John 1:9).

As we grow closer in our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit continues to “convict” us of sin, giving us moral and spiritual accountability before Him, and deepening our desire to be even more faithful to Christ in our yearning to become more like Him. The Holy Spirit is always moving in the world to convict of sin, and He continues to work in believers’ hearts, leading them to repentance as a way of life, drawing them closer to the Lord. God is eager to forgive us when our hearts come to Him in true repentance. When that happens, forgiveness takes place, and our hearts are made clean again before the Lord (1 John 1:9).

“Conviction” will continue, because it is God’s grace upon us that keeps us from the sins which so easily beset us, moving within us to become holy, just as Christ is holy. Conviction brings cleansing of the soul, as well as peace and openness before God. When we sin—as we all do—the Holy Spirit comes to our rescue, convicting us of that sin. Since we live with a sin nature and the propensity to sin, the Holy Spirit keeps working within us to repent and to remove sins we may not even be aware of. He continues His work in our hearts, shaping us to become holy, just as Jesus is holy.

Psm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

This verse here in Romans 8:1 is conditional because the apostle is speaking to Christians who are NOT walking according to their fleshly desires. What about those believers who ARE walking according to their fleshly desires, which sadly is the case with most Christians today? 

When a believer lives according to fleshly desires, he or she is actually walking in rebellion against God, desiring to have his or her own way instead of following God’s ways. Such a believer is simply allowing the sin nature within to continue ruling his or her life. The question then arises: Was that person genuine when he or she accepted Christ? Was it merely head knowledge, or true heart belief? While we cannot judge the heart, God certainly knows. Either way, Satan will continue to reign in that person’s life.

Condemnation occurs when Satan works to keep believers trapped in guilt, pressing them to believe they are worthless when they sin. This does not lead to conviction but instead drives the believer deeper into sin, compounding the problem. The way many ignore this issue is by shutting out those inner voices, which leads them to justify their behavior.

Living in a society that promotes sinful behavior only intensifies this justification, making it seem acceptable—even for Christians—to think and act as though sin is permissible, especially when culture pushes such behavior. Yet within that believer, a war rages, as the heart battles between God’s ways and Satan’s condemning whispers. Though pleasure may feel good for the moment or season, regret follows as the Holy Spirit seeks to convict the believer of sin.

If the believer continues in this war without repentance, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit’s conviction grows quieter and quieter, eventually becoming silent. Carnal, fleshly living then becomes a lifestyle. At that point, Satan gains control of the believer’s heart, leading him or her down a slippery slope toward destruction, where faith in Jesus may eventually be abandoned altogether. Then Satan’s plan—to recapture the former believer’s soul—is fulfilled, and the possibility of returning to Christ becomes impossible (Hebrews 6:4–6). How tragic!

It is vital that we know the difference between "conviction" and "condemnation."

When we feel condemned, it is Satan who bombards a believer with thoughts of condemnation, whereas an unbeliever gives it no thought, for Satan already has his heart.

The remedy for a believer who feels condemned is to realize that Satan wants you to feel guilt, shame, and worthlessness. Stop those voices immediately and listen instead to the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit inside you, who convicts you of sin and calls you to repent before the Lord so you may be made clean again. That is the only way to get back on track and walk according to the Spirit.

If you don’t, those condemning voices will harden your heart. Rebellion against God takes place as you choose to remain in sin. In time, you no longer want to hear those bombarding voices, and so you harden your heart further. The condemning voices may lessen and eventually fade, but tragically, so too does the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit drawing you back to the Lord.

As you continue living in sin—which only multiplies more sin—you begin to backslide in your faith, risking the possibility of eventually losing both your faith and eternal salvation.

² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 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 role of the Holy Spirit, now that we belong to Christ, works within us to free us from the power of sin that leads to death. The Law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. This is why Jesus came to earth as a man, but without that sinful nature, who then suffered and died for our sins so that we can have victory over sin.

No longer do we need to follow our sinful nature, but instead we can and do have the power to follow the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit within us. In that, the requirement of the Law of Moses would be fulfilled in us. 

Life in the Spirit

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. 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.

We can be dominated by our sinful nature or led by the Holy Spirit. It really is our choice.

• Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things.
• Those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about those things that please God.

By allowing our sinful nature to control our minds, it can eventually lead to death - possibly our physical death, but most definitely our spiritual death, losing our eternal salvation. Sin compounded over and over will eventually lead to our ruin of our eternal salvation. Our sinful nature is always hostile toward God, not wanting to obey His ways. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. Let's not lose what God has given to us. We have the power to overcome sin.

Those, however, who set their minds on identifying with the Holy Spirit, allows the Holy Spirit to direct one's life, which leads to life and peace.

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.

Remember, now that you have accepted Christ into your life, the Holy Spirit lives within you to empower you to live a life pleasing to the Lord and satisfying to your soul. You no longerhave to identify with your old sinful nature because the Spirit of God lives within you. Even though your body will one day die because of sin, the Spirit of God gives you life because you are God's child and have been made right with Him. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit Who lives within you (Rom 8:11).

Those led by the Spirit are the children of God

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, as Christians - believers in Christ, we no longer have to live by what our sinful nature urges us to do. You see, if we continue to live by its dictates, we will die because sin begets more sin, and sin brings on death. There is always an internal war continuously going on within the soul of a believer because he or she knows they are sinning, but continually falls prey to the flesh, regretting it later. As a result, the heart gets harder and harder and less sensitive to the things of the Spirit and not willing to repent. Sadly, that can eventually lead to death, in which a believer can lose his or her eternal salvation.

Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age - and who then have fallen away - to be restored again to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.

If, however,  believers puts the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within them to work, they will then keep putting to death the deeds of their sinful nature, which brings on more and more peace and harmony within themselves and an openness with God. That brings life! Remember, the abundant life began the moment you accepted Jesus and will continue on throughout eternity. Don't lose what God has graced you with.

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Own what's been given to you. Refuse to act as slaves to your old sin nature. You have received God's Spirit when you accepted Christ. At that moment, not only did the Holy Spirit come in to dwell within you, that was the moment God adopted you into His Kingdom. As sons or daughters of God, you have the privilege of being led by the Spirit of God Who now lives within you.

• You now have the ability to operate as God's son or daughter (child) in this world. 
• You are a king's kid, spiritually living in the Kingdom of God to one day physically living forever in His Kingdom.
• You now have the right to call God your Father - your Abba Daddy, as it is spoken of in Greek.
• For God's Spirit is now joined with your spirit.
• Since you are now His child, you are heirs with Christ of God's glory.

Because we are joint heirs with Jesus in God' Kingdom, we must also share His suffering in order to be glorified with Him. What does that mean?

From Suffering to Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

We know from the fall of Adam that sin entered into the world (Genesis 3). As such mankind, as well as all animal life and sea creatures, along with the earth and its atmosphere took on a sin nature.  When God first created everything, He said it was very good. In order to keep it that way, God has His order of how it needed to be run. God, however, gave Adam full rule over the earth, allowing him the responsibility for stewarding the earth. Adam was given one command - to not eat of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Sadly, Adam became disobedient in his heart toward God and fell prey to Satan's temptation, handing what was given to him over to Satan, and Satan became the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). As was warned by God, God had to put a stop to Satan and his evil schemes and cursed the creation He once called good. God's curse of decay and death was put upon the earth and everything in it. As a result, mankind and all of creation suffer because we now live in a sinful world.

God, however, gave a promise to Satan that a day would come when he would be defeated (Gen 3:15) That day came through Jesus Christ. To those who believe and accept, having faith and trust in Him, could be overcomers in this corrupted sinful world. As such, the Apostle Paul tells us that when we consider the glory that will be revealed to us later, nothing compares to it. 

All of creation eagerly awaits with hope for the future day when God will reveal His children to the world. For in that day, all of God's creation will also join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Since the sin and fall of Adam, all of God's creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth - even up until today. Mankind, as well, also groan under the curse of sin and decay, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of God's future glory. As believers, we all long for our bodies to be released from this sin and suffering, believing with hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, which includes receiving our new bodies as God has promised us. 

This hope of our eternal salvation has been the promise that brought us to Jesus in the first place. This hope is what we look forward to, yet do not have at this time; however, we wait patiently and confidently that it will come to pass.

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Through Christ Jesus, we have now been given the Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses as we live in this sinful world in a sin nature body. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit knows, because it is Christ living in us through His Spirit that prays through and for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. In other words, God knows the depths of our heart and allows those expressions to come forth through groaning sounds. 

There are four ways we can pray to the Lord through the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us.

1. With our understanding (our native or known language) (1 Cor 14:15)
2. Through unknown tongues (1 Cor 14:15)
3. Through travailing (crying out to God) (Dan 10:1-14; 1 Sam 1:9-20; Gal 4:19)
4. Through groanings of our heart (Rom 8:26)

When we pray in our understanding, we may or may not be praying the will of God because we are praying from our mind, praying out what we desire. We may not always know whether it is the Holy Spirit praying through us to God or whether we are praying out of our own wants. Because of that, God has blessed us with His indwelling Holy Spirit so that we can pray the perfect prayers through the Holy Spirit in other ways as well.

When we pray in unknown tongues, we are praying deeper prayers to God, know we are not praying out of our understanding (unless the Holy Spirit gives us revelation of what we are praying). Most of the time we have no idea what we are praying for because we are praying in unknown tongues, unfamiliar to us. Praying in unknown tongues generally is an language given to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit in which the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is praying to God in heaven the perfect prayer as the Holy Spirit wills through us in unknown tongues.

When we travail in prayer, we are praying out of deep wells of our heart, as in a woman in labor. We are generally praying with our understanding, but it is deep praying that comes from our heart. Often there are tears shed in travailing prayer.

When we groan in prayer, we are groaning with deep heartfelt prayers so inexpressible to where there are no words or sound to express what we are expressing other than deep, deep groanings. This is the deepest kind of praying because our heart ache to where we can't even expressed what we say or feel. This can be seen when death occurs with a loved one and the heart of one left behind cries out to where no words can expressed the deep feeling of pain within the heart. The Holy Spirit within, however, knows how to pray to the Father the perfect prayer through those groanings.  

Because we don't always know how to pray as the Holy Spirit wills, God has given us different ways to effectively pray to the Father.

27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

God knows our heart and our weaknesses, but He also knows the mind of the Spirit because the Holy Spirit within us is God. As a result, God can speak through us in various ways as we pray for others, and we can be certain that when we pray through the Holy Spirit it is ALWAYS according to the will of God. How wonderful it is that God has given us a variety of ways to pray according to His will, because the Holy Spirit within us ALWAYS prays according to the will of God our Father. 

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

God is always causing things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. In other words, for those who are walking according to the Spirit and not according to their fleshly desires, we can trust that God is working out all things in our lives for our good and for His purpose.

God in His foreknowledge of each of our lives, already knew how we would one day individually choose Him, accepting Jesus, choosing to be like Him. As a result, God is continuously weaving our lives to conform to the pattern of His Son so that Jesus is considered the firstborn among all believers.

Don't confuse the word "predestin" to mean that God chooses who will and who will not ultimately choose Him. That would mean that God chooses who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. That is not our God! God gives everyone the "free will" of choice to whom he will serve. God simply has always known the heart of all men, past, present, and future, foreknowing what our free will choice of decision would be.

 Because God foreknew we would choose Him, He then first chose and called us long before we were born so we could have right standing before God. As such, God chose us to give glory unto Him. Ponder and meditate on that love He has for us.

God’s Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

If God then is for us, who can ever be against us? Remember, God did not spare even His own Son, but gave Him up for you and me. Don't you think God will give us what we need? We are God's chosen and we belong to Him. For God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.

So, who then would bring a charge against God’s chosen people? Certainly not God — He is the one who causes us to be considered righteous! Who punishes them? Certainly not Jesus Christ Who died for our sins and God raised Him from the dead. Jesus now sits at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf! Can anything then ever separate us from Christ's love? 

12 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

^{While we may have trouble or calamity ib this world, or are in danger or go hungry or are even persecuted or destitute, being threatened with death, God still loves us and nothing will ever separate us from His love. As the Scriptures tell us: "For your sake we are being killed every day, being slaughtered like sheep. Some of us will even be martyrs for our faith in Christ Jesus Who loves us.}

^{37. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.}

^{Regardless, we are more than conquerors - super conquerors through Christ Who loves us.} 

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ. Can we be convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither life or death, angels or demons, our fear or worries about tomorrow - not even the power of hell can separate us from God's love.  There is no power in the sky above or in the earth below - nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This chapter has been packed with so much knowledge and wisdom to where it bears repeating to read again, meditating on its every word.

Be blessed, and we will see you in the next chapter,