seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
a. Romans 8:2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me
b. Romans 8:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 4-13.
c. Romans 8:3 Or flesh, for sin
d. Romans 8:10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive
e. Romans 8:11 Some manuscripts bodies through
f. Romans 8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23.
g. Romans 8:15 Aramaic for father
h. Romans 8:21 Or subjected it in hope. 21 For
i. Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
j. Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:22
k.Romans 8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers
This is from bible-studys.org.
So many Christians want to stop with the statement “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. This statement is true only, if the last part of this statement is kept. Salvation is a daily walk. There is no condemnation in righteousness. If we walk in righteousness, not after the flesh but after the Spirit of God there is no condemnation. To preach that Christians are above condemnation when they are living like the world is in error. If you are walking in the Spirit of God, there is nothing to condemn you for.
A believer’s walk refers to their life style and the habits of living and thinking that characterize a person’s life. Then since every true Christian is indwelt by the Spirit, every Christian will manifest the fruit He (referring to God), produces in his life.
We cannot be flesh man and spirit man both. One spirit will rule. In other words, we cannot keep one foot in the world and one foot in heaven.
This very statement is why mind control is so bad. The mind, not given over to the Lord Jesus Christ, truly can have power, but it is from the wrong source. Mind power tells us that we have the power within ourselves to bring miracles about. It really is saying we don’t need God, we can do it ourselves.
The unbeliever’s problem is much deeper than acts of disobedience, which are merely outward manifestations of inner fleshly compulsions. His basic inclinations and orientation toward gratifying himself, however outwardly religious or moral he may appear, are directly hostile to God.
Even the good deeds unbelievers perform are not truly a fulfillment of God’s law, because they are produced by the flesh, for selfish reasons, and from a heart that is in rebellion.
Here again, we see the warfare that goes on within each of us. Our spirit wants to do the things of God and our flesh lusts for the things of the flesh and the world. If we choose to let the Spirit of God rule our life, and in so doing "kill the flesh" we shall live for all of eternity in heaven with Jesus. If we choose to follow the ways of the world, it brings eternal damnation and total separation from God.
Paul’s instruction is what to do in the struggle with sin in this verse, then destroys several false views of how believers are made holy:
1. That in a crisis moment we are immediately made perfect;
2. That we must “let God” take over while we remain idle;
3. That some turning point decision will propel us to a higher level of holiness.
Instead Paul tells us that the Spirit provides us with the energy and power to continually and gradually be killing our sins, a process never completed in this life.
If you are a believer, you are an heir of God. We will then inherit eternal salvation, God Himself, glory and everything in the universe.
Unlike the Jewish practice of the primacy of the firstborn son, under Roman law the inheritance was divided equally between the children, where the law more carefully protected possessions that had been inherited.
We see the problem that many Christians face when they are praying for others. We all pray to the very best of our ability, and still we do not always know what to pray for, or how to pray for a particular thing. This is when the Spirit takes over for us and prays for us. God's Spirit knows exactly what the needs are.
The Spirit also groans along with creation and the believer. The reference is to the Spirit’s interpretation of the believer’s innermost feelings, which cannot be put into words as the Spirit knows what’s in the heart of man.
When we understand that God has chosen and predestined us, we should also realize we have been ordained to good works, to bear fruit and to become like Jesus.
We see from this scripture, that this predestination did not overrule our will. What this is really saying, is that God knew from even before you were born, how you would choose. God has foreknowledge of all happenings, not only in my life and yours, but he knows everything from the beginning of time to the end of time.
This is because of His foreknowledge. It is predestined, because He foreknew your decision. Jesus' crucifixion was planned from the foundation of the earth. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus paid for you and me to be adopted into the family with His precious blood at Calvary. We are part of the family of God, because our elder brother (God's only begotten Son), purchased our right to be called God's sons.
Principalities are fallen angels or demons. Powers: the plural form of this common word for “power” is used to refer to either miracles or to persons in positions of authority.
Good morning..... It's another day on earth..... welcome..... have a seat.... Paul has been telling the Romans about Christianity.
Not everyone is going to choose to follow Jesus. Not everyone is meant to live forever. The operative words here are choose and meant..... not everyone will choose Jesus..... not everyone is meant to be adopted. The point is.... we can choose..... the choice is ours to make. I believe God and His Son, Jesus, included everyone in the mix.... every single human on earth can choose no matter their lifestyle...... it's not just for pew warmers..... it's for everyone everywhere.... even whores and prostitutes.... drunks and thieves.... everyone.... no matter the lifestyle they are in today... everyone can choose to follow Jesus.
As long as we are still breathing this air.... sooty, smoggy, or clean and fresh, as long as we are still breathing this air on earth.... we can choose to accept the gift of life. Some of us will turn it down multiple times..... and Christ will be patient..... because God [His Father] knows which of us will ultimately choose Salvation.
As I've been saying.... God knows what is in our future because He created everything.... so He knows how it's going to work before He creates it.
God has work for me to do..... Before I was created.... God said.... "this one will choose Salvation..... I've checked her file". So... since I was going to choose life in Christ anyway.... God went ahead and made sure that I would have the talents necessary for me to do the job He will have me do for Him. For instance.... I learned how to read and write... because God knew that I would find Southern Maryland Online and decide to post a chapter a day..... and I would need to know how to spell.
Sometimes a talent doesn't come as easily as a spelling bee or a paragraph assignment in a good school. Sometimes a talent may be honed way before the actual choice is made. I learned to spell long before I accepted Jesus.
Predestination gives a lot of people a real headache. Some people give up when they hear their life is predestined..... they say.... "well if it's all figured out for me in advance... they why should I bother?" But.....
Predestination really means that God read the last chapter of our story and He knows how we will choose...... He knows we're going to make a lot of wrong decisions and then we're going to make a lot of right decisions and the same time...... we can only do our best, IMHO, and God can see ahead.... so He knows what we're going to do.... He's not running our show.... He's allowing us to be the ignorant self centered sinners we are.
Once we decide to take Salvation.... Then we are part of the family...... we work for the same side...... we stand up for our Brother Jesus. He stands up for Us.
So.... Predestination doesn't mean I'm a robot..... it means.... God checked.... I'm going to join..... He's going to call me daughter.... and He'll probably change my name too..... from "sinner Becky" to "Believer Becky"
