Introduction: Let’s review Paul’s teaching for a minute. In Romans 5
Paul tells us that we are given eternal life as a result of the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus. Next, in Romans 6, Paul explains
that this gift of grace does not mean that we should go on sinning.
Just because we died to the law, we are not given a license to sin.
Next, in Romans 7, Paul teaches that although we should choose to
avoid sin, he struggles with his sinful nature and we should expect
to have to do the same. Finally, we come to our study for this week.
Even though our struggle with sin is real, Paul tells us that if we
are in Jesus, there is “no condemnation.” Let’s jump into our study
of this terrific assurance!
- No Condemnation
- Read Romans 8:1-2. From what have we been set free? (The
“law of sin and death.”) - What do you think that means? (To be sure we
understand the context, read Romans 7:21-25. We are
no longer subject to the rule that if we sin (and we
all have) we will die eternally.) - Read Romans 8:3. Why did Jesus do this for us? (We could
not do it. The Ten Commandments were “powerless” because
of our sinful nature. We simply could not keep the law and
earn salvation.) - Notice that this verse ends, “and so He condemned sin
in sinful man.” What does it mean that Jesus
condemned sin through His actions on our behalf? (The
problem never was the law. The problem is our sinful
nature. Jesus does not want us mired in sin. He
condemns the sin in our lives. But, He gives us the
way out of eternal death.) - Read Romans 8:4. How are the requirements of the law met
in our life? (Through Jesus. What we could never do, He
did for us.) - The last part of this verse is troubling. It seems to
condition grace on not living according to the sinful
nature. How can we not live according to the sinful
nature when Paul has consistently told us that it is
our inherent sinful nature, and not the law, that is
the problem? (This gets back to our choice. Our
sinful nature is always present. But God calls on us
to choose to live by His Spirit, and not our sinful
nature. We receive grace when we choose God’s grace
and God’s Spirit.) - Setting Our Minds
- Read Romans 8:5. Recall that in Romans 7:14-16 Paul tells
us that he does what he does not want to do. What he wants
to do he does not do. Do you think that Paul, when he
writes these things, has his mind set on the right thing?
(Yes. If Paul did not have his mind set on doing what
Jesus wanted him to do, he would never write things like
“I didn’t do what I wanted to do, I did what I did not
want to do.” Instead, Paul would write that he did
exactly what he wanted, and what his sinful nature wanted
him to do.) - Many times in the past I’ve written about
“righteousness by attitude.” When Paul writes in
Romans 8:5 about setting the mind, isn’t he writing
about our attitude? - How much control do you have over your attitude?
(This gets back to the work of the Holy Spirit. You
can choose. You must choose. But, what you are
choosing is to live by the Holy Spirit, and not your
sinful nature. Even those who choose to live by the
Holy Spirit find that their actions do not always
match up with their desires. Read again Romans 7:21-25 to fully understand our situation.) - Read Romans 8:6. We all have a sinful nature. What does
Paul mean when he writes “the mind of sinful man is
death?” (This refers again to the choice of attitudes.
Will we choose to follow our sinful nature and be governed
by it, or will we choose to follow the Holy Spirit and be
governed by Him?) - Read Romans 8:7. What is at stake here? (Pleasing God.
Bringing glory to God.) - Read Romans 8:8. What do you think it means to be
“controlled by the sinful nature?” When we learned in
Romans 7 that Paul did things he did not want to do,
doesn’t that show that he was “controlled” by his sinful
nature? (Engaging in sinful acts that are contrary to our
desire to please God does not mean that we are controlled
by our sinful nature. Other translations use the term “in
the realm of the flesh.” The idea is that our attitude is
to choose our sinful nature.) - Holy Spirit
- Read Romans 8:9. Does this help to answer the previous
question about what it means to be “controlled” by our
sinful nature? (Yes! This is really good news. If you want
the Holy Spirit to live in you, and have evidence that the
Holy Spirit lives in you, then you are not “controlled” by
your sinful nature.) - How important is it to have the Holy Spirit living in
you? (Paul tells us that if we do not have the Holy
Spirit, we do not belong to Jesus. This is a very
serious issue, and a very great comfort. It is
serious because we have not chosen grace if the Holy
Spirit is absent from our life. On the other hand, if
we have invited the Holy Spirit, and we see Him
working in our life, then we don’t have to be in
doubt about who controls us.) - Read Romans 8:10-11. Does this sound like a person who is
free from sin? (The verse says that our body is “dead
because of sin.” But, the Holy Spirit gives us life. Just
as the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, those who
have accepted Jesus as their substitute will also be
raised to eternal life!) - How Should We Live?
- Read Romans 8:12-13. From what does our obligation arise?
(Think about this. Jesus died for our sins. He gave us the
greatest gift; victory over sin. We are obligated to fight
the sin that keeps afflicting us. We have victory, why
would we want to wallow in sin?) - Are we alone in this fight? (By no means. The same
Holy Spirit that gives us eternal life will put to
death the sins in our life.) - Read Romans 8:14. Have you previously considered the
importance of the Holy Spirit living in you? (We are the
children of God if we have the Holy Spirit in our life!) - Read Romans 8:15. What kind of fear are we talking about
here? (Have you noticed that when your life was controlled
by your sinful nature that you worried about the results
of your sinful decisions? You lacked peace? Living a life
led by the Holy Spirit gives us peace and joy.) - Is there more to this than simply avoiding the
problems created by sin? (If the Holy Spirit can give
you eternal life, if the Holy Spirit can aid you in
avoiding sin, as a child of God consider the power
available to you! Consider God’s attitude towards
you. How can you fear?) - Read Romans 8:16. What is your spirit? Some teach that the
“spirit” of humans is simply the breath of God. (See
Genesis 2:7.) Does the “breath” teaching make sense in the
context of Romans 8:16? (The Holy Spirit communicates with
the thinking part of our body that He is present in our
life.) - Have you experienced this? That your mind knows that
the Holy Spirit is working in you? - Read Romans 8:17. In the next several verses, Paul
discusses the idea of suffering in more detail. The
suffering seems to arise because of our conflict with sin.
Would the conflict with sin in our own lives (the doing
what we do not want to do) be a cause for suffering?
(Consider that Jesus resisted sin in His life. We are
called on to undertake that battle.) - Friend, the good news is that you are saved by grace alone
if you choose to live a life led by the Holy Spirit. It is
also good news that the Holy Spirit will help you to live
a life that brings blessings to you and glory to God. Why
not reaffirm right now that you choose God? - Next week: Children of the Promise.
