Romans 8:1-17 - Take Courage and Comfort in Your Standing!

Romans 8:1-17 

Free from Indwelling Sin

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. 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. 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.

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.

Sonship Through the Spirit

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. 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.

Here we read that if we are in Christ that we no longer need fear being condemned in the judgment to come (John 5:24, Acts 24:25, Revelation 11:18)!  We therefore do not continue to walk through life as our old man of fleshly desires would have us continue to do but find accord with the Spirit living in us who reminds us that we are in the righteousness of Christ and adjust our own ways to align with who we now are as new creatures (Galatians 2:20) in Him.  We walk now in following the Master in joyfully willing obedience with the direction of our lives pointed at Him as we turn our backs each day on the old dead man we carry with us and crucify every day as we carry the cross of our own death to sin (Galatians 5:24) and life in Him.  Yes, we have been set free from the Law which bound us to sin and death by the atoning life, death, and resurrection of hope which God worked for us so that we no longer work in futility to attempt to earn salvation from these two.  The Law requires us to do all things perfectly in keeping all the moral requirements in God’s word which is impossible for our weak flesh of this fallen nature, and so we find great elation in knowing God sent His only Son in the likeness of the flesh we share to condemn the sin and complete the keeping of the Law’s requirements Himself for us.  This righteous requirement of perfection was only possible by the perfect God-Man, Jesus Christ.  We are therefore enabled in Him to walk in step with His Spirit in us to ever increasingly keep His word from the heart where He wrote these commandments in us.  This means that we set our minds and wills to follow in His power and grace while no longer condemned (John 3:18, 1 Corinthians 11:32, 2 Timothy 2:19) when we stumble and fall because the price has been paid and we can keep asking and receiving forgiveness when we fail (1 John 1:9) each time as we sin less and less.  There is no condemnation to we who are in Christ.  What salvation from God’s wrath has been given us is irrevocably ours no matter what we do, yet we are held accountable in our call to holiness (2 Timothy 2:20-21, 1 Peter 1:16) and are no longer free to do anything contrary to God’s word and will but have been set free from sin’s bonds to choose to obey to please God out of thanksgiving and love in return.  This means we set our thoughts and desires to pursue what His word tells us is good and right instead of what the world, our flesh, and the devil who roars about to stop us tells us to do.  There is life and peace with God when we are  spiritually minded in these things we are instructed in (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  We work out our salvation by growing in sanctification (Philippians:12-13) by His work in us and no longer in the futility of our own efforts and minds (Hebrews 5:14) as if taking the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil all over again (Genesis 2:17, 3:5-6) in self-righteous pride.  If we have the Spirit of God living in us, we are definitely His forever and we have His righteousness as our life now.  If we do not, it is impossible to please God because we are not even His!  If we do have Him present to seal us as His (Ephesians 1:13-14), then we can rest fully in the hope of eternal life and victory over sin.  His resurrection proves our own resurrection will come when we will gain sinless and eternal bodies as the tree of life made available in the Garden which was denied us before because of our disobedience of disbelief in God’s word.  He raises us up to this life in Christ who was raised for us, now and in eternity.  This then makes us debtors of grace who are willingly bound to Him and not put under a yoke of necessity that the Law required to earn God’s favor.  Unrepentant sin still pays the wage of death as Ananias and Saphira discovered in Acts 5:1-10), so we should strive to mortify the sin in us each day and not explain or excuse it away by leaning on grace misapplied.  We who are led by God’s Spirit are not bound by fear of judgment (1 John 4:18, 5:18-20) but moved to respond in love to please our Savior.  As adopted children we cry out to our dear Lord, “Abba, Father!” as the Spirit of Him in us bears witness to His work in and for us and assures us of our eternal inheritance.  Finally, we are encouraged to take heart and be strong in the face of persecution for the gospel as we suffer, knowing that we also will be glorified together with Him forever after the judgment of the world is complete and we reign (2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 20:6) with Him forever.  Take courage and comfort in your standing!