Romans 8:1-17 The Christian's Declaration of Freedom

My commentary said this chapter is "the Christian's Declaration of Freedom where Paul declares the four spiritual freedoms we enjoy because of our union with Jesus Christ."  Two of them appear in these verses.

Freedom from Judgment -- No condemnation:  "Romans 8:1 does not say no mistakes or no failures or even no sins.  Christians do fail and make mistakes, and they do sin....they suffer consequences because of their sins, but they do not suffer condemnation ... The law cannot claim you.  You have been made free from the law of sin and death.  You now have life in the Spirit ... The law cannot condemn you.... Because Christ has already suffered that condemnation for you on the cross ... Since Jesus Christ paid the penalty for your sins and since you are in Christ, God will not condemn you ... The law cannot control you ... the law does not have the power to produce holiness; it can only reveal and condemn sin.  But the indwelling Holy Spirit enables you to walk in obedience to God's will."

Freedom from Defeat -- No obligation:  "There is no obligation to the old nature.  The believer can live in victory ... Paul describes life on three different levels, and encourages us to live on the highest level.  1)  Those who have not the Spirit.  He is contrasting the saved and the unsaved -- In the flesh vs In the Spirit, Death vs life, War with God vs peace with God, Pleasing self vs pleasing God."  2)  Those who have the Spirit.  The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within, witnessing that you are a child of God.  Your body becomes the very temple of the Holy Spirit... What a difference it makes in your body when the Holy Spirit lives within.  You experience new life, and even your physical faculties take on a new dimension of experience.  3) Those who the Spirit HAS:  It is not enough for us to have the Spirit; the Spirit must have us!  Only then can He share with us the abundant, victorious life that can be ours in Christ ... Because H is the Spirit of life, He can empower us to obey Christ, and He can enable us to be more like Christ.  But He is also the Spirit of death.  He can enable us to put to death the sinful deeds of the body ... He is also the Spirit of adoption, which in the New Testament means being placed as an adult son."

"There is no need for the believer to be defeated.  He can yield his body to the Spirit and by faith overcome the old nature.  The Spirit of life will empower him.  The Spirit of death will enable him to overcome the flesh.  And the Spirit of adoption will enrich him and lead him into the will of God."

Father, please continue to empower me to live according to Your will.  Help me to overcome the flesh, and remind me daily that I am Your adult son whom You adopted because of my older brother Jesus Christ and what He did for me.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford