Romans 8 - Freedom From Sin From Within

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2. 2. Scripture Reading Romans 8:1 - 8 
3. 3.  When we see the word, “therefore,” we naturally assume a situation, question, or event has been stated earlier.  What situation, question or event occurred for Paul to say “therefore” in Romans 8:1a? Refer back to Romans 7: 24-25.  Paul calls himself a wretched man and asks the rhetorical question who will deliver me.  Paul answers this question in the next verse.  Through our “Lord Jesus Christ.”  Paul separates his being into two personalities of the mind or spirit, who serves God’s law, and the physical body, which serves the law of sin or remains subject to carnality. 
4. 4. Paul then goes on to say “NOW no condemnation,” by implication he is saying before there was condemnation, and you are delivered from that condemnation (see also Gal 3:13).  Through Jesus, those who walk according to the Spirit, are freed from the bindings of letter of the Law (Rom 7:6).
5. 5. Science has shown that it is the male who transfers the Adamic sin to the offspring.  As Jesus’ Father was the Father personage of God, there was no sin transference. Therefore Jesus was born of woman, sinless.  Scripture shows Jesus remained sinless fulfilling both the Law and prophecies.  Jesus, who appeared to Paul in Spirit, set Paul free from the confines of the Law.  Although Jesus became flesh, He always is God, the second personage in the Godhead. Jesus, being both God and man took sin upon Himself. Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice acceptable to God. Jesus was crucified to free us from the law of sin.
6. 6.  What is the law of the Spirit?  The word law, in this context, is in Greek "nomos" – which means "to divide out, distribute, primarily meant "that which is assigned"; … as opposed to ethos meaning "custom," was retained for unwritten "law, …(Vine's Expository Dictionary)  The word Spirit is capitalized signifying the Holy Spirit as a deity.  The Holy Spirit was sent to the disciples to teach them and to impart power to them. "the intention of the gift of the Spirit is to constrain the believer to a life in which the natural tendencies shall have no place, and to produce in him their direct contraries" (Vine's Expository Dictionary). Because the Holy Spirit is the third personage of God, all that He instructed is "nomos" –Law (John 14:26). To this end (Jamieson, Faucette & Brown write "… an inward principle of action, operating with the fixedness and regularity of a law," it thus appears that "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" here means, "that new principle of action which the Spirit of Christ has opened up within us-- the law of our new being."
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8. 7.  Refer to Romans 8: 3-5  The Law (as written in the Pentateuch) was weak, in that it could not keep us from acting upon our carnal lusts.  This is what Paul meant when he said “weak through the flesh”  Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law, became flesh to condemn sin in the flesh (Holman Bible Staff, Blum, Edwin & Howard, Jeremy Royal, 2010).  “The meaning is, that whereas the law was powerless to secure its own fulfillment for the reason given, God took the method now to be described for attaining that end” (Jamieson, faucette, & Brown, 1871).  In verse five, Paul speaks of the old (those who lived by the flesh) and the New (those who lived by the Spirit).  There are two wills in each Christian.  The will of the flesh passed down from Adam.  The will of the Spirit sent to us by Jesus, who was made in the “likeness of sinful flesh (human form)
9. 8.  The will of the flesh also called the law of carnality, is in opposition to the Law of the Spirit.  The law of the flesh calls for those things pleasing to the flesh.  The Law of the Spirit is to please God.  When the will of the flesh is allowed to supersede the will of God, the result can only be death. (Ref to Verse six)  Therefore man cannot serve the flesh and God, for as it is written: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Mat 6:24 NKJV).  This is not to say that God does not want us to enjoy His creation; He does want us to remember who created it.  To summarize: When our pursuit is to please God first and foremost, then our own pleasures must take a back seat.
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11. 9. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 9 - 11  Does the Holy Spirit dwell within the believer?
12. 10.  In verse eight, Paul declares:  Those who are in Christ, are indwelled with the Holy Spirit.  Therefore those in Christ are no longer living in the fleshly desires of man but by the Spiritual guidance of God.  This verse calls for the believer to look within, for the Holy Spirit. (See also 1Cor 3:16)  The Holy Spirit is a spirit, and cannot be seen; however, He speaks to the believer's spirit.  The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is known in the believer and to others.  Paul adds the qualifier “now if” saying that if the Spirit cannot be found within then they do not belong to Jesus.  For those who are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, they have eternal spiritual life.  For those who do not have the Spirit do not have Christ and therefore suffer both the death of the flesh and also the spirit. As Christ was raised from the dead we who are in Christ will be raised corporeal on the day of the Lord.
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14. 11. Scripture Reading Romans 8:12 - 17  To be dead in the body but alive in Christ
15. 12. 7/26/2019 Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School 12  A debtor is a person who is obligated to another.  This obligation usually concerns money but can be anything of value.  Those who are not in Christ but chose instead the fleshly things of life are debtors to the flesh. Therefore if you choose to live in the world in obedience to the desires of the flesh you will die in body and soul (verse 13).  For those who have turned away from mortal desires and instead turned to spiritual or heavenly aspirations, although their mortal body may die their spirit will continue on.  In the context of verse 14, what does it mean to be led by the Spirit?  Many people mistakenly state they have led someone to the Lord.  It is the Holy Spirit that touches the heart of man and prepares them to receive the gospel.
16. 13.  Therefore if the Spirit leads, then what is our part in the evangelism process?  Our part is to tell people, who the Spirit has prepared, of the gospel (Mar 16:15 NKJV)  How is it that we can be called sons of God?  Once we accept God’s gift of redemption, we are made anew baptized in the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit bears witness to our adoptive status as the son of God. (ref verse 16)  We, therefore, are no longer under the yolk of sin and can call out to our heavenly Father “Abba, Father”. (see also Gal 4:6)  What does it mean to be an adoptive child of God?  Jesus was in the blood line of God, while humans are in the blood line of Adam.
17. 14.  Adoption in Greek huiothesia. The Greek noun huiothesia literally means a son placing and comes from huios (son) and tithemi (to place). The term refers to the legal act whereby a child is accepted into a family on an equal basis—including the same rights of inheritance—with any physical offspring of the parents. Although huiothesia was quite common in Greek literature and adoption was widely practiced in the Greco-Roman world, only Paul used huiothesia in the NT, and then only five times. Paul explained that to Israel belonged "the adoption" (Rom 9:4), which probably refers to the fact that God called Israel His son on occasion. In the other four passages where Paul used huiothesia, the term refers to those who by faith in Christ has been accepted into God's family (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:5), which was His plan before creation (Eph 1:5). Believers do not receive their full inheritance as sons of God until final salvation, "the redemption of our bodies" at the resurrection (Rm 8:23). [Holman Bible Staff, The HCSB Translation Team, Howard, Jeremy Royal & Blum, Edwin (2010)
18. 15.  What does it mean to us, today’s Christian?  God chose (adopted) Abram and his descendants into His family, which was His plan before the earth was formed.  The Holy Spirit has marked the Christian as being accepted into the family of God (Eph 1:13,14). (Ref verses 14 - 16)  Each Christian is predestined (known by God) to become adopted children of God.  As adopted children of God, the Christian has the right of inheritance; what then is our inheritance?  Believers, inasmuch as they share in the new order of things to be ushered in at the return of Christ, Gal 3:29; 4:7; Tts 3:7 (G2818).  As children of God, we are joint-heirs with Jesus in eternal life with Jesus.
19. 16. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 18 - 25  From suffering to glory
20. 17.  Do Christians suffer for Christ sake today? Figure 1
21. 18.  Figure 2
22. 19.  Discrimination in America by the numbers: Figure 3
23. 20.  As you can see by the pictorial graphs shown (figures 1,2,3). Persecution of organized religion is worldwide, with the Christian religion receiving more than their fair share.  Timothy writes: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12). The discrimination felt in America is minute, compared to the discrimination suffered in other countries (see figure 1).  Very few have suffered for the name of Jesus as did His apostles, with all but John put to death for preaching the gospel.  The apostle Paul was beaten and imprisoned (Acts 16:22 & 2Cor 11:23). Paul was eventually put to death at the hands of Nero.  In verse 18 Paul contends that the glory revealed in his life cannot be compared to the eternal glory of the promised kingdom. (See also 2 Tim 2:10)  Jesus has told all who call themselves by His name they will be hated (Mat 10:22).
24. 21.  Reference verse 19 & 20. Because of the sin of one man, the world was cursed (Gen 3:17-19). Creation itself was unwillingly dragged into condemnation.  The word “but” is used (V 20) to give the solution to creations cursed dilemma.  Through the redemption bought by one man (Jesus), the children of God are restored to God as His adoptive children.  Until Christ comes again the world will not be restored to its intended state.  Creations restoration occurs when Satan and his minions are cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10).  Evil and death will no longer exist and the children of God will be liberated from the yolk of a cursed world.  The creation will then be restored to its uncorrupted state (Rev 21:1cf).
25. 22.  All of creation eagerly awaits the deliverance from the bondage of the curse (VV 22,23).  The word groan in Greek is stenazō which simply translated means to grieve.  “Christians have only the firstfruits—the pledge of more to come in our salvation. We groan because of our fallen nature. Our new resurrection bodies will conform us to Jesus' glorified body” (The HCSB Translation Team, Holman Bible Staff, Blum, Edwin & Howard, Jeremy Royal 2010).  Paul describes this period of waiting as a woman giving birth.  The pains of child birth, begin slowly with waves of pain, increasing in strength and with greater frequency until the time of birth.  This is a picture of the state of the world and mankind which marks Jesus’ return.  When Paul speaks of hope in verse 24 he is telling us that as children of God, we have a secure future in Jesus.  As children of God, we are assured of our salvation, which will be realized at the bema seat of Christ.  We anticipate with great joy, the realization of that which the Holy Spirit now assures us.
26. 23. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 26 - 27  What is the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer?
27. 24.  Have you ever found yourself wanting to pray about someone or something and just could not find the right words?  To that question, Holman writes the following referencing verses Romans 8: 26-27:  “In our weakness, we have the help of the Spirit. Jesus is our intercessor in heaven (Heb 7:25), and the Spirit is our intercessor on earth within our hearts. We are limited and ignorant, but the Spirit uses unspoken groanings to communicate our needs. This is not ‘speaking in tongues or languages’ (Gk glossolalia).”  According to Jamieson, Faucette & Brown writes the following concerning a reason for being at a loss for the right words:  “This arises partly from the dimness of our spiritual vision in the present veiled state, while we have to "walk by faith, not by sight" feelings which spring from the fleeting objects of sense that there is in the very best views and affections of our renewed nature; partly also from the necessary imperfection of all human language as a vehicle for expressing the subtle spiritual feelings of the heart.”
28. 25. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 28 - 30 - Who are those who love God?
29. 26. 7/26/2019 Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School 26  Those who are called are Christians.  God knows who will choose Jesus and who will deny Him.  Those who choose Jesus, become sons of God.  As with all children instruction and correction is needed for growth.  As children, we too need instruction to grow. Therefore God leads and teaches through his word and His Holy Spirit (2Tim 3:16).  Correction (reproof) is often seen as negative, However, this too is part of the learning experience.  Therefore Paul says all things work together for good for those He calls.  As humans, we make mistakes. However, God uses these mistakes to teach us.
30. 27.  God, not bound by time, knows all things, our past, present, and future as being now.  Therefore, God knows who will by their free will, choose Jesus, and thereby conforming to God as being part of His plan.  Because of our free will, known before the world was formed, we were also predestined to Gods plan.  Homes analyses verses 29 and 30 this way:  “Those He foreknew refers to those whom God set His electing love upon in eternity past. Predestined means that God planned from eternity that "those [whom] He foreknew" would become like Christ through spiritual rebirth.” (The HCSB Translation Team, Holman Bible Staff, Blum, Edwin & Howard, Jeremy Royal (2010).)
31. 28.  What does Paul mean to conform to the image of His Son?  We know from Scripture that God is three personages in one being, and He created man in His image according to His likeness.  Image is translated from the Hebrew word tselem (H6754) meaning “resemblance; hence, a representative figure” (physical resemblance of God - Jesus), and having also a soul and spirit.  However, in verse 30 Paul is referring to the relationship of the Son to the Father.  Jesus had a close intimate relationship with the Father while in human form.  It is this type of relationship Paul is talking about for the Christian.  God calls a person to have a relationship with Him.  Those that God calls are given to Jesus who through His blood has justified them in the eyes of God.  As justified souls, we who are adopted into the family of God will share also in the glory.
32. 29. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 31 - 36 -  For God so loved the world …
33. 30.  What “things” is Paul referring to in V31?  The things are listed in verse 30:  Predestined  Called  Justified  Glorified  In verse 32 Paul using simple logic, states if God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son for us; how much more will He be willing to give to those who love Him. See also John 14:13 NKJV.  By “all things” Paul means those things that are necessary and good for us to have (Mat 7:7-11 NKJV).  God will give what each person can manage according to their needs and abilities.  The parable lesson of the talents‘ is a good example (Mat 25:14 – 30NKJV).  Who were those who Paul called accusers V33?  All the Judaizes who mocked Paul and called him a traitor to Judaism and other vile names.  Christians today face accusers as well.
34. 31.  Paul asks an important question in verse 34; Who condemns us?  Satan stands before the throne of God condemning the human race and especially those who profess Jesus as the Christ.  To intercede which in Hebrew is entygchanō (pronounced, en-tün-khä'-nō) a verb meaning to speak in defense for another.  Jesus is our savior  He is our high priest (Heb 4:14, 5:9 & 10 NKJV) who presents Himself as our sacrifice, declaring to the Father that we who are called are His, chosen before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4 KJV).
35. 32. Scripture Reading Romans 8: 37-39 Is there anything that can separate us from God?
36. 33.  We are victorious in Christ Jesus because He was victorious over the author of death – Satan.  Therefore, through Jesus, we too conquer not through our strength but rather by the strength of Jesus.  Holman comments:  “8:38-39 Paul's "grand persuasion" (Gk pepeismai) is in a perfect tense, which indicates a past action that has an ongoing impact. Having been persuaded (by God), he stood firm in the belief that nothing could separate him from the love of God. Jesus conquered death and Satan on the cross, ensuring that nothing can change God's love or His purpose for us. We "are being protected by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time" (1Pe 1:5).
37. 34. 7/26/2019 Produced by Bill Fritz for Adult Sunday School 
38. Bibliography
39.  "G3551 - nomos - Strong's Greek Lexicon (KJV)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 9 Jul 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org//lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?
40. Stro ngs=G3551&t=KJV "G2818 - klēronomos - Strong's Greek Lexicon (NKJV)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 10 Jul 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org//lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Stro ngs=G2818&t=NKJV 
41. "H6754 - tselem - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (NKJV)." Blue Letter Bible. Accessed 11 Jul 2019. https://www.blueletterbible.org//lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Stro ngs=H6754&t=NKJV