Romans 8 (New International Version)
Life Through the Spirit
There is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ. The Spirit has set them free from the law. The law could not free us because of mans inherent “sin nature”. God freed us by sending Jesus in the same likeness as sinful man to be the perfect sacrifice. Thereby paying the required price once and for all. Now and forever more, the requirements of the law have been fully met for those who live according to the Spirit (Sanctified believers).
Romans 8:1-4
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
When we lived by our “sin nature” we desired only sinful things. We were possessed by that nature and it sinned through us – we had no control. When we are filled (indwelt) by the Holy Spirit our minds are set on the things of the Spirit. The sin nature no longer has control. The Spirit lives through us. The sin nature is hostile to God and will not submit to His law. If we are controlled by our sin nature we cannot please God.
Romans 8:5-8
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You are not controlled by the “sin nature” if the Spirit of God lives in you. If you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit your body is dead because of sin, but your spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of God is living in you, than just as Christ died to abolish all sin and was raised again from the dead in righteousness and glory; so we have died to our “sin nature” to be raised again in righteousness by the power of His Spirit.
Romans 8:9-11
9 You however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive 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 through His Spirit, who lives in you.
We are no longer obligated to the “sin nature”. By the power of the Spirit that lives within us we have put to death those sinful desires. We have no reason to fear any longer. We are now sons of God. The Spirit living within us testifies we are God’s children. By that we are co-heirs with Christ. We shall share in His glory.
Romans 8:12-17
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, 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.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Romans - Chapter 7
Romans 7 (New International Version)
An Illustration From Marriage
The law has authority over a man only for as long as he lives in the “sin nature” (the Adamic nature) of his original birth.
Romans 7:1-3
1 Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
But, we now have died to the law. Through the sacrifice of Christ we no longer belong to the sin nature of our original birth. We now belong to Jesus Christ, so that we may glorify God. When we lived by our “sin nature” the sinful passions that were identified by the law were at work in us. By dying to what once bound us we have been released from the law. We now live by the Spirit not the written code.
Romans 7:4-6
4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Struggling With Sin
Paul asks another curious question. “Is the law sin?” Of course not! The law was created so that we could identify sin. We would not know the true gravity of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet”. Sin seized the opportunity afforded it by the law and produced all sorts of sinful desires. “Apart from law, sin is dead”. When the commandments came sin sprang to life. The laws intended to save me - killed me.
Romans 7:7-10
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
The law is holy; the commandments are holy – what is their purpose? How can something that is good cause death to me? The law (which is good) came solely for the purpose that sin might be recognized as sin.
Romans 7:11-13
11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
The law is spiritual, but I am sinful. As a slave to sin, I don’t even understand why I do what I do. I realize what is the right thing to do and I want to do it but I can’t help myself. My sin nature has control of me. I do the wrong thing anyway. I end up doing what I know is wrong, that which I never wanted to do to begin with. As convoluted as this may seem, consider the fact that if I understand that what I’m doing is the wrong thing to do, but I do it anyway, I at least admit that the law is good. For the law identified the sin to begin with. It was my sinful nature that ignored the warning. It is as if I am possessed by another entity. Something inside of me has control of me and is forcing me to do that which I know is sinful. I know that nothing good lives inside of me. I am filled with and controlled by the “sin nature” I was born with. I have the desire to do only that which is good, but I continue to do only that which is sinful. It is not I doing it; it is sin living inside of me.
Romans 7:14-20
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So Paul concludes at the end of his argument, I recognize good and I want to do good, but at the same time evil is right there within me. Even though I delight in God’s law, another force, more powerful than I, is at work controlling me, making me a prisoner to sin. I am absolutely miserable, wretched, as a result of this situation. I am trapped and I cannot save myself. Who can and will rescue me from this terrible situation? God will, that’s who. God will rescue me through his son Jesus Christ.
In conclusion: In my mind I know, understand, and desire to live by God’s law, but as a result of my sin nature, and it’s control over me, I cannot help but sin.
Romans 7:21-25
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
WOW!!!
This is a real nail-biter.
Hold on, the best part is coming.
Wait for it... Wait for it...
Chapter 8 is coming...
An Illustration From Marriage
The law has authority over a man only for as long as he lives in the “sin nature” (the Adamic nature) of his original birth.
Romans 7:1-3
1 Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
But, we now have died to the law. Through the sacrifice of Christ we no longer belong to the sin nature of our original birth. We now belong to Jesus Christ, so that we may glorify God. When we lived by our “sin nature” the sinful passions that were identified by the law were at work in us. By dying to what once bound us we have been released from the law. We now live by the Spirit not the written code.
Romans 7:4-6
4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Struggling With Sin
Paul asks another curious question. “Is the law sin?” Of course not! The law was created so that we could identify sin. We would not know the true gravity of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet”. Sin seized the opportunity afforded it by the law and produced all sorts of sinful desires. “Apart from law, sin is dead”. When the commandments came sin sprang to life. The laws intended to save me - killed me.
Romans 7:7-10
7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.
The law is holy; the commandments are holy – what is their purpose? How can something that is good cause death to me? The law (which is good) came solely for the purpose that sin might be recognized as sin.
Romans 7:11-13
11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
The law is spiritual, but I am sinful. As a slave to sin, I don’t even understand why I do what I do. I realize what is the right thing to do and I want to do it but I can’t help myself. My sin nature has control of me. I do the wrong thing anyway. I end up doing what I know is wrong, that which I never wanted to do to begin with. As convoluted as this may seem, consider the fact that if I understand that what I’m doing is the wrong thing to do, but I do it anyway, I at least admit that the law is good. For the law identified the sin to begin with. It was my sinful nature that ignored the warning. It is as if I am possessed by another entity. Something inside of me has control of me and is forcing me to do that which I know is sinful. I know that nothing good lives inside of me. I am filled with and controlled by the “sin nature” I was born with. I have the desire to do only that which is good, but I continue to do only that which is sinful. It is not I doing it; it is sin living inside of me.
Romans 7:14-20
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So Paul concludes at the end of his argument, I recognize good and I want to do good, but at the same time evil is right there within me. Even though I delight in God’s law, another force, more powerful than I, is at work controlling me, making me a prisoner to sin. I am absolutely miserable, wretched, as a result of this situation. I am trapped and I cannot save myself. Who can and will rescue me from this terrible situation? God will, that’s who. God will rescue me through his son Jesus Christ.
In conclusion: In my mind I know, understand, and desire to live by God’s law, but as a result of my sin nature, and it’s control over me, I cannot help but sin.
Romans 7:21-25
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
WOW!!!
This is a real nail-biter.
Hold on, the best part is coming.
Wait for it... Wait for it...
Chapter 8 is coming...
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Romans - Chapter 6
Romans 6 (New International Version)
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
OK, so Paul says the law was given to identify sin, there-bye increasing sin, and there-bye increasing grace. Does that mean we can and should keep on sinning? NO, absolutely not! As believers we died with Christ and in doing so we died to sin. Through Christ’s resurrection we may live a new sinless life.
Romans 6:1-4
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
United with him in his death means united with him in his resurrection. Our old self, born with its sin nature, was crucified and is done away with. We are no longer slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is free from sin.
Romans 6:5-7
5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
We are now dead to sin. Sin shall no longer reign in our mortal bodies. We have been brought from death to life. Sin is no longer your master. You are no longer under law but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
***AND NOW MY FAVORITE PART...
Slaves to Righteousness
OK, than Paul says should we keep on sinning because we are no longer under the law? NO, of course not!!! Don’t you realize you are a slave to whomever you obey? Whether it is slavery to sin (death) or slavery to obedience (righteousness). Even though we were slaves to sin we are no longer. We have been set free from sin! Through Christ we have become slaves to righteousness.
Now that we have been set free from sin we have become slaves to God, which leads us to holiness.
Romans 6:15-18
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Romans 6:22
22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
OK, so Paul says the law was given to identify sin, there-bye increasing sin, and there-bye increasing grace. Does that mean we can and should keep on sinning? NO, absolutely not! As believers we died with Christ and in doing so we died to sin. Through Christ’s resurrection we may live a new sinless life.
Romans 6:1-4
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
United with him in his death means united with him in his resurrection. Our old self, born with its sin nature, was crucified and is done away with. We are no longer slaves to sin. Anyone who has died is free from sin.
Romans 6:5-7
5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
We are now dead to sin. Sin shall no longer reign in our mortal bodies. We have been brought from death to life. Sin is no longer your master. You are no longer under law but under grace.
Romans 6:11-14
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
***AND NOW MY FAVORITE PART...
Slaves to Righteousness
OK, than Paul says should we keep on sinning because we are no longer under the law? NO, of course not!!! Don’t you realize you are a slave to whomever you obey? Whether it is slavery to sin (death) or slavery to obedience (righteousness). Even though we were slaves to sin we are no longer. We have been set free from sin! Through Christ we have become slaves to righteousness.
Now that we have been set free from sin we have become slaves to God, which leads us to holiness.
Romans 6:15-18
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Romans 6:22
22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Romans - Chapter 5
Romans 5 (New International Version)
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
Sin entered the world through Adam. Therefore sin was in the world before there was any law. Sin is not taken into account when there is no law, so as a result of man’s ignorance the law had to be given in order that man would be able to identify sin.
Romans 5:12-13
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Through the disobedience of one man (Adam) all men were made sinners. Through the obedience of one man (Jesus Christ) all men can be made righteous. It was the action of Adam that made us sinners and the action of Christ that will make us clean – we can do none of it ourselves.
Romans 5:18-19
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was given so that what would occur naturally as a result of man’s sin nature would be identifiable as sin and therefore increase. Knowing that where sin increases, grace increases even more. The purpose of the law is to identify sin. It was never intended to be a set of rules by which man could save himself. If that were even possible what purpose would Christ’s death have served?
Romans 5:20
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more…
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
Sin entered the world through Adam. Therefore sin was in the world before there was any law. Sin is not taken into account when there is no law, so as a result of man’s ignorance the law had to be given in order that man would be able to identify sin.
Romans 5:12-13
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
Through the disobedience of one man (Adam) all men were made sinners. Through the obedience of one man (Jesus Christ) all men can be made righteous. It was the action of Adam that made us sinners and the action of Christ that will make us clean – we can do none of it ourselves.
Romans 5:18-19
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was given so that what would occur naturally as a result of man’s sin nature would be identifiable as sin and therefore increase. Knowing that where sin increases, grace increases even more. The purpose of the law is to identify sin. It was never intended to be a set of rules by which man could save himself. If that were even possible what purpose would Christ’s death have served?
Romans 5:20
20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more…
Monday, June 01, 2009
Romans - Chapter 4
Romans 4 (New International Version)
Abraham Justified by Faith
To be justified by following the law is to be justified by works. For it is only by ones own effort that you can live by the law. If you are justified by following the law (as the Pharisees believed) then you have attained righteousness by your own effort. This leads nowhere but to pride and boasting. But, if a man is justified righteous by faith alone, God deserves and receives all the glory. For man has done nothing in and of himself to earn any praise.
Romans 4:2-5
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Abraham did not receive the promise of God through the law, but by the righteousness that comes by faith. If the law is the answer than faith has no value and the promise is worthless. Law brings wrath. No law results in no transgression.
Romans 4:13-15
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
Abraham Justified by Faith
To be justified by following the law is to be justified by works. For it is only by ones own effort that you can live by the law. If you are justified by following the law (as the Pharisees believed) then you have attained righteousness by your own effort. This leads nowhere but to pride and boasting. But, if a man is justified righteous by faith alone, God deserves and receives all the glory. For man has done nothing in and of himself to earn any praise.
Romans 4:2-5
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Abraham did not receive the promise of God through the law, but by the righteousness that comes by faith. If the law is the answer than faith has no value and the promise is worthless. Law brings wrath. No law results in no transgression.
Romans 4:13-15
13 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
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