When I was in college I memorized Romans 8 for a class on Paul's epistles. This has always been one of my favorite chapters in scriptures and I would like to describe my understanding of some of these beautiful but complex verses. :)
Life Through the Spirit
8 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This is my all time favorite verse in scripture, and soooo many Christians seem to easily forget it and want to walk around condemning people. But "there is no condemnation" for us who are saved! We have been saved, set free, liberated! We have been delivered once and for all and cannot be condemned any longer! Satan may try to accuse us in our minds and make us think we have failed but haven't. We are "more than conquerors" in Christ Jesus! Amen? Satan may want us to think that God no longer loves us because of something we did, but Paul says, "nothing can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus."
" Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." In Rom. 7 Paul goes on and on about how the knowledge of the law in some way actually made him sin. This is due to our perverse nature as human beings; we want to do the opposite of what we "should" do. If there is a sign that says "don't walk on the grass" what do we want to do? Walk on the grass of course! lol. But Paul is saying here the law of the Spirit, of freedom, set him free from this law of sin and death, the law from the old testament that feels constraining to us and makes us want to do the opposite.
I was a bit rebellious in junior high. I wanted to do everything the opposite of what I knew I was supposed to. But when I was 14 and I laid down my life in Jesus' hands and told Him He could do whatever He wanted with me, I came into this law of the Spirit. I began to do good because I loved God and WANTED to, not because I HAD to. I wanted to give God/Jesus everything I had because it finally hit me that He gave his ALL for me. This is what this verse means. We still follow the law, but it is the law of the Spirit which gives freedom and we want to follow, not the law of sin and death, which feels constricting, overwhelming and impossible to us.
3 "For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering." We, on our own, CANNOT follow and fulfill all the requirements of the law. There are many people that like to say they are getting into heaven because they are "good." But "no one is righteous, no not even one." "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God gave man the law in order for us to REALIZE we cannot live up to it on our own, not for us to think we could actually live perfect lives. No one is perfect except for God. This was the issue with the Pharisees and why Jesus was furious with them sooo many times. This is what they MISSED! They thought they were living up to the whole law and so became extremely self-righteous and prideful. They THOUGHT they could get into heaven by themselves, by their own efforts. That is why Jesus said, "If you even look at a woman lustfully you have committed adultery with her in your heart." He wanted them to realize it is completely impossible to comletely follow the law on our own. God gave us the law to help us realize how far we fall short of perfection. But God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. Finally, through Jesus, we could appear fully justified in God's eyes, for the first time.
"And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." In sending Jesus, God condemned sin in the flesh, in that, his having to send a savior meant that we needed to be saved. The righteous requirements of the law were met when Jesus paid the sacrifice for our sins once and for all. Any sin that we had, will, and ever will commit was paid for on the cross when Jesus died. That is why the "righteous requirements of the law" were fully met in us because now, if we have accepted Jesus' free gift of salvation, when God looks at us He does not see us but He sees Jesus. Paul says, "Your life is now hidden with Christ in God." This means we have a kind of veil over us or a sheet, being Jesus. God sees us as white and pure and clean because we are covered by Jesus. We were given a white robe, essentially, when we put our faith in Jesus to be sufficient to save us. We were given new clothes; clean, white clothes. God no longer sees our sins. He sees Jesus when he looks at us who are Christian.
5 "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." John said we are in the world but not of the world and that we are not to love anything in the world. That is what it would mean to live according to the flesh, to live according to the world and the world's standards. Satan is the ruler of this world. Satan calls to our flesh, as Christians, and tempts us to live "in the flesh." He tempts Christians to set their minds on "what the flesh desires," which is lust, greed and pride. But when we are Christian we have the choice to either live by the spirit or by the flesh. We are FULLY capable of living in the flesh. Christians are NOT perfect by any means. Before Christ we were "slaves to sin" in that we in a way did not have a choice. Once we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit we still CAN sin, but we have the choice to choose to sin or to choose life and freedom. Many in the public community are suprised when a Christian sins, or when a pastor sins, as if it is impossible for us to sin. lol No, it is very possible for Christians to commit crazy sins. We are not above it all, as some Christians may like to come off as. We as Christians are still weak and human and easily prone to sin. Look at the case of David in the Bible, a man after God's own heart, and what happened with Bathsheba. He KNEW it was wrong but he still sinned and committed adultery with her. We as Christian KNOW better, but we still sin all the time. We are capable of choosing freedom over death, and walking by the Spirit over walking in the flesh, but often times we still choose to walk in the flesh. Sanctification is an ongoing process. We are never fully "cured" of sin in this life. Paul says in Phil. "Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect." We will not ever, in this life, reach a sinless state, EVER. John says, "If anyone says he is without sin he is a liar." Also, "there is no one righteous, no not even one." Christians STILL sin. All Christians sin. The catch, however, is if we are truly saved and the Holy Spirit truly lives inside of us, we will feel guilt over our sin and strive to walk in the Spirit as best as we can. That is the catch. If you are capable of repeatedly sinning and not feeling guilty, then I would challenge you to check your heart and see if you are really saved. Paul says we are to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Healthy guilt over sin is a good way to tell if we are really saved and truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit. There is unhealthy guilt, and that is from Satan. Unhealthy guilt is condemning guilt with thoughts like "God does not love me anymore because....xyz." That is NOT from God. But guilt that causes us to want to become a better person, that is from the Holy Spirit and that is how you can tell if He is inside of you. :)
6 "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. "
Paul said, "For the wages of sin is death" meaning the payment for sin is death, in the after life, but also in this life. Every time someone chooses to sin it kills their soul a little bit. Sin is serious. It is not just "a mistake;" it takes away a piece of one's soul. Satan tries to dress sin up and make it look pretty, thus Vegas. How pretty does Vegas look? But it is full of ample opportunities to sin. Taking the narrow way does not usually look fun. It usually involves traveling by yourself and being lonely most of the time. Jesus was most likely very lonely, given the frustration he felt with his disciples. Jesus said, "Narrow is the road that leads to life and few find it." It is so narrow sometimes that it is like you are walking on the edge of a cliff, the kind of edge of a cliff that only has room for one person. I have walked on this narrow cliff many times in trying my best to follow Christ. This is why many Christians get burned out if they are trying to walk after Jesus in their own strength. But if we are being renewed by Jesus continually "we will soar on wings like eagles" yes? Yes.
On the flip side, "broad is the road that leads to destruction." There are crowds of people walking to destruction by choosing to sin and living in the flesh. You will always have A LOT of friends if you are on the path to destruction, because it is the EASY way. It is the path of least resistance. It is the way of doing whatever you want whenever you want. It does not require discipline. It does not require self-sacrifice. It is easy, open and seems to be free, but it leads to death. Proverbs says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Our flesh tells us that it is the right way because it is the easy way. It is the way to get accepted, to make friends, to get people to like you. It is the way of compromising at work or in conversations with friends or in what you watch on TV. It is the "popular" way. But the narrow road, the "mind governed by the Spirit," is not as easy of a road to walk on. It takes discipline and self-sacrifice and humility. It takes boldness and willingness to risk everything you have and hold dear. But, it leads to life and peace. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have it to the full." He came to give us LIFE. Then why do so many non-Christians think of Jesus as a kill joy? Because Satan has deceived many into thinking that, into thinking sin is fun and sin is the best way. But IT IS NOT. It will kill you sooner or later, whether you realize it or not. It will kill you and harden your soul. But Jesus can give us the "peace that passes all understanding." How? When we choose to walk in the Spirit. "He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul." He wants to give us PEACE. When we follow Him and his laws and do what is good we will have peace. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee." Only in walking in the Spirit can we have true life and peace. Amen? Amen. :)
May God bless you and give you peace. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment