Romans 8
COMMENTARY:
: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. (2631 “condemnation” [katakrima] means penalty, judgment, decision resulting from an investigation, adverse sentence or doom.)
DEVOTION: Before salvation every individual is headed for the lake of fire. They are judged according to their birth into the family of Satan. Christ made it plain that those who chose to not follow HIM were going to spend eternity with their father the devil.
Those who become followers of Christ will not face that judgment. They have moved from the family of the devil to the family of God. Their judgment has been changed. They are part of a group that will receive the blessings of God.
This group is described as walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit. There are two types of walks or directions that a life can take.
One direction is to walk after the flesh. When an individual is born into this world this is the direction he is heading. He is born with a sin nature that leads him to do things that are not pleasing to the LORD. Some of these people can be real moral people and even go to church all their life. The problem is they have never chosen to become a follower of Christ. Their life has never really changed to be a fulltime follower of Christ. They don’t have a desire to read the Bible. They don’t have a desire to pray on a regular basis. Their goal in life is to no hurt other people and hope that is enough to get them into heaven.
Those who walk after the Spirit of God are those who are willing to change. They are not just moral people or religious people they are people who want to have directions given to them by the Holy Spirit. Each day they ask the LORD for guidance. When they sin they confess it to reestablish their fellowship with the LORD. If they start to go in the wrong direction the LORD sends weakness and sickness to redirect their life back to a place of fellowship with HIM. If that fail HE even takes their life. The LORD wants those who are genuine followers to bring glory to HIS name alone. They are not in it for any glory of their own. They are not preoccupied with pride. They are not ones who condemn others but try to help others return to a proper relationship with their Savior. They do this humbly.
These are two different walks with two different destinations. Hopefully those who are reading these devotional are walking in the right path not counting on their good works to get them to heaven.
CHALLENGE: Being religious and moral will not get you into heaven. Only those who genuinely follow the LORD will. Walk the walk!!
: 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (5426 “do mind” [phroneo] means set one’s mind on, to dispose the mind in a certain way, have attitude, ponder, hold a view, think the thoughts of, to have understanding, or have insight.)
DEVOTION: How do you think? Our thinking shows who we are in relationship to God. Our desire to learn more about what God wants in our life determines who we are really trying to please with our life.
Those who don’t care about what God wants them to do with their life, think mainly about how to please themselves. They let their motives be very selfish. They also are controlled by laziness which means that they want the shortest way to get their own way in every area of their life. They won’t care about those people around them. They will be like one of my grandchildren who was talking to another one who said “Why are you so sin?” As children get older they sin with more finesse. They also see that the majority of those around them are just as sinful and so grow confident that they are OK.
When we are controlled by the Holy Spirit there is a change in the way we think, we ask ourselves “What would Jesus do?” Also we would ask “What does the Bible say about this issue?” We would even consult a spiritual leader for direction regarding a certain issue. In other words, we would want to please the LORD in our decisions.
Again, it doesn’t mean that those who are trying to be spiritual Christians will never sin. It means they will try to serve the LORD most of the time faithfully.
CHALLENGE: Sin is confessed regularly and sincerely.
: 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? 1680 “hope” [elpis] means expectation, faith, confidence, prospect, faith, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation or expectation of good.)
DEVOTION: This chapter informs the Roman Christians that they are no longer under condemnation from God. HE has given them the Holy Spirit to help them with all of their decisions. HE has given them the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, so that, each day as they make choices, they can ask HIM for wisdom.
Paul tells them and us that we have been adopted into the family of God. We can call HIM Father. We are HIS children because of Christ. We are not only children but heirs to an inheritance in heaven. We have glorious liberty in Christ. Christ is making intercession to the Father for us.
We don’t see God. We don’t see the future. We have to accept what the Bible says about God and the future. Our expectation is based on the Word of God. Our expectation is something we have to anticipate by faith in a promise made by God in HIS word. The Bible tells us that Christ rose from the dead by the power of the Father. Christ promises us a place in heaven for eternity that HE is presently preparing for us. We are expecting eternal life in Heaven because of the forgiveness we received when we followed Christ as our Savior and LORD. Each day we have to say “Even so come Lord Jesus.”
Are we expecting the LORD to return? Are we expecting a place in heaven for us? Are we expecting to receive rewards for our actions here on this earth? Are we working for the day is coming when the trumpet shall sound and we will meet Christ in the air? The only ones who can answer these questions are the ones reading these devotions today. Do we have faith? Do we have confidence in HIS promises?
CHALLENGE: Are we accepting and appreciating all that the LORD has done for us and is going for us and will do for us in the future?
: 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come (3982 “I am persuaded” [peitho] means I am convinced, I am sure of the truthfulness or validity of something, to be certain, to be sure, trust, obey, be a follower, to exhort, I trust in, to induce, or to instigate.)
DEVOTION: The old cartoons had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other shoulder of a cartoon character. The devil was telling the individual that his actions didn’t matter and that it would be fun. The angel was telling something different. He was telling the individual that it was wrong to do the action in question.
Today we realize that there are two forces in the life of a believer. There is the constant temptation to do wrong. The devil and his advocates are constantly telling a Christian that the LORD really doesn’t love him and that he should just do whatever he feels like. This only happens to believers because those in the devils family don’t need to be told what to do because they are already serving their master the devil.
One of the temptations that the devil and his angels try to convince a believer to be true is that they have committed a sin that the LORD can’t forgive so they might as well give up trying to lead a Christian life.
Paul states here that he believes and it is true that NOTHING separates those who are genuine believers from the LOVE of God. We have the witness of the Holy Spirit in our life to help us when we pray. We have a guardian angel watching over us. We have access to our Savior through our prayer life. We have directions regarding living the Christian life in the Word of God. When the Bible says NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of God we need to believe it no matter what the enemy is whispering in our ears.
CHALLENGE: We receive the LOVE of God the Father because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. HE shed HIS blood for the remission of sin in our life!!
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