-
No Condemnations Series
Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Jun 30, 2022 (message contributor)
Summary: The Law of Moses was powerful to punish but powerless to forgive and redeem. The carnal mind leads to fulfilling the desires of the carnality. Spiritual minds long to fulfill the desires of spirituality. The mind directs the life of a person.
Romans 08:01-17 No Condemnations
Romans 8:1-4 Freed from Sin and Death
The Law of Moses was powerful to punish but powerless to forgive and redeem. God sent his son Jesus Christ to have the nature of the sinful man but without sin. However, he became the sin offering through his sacrifice. Jesus Christ has condemned sin through sinful man. Jesus met the righteous requirements of God by living according to the nature of the Spirit though he shared our nature. Paul urges us to walk in the spirit and have union with Christ through the spirit-filled life. Spiritual liberty is available to all of us through believing in Jesus Christ. The beloved Son of God transforms us to be in His likeness and image. One thing Paul could establish through the preaching of the Gospel was that the Law of Moses was powerless to save people.
Romans 8:5-11 Carnal and Spiritual Minds
The carnal mind leads to fulfilling the desires of the carnality. Spiritual minds long to fulfill the desires of spirituality. The mind directs the life of a person. The setting of the minds leads accordingly. The mind of a sinful man is dead because he thinks, executes, and dwells in sinful nature leading to death. The mind-controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. The sinful mind is an enemy of God. So, it rebels against the law of the Lord. It rebels against the love of God. Sinful man pleases his flesh so he displeases God. Those who live in Spirit belong to God. Jesus Christ entering into a person means death to the sinful nature but life to the spirituality of that person. God raised Jesus from the dead. The same Lord will raise you up from the sinful death. So, those who would like to follow Christ must have the traits of obedience and not a rebellious attitude. The new man in Christ works for divine pleasure rather than personal pleasure.
Romans 8:12-17 Sonship of the Believers
God raised up Jesus from the dead. He extended his sonship to all of us because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Those who are born again, and those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. The spirit which has come from the Lord will not make you slave again to Sin or fear but leads to the great honor and privilege of Sonship. This gives the freedom to call God Abba, Father. The Spirit of God testifies that we are children of God, and so, we are heirs of God. We are spiritual heirs of God. Spiritual liberty leads us to spiritual adoption by God, the Father. In fact, the co-heirs of Christ. Paul put the precondition that we must share the sufferings of Christ then we can share the glory of God. We are enjoying the spiritual relationship with God and Jesus Christ.
Discussion:
1. Power of the Gospel and power of the Law of Moses.
2. Natures of the Carnal and Spiritual minds.
3. Privileges of Heirs and Co-heirs.
(For further studies in Romans, kindly refer to this cite)