Last week we were blessed by
a wonderful study in Romans,
chapter 7, presented by Abel
Rios. When I asked Abel if he
would be willing to share a
message for that week he
asked if I had a particular topic
to suggest. When I told him that
I only wanted him to share what
he believed that God was placing on his heart, he
asked if it would be alright to just continue in our
current series in the Book of Romans.
And, of course, that is exactly what he did.
The degree that Paul presents the very real
challenge that is involved in living through the
process of sanctification is quite profound. You
may remember that Paul makes it very clear that
the law is spiritual but we are not. And even
though, through the law we understand the
principles that it presents, we come to also
realize that the ‘struggle is real’ as we identify
with Paul that the very things we want to do, we
don’t do them and the things that we don’t want to
do, are the things that we actually do.
In this description of an inner struggle we are
reminded that the spiritual conflict that we
experience is the battle between the power of
God and the forces of evil for every human heart
and life. And while chapter 7 dealt with tension,
frustration and a sense of temporary defeat,
chapter 8 is focused on victory. One Bible student
has pointed out that our next chapter opens with
the words ‘no condemnation’ and it ends with ‘no
separation’ and in between it is characterized by
‘no defeat’.
This idea of ‘no condemnation’ is incredible good
news as it applies to everyone who is ‘in Christ
Jesus’. However, everyone is not free from
condemnation, only those who are in Christ. And
using the “Adam” and “Christ” comparison that
we addressed in our study of chapter 5, Paul
makes it clear that those who are ‘in Christ’ are
justified, they live a ‘new life’ in Christ through the
process of sanctification.
Through this very important chapter of Paul’s
letter we will see how serious he was that they,
and we, understand the magnitude of the
assurance of our salvation and the commitment
that Jesus makes to everyone who accepts Him
as their Savior. I am grateful for the powerful
message that we will discover, review, and be
inspired by in our study this week.
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