Introduction: Romans 8, is a Christian declaration of independence from sin and death, and the requirements of Mosaic law. It is also a declaration of dependence on the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life.
**1. The Holy Spirit and Life (8:1-4)**
Romans 8:1 (NASB), “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
• No condemnation means NO DEATH.
• Death in the Bible can mean: Physical death, Spiritual death (separation from God) and Eternal death (hell).
• No Condemnation means death in all its forms, has been completely cancelled in Christ.
• No condemnation AT ALL means, not now, not for anything in our past, not for anything we do in the future.
• Who is this promise for? FOR ALL WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS
• The reason for no condemnation is there is a new sheriff in town called the law of the Spirit of Life. That’s the Holy Spirit.
• The other reason there is no condemnation is Jesus took our condemnation for sin on the cross.
**2. The Holy Spirit and Liberty (8:5-11)**
Romans 8:5 (NASB), “For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Romans 8:10 (NASB), “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
• Romans 8, divides all people as either IN THE FLESH or IN CHRIST.
• The church in Rome was divided by Jews and Gentiles. There was conflict because of their cultural/religious differences in their past. Paul is trying to unite this church. Jews are either in Christ or in the flesh. Gentiles are either in Christ or in the flesh. That’s what matters to God, not their race.
• V9 makes it clear that the true Christian (Jew or Gentile) is NOT in the flesh, but is LIBERATED IN THE SPIRIT, because the HOLY SPIRIT dwells within them.
• 4x Paul says, “The spirit dwells in you.”
• Craig Keener, “The issue [HERE] is not that a person in the Spirit might sometimes succumb to fleshly temptation. Rather, the issue is that a person either has God’s Spirit in them, hence lives a life oriented toward God, or a person has nothing more than themselves to depend on, hence lives only according to the flesh.”
• I think God is warning deceived believers that if their life is characterized by a “mindset in the flesh”, they are not true Christians no matter what they think of themselves.
• The one thing we should never be deceived about is this -- are we a Christian or not?
A. H. Strong, “It is a remarkable fact that, while those who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit and who are actually overcoming their sins see more and more of the evil of their hearts and lives, those who are the slaves of sin see less and less of that evil, and often deny that they are sinners at all.”
**3. The Holy Spirit and the Pursuit of Holiness. (8:12-13)**
Romans 8:12 (NASB), “So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
As near as I can tell this is only the second command in Romans:
• DO NOT “live according to the flesh” v12
• DO “put to death the deeds (sinful) of the body” (body means flesh) v13
• HOW DO WE DO THIS? “by the Spirit”
• Holiness means we cooperate with the Holy Spirit (who indwells us), to lead us, to clean up lives (our house) and minds and words in order to do His will and live His life.
• The puritan John Owen wrote, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
• Only the Holy Spirit can kill sin.
• Sin is a bully. Sin is a temptress. You must continually run from it or stand up to it and always by the Spirit put the sword through sin.
• REMEMBER the REWARD: The pursuit of your holiness is really the pursuit of your happiness and life.
