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TUESDAY NIGHT CHURCH@STUDY-SUMMER SESSION
MEETING THE SPIRIT – July 27, 2010
THE SPIRIT LIBERATES – CHAPTER 7
Romans 8:1-27
No Condemnation
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4 (NLT)
What are some of the differences between physical slavery and spiritual slavery?
What is the source of real liberation for the believer? (p. 33)
The Spirit liberates the ________________ __________________ from bondage to the old ________________________ of _____________ and death. (p. 33)
What does Paul mean when he states that there is “no condemnation”? Don’t we receive punishment or suffer consequences for our sins?
Why is our sinful nature so weak? (v. 3)
What had to happen for us to obtain our ability to have power over sin? Why?
Controlling Your Mind
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. 9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) Romans 5-9 (NLT)
True or False: When a believer is controlled by the Holy Spirit, they don’t ever think about or do sinful things.
How do you learn to allow the Spirit control your mind when you are constantly bombarded by evil words and evil actions all around you? Remember some evil suggestions are very subtle. (Read Philippians 2:1-5, 4:8)
Satan is lurking around, tempting us to do evil in a variety of ways, and we don’t always do the right thing or make the right choices. Sometimes I wonder why God did not create us like robots. We would just obey Him, because we are programmed to obey Him. Evil would not be programmed into our physical, mental, emotional, or neurological systems. Our sensors would not allow us to do anything else but obey. Anytime an evil thought or suggestion presented itself, an internal he popular TV show “Lost in Space”, loudly proclaiming, “Danger! Danger! Danger!” If we headed toward the evil, it would get louder and louder, until we had no choice but to go the other way or perish. Apparently, God did not want to approach the issue of sin in that manner. He was merciful toward us in granting us freedom to choose.
God wants us to obey Him, because we have reached the conclusion that the life He wants us to live is more fulfilling than a life of sin. He wants us to obey Him, because we love Him, and our love for Him leads us to obedience. God wants us to obey Him, because we appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made in dying for our sins, so we will acknowledge and honor the selflessness of Jesus by being obedient. Jesus voluntarily chose to die for us, and we have to choose to die to ourselves and choose to live for Jesus, in line with the example He gave us for righteous living on a constant and consistent basis. (Excerpt from Beginning the Journey, Sharon F, Young, p. 69)
Union with the Spirit of Christ
10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans8:10-17 (NLT).
Why does Paul say that we have no “obligation” to do what our sinful natures urge us to do? (v. 12)
As you have grown spiritually, what are some of the thoughts that you have that keep you from committing sin? Is it only the fear of punishment?
How are the deeds of our sinful nature eradicated ab initio?
If we are God’s children and joint heirs with Christ, where should there be any suffering? (Look at Ephesians 6:10-12).
Christians often dwell on our own sufferings, while they overlook the sufferings of Christ. Jesus’ life was full of dissension, confrontations, unbelief, ridicule and pain. Yes, he performed miracles, taught the Word with power and conviction and showed love and compassion to all around Him. Crowds followed Him in awe and adoration and anticipation. On the other hand, He certainly endured a great deal of rejection, isolation and physical torment during his earthly ministry. He was constantly battling the spiritual leaders with their hardened hearts and their repressive interpretations of God’s law. Why do we feel that we get a free pass just because Jesus died for our sins and the Holy Spirit has arrived with great power? Do you think that the Enemy has just “left the building” because the Holy Spirit arrived? Oh no. The fight is ongoing, vicious, deceptive and treacherous. This is why Paul admonishes us to embrace the union of our spirit with the spirit of Jesus that is represented through the Holy Spirit. We have to fight to do what is right!!! We have to suffer sometimes when we make “right” choices.
The Future Glory
22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:22-27, 28 (NLT)
Why is the creation groaning?
Why are we groaning?
Question 8 – page 35 (promises)
Question 9 – page 35 (weaknesses)
While the sufferings of believers here are only temporary, the glory which is to be revealed is eternal. The glory here spoken of is that to which the Apostle John refers, when he says that we shall see the Lord as He is, and that we shall be made like Him.
Christians, who have received the foretastes of everlasting felicity, sympathize with the groans of nature. They enjoy, indeed, even at present, a blessed freedom. They are delivered from the guilt and dominion of sin, the curse of the law, and a servile spirit in their obedience to God. Still, however, they have much to suffer while in the world; but they wait for the redemption of their bodies and the full manifestation of their character as the children of God. Their bodies, as well as their spirits, have been given to Christ. They are equally the fruit of His purchase, and are become His members. But it is not till His people shall have arisen from the grave that they will enjoy all the privileges consequent on His redemption.
Hope produces patience with respect to all the, trials, and labors, and difficulties that must be encountered before we obtain its object. Since we hope for what we see not, — that is, for what we possess not, — there must consequently be a virtue by which, being held firm, we wait for it, and that is patience. For between hope and enjoyment of the thing hoped for a delay intervenes, and there are many temptations within, and afflictions from without, by which hope would be turned into despair, if it were not supported by patience. As long as hope prevails, the combat will not be given up. In the 23rd verse, believers are said to be waiting for the adoption; here the inducement to their waiting, and patiently waiting, is stated, — it is their hope supported by patience.
Patiently bearing their present burden, and waiting for heaven, implies their expectation that it is reserved for them. They have been begotten again to a lively hope of possessing it by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is a sure pledge of the redemption of their bodies from the grave. This verse and the preceding teach the importance of hope to believers, and of their obeying the exhortation to give all diligence to the full assurance of hope. The hope of beholding Jesus as he is, and of obtaining 'a better resurrection,' is calculated to enable them patiently to sustain the sufferings of the present time. This hope is represented as encouraging the Lord Himself, 'who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,' Hebrews 12:2. Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans.
Liberation and Choices
Earlier tonight, we explored the idea of why God did not make us robots that were always obedient to Him. He gave us choices. He wants us to choose Him. But there is something else that is significant about our “choice” relationship with God. Have you ever meditated on how loving and kind our God is in His responses to His disobedient children? Suppose we served a God that ALWAYS inflicted severe and visible evidence of our sins for every occurrence? Can you imagine a scenario where you received a black mark on your face every time you told a lie? What about losing a finger whenever you stole something? You lose all of your hair when you have sex with someone you are not married to. Your skin developed an incurable rash because you refuse to tithe, attend Bible study or to help someone. We could go on and on and God’s imagination is far greater than mine or yours. Just think about some of the things that you do now to children or even adults to “punish” them?
Of course there are consequences for sin but most of the time they are so personal to us, no one knows what is going on but you and God. Sometimes we can’t even relate our sins to the punishment or consequences. Nonetheless, God has given us His Spirit to empower us to have a mind that is not controlled by the sinful nature. When we commit a sin, we are sorry, not because God is going to something awful to us and everyone will see it.
We seek forgiveness and repent because of our love for God fueled by His love for us. He is our Father and we want to please Him in every way. We are not sorry for our sins and transgressions because we are afraid of what will happen to us. We are sorry because God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son so that we would have freedom from the penalty of sin, power over sin, an abundant life, a spiritual adoption and inheritance and the guidance of the Holy Spirit all connected with the assurance of eternal life. What did Moses say about choices?
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)
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