Living Free - Erin Clifford-Riese
Romans 8 Summary:
The Status change:
1-4- The Spirit of life: has set you free—A new Freedom
5-8- The Spirit of life: gives you a mind of peace--- A New Mindset
9-13 – The Spirit of life: resurrects you from the old-do-it-yourself life.. A new indwelling Spirit and Obligation
The Benefits:
14-17- We are adopted as children of god
18-27- We are people of hope
28-30- God is working for our good all the time
31- 39- Nothing can separate us from the love of God
Romans 8:9-13
“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh
but are in the realm of the Spirit,
if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.
And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (NIV)
Romans 8:9-11
4 Conditional Sentences:
- 9a: If the Spirit of God lives in you, then you are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit.
- 9b: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
- 10: If Christ is in you, your body is dead (because of sin), your spirit is alive (because of righteousness).
- 11: If the Spirit (of the resurrected Jesus) is in you, that same Spirit will give life to your body
Romans 6:5--- “Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was."
“The great Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of some thing that was not known before. They happen when somebody takes radically some thing that was always there.” H. Richard Niebuhr
Deuteronomy 30:15
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.
John Stott “if temptation comes through us through what we see, handle or visit, then we must be ruthless and not looking, not touching, not going, and so in controlling the Very approaches of sin. Positively, we are to set our minds on the things the spirit desires, set our hearts on things above, and occupy our thoughts with what is noble, right, pure and lovely. In this way “mortification” (putting evil to death) and “aspiration” (hungering and thirsting for what is good) our counterparts.”
Romans 8: 12-13:
So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! (Message version)
“The Lives we actually have: 100 Blessings for imperfect days” by Bowler and Richie
For finding grace for others (and ourselves)
Blessed are we, the graced.
We who don’t deserve it.
Whose failures haunt us.
The things we said.
The things we left unsaid.
The decisions and addictions and broken relationships
that have ripple effects we feel still today.
Somehow, we are the recipients of this mysterious gift.
Grace doesn’t erase the pain or harm we’ve caused.
But Grace, still.
For us, the redeemable.
And if we are… That means they are too.
Yes – even them:
The rude neighbor.
The estranged father.
The unforgiving ex.
The boss who messed you over.
The doctor who made a mistake.
The selfish pastor.
The family member who did the unthinkable.
Despite what we all have done and left undone. We are graced.
Blessed are all of us who wrestle with unforgiveness and ungrace.
You who make amends.
You who reach for forgiveness.
You who say you’re sorry even when sorry will never be enough.
You who find the bridge to forgive the wrong done to you.
Even when you cannot forget. Or can’t go back.
Or they aren’t nearly sorry enough.
Blessed are we who live here. In this mystery, this scandal, of Grace.