The 4 Freedoms of Romans 8
4 Freedoms of Romans 8
Freedom From Judgement
Vv. 1-4
Paul makes three statements about the believer and the law in the first four verses:
The law cannot claim you (v. 2)
-You have been made free from the law of sin and death.
-You now have life in the spirit.
-“For the wages of sin is death, but the- GIFT -of God is eternal life through- CHRIST JESUS -.
-That law CANNOT CLAIM YOU
The law cannot condemn you (v. 3)
-Why? : because Christ already suffered on the cross that’s why.
-John 3:16
The law cannot control you (v. 4)
-We are righteous, not because of anything we have done, but through the power of the sacrifice of Jesus
-The law does not have the power to produce holiness; it can only reveal and condemn sin
Freedom From Defeat
Vv. 5-17
“You have not the Spirit” (vv. 5-8)
Paul is not contrasting two types of christians but the believer and unbeliever. There are 4 contrasts, one in each verse.
The Flesh (v. 5)
-The unsaved person does not have the spirit, which means they live in the flesh and for the flesh, or in other words they live for worldly, temporary things.
-The saved person lives for the eternal treasures of this world, like a relationship with Christ.
Death and Life (v. 6)
-The unsaved person is alive physically, but dead spiritually
-The saved person has the eternal spiritual life given to them by Christ
Relationship with God (v. 6-7)
-The unbeliever has war with God
-The believer had peace with God
Aspirations (v. 8)
-The unbeliever wishes to please themselves
-The believer wishes to please God
“You have the Spirit” (vv. 9-11)
-All believers have the spirit as a guide to stay on the narrow path that God has called us to walk in following Christ.
-If we lose sight of the spirit, we stray off the path
“The Spirit Has You!” (vv. 12-17)
-For the spirit to have us is to give us his abundant glory and life
-Warren Wiersbe says he is the Spirit of Life, which means that he can empower us to obey Christ and be more like him, but he is also the Spirit of Death, which means he can put to death our desires of the flesh.
Freedom From Discouragement ---- No Frustration (Vv. 18-30)
Paul discusses the three ‘groans’
The Groan of Creation (vv. 18-22)
-When God finished his creation, it was good creation as discussed in Genesis 1:31, but today it is a groaning creation
-It groans because it longs to revert back to the state before the fall when there was no suffering, sin, or death
-Note the words Paul used to describe the groaning of creation: suffering in v. 18, vanity in v. 20, bondage and decay in v.21, and pain in v. 22
The Groan of Believers (vv. 25-30)
-We groan (or should groan) because we have experienced the goodness of Christ’s gift and the Holy Spirit and others have not
The Groan of the Holy Spirit (vv. 25-30)
-The Holy Spirit groans because of when believers stumble and when unbelievers reject Christ’s gift
Freedom From Fear ---- No Separation (Vv. 31-39)
Paul presents 5 arguments to prove there can be no separation between God and the believer
God is for us (v. 31)
-The father is for us (v.32)
-The son is for us (v.34)
-The spirit is for us (v. 26)
-Conclusion: If God can be for us, then who can be against us?
Christ died for us (v. 32)
-This one is extremely self-explanatory (John 3:16)
God has justified us (v. 33)
-This means that he would declare us righteous in Christ.
-This should bring us peace.
Christ intercedes for us (v.34)
-God is constantly giving us grace and redemption and forgiveness every time we stray off the path of our walk with him
-He is our advocate in heaven who can forgive our sins and restore fellowship with God.
-Intercession means that Jesus Christ represents us before the throne of God and we do not have to represent ourselves, because if we did, we would not be worthy.
Christ loves us (vv. 35-39)