{"id":1960,"date":"2016-08-09T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.danielgoepfrich.com\/?p=1960"},"modified":"2022-08-29T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T22:41:09","slug":"romans-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theologyisforeveryone.com\/romans-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Romans 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter eight<\/strong> provides the answer to Paul\u2019s internal struggle from chapter seven, the same struggle many believers consistently fight today. Paul learned that the mindset shift required in chapter six is not something he could force himself to do; rather, he needed to submit completely to the Holy Spirit, \u201cthe life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus\u201d<\/em> (Romans 8:1-11). Rather than insisting that he fulfill the Law, Paul realized that Jesus\u2019 death made it \u201cso that the righteous fulfillment of the law may be fulfilled in us.\u201d<\/em> In<\/span> us, not by<\/span> us. Submission to sin and the Spirit are mutually exclusive (Galatians 5:17), because sin and the law bring death, but the Spirit brings life.<\/p>

Because of this truth our obligation is to live as truly free from sin and alive to the Spirit who is making us alive (Romans 8:12-13). This is a significant change from the early parts of Romans. In the first seven chapters, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only once (Romans 5:5); in comparison, chapter eight refers to the Spirit nearly twenty times in a dozen verses. Not only does he give us life, he assures us that we are God\u2019s children (Romans 8:14-17). He empowers us to understand and endure our present sufferings and anticipate our future redemption (Romans 8:18-25). He helps us pray in our weakness and struggles and realize that sufferings are necessary to fulfill God\u2019s will for us \u2013 becoming like Jesus himself (Romans 8:26-30).<\/p>

This section closes with a great series of rhetorical questions in which Paul celebrates the dramatic difference between our state in chapter one compared to what God\u2019s immense grace and righteousness accomplishes by chapter eight. Consider the effects on believers:<\/p>