In Fall 2021, we walked through Romans 8, one of the most cherished chapters in the Bible. And it’s no wonder. Paul moves from “no condemnation” in Verse 1 to “no separation” in Verse 39, and assures the Christian of their secure relationship with God. Nothing in the past and nothing in the future can ever change the Christian’s status as a Spirit-filled, eternally-adopted child of God.
Sometimes we don't pray because we don't know what to pray for. The world's brokenness is not a clean break, and the path to restoration is rarely clear. In Romans 8, Paul challenges us to keeping praying. God doesn't expect us to know what to pray for. In fact, it's at the precise points of our ignorance that the Spirit intercedes for us. Listen as Dave encourages us to receive God’s mercy in our ignorance.
What does it mean that all creation "groans" for our redemption? By likening our present suffering with the sufferings of a woman in labor, Paul again emphasizes that we suffering with hope. Our labor is not in vain. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, the world is pregnant with hope. Listen as C.J. encourages us to labor alongside creation, looking forward to the future restoration of the whole world.
Biblical hope is a confident expectation based upon a sure foundation for which we wait with full and complete confidence. Our sure foundation in Romans 8 is the faithful ministry of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. Listen as Rob McIlvoy explains to us the dynamics of hope--what it means for our present and our future.
Paul claims that our present suffering isn't worth comparing to our future glory in Christ. He supports this bold claim by looking to the created world. Beneath the frustration and vandalism of sin, we can see creation still straining toward its purpose. What would the world look like if creation no longer strained? If our bodies were perfected? Listen as Dave asks us to imagine a renewed world.
Romans 8 teaches that God created you in His image and longs to be your Father. He wants to take every broken part of your story, every painful event in your life and redeem it. He wants to adopt you into His family, name you as His beloved Son, His beloved Daughter, and slowly, methodically give you the life you always longed for.
Romans 8 is all about life in the Spirit and resurrection. But resurrection is not just something to enjoy after death! Because the Spirit dwells in us, the future is breaking into the present. Listen as Adam encourages us from Romans 8, challenging us to remember how the Spirit's indwelling presence makes us temples now, guarantees our future, and changes us today.
Death hangs over humanity in the Book of Romans and Paul is convinced that the gospel is the only way out from under it. The law can't save us. Ignorance can't save us. Our only hope is the gospel--specifically, the gospel of the resurrection. Listen as Dave unpacks the contrast between death and resurrection, flesh and Spirit, gospel and law.
Romans 8 is one of the high-points of the New Testament. Beginning with "no condemnation" and finishing with "no separation," Paul unpacks the tremendous security we have in the gospel of the Spirit of life. C.J. introduces our series by emphasizing the great contrast between the law of the flesh and the law of the Spirit.
