Because of the sublime message in this 8th chapter of Romans, I am going to depart from my usual essay style, and do a kind of commentary, using various verses in the chapter as we come to them. (I recommend that you open your Bibles to Romans 8 and read the verses as you read this paper.)
Verses 1-4: The law condemned the sinner and had no provision for escape or forgiveness. So it was the law of "sin equals death". It was powerless to save us, for we are all sinners, and the law condemned all sinners. Rather than nullifying the righteous commandments of the law, God attested to the evil of sin in the magnitude of the sacrifice, His Son, and instead of ignoring sin, He made a way to forgive those who sinned, by offering them the life of the Spirit, if they chose to accept it. Therefore, there is no condemnation to men who walk by faith, in the Spirit.
Verses 5-8: Here Paul talks of "those who live according to their sinful nature". He is not talking about those who sin, for we all do, but rather those who choose to ignore God's way, and are motivated only by their animal nature. It is not a matter of what you do, but rather what your attitude is toward God, or where your heart is. The last verse in this section says, "Those controlled by their sinful nature cannot please God". We might add, "Even if they perform the right religious acts". Too many people substitute church affiliation, and obedience to a set of specific commands, for living a righteous life of sacrifice and goodness.
Verses 9-17: Here Paul begins to discuss the indwelling Spirit. Note that he is not talking about some mysterious third person, for he calls it "the Spirit of God", and "the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead". Having been freed from
sin by the shed blood of Jesus (see I John 1:7) God can now dwell in us, and Paul says, "Those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God". Just as the blood of our earthly father coursing through our veins makes us his child, so the Spirit
of our Heavenly Father dwelling in us makes us His child.
Verses 18-25: Here Paul talks of the problem of living in a world made miserable by sin. We may be forgiven, but we still have to wrestle with our human nature, and we have to suffer the consequences of a world full of evil things, pain and suffering. "Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the one who subjected it...". When Adam chose to step out of the perfect world of God, and create his own world, the result was misery and death. Not because Adam chose it, but because anything that runs contrary to God's will is automatically a place of misery. God's desire is that man, suffering in this world of sin and misery, will long for freedom, and will turn in faith to Him. Those who preach riches and success in this life miss the whole point. Paul said, "Our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory which awaits". That is not a promise of riches and ease in this life.
Verses 26-27: Paul says, "The Spirit helps us in our weakness...intercedes for us...in accordance with God's will". Where do we need help? In our struggle between our earth man and the spiritual man. The intercession of the Spirit is not between
us and God, Jesus is our intercessor there. It is between our dual natures. The Spirit helps the spiritual man to overcome the earth man, and enables us to walk according to the will of God.
Verses 28-30: "All things work together for good, to those who are called according to His purposes". He has only promised to bless us as we work to do and be what He wants. This is not a promise to give us a rose garden if we will be good. It is a promise to help us overcome, if we strive to do His will. And who is this promise made to? The predestined ones. And who are they? Men of faith. He predestined all who would place their faith in Him that they would be made in the image of His Son, and be justified and saved.
Finally: The resounding victory is proclaimed in the last few verses of this great chapter. The sum of the message is this: "What can separate people of faith from the love of Christ"? And the answer: "Absolutely nothing"!
