Romans 8 - God Always Keeps ALL of His Promises in Christ!

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Life Through the Spirit

Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in all of the bible. It has many verses you will have heard quoted many times. I use some part of this chapter at almost every funerals I have done. Romans 8 is chock full of hope and promises God has given us as we live out our faith here on earth. 

After talking about his own battle with sin in chapter 7 Paul concluded, "Why do I do what I don't want to do. I do the very thing I hate. What wretched man I am!" Fortunately he starts out Roman 8 with the promise, 

"Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!" Romans 8:1

Though we will struggle with our sinful nature our whole lives, this promise reminds us that our sin can never reverse what Jesus has done on the cross for us. Though we may fail God in our flesh, Jesus will never leave or forsake us. 

Then, Paul talks about our new life in the Spirit. Through Jesus' work on the cross, our sins have been forgiven, and we have been given a righteousness that is not our own. Now Paul is going to talk about how we respond to God's grace in Christ and live out our new calling. God the Father created us, God the Son saved us, and the God the Holy Spirit fills us and empowers us for a new life. 

Paul talks about important our mind is in the process of sanctification when he says, 

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God."

Notice how many times he uses the word "mind". You might also call this "attitude". The bottom line is that the mind focused on the flesh will never bring the kind of life Jesus has promised to us. In addition, if we are living according to the flesh, we can never please God. On the contrary, if we live according to the Spirit, our life is pleasing to God. 

In Galatians 5:22 Paul gives us an idea of what it looks like to be living in the Spirit when he says the fruit of the Spirit is, "Love joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control." If you have no love in your life, you are not living according to the Spirit. If you are joyless or always stressed, anxious, and impatient, you are not loving according to the Spirit. You can see why he says the mind controlled by the flesh is death. A Christian who shows no evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in their lives is a "dead Christian". 

If someone is not exhibiting any fruit of the Spirit, one has to wonder if they are really a Christian. We can never know but Paul says this, 

"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."

Notice it is the Spirit of Christ. Jesus sent His Spirit to his disciples on Pentecost before He ascended back to be with the Father. And He promised the Spirit to all those who would believe in His name. Everyone who believes in Jesus has been given the Holy Spirit. Some people distinguish between those who have the Spirit and those who are "filled with the Spirit". Paul does not seem to make this distinction here. Paul says in Ephesians, "Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit." 

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is like our relationship with Jesus. It is something we need to seek and maintain. Jesus says in the gospel of John, "If you abide in me you will bear much fruit." John 15:5  In Galatians Paul says, "If you walk in the Spirit you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16 Again you see how important it is to "walk in the Spirit". It is a conscious effort. It is a choice we make every day. 

He also says, 

"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."

When you are living according to the Spirit, you are living the life you've always wanted. Paul says the Spirit even gives life to our "bodies". Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies can even be used to give glorify to God. 

The Holy Spirit helps us to pray and maintain intimacy with God the Father. We move from being afraid of God, to seeing Him as our heavenly Father, who loves us. When we were living in the flesh, we feared God because of the conscience he gave us. Many suffer from a guilty conscience and fear God. But through the Holy Spirit we are no longer slaves to fear. 1 John 5:3 says, 

"Perfect love casts out all fear!" 1 John 4:18

Do you fear God? Why? God loves you unconditionally and He wants to be in a close and personal relationship with Him. 

Paul says that the Holy Spirit calls us to pray, "Abba Father", which is a term of intimacy between a child and their father. We go from fear of God to loving and trusting in God. By calling on God as our "abba Father", we show that we are sons and daughters of God. Our identity is now as a "child of God". This doesn't negate our earthly families. God calls us to honor, obey, and respect our parents because after all they brought us into this word. And God's preference is if mom and dad believers they raise their children to know and love and follow God through Christ.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

Paul makes two incredible promises in these next 10 verses, The first one is, 

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

This is a massive promise, especially to those who have suffered in this life. Though we cannot truly empathize with those who have gone through the deep depths of suffering, we can share this promise with them. The promise is that no matter how much we suffer on this earth, this suffering cannot even come close to be comparted to the glory God will be revealed in us.

This gives us a glimpse of how wonderful heaven will be. Though we cannot use this verse glibly with those who are suffering, it gives them hope and a way to endure their suffering. For instance, if someone lost a child, they can have hope that their child is experiencing God's presence and love in heaven, which they will experience when God takes them home. It saddens me that many who go through this kind of suffering don't have any promises like this to rely on!

Next he says in Romans 8:28 one of the most oft quoted verse in Scripture, 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This verse can virtually used for any situation where we struggle to see why something is happening to us, or others around us. Notice the comprehensive nature of this promise, as Paul says, "All things work together for good." There are no wasted experiences for a Christian. God can use them all for good, even the bad things we do or happen to us. 

Paul adds for those who love him. Loving God is one of the keys to seeing him work all things together for good. When you love God and know He loves you, you realize that a loving Father never does anything intentionally to hurt you. While he allows things to happen to us due to the free will of others, there is nothing that happens God can't redeem for his purposes. 

The greatest example of this is Jesus' death for us. For a few hours the whole earth was darkened and all those who loved Jesus were in deep morning. But three days later God used Jesus' death for the salvation of all people securing for them their eternal salvation. 

Finally, we have a verse I almost always use at funerals. 

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul is convinced because he has seen how God has worked in his life. Despite his terrible past, God is using Paul's life for great good leading many people to Christ. Paul is convinced because he has seen God come through time and time again. 

Then, Paul says even death cannot separate the love of God in Christ Jesus. The wages of sin is death. We all die, but through Christ death is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a whole new one. Notice this also shows the victory we have over spiritual forces we cannot even see. There are demons who seek to kill and destroy us, but through Jesus we have victory over all of them. They cannot harm the children of God who are in Christ! 

Whatever you have done in your life NOTHING cannot separate you from God's love in Christ. I have two children who I love more than anything on this earth. There is nothing they could do to make me love them less. This is how a parent gets a taste of the love God has for us his children!

Which is these promises do you need to claim today? They cover every possible circumstance that can befall a believer in Christ in this life. God's promises are rock solid, and they have all come true through Jesus Christ, our Lord!  Thanks be to God!

Thank God today for always keeping his promises to you. When we get to heaven I think one of the first things we will do is to bow down and give thanks to God for keeping all of His promises.