Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 135
TRANSCRIPT
The Bible is a story of a Father who lost His children and the extravagant lengths He went in order to get them back. Last week we looked at the incredible truths found in Romans 7, that we died to our old husband The Law so that we could be married to our new husband, Jesus. I am compelled to continue into Romans 8. In this week’s podcast we are going to look at Romans 8 and one of the most amazing concepts found in the bible.
I’m Lee Whitman from Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. I thought last week I was only going to talk about Romans 7. But after reading on into Romans 8 I could not stop because there is so much found in Romans 8 that will help us live the Christian life. In Romans 6 Paul lays out a very clear description of what happens when we accept Christ as our savior. I encourage you to take time to re-read Romans 6. Paul describes how we were joined to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Then in Romans 7 he gives us another picture of our union with Christ, that we used to be married to the law which came from the old covenant. Since we have died (Romans 6) we are no longer bound to the law, and we are free to give ourselves as if married to Jesus Christ. Paul also told us about the power of sin that uses our flesh in order to cause us to do things we really don’t want to do.
Now in Romans 8 Paul tells us how we are to live in this world, free from the power of sin and free from the law. Our freedom comes by walking in the Spirit of life. Today’s verse is Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” The law, the list of rules and regulations mandated by religion, were given to try and make man holy. The law told you what you needed to do and not to do in order to be in right standing with God. Before Jesus died on the cross the law was the only way for people to have a relationship with God. But as we saw in last week’s podcast, the law stirred up the power of sin causing people to actually sin more, not less.
Was the law a bad thing? No. Paul says the law was given to show us what sin was. In fact, Paul says that the law revealed that there is a power in us called sin. Sin is an unholy force or power that is in me but is not me. We inherit this power of sin from our ancestors. In RTF we call this inheritance The Sins of the Fathers and Resulting Curses. It is those generational curses that come down through your bloodline that cause you to sin in the same manner as your ancestors. It is the thing called sin Paul is describing in Romans 7. This sin is not the real us, because in Romans 6 he clearly details how we have died and the real us is now united with Christ who has no sin. Paul says a couple of times, for example Romans 7:20 “If I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” That is exactly what these generational curses do. They are in us pushing us toward sinful behavior, but they are not the new creation of us. I believe most of us can identify with what Paul is saying here. Have you ever found yourself being pushed toward a sin over and over again, something you don’t want to do, but this thing called sin pushes you until you give in and act in a sinful way? Paul also says that the law inflames this sin that is in us. In other words, the harder we try to live according to an external set of rules or standards to try and make this power of sin submit, it actually inflames the sin and makes it harder to control. In RTF we have found that the only way to stop these generational curses is by applying the blood of Jesus to this inherited sin, these generational curses, so that its power is removed and they no longer operate in our lives.
All of that is in way of review from our look at Romans 7. Now moving on to Romans 8 because in this chapter there are several incredible truths that all of us need to experience. The first truth is found in the very first verse. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” How much condemnation is there for those who are in Christ? NONE! Zero. Zilch. Ninguno. So, any time you are feeling condemned, you can know without a doubt that it is not coming from God. In fact, that is how the law operates through the power of sin. It causes you to sin and then it condemns you for the sin you just committed. Pay attention to what I am going to say next: Condemnation only works if you let it work. If you sense that you are being condemned for something you either did or didn’t do, you can stand firm in the authority you have as a child of God and say no to that condemnation. As a brand-new creation in Christ the condemnation is trying to convince you of a lie. When you don’t accept that lie, it cannot continue to harass you. There is no condemnation for you because you are in Christ.
Another very powerful truth is found in Romans 8:11. It says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” This is amazing. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. The same Holy Spirit. Not a cheaper smaller version. The very same Holy Spirit dwells in you. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will give power to you as well. Paul says in Romans 8:5 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” It takes this power that dwells in us in order for us to live as Children of God. We live in a world that has been saturated with the philosophies and ideas of the kingdom of darkness. Cindi and I went to see the movie Sound of Freedom about a US government agent who rescues children from sex trafficking. As they normally do, the first 20 minutes of sitting in the theatre were filled with previews of coming movies. There were 10 or so previews played and every single one of the movies was saturated with the occult and evil. This philosophy is being pushed from many directions. Have you ever watched a politician give a speech on TV, hear exactly what he or she said with your own ears, and then the news media as they make up lies about what was said. Not to mention the evil and untrue dogma that is being taught to our children every day in our schools and universities. We flat out live in evil times. Not to despair! We have the very same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead living in us. We can use that incredible power to set our minds on things of the Spirit as it said in these verses and the Spirit will give life to us in order to rise above the evil around us.
Another very powerful truth and in my opinion one of the coolest parts of Romans 8 is found in verse 15, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out “Abba Father.” The people that Paul was writing to could only know God through religion. He was a God they knew about, but not a God they could know intimately. So, for Paul to tell them that they now have the privilege of calling God not only Father, but Abba Father. Abba as you have heard many times would best be translated as Daddy in our American English. It is more intimate than just the term Father. What Paul just told them must have blown their minds. They went from relating to a God they could not personally know to now having an Abba Father relationship with God. This truth is maybe the most significant truth for us as well. In most of our churches we put the emphasis on Jesus being our savior, and that is wonderful, but Jesus came to restore our relationship with our Father God. As it says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What Jesus did on the cross made it possible for us to have an Abba relationship with God. 1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and in fact we are.” When we become children of God our greatest need is fulfilled and that is to have a relationship with our Father. Kids need their dads. As an aside, the fact that God created children to need a Daddy is why the enemy has made an all-out war on fathers. He knows that if he can destroy the bond between a child and their Daddy, he can more easily destroy the future bond between children of God and their Abba Father. God gives us the privilege of calling Him Daddy. That is incredible. I grew up with a father that was always there. He was Mr. Steady. When he came home from work, I could not tell if he had a great day, or if he had a terrible day. He was also very reserved emotionally. I never heard him say I love you until he had a serious heart attack when I was 30 years old. Consequently, I didn’t know how to have a Daddy. I could relate to my father as Dad, but not as Daddy. So, it has been a learning process for me to come to know Abba Father as Daddy. And I am not sure that even now I totally understand what having a Daddy really means. I guess I need another RTF ministry!
The last incredible truth found in Romans 8 comes from verses 38-39. It says “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In other words, there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:11. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Christ Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”
Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out “Abba Father.”
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
PRAYER
Abba Father, thank you, that you have adopted us into your family and you tell us that we can call you Daddy. I thank you for the truth found in these four verses we talked about today, that there is no condemnation from you, that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, that we get the privilege of calling you Daddy, and that nothing will ever be able to separate us from Your Love. Daddy God at times we read these truths, and they are simply good words or good theology to us. Would You by Your Spirit make them real to us. Would you help us by that powerful Spirit that lives within us allow us to experience these truths.
Thank you for joining us on this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. We look forward to being with you again next week.
