Notes on Romans 8 - Part 1

Romans 8:1 is one of the most profound verses in scripture, and one that few Christians really seem to appreciate and understand. That assertion, really an implied promise, means that when we mess up, as we inevitably do, there is no need for us to feel guilty, or doubt our salvation, or think we're going to lose our salvation. If we're free from the law of sin and death, as the passage states, that means we no longer face the prospect of eternal punishment when we sin. That doesn't give us license to do what we want, but if we're truly saved what we want should line up more with God's will anyway. We no longer have to live in the vicious cycle of trying by our own efforts not to do wrong; committing sinful acts anyway; experiencing remorse; then determining anew to do better. To the extent that we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, we will progress each day more toward the impossible standard of righteousness God demands. When we fail to reach the goal, God's grace is always sufficient to cleanse and restore us as we confess our sins. If we persist in going down a wrong path, he will chastise us, but no where does scripture say he will condemn us for our disobedience. There is no qualification in the words "no condemnation."

In Corinthians, particularly, Paul writes about carnal Christians. That seems to be a contradiction of terms, since this passage clearly states that to be carnally minded is death, and enmity against God. The distinction here, though, is between those who are still under the bondage of sin and death, and those who have been set free in Jesus Christ. Everyone of us, no matter how mature we are in Christ, retain a measure of carnality, because we still treat our flesh, our fallen nature, as if it is still alive and well. In God's sight, the old man is already dead, just as Adam was already dead after he ate the forbidden fruit. In our perception of things, though, based on what we see and think and feel, the flesh will be alive until the body that nurtures it dies, just as Adam continued to live physically for many years after he was cast our of paradise. Being a "carnal" Christian, then, is a matter of degree, and definition; we see some professing believers that we would clearly categorize as carnal, because they act so much like the unbelievers around them. Just where to draw the line, though, is something that, perhaps, only God can do, just as only he can really say that those who behave in such carnal ways are really saved at all.

Just as Jesus knows his own, and we know his voice as his sheep, I think we can also sense, or discern, the working of the Spirit in other Christians. That may seem to contradict what I just said, but for the most part we know our brethren when we meet them and fellowship with them. If we can't tell that the Spirit is at work in their lives, then He probably isn't. It's just that we can't pass judgment on those who claims to be Christians and to all appearances are not. We can certainly judge their behavior, though, and respond accordingly, up to and including removing them from the fellowship of the church. To condemn them, though, is something we can't do; that's reserved for God.

This is another key passage. The reason we have our standing with God, of not being condemned for our sins, is that we are his adopted children. I can't quite wrap my mind around the idea that the God who made the entire universe would want me as his child, but that's the promise. If we're children, then we're not like employees; we can't be fired for not meeting our performance standards. Certainly we can make our Father unhappy, and he will punish us as the need arises, but he's not going to disown us or disinherit us as some earthly fathers do because we behave badly. We might not be rewarded as some children will be, based on what they do, but we will never cease to be his children. An unprofitable servant, or an unjust steward, can be discharged, but a child remains a child through good behavior and bad. Though some may lose the inheritance of eternal life because they reject it after having full knowledge of what it means, they never really become children to begin with. It's analogous to someone going through the procedures of adoption, then refusing to accept their new parents.

The word "Abba" means "Daddy", in its closest English translation. It implies a tender, intimate relationship of the kind a small child has, or should have, with his or her earthly father. I never experienced that with my own daddy, but I came to appreciate what it meant after I had my own child. The image is often given of a child's climbing up into Daddy's lap, and cuddling. That is the kind of closeness and tenderness that God wants with us. He's not just someone off in the Great Somewhere, ready to zap us at the first hint of wrongdoing; he's a person, and the love of parents for their children is but a pale shadow of the love God has for his children. The relationship comes first; everything else -- faith, works, righteousness, holiness, joy, peace -- comes out of it. It is, in fact, impossible to live the Christian life without God's love, because we are only his if we have the spirit of Christ, and God is love (1 John 4:8). How can we know for sure we are going to Heaven? Because we experience God's love in our lives, by the witness of the Holy Spirit. No scientist or philosopher can disprove it or explain it away, because without Christ in their own lives they will never have any concept of what the love of God means.

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