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ROMANS 8 ADOPTED AS CHILDREN OF GOD

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May 17

ROMANS 8

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised 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 dwells in you.12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. – Romans 8:9-17

ROMANS 8 ADOPTED AS CHILDREN OF GOD

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you are adopted by God himself

You are dead to your flesh and is led by the Spirit in righteousness

You are no longer slaves to sin but alive in Christ Jesus

God claimed you as his child and sin no longer controls you.

Do you know of someone who has been adopted? They are brought into the family of those who took them in. They become like their own. The adopted parents give their name to them. They get all the same benefits as the biological children get. This is how God adopted all those who believe in Jesus Christ into his kingdom. They become heirs to his kingdom. If God is a King, then all believers are princes and princesses. Like Jesus, they also have a place in his kingdom. So, all believers ought to act like they are God’s actual children. Paul explains here the spirit of adoption which is given to all those who believe in Christ. Even though Christians still live in a sinful body, they are given God’s Spirit so they can have the ability to do what is right and pleasing to God. There is no reason anymore to be slaves to sin since righteousness dwells in us through the Spirit of the Lord.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think some Christians behave like they weren’t adopted by God?

ROMANS 7 INNER CONFLICT

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May 15

ROMANS 7

19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. – Romans 7:19-25

ROMANS 7 INNER CONFLICT

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Before I knew the Lord Jesus Christ

I was a slave to my own desires

I only did what gives me pleasure

I chased wealth, achievements and treasures

When I learned about the laws of the Lord

I can no longer continue to follow the world

I now want to please God rather than myself

But my body still desires to give in to the “self.”

The worst kind of conflict is the one that is inside of us. Paul talks about this inner conflict in this letter to the Romans. He was referring to that battle between the flesh and the spirit. We didn’t used to be bothered by sins until we heard the gospel and received it. When one pledged allegiance and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ, the old selfish ways are now a threat to the Spirit’s transforming work. Before we heard the gospel and received it, we were unaware of the sins that we automatically do, but when the laws of God were presented to us, a consciousness is stirred in us and we begin to be convicted of sins. Our conscience kicks in because we now belong to the Lord.

There is no struggle to all those who continue to live in the standards and systems of the world, but for those who believe in Christ, they can no longer continue to do the wicked and evil ways they used to do. Now, the inner conflict is a challenge to believers.

REFLECTION

  • How can we win the battle that wages inside us regularly?

ROMANS 7 THE PARADOX IN A BELIEVER’S LIFE

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May 14

ROMANS 7

13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. – Romans 7:13-18

ROMANS 7 THE PARADOX IN A BELIEVER’S LIFE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

“Following my own desires” was what I used to live for

But when I believed in Christ, it is now difficult to do so

For God’s law showed me the sinful nature that lives in me

Because of the law, paradoxes fill my mind and heart

For it is a struggle to follow the good that is required of me

I do not follow the law even though I desire it because of sin.

Paul continues to explain the changes that happen to a believer when they transition to their old life to the new one given to them in Christ. Before they believed in Christ, they didn’t have many conflicts of interests.  Now that they heard the truth, they can no longer follow their carnal desires because their flesh was totally opposed to what God requires in his law.  The more they heard the law, the harder it was to lean on their own understanding and cravings. This is the paradox that believers are constantly battling on a regular basis. Verses 15 and 16 expose this inner contradiction in a believer’s heart and mind. Now that their lives are no longer about “serving the self” and is now “serving the Lord,” it may be a struggle to follow the law because they still live in their sinful bodies.

Even though the believer wants to do what is good, sometimes they end up doing what is evil or sinful. Those who are unbelievers do not struggle with this paradox since they only do their hedonistic desires and do not have to please the Lord. There is no inner conflict in their minds and hearts unlike the believer.

REFLECTION

  • What do we need to do as Christians each time this paradox presents itself?

ROMANS 7 THE LAW EXPOSES SIN

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May 13

ROMANS 7

7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. – Romans 7:7-12

ROMANS 7 THE LAW EXPOSES SIN

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When you didn’t know the law, you kept on sinning

But Jesus died for you to keep you from wrongdoing

When the law was presented to God’s people

The automated sinful nature of humans was exposed

Therefore, the law is good because it shows sinfulness

Before the law came about, people lived in covetousness.

In this letter, Paul explains to the church in Rome that the purpose of the law is to expose man’s sinful nature. Before they were aware of the law, they didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong. In verse 7, he expounds that until the law says for them not to be greedy, they thought that they were just doing what is right for them. But, once the law was laid down, they are now aware that it is wicked and it is evil to continue doing it. Paul emphasizes that the law is good and holy because it makes us see when we are sinning and when we are going against God.

Isn’t this also true in criminal laws in our country? A good example would be the law about bigamy. In Ontario, bigamy is a criminal offence. If one is found guilty of bigamy, they can be locked up for at least 5 years. The law prohibits marrying someone when you are already married to someone else. If you marry someone knowing they are already married, you also commit bigamy.

REFLECTION How does the law expose sin as Paul cited in verse 7? Cite other examples

ROMANS 7 SERVE IN THE WAY OF THE SPIRIT

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May 12

ROMANS 7

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. – Romans 7:1-6

ROMANS 7 SERVE IN THE WAY OF THE SPIRIT

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When we believed in Jesus Christ, we were freed from the law

No longer are we controlled by sin but by the Spirit of God

Our desires for pleasures and cravings are buried on the cross

We now serve to please the Lord instead of our selfish nature

Because we now have a new way of serving God and others

We will manifest the fruits of the Spirit towards one another.

Paul continues to explain the limitations of the law. In verse one, he points out that one of its limitations is that it is only while we are alive that we can follow it. It loses its authority once a person dies. He cited in verse 2 about the vows of the marriage covenant. The wife is bound to her husband as long as he is alive and if she takes another man, she is committing adultery. But once her husband dies, she is no longer tied to the marriage vow.  She is now released from the law. Paul compares it to our faith. Once we were married to the world system. We lived to cater to our pleasure to our flesh, but when we believed in the Lord, the flesh dies and we now have an ability to please God instead. We are no longer tied to the law which is the world system. We now live in God’s grace.

REFLECTION

  • What can you say about those who live under the law and claim to be Christians?

ROMANS 6 THE WAGES OF SIN VS. GOD’S GRACE

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May 11

ROMANS 6

19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:19-23

ROMANS 6 THE WAGES OF SIN VS. GOD’S GRACE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When a man continues to go through life in sinfulness

He will struggle and be defeated by evil and wicked ways

But if that man decides to trust and serve the Lord Jesus Christ

He will be blessed with much grace and his life will be sanctified

He now will have the power to overcome his sinful ways

Since the Holy Spirit will transform his life to righteousness.

In this letter, Paul presents to the believers in the Roman church the wages of sin which is death and the reward for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternal life is the free gift that comes with believing in Christ. He explains what happens to their lives once they accept the invitation of God to believe in his own Son. When Jesus died on the cross, he did it in such a way that all can be saved by his one sacrificial offering of his own body and blood on the cross. He opened the gateway towards reconciliation with God and a clean slate to start a relationship with our heavenly Father.

In verse 20, he explains the process that a man undergoes from sinfulness to righteousness. Before Jesus died for us, we could not enter into a relationship with God, but he paved the way for us to be forgiven of our sins and be purified. Since God is a holy God, he requires for our sanctification so we can have a right relationship with him.

REFLECTION

  • Can a person just decide to believe in Christ on his own? Why or why not?

ROMANS 6 SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

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May 10

ROMANS 6

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. – Romans 6:12-18

ROMANS 6 SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Because Jesus died for us all, should we continue to sin?

We have been brought from death to life in order for us to win

Sin has no hold on us anymore since we are no longer under the law

The free gift of grace has made us now slaves of righteousness.

What is a slave? According to an AI resource, In the Bible, “slave” often translates to the Greek word “doulos”, which can mean a servant, a bondservant, or even one who willingly submits to the will of another. In Colossians 3, we are given a clear idea what is expected of slaves. They are to obey their earthly masters in everything and they are to do it not only when they are being watched but even when they aren’t. They are to do it sincerely as if they are doing it for God himself. They are to do everything for them as if they are working for God himself and not for human masters. There will be a reward for all those who obey this: an inheritance awaits them.

In verse 16, Paul cautions the Romans that if they become obedient to anyone or anything, they become slaves of that person or thing. It sounds to me like idolatry, doesn’t it? If we idolize something or someone, we become slaves of them. We are cautioned against these things since we are now slaves of righteousness when Christ died for us.

REFLECTION

  • What would a slave of righteousness look like in our world today?

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May 9

ROMANS 6

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old selfwas crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Romans 6:1-11

ROMANS 6 ALIVE TO GOD IN CHRIST

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

When Jesus died on the cross, he was raised from the dead

His resurrection defeated death and made humans free

If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you were given new life

Your old life is gone and you are now alive to God in Christ

Continue to wear your new nature so you’ll be sanctified

Jesus died for you in order for you to live a pure and holy life.

The question “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” sounded hedonistic.

Paul reiterates this question by raising the issue of the aftermath of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Remember that Paul’s letter was addressed to the Christian church in Rome which consists both of Jewish and Gentile believers. Paul tells the believers that they were joined in death when Jesus died and in the same manner, will also be joined in Christ’s resurrection when he comes back again.

All believers now have a responsibility to grow their faith and wear their new nature in Christ so that we all stay pure and holy until Christ comes again in glory.

REFLECTION

  • What can you say about those Christians whose lives have not been transformed?

ROMANS 5  GRACE ABOUNDS WHERE SIN INCREASED

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May 8

ROMANS 5

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.18 Therefore, as one trespassled to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:17-21

ROMANS 5  GRACE ABOUNDS WHERE SIN INCREASED

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Rejoice all those who are in Christ because you are blessed

Grace abounds when you lean on the Lord; you are saved

The law will not make you righteous, it will expose your sins

There is no condemnation to all who are made righteous in Christ.

Paul continues his advocacy for the grace that comes in believing and depending on Christ. He points out continuously the contrast between Adam and Christ. He gives hope to all those who receive this letter. He says that although one man’s disobedience made the whole mankind sinners as well, Christ reversed that condemnation through his sacrifice on the cross which gave all humans a clean slate to start fresh with our relationship with God.

When we do not accept our state of sinfulness and think that we can do something to keep us rely on ourselves, we are going to have a hard time understanding grace. Many false teachings add their own efforts to be saved. In this letter, Paul stresses that grace is a free gift and all we need to do is to rely on the finished work of Christ on the cross. We were justified by that sacrifice of Jesus. We need not add to the work that he has already done. We need to learn to receive that gift humbly and have grateful hearts that acknowledges the greatest gift of all.

REFLECTION

  • Why do you think some people find it hard to accept God’s free gift of grace?

ROMANS 5 FREE GIFT OF GRACE

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May 7

ROMANS 5

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. – Romans 5:12-16

ROMANS 5 FREE GIFT OF GRACE

A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses

Through one man’s sin, death entered all men

But God is so steadfast in his love for mankind

He gave the free gift of grace to release us from his wrath

When he did that, the path to reconciliation was opened

Paul emphasizes the greatest love we can ever receive. We don’t deserve this unconditional love because we have sinned, yet it didn’t stop God from showering us with the free gift of grace. This letter explains how Adam is so different from Jesus Christ. It is from Adam that sin came about and through him, we all became sinful, but it is through Jesus Christ that our sinfulness was cleansed.

When Adam sinned, they were banished and condemned for disobeying God. Jesus Christ came so that the judgment will be acquitted by his sacrifice on the cross. So, by one act of love, we entered righteousness. It was now possible to be reconciled with God and that condemnation is now replaced by the free gift of grace. After Christ made the sacrifice on the cross, we are now able to enter that eternal rest that God had promised all those whom he chose. In 1 Corinthians 15:21 Paul reiterates this difference between Adam and Christ by these words: “As by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

REFLECTION

  • How can we ensure that we don’t forget to appreciate the free gift of grace?