Read Romans 8:1-11

Four years ago, I read through the Bible cover to cover with a group of other Bible students. I must say that it was a great experience. To that point, I had read most of it, or at least knew of most of it, but there were parts of the text that I hadn’t read through (prophets namely). There were parts of the Bible that were fun to read through like the life of Jesus and the Pauline epistles, but let’s be honest with each other, there are parts of the Bible that are more challenging. I am somewhat ashamed to say that I fell asleep a few times reading through the Law. Knowing the dimensions of the tabernacle and the kind of material that had to be on the priest’s robe wasn’t that fascinating to me.

The Law was a very hot topic in the churches around Asia when the book of Romans was written. The Jewish people held so very tightly to the Old Testament Law that often it clouded their judgment and spiritual life. They were so fixated on keeping every aspect of the Law that they often received tunnel vision, missing out on some truly life changing content.

Paul is writing Romans 8 to the Church of Rome telling them they are delivered from the bondage of the Law. Matthew 5:17 tells us that Jesus fulfilled the Law through his life and subsequent death on the cross. Because of Jesus, we no longer have to be fixated on the Law. Paul says in verse 3 that what the Law couldn’t do, God did. The Law only went so far. God took it to the next level by sending His only Son to take the punishment of sin.

Ultimately, we could never completely fulfill the Law, there was always going to be a part of it that we couldn’t keep. Verse 10 tells us that, because of sin, we are spiritually dead.  Without Jesus’ payment for sin, we are destined for Hell. However, the very Spirit that fulfilled the Law, hung from the cross for our sins, and raised from the dead, thus conquering death, is the very Spirit that is inside of us. If we accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation, we are delivered from sin and we know for a fact that we will spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. That brings us peace.

jdl