Romans 8:1-4

Rachel Workman: 8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.^[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

And what a sweet offering it was. Thank you Jesus for your obedience to the cross.

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John Burnett:  8 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  What a promise.  It also stipulates that we will not be around for the condemnation/wrath that God will pour out on this world when Christ returns.  ² For the law of the Spirit of life ^[g]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³ For what the Law could not do,^[h]weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of ^[i]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit living in us is God’s stamp of approval and deems us free from sin and death.  Thanks be to God.

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Catch up for John Burnett last week’s reading:  ¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold ^[a]into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.  Paul is not alone.  I feel this way on a daily basis ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷ So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.  This says that there is a separation between us and the sinful nature that dwells within us. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  And yet He died for me anyways knowing that there is no good in me. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 

²¹ I find then the ^[b]principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. ²² For I joyfully concur with the law of God ^[c]in the inner man, ²³ but I see a different law in ^[d]the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner ^[e]of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from ^[f]the body of this death? My favorite Christian TV show is called Wretched.  You can find it on the NRB network or at WretchedTV.com  ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Romans 8:5-8

⁵ 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.