From the Pastors at Joy

Given the miserable condition called being “in the flesh” that Paul has been describing in verses 7-8, the personal affirmation of verse 9 is one of great encouragement:...

In a blog post last week, Jason began to explore from Romans 8:9ff the Christian believer’s experience of the indwelling Holy Spirit. But before we dig further into that wonder, it may be helpful to revisit Romans 8:7-8 and what it has to say about the ugliness and futility of our terrible enemy called “the flesh”. The jewel of life in the Spirit shines brightest aga...

"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." -Romans 8:9 This sentence clearly puts a condition on the Christian's assurance. A person has no need to be concerned ifhe isin the flesh anymore, IF the Spirit of God dwells in him. It also sets up a cont...

If you’ve been persevering in memorizing Romans 8 this year, hopefully you have been dwelling on these verses in the month of February: "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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the m...

During yesterday’s church gathering, we sang a new song, with this chorus: These guilty hands are raised, filthy rags are all I bring And I have come to hide beneath your wings These holy hands are raised, washed in the fountain of your grace And now I wear your righteousness...

In earlier posts on Romans 8, we have seen that one of the blessings of being in Christ is that we have freedom from the rule of sin. In Christ, God has condemned our sin, and the result or purpose of this is that believers fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. But we do not do this in our own power or strength, but in the strength of the Holy Spirit. It is those w...

Notice Romans 8:3-4 are connected by the words “in order that”: "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Sp...

"For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no pur...

Before moving on to verse 4 of Romans 8, let’s consider one more question that arises from considering verse 3:...

"By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh..." -Romans 8:3b It is an astonishing truth that God Himself would condescend and come to earth to rescue His fallen creation. That fact alone should amaze and enthrall our hearts, while also confounding our minds. Why would the God of the universe even care? Especially give...