Devotionals: Romans Archives - Page 2 of 7

Debtors to the Spirit

By Andrew YoungNovember 16, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh…” (Romans 8:12) Bible Reading: Romans 8:12-15 The great things that happen to us through Christ make us “debtors” – people who owe something. But to whom, or what, are we indebted? Paul provides an answer, firstly in a negative way. “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh” (Romans 8:12). Everything he has said about the “flesh” gives us reason to know why we do not owe it a debt. But the apostle states it again here, anyway: “For if you live […]

Those in the Spirit

By Andrew YoungNovember 15, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“You… are in the Spirit… if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you.” (Romans 8:9) Bible Reading: Romans 8:9-11 Having identified two distinct ways in which people live – either according to the flesh or to the Spirit – the Apostle Paul goes on to show how we can know which of these two ways is true of us. It is a critically important matter. It is decided on the basis of whether or not a person has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,” Paul writes, “if in […]

Two Ways to Live

By Andrew YoungNovember 14, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“Those who live according to the flesh… those who live according to the Spirit…” (Romans 8:5) Bible Reading: Romans 8:5-8 Paul has identified two ways in which people live – either according to the flesh or the Spirit. He next goes on to describe the most essential distinguishing feature of these two kinds of life. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,” he says, “but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). The critical thing is what people “set […]

Sin Condemned

By Andrew YoungNovember 13, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“By sending his own Son… he condemned sin in the flesh.” (Romans 8:3) Bible Reading: Romans 8:1-4 The “law of the Spirit of life” in Christ Jesus, we learned in our last devotional, sets us free from “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). How does it do that? Paul explains in the verses before us. “God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do,” he says (v. 3). We know from the discussion of the law and sin in chapter 7 that the law was powerless to bring about the righteous kind of life […]

No Condemnation

By Andrew YoungNovember 12, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) Bible Reading: Romans 8:1-4 The link between Romans 7 and 8 is not easy to trace. Do the opening words of chapter 8 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) – connect with what has gone immediately before? Or do they reach back to the argument Paul left off in the fifth chapter of the letter? Authorities are divided on the issue. I incline to the latter. The term “condemnation” last appeared in 5:18. There it […]

Two Laws

By Andrew YoungNovember 11, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“…the law of my mind…the law of sin” (Romans 7:23) Bible Reading: Romans 7:20-25 Paul’s problem is that he has “the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18). He ends up doing not the “good” he wants, but “the evil” he does not want (v. 19). That leads him to say, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (v. 20). This might seem to us as though Paul is excusing his behaviour by blaming it […]

Paul’s Perplexity

By Andrew YoungNovember 10, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“For I do not understand my own actions.” (Romans 7:15) Bible Reading: Romans 7:14-20 Paul has explained that our natural antagonism to the law and tendency to sin is the result of our human nature. It is the consequence of being “of the flesh, sold under sin” (Romans 7:14). He goes beyond that and invites us into his interior world to see how this works itself out in his own life. “For I do not understand my own actions,” he says. “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (v. 15). This […]

The Law and Our Nature

By Andrew YoungNovember 9, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“…the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” (Romans 7:14) Bible Reading: Romans 7:7-14 In the verse noted above (Romans 7:14), we come to one of the most crucial statements in this section of the book of Romans. It sets before us a contrast between the law of God and our human nature. The law of God is “spiritual,” but our natural human condition is one of being “of the flesh, sold under sin.” Paul offers this as a fundamental explanation for the way in which the law of God – the “holy, righteous and […]

The Power of Sin Within

By Andrew YoungNovember 8, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“But sin… produced in me all kinds of covetousness.” (Romans 7:8) Bible Reading: Romans 7:7-12 Saying that life under the law results in “bearing fruit for death” (Romans 7:5) leaves Paul open to the charge that he was teaching that the law was in some way sinful. It is this possible objection that he turns to next. “What shall we say?” he asks. “That the law is sin? By no means!” (v. 7). This is the third time he has asks a question like this (see also 6:1-2, 15), and answers it by saying – “By no means!” Though it […]

The New Way of the Spirit

By Andrew YoungNovember 7, 2018Devotionals: Romans

“…so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6) Bible Reading: Romans 7:5-6 We are entering a section of Paul’s letter that has given rise to much discussion and produced marked differences of opinion. It concerns the contrast between the old and new ways of living that result from being freed from the law by sharing in Christ’s death. It won’t be our purpose to explore disputed interpretations. Without claiming to know all the answers, I will try to help you follow the apostle’s reasoning one […]