Living Under Grace

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Deliverance

["Click here for Romans 8:1-11"]

We are going to divide this chapter into 6 parts that further describes what the benefits are when we are "Living Under Grace".

1. Deliverance.
2. Son ship.
3. Hope.
4. Intercession.
5. Care.
6. Assurance.

Verses 1 thru 11 of Chapter 8 describes our "deliverance". Verse 1, "There is therefore now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Paul goes from the reality of what we are in chapter 7,to the reality of what we can be in Christ Jesus. From despair to deliverance. It is the undebatable condition of those who are in Christ that there is now no condemnation against them.

Notice what it is that he does NOT say:

1. He does not say that there is no sin for which we can be accused. There is, but in Christ, the accusation is thrown out.
2. He does not say that there is nothing in us that deserves condemnation, for there is. We know it, we acknowledge it, but it will not be to our ruin.
3. He does not say that there will not be a "cross" to bear, for there is. Paul had a "thorn in the flesh". God told Paul it was a cross that he would have to bear, but certainly, there will be no condemnation.

Why Not? It is by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus even to those who believe on His name. Remember the theme of Romans is Justification by Faith.

How do we know if a person believes or not? We cannot always go by what they say but Paul says that we can know, by their actions, if they walk after the spirit and not after the flesh.

Then Paul speaks of two "privileges" that believers have. One, the privilege of "justification", and two, the privilege of "sanctification". These are privileges that are granted only thru Jesus Christ. He reminds the Jews that the Law couldn't do this. The Law could not make anything perfect, that was its weakness. Yet this weakness was not because of any defect in the Law, but rather because of the corrupt nature of man. So the Law, as a covenant of works, made no provision for failure, so it left them just as it found them.

But verse 2 says that the covenant of Grace does make provision for failure. We can be pardoned which makes us free from the law of sin and death. The foundation for this freedom is laid in Christ and what He did. God provided in Christ a method for us to be made right with Him.

Then Paul describes the three steps that brought this about:

1. Christ appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, not sinful, but in the likeness of that which was sinful.
2. By this appearance, sin was condemned. The condemning of sin saved the sinner from condemnation. (Sound confusing?)
3. By removing us from condemnation, we now have "righteousness" imputed to us. This is the only way that God can look upon us. We can now commune and walk with God as Adam and Eve did before sin can into their lives, clothed in the "robe of righteousness" provided by Christ.

Then Paul describes how we must respond to this new position that He has provided thru Christ. First, we must examine our minds. What thoughts are being generated there. Are they spiritual or carnal? If they are carnal, they will disrupt our communion with God and destroy the joy of our salvation. This condition brings only misery that comes from a "back-sliden" relationship with God. This will cause us to be "alienated" with God. What a man thinks, he is. The carnal mind cannot be in communion with God. It keeps us from ever pleasing God. As Christians, pleasing God should be our highest priority. So let us first examine our minds.

Secondly, we should examine ourselves and see if we have the Spirit of God. This does not only refer to the Holy Spirit but it refers to all of our characteristics that should be "godlike". Our likes, our desires and our motives should be godlike if we are in Christ. Thus our lives should conform to a godlike pattern. All this Paul says we can do because we have strength to deliver us from sin.

Son ship

This is the second part of our study of Chapter 8 called "Living Under Grace". The first part dealt with our deliverance from sin because our faith in Jesus Christ. This lesson deals with our relationship with God as "sons" and "daughters".

Again Paul reminds us of our duty to walk not after the flesh but rather after the Spirit and gives us three motives for doing this:

1. "We are not debtors to the flesh." We live as though we have to squeeze all of eternity into this life. Paul is trying to help us place the proper importance on this life. We are bound to cloth, feed and take care of our bodies, for they are the temples of the eternal soul, but that is all. We are not debtors to the flesh, we are debtors to Christ who saved us and to the Holy Spirit, who leads us.
2. "If you live after the flesh, you die, but on the other hand, if you walk after the spirit, you live. We seem to be faced with the dilemma of pleasing the body or pleasing the soul.
3. "All that are Christ's, become the children of God." What advantage is this?
   1. As children of God we are led of the Spirit. So we need to remember that this is our heritage, it is our privilege, we have the leadership of the Spirit in all that we do or say, if we want it. But also remember that the Holy Spirit will not impose His leading upon any one.
   2. As children of God we have freedom from bondage. Freedom from the spirit of bondage which the Old Testament Church was under. The bondage of the Law and the realization that they could not keep it. We are no longer under this bondage because we have received the "spirit of adoption". Paul will tell us later in chapter 9 that this is God's prerogative. In becoming the sons and daughters of God we should then bear something of His image, like we bare the image of our earthly father.
   3. As children of God "we can cry father". This denotes an affectionate, enduring, eternal relationship, based on mutual love and understanding. This keeps open the channels of communication.

Some believe that this term "adopted children" refers only to the Gentiles. But Paul seems to believe that it refers to all people who come to the Father thru Jesus Christ. For all have sinned and therefore no longer deserve to be called the children of God, not even the Jew. Paul says in verse 16 that we have evidence of this adoption because the Spirit will bare witness with our spirit. This condition brings about a fullness of life and is evidenced by the gifts of the Spirit.

This condition also brings forth the following:

1. Love and unity with the brethren.
2. Agreement with the Word.
3. Growth in Sanctification.

It is a great privilege to be the sons of God for then we are His heirs, heirs to Heaven, something we do not merit but simply accept on faith. Paul refers to our present state as a time of education and preparation for this inheritance. Heirs of Heaven, heirs of son ship, joint heirs with Christ. All that is Christ's, shall be ours.

Thus Paul is establishing a relationship that is based on the free gifts of God, son ship, resurrection and eternity with God and this relationship is indestructible as God is indestructible. Thus Paul begins to explain the doctrine of the "Perseverance of the Saints".

Notice that nowhere in this great inheritance does it say that we will be free from persecution. Christ suffered and we to must suffer that we may also be glorified with Him.

Hope

The third part of our study of Chapter 8, called "Living Under Grace", has to do with hope. Have you ever thought how nice it would be if we could shed the cares of this world, walk out the door and be in Heaven. Many people are praying for death. Life can place burdens upon us, pain, grief, sickness, heartache and depression. But we must somehow reach the point where we can say like Paul, "I consider the sufferings of this time not worth considering compared to the glory that is to be." Christ holds the balance in His hands. Remember that the sufferings of the Saints last only for this "present time", the sufferings of the lost, last forever. Also remember how futile our efforts are to understand and appreciate the "Glory" that is to be, for Paul says that in our present state, we fall short not only in the enjoyment but in the knowledge of what that "Glory" will be like. We are limited not because we were created this way but because of sin. When sin came into the world it corrupted all of creation.

God cursed the ground because of the sin of Adam. Even the creatures of this earth are under the bondage of this curse. Thus they are, in a sense, innocent by standers for Paul says that even the creatures groan and travail under the burden of sin. Paul here gets into an area that is not so well understood. Matthew Henry describers it this way. "The creatures of this world will be delivered from this bondage unto the glorious liberty with the children of God." "They shall no longer subject to corruption." "This lower world shall be renewed, when there will be new heavens, there will be a new earth." "The creatures do, therefore, await the glory of God." "This, the whole creation longs for." This may serve as a reason why a good man should be merciful to his beast.

This then is what the whole creation hopes for. What is the basis for this hope? Paul says in verse 23 that it is because we have received the "first fruits of the Spirit". What is the first fruits of the Spirit? It is GRACE. Grace is described as "glory begun". As we grow in Grace, as we claim God's promises, as we lay hold to more and more of God's Grace, we see more clearly what heaven will be like. It is in this way that we hope for it, that we develop a longing for it. We read of the "resurrected body" that is free from sin, free from pain, free from corruption, overflowing with God's Grace.

We have in this world only sampled the Grace of God, but it is enough to make us long for Heaven which will be the "fullness" of His Grace. Paul says that it is in this hope that we are saved. Faith, hope and trust, are the gifts of the Spirit. Our reward is out of sight, that begets trust. Trust begets faith and faith is the mother of hope. Hope is the expectation of things not seen. We must, with patience, wait.

So now we have seem how this new life in the spirit has given us deliverance, son ship and hope. Our next gift of the Spirit will be intercession.

Intercession

Now there are two "intercessions" spoken of in the Bible. One, that which is done by Christ, and two, that which is done by the Holy Spirit. Christ sets at the right hand of God and intercedes for us relative to our salvation. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in this world and this is what Paul is speaking about in these verses. Verse 26 tells us why we need the intercession of the Holy Spirit. We need it because "we are weak". We are weak in many areas of our lives but here, Paul specially speaks about our prayer life. Notice what he had to say about it. First of all, Paul says that we do not know what to ask for. Our greatest fault, in our prayer life, seems to be that we are short sighted. Matthew Henry says that we are like children, we cry for fruit before it is ripe. We ask for things that we are not ready for and often are not lasting. Secondly, Paul says, we do not know how to ask. This seems evident by the first complaint that Paul spoke of.

But what assistance do we have in this department. Paul never condemns without giving us a way out. Here he says that we have the assistance of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life. He will "help" us and the key word is help. We must never assume that in the process we call "Sanctification" that God is going to do it all. It's a common "cop out" by believers to leave their spiritual growth in the hands of the Holy Spirit. Certainly our salvation was a gift of God but our sanctification is in our hands using the gifts of the Spirit as He sees fit to give them to us. The Holy Spirit helps them that helps themselves. We are weak in many ways and all God asks is that we try, and if we try, the Holy Spirit will help us.

The Holy Spirit is at work in our lives in ways that we are not aware. Remember, it is not the rhetoric or eloquence of our prayers it is the sincerity that counts. God, who searches the hearts of man knows what is in his mind. A hypocrite is one whose religion lies in his tongue, not in his heart. Paul says that God knows what we need before we ask, but how should we ask, if we don't know how? Here's where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Spirit will teach us, lead and guide us in our communion with God, if we live in the Spirit.

Care

Care deals with the doctrine of "Predestination". Predestination is not just a Presbyterian doctrine. In a book written by William Cook Boone called "What We Believe", and published by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Church, we read on page 52 that "God chooses those who are saved." This is called the Doctrine of Election or Predestination. Paul goes even further, he writes that God choose us before the foundation of the world (creation) having fore ordained us unto adoption as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, unto Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. Jesus said to the Disciples, "You did not choose me, I chose you." This is difficult to understand and brings up many questions but it is clearly taught in the Bible that God takes the initiative in our salvation. This part we can safely leave in His hands, to His wisdom and justice.

First, let us look at what Predestination is not. It is not "fatalism". In a book written by Dr. Howard G. Hageman called "Predestination", there is an answer that he wrote to the following letter.

Dear Dr. Hageman; It strikes me as incredible that in this day and age, that any church can still confess to believe that God arbitrarily and for no good reason, saves some people and sends others to hell, regardless of who they are or what they have done. Surly, no one takes that doctrine seriously any more. (signed)

The following was Dr. Hageman's answer (abbreviated) to this letter. He attempts to separate fact from fiction in the beliefs about the doctrine of Predestination. He says that predestination simply says that God makes choices and decisions that are His prerogative to make. We will deal a great more with this doctrine in the next chapter.

In these verses, we see a "chain of events" all in the hands of God and according to His purpose. It is based on the "Foreknowledge" of God. We believe that God knew, at the beginning, all that would ever happen to His creation, thus, that which He foreknew, He predestinated, those whom He predestinated, He called. Those whom he called, He justified. Those whom He justified, He glorified (saved). This is a grand and glorious plan that certainly works for the benefit of the believer. Paul says in verse 28, "We know that in everything, God works for good."

Not only for our good in the area of our salvation, but also in the area of suffering. Paul says that these sufferings will work for our own good (Job). But, we have two qualifications to meet:

1. We must love the Lord. Only then can we see God's plan working out in our suffering.
2. We must be called according to His purpose. We must be doing what He has called us to do and doing it for His glory and not for our own glory. (Jonah)

It is in this verse 28 that people arrive at what is called "Fatalism". If we look at this verse literarily, apart from what preceded it, we deduct that in "everything", God works for good. Therefore, we have nothing to fear. No insurance to buy. No crossings to watch. No need to prepare for the future. No "preventive" maintenance, just walk where we will and do as we please, "what ever will be, will be". THAT IS FATALISM. That is not Predestination.

Our eternity is in the hands of God and well it should be, but what we do with our lives in this world, in primarily in our own hands. If we continue in the Spirit and do the will of God, all things will ultimately be for the good.

But lets get back to this "chain of events" called the Foreknowledge of God. It is difficult for mere humans to be able to understand that God was able to know, from the beginning, all that would ever happen. To know who that He would need a plan of salvation and to know who would accept it. So Foreknowledge is the first step in Predestination. Matthew Henry calls this "chain of events" a golden chain that cannot be broken. Man cannot break it, God will not break it.

Notice the four parts of the chain:

1. "Those whom He foreknew he did also predestinate." God knew from the beginning who He would choose or call. We may say, with some pride that we have chosen Jesus, but in reality, it was Jesus who chose us. Paul says in Eph. 3:8, for by Grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is a gift of God, not of works, less anyone should boast. There is an old hymn that goes something like this,

   I sought the Lord, and afterwards I knew, He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me. It was not I that found a Savior true, No, I was found of thee.

   Those who He did foreknow, He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. We are, by the power of God's Grace, able to conform to the likeness of Christ. This is the process of sanctification. We can be so much more than we are. It is not that we are able to "conform ourselves, it is that by God's Grace, we can be conformed to His likeness. All who are predestinated, are chosen to have the ability to "grow in Grace or sanctification.
2. The second link, "Those whom He did predestinate He also called." Notice the steps of our calling. First, God's foreknowledge that He is going to save us, second, His calling that is done through the work of the Holy Spirit that enables to know of our lost state and what we can do about it. This is where man's free will comes in. Until we are called, we have no choice. When we are called, we must respond.
3. The third link. "Those whom He called, He did justify." That means that the "guilt" of sin was removed by our accepting the redeeming blood of the Lord that imputes to us, righteousness. Thus we are justified, made right in the eyes of the Lord, by accepting God's plan of salvation when He calls us.
4. The fourth link. "Those whom He did justify, He also glorified." Notice that it is spoken of in "pass" tense. It is done, not "being done", not "will be done", but is done. Nothing can separate the believer from the promise of God, Heaven, for it is guaranteed by the Lord, by our faith in Jesus Christ. God's plan was to bring man into His presence, to "cover" the sins that had separated them. Any plan that does not accomplish this, is not of God.

Thus we are foreknowledge, predestined, called, justified and glorified. This was God's plan, we can rest assured that it will do just that because says it will. That is the joy of our salvation. We are fortunate that is was not left in our hands.

Assurance

The sixth and last benefit that Paul talks about that is ours if we are living under Grace, is called, the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. We have already talked a great deal about this. "What shall we say then if God is for us, who can be against us?" If God foreknew, predestined, called and justified us, then He certainly must be for us, and if He is for us, who could possibly be against us?

Paul reaches the height of his message here in the book of Romans, with this point. Matthew Henry says that if Paul ever rode in a triumphant chariot on this side of heaven, this was it. Here Paul dares all the enemies of the Saints to do their worst. This assurance is backed by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. If God was willing to go to that extent, wouldn't He be willing to make it "fail safe".

Not only that but He is willing to meet our needs. The question is, what are our needs? Certainly salvation is the greatest of those needs, but assurance of that salvation comes close behind. He that is able to save us is able to keep us and present us "faultlessly" before God." Isn't that amazing? Who then, can bring any charge against God's elect? If God justifies, who can condemn?

Notice Paul lists four things that accomplish the "security of the believer".

1. Christ's death. By the merit of His death, all our debts are paid.
2. His resurrection. By His resurrection, we know that He was the Messiah and we now are justified by our faith in Him.
3. His present position. He now sits on the right hand of God. You now have a friend setting in the highest of all courts.
4. He now intercedes for us. He is now our advocate, ever present, ever concerned.

Knowing this, how can anyone doubt so rich an assurance. How can they even suggest that we can loose that which Christ died for. Paul says in no uncertain terms, "There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God", which is the basis of our salvation. Can tribulation, persecution, famine, nakedness, fear, execution, no, none of this can cut the bond of love between Christ and the believer.

This might separate us from the fellowship of some earthly friends, for when Paul was brought before Nero, all men forsook him, but not the Lord. What about us? What will be our reaction to persecution? Will we curse the Lord? Not if we are truly Christians. We will not, we cannot love Him any less.

Are we the losers because of persecution? No. Paul says that in all things, we are conquers through Him who loved us. It is a strange way of conquering, but it is Christ's way.

Notice all the things that Paul lists that some might think could separate us from the Love of God. Life or death, Angels, principalities or powers, things present or things to come, height or depth, or any creature, no, Paul says, none of these things can separate us from the love of God.

This portion of the Book of Romans is used by many denominations as justification for their belief in the Perseverance of the Saints and the Blessed Assurance of it.

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