Romans for Youth
Commentary by Pastor Ron Beckham

Romans Chapter 8

Verse 1.  “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

To be “condemned” is to be a convicted criminal.  You are NOT a “criminal” in the sight of God, when you believe (have faith) in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 2.  “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

God DOES have a Law that condemns us, but He also has another Law – Trust in Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit sets you free from the Law that condemns.  You are made ALIVE in Him.

Verse 3.  “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

The Law is not “weak,” but WE are weak and that is why the Law could not help us.  So God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who became a man and died for us.  He defeated sin.  We only have to TRUST in Him.

Verse 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.”

Jesus died for us (verse 3).  We keep the Law by having faith (trusting) in Him.  He gives us the Holy Spirit who helps us do just what God wants.

Verse 5.  “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

If your thoughts are all about this world, it shows you are not trusting in the Lord.  The Spirit of God will change your thoughts so you will be interested in things of the Spirit, such as the Bible and prayer.

Verse 6.  “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

What do you think about?  God’s Holy Spirit will change your heart, your thinking, and give you real LIFE and peace with God.

Verse 7.  “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,”

If everything you want is in this world, you are not God’s friend.  His friends love God’s Law (love God, love other people – Mark 12:30-31).  Without God’s Spirit, it is like you are powerless to be good.

Verse 8.  “and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Jesus said, “you must be born again” (John 3:7).  You must be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).  Until you are “born again,” you are “in the flesh” and cannot please God.

Verse 9.  “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

When you are “born again” (John 3:7), it is wonderful because God’s Holy Spirit actually lives IN you, and you belong to God.  You are more than what you were before, for you are “in the Spirit” - He is in you; you are in Him.

Verse 10.  “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

When you receive Jesus Christ as your savior, He actually comes and lives in you.  Your body does not seem much different, but you ARE different.  You are fully ALIVE because of the goodness of Christ in you.

Verse 11.  “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Receive Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit is YOURS.  You don’t need to be afraid of death, for you will live forever with Him.  You can be SURE that just like Jesus was raised from the dead, you will be, too.

Verse 12.  “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—“

You don’t have to be like other people anymore.  You don’t have to copy them.  You are free to live as the Spirit leads you (see verse 13).

Verse 13.  “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

If you just copy other people and live like they do, it leads to spiritual “death.”  God’s Spirit in you will make you clean and good; ALIVE to God.

Verse 14.  “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

How do you know you are a “son” of God?  His Holy Spirit lives IN His sons, helping them know what to do.  He will SHOW YOU what you should do.

Verse 15.  “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’"

When you are always afraid, it is like you are a “slave” to fear.  We don’t have to be afraid anymore, because we have been adopted by God and are His children.  We can call Him “Abba,” a word that means, “Daddy.”

Verse 16.  “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,”

How do we know that we are God’s children? – When the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, He assures us inside that we ARE God’s children.

Verse 17.  “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

When we know we are God’s children (verse 16), we are given EVERYTHING in Christ.  Everybody suffers in this life, but don’t be afraid, for He also shares his glory (the wonder of His love) with you.

Verse 18.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

For everything you think you lose in life, God will give you something good to replace what you have lost.  The glory He will give you is much greater than any pain you have known.  He loves you and wants to give you – everything!

Verse 19.  “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.”

God has created more beings and places than we know about.  ALL CREATION is excited about you and is waiting for the time when they will meet you.

Verse 20.  “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope”

Everything about this universe, this earth, will not last.  People often wish it was different, but God made it this way so we will learn to HOPE in Him, instead of looking to this world.

Verse 21.  “that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

All of God’s creation, including you and me, will be set FREE from the slavery of sin and death.  To be God’s child is to be really FREE!  It’s like we’ve been let out of jail!

Verse 22.  “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

Life is not unlike the suffering that comes with the birth of a child.  Humans, animals – all suffer, but only for awhile, for we will be WITH the Lord.

Verse 23.  “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

The Holy Spirit of God is a PROMISE of even more.  Life is hard, but God is good and every part of us, including our bodies, will be with Him someday.  We lose NOTHING and we are given – EVERYTHING!

Verse 24.  “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?”

We HOPE in the promises God has given us in His Word, His Bible.  We trust in Him.  Someday, we will SEE Him Face-to-face, but until then, we HOPE in Him.

Verse 25.  “But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

We love the Lord and hope we will see Him soon.  Until we do, we wait patiently for Him.  He will come back to earth for us – that is our hope.

Verse 26.  “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

God understands that we are all very weak.  We don’t even know how to pray or what to pray.  The Holy Spirit does know, and He will help you pray.

Verse 27.  “and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

God knows our hearts.  He knows everything about us.  His Holy Spirit is praying the prayers for us that we should, because He KNOWS the will of God.  Look to God and He will help you with your prayers.

Verse 28.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

All too often we don’t see it, but God makes everything GOOD for those who love Him.  What is “His purpose?” – that we should TRUST in His Son.  When we do, God has a GOOD outcome for you and me.

Verse 29.  “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”

God KNEW you, even before you were born.  He has a PLAN for you, that you will be like His Son.  Jesus Christ was the first of His kind and you are part of a wonderful FAMILY of good people, when you trust in His love.

Verse 30.  “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

God not only has a plan for you, but He is also calling you to 1) be His child, and 2) be in His service.  In Christ He has said you are “Not Guilty” of sin and He will share His glory with you.

Verse 31.  “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

We should PRAISE God’s Holy Name, for He has given us EVERYTHING.  He is on our “team” and no one can defeat us.

Verse 32.  “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

God gave His Son for you, who died so that you can live.  That should show you that He is giving you – EVERYTHING!

Verse 33.  “Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;”

Has anyone said something bad about you?  It’s GOD who makes the rules, and He says you (and others who have received His Son) are OK with Him!

Verse 34.  “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

Is somebody saying you are guilty of something?  Don’t worry because Jesus Christ, the One who died and was raised from the dead, is ALIVE and He is WITH God right now.  What is He doing? – He’s praying for YOU!

Verse 35.  “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

To have faith in Christ, to know Him, is everything.  But there is a question: Can we LOSE Him after we find Him?  Will the trouble in our lives take us away FROM Him?

Verse 36.  “Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’"

Paul, who wrote Romans 8, quotes Psalm 44:22.  God’s people have ALWAYS been in trouble, even dying for their Lord, and death did not separate them from Him.

Verse 37.  “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

Somehow, even though we lose ALL that we have, even our lives, we are like “conquerors” through Christ.  We can seem, outwardly, to lose, but we WIN because of Him.

Verse 38.  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,”

Death does not separate us from Jesus.  Nothing in this life can separate us.  There is no angel strong enough to separate us.  No “principalities” (demonic rulers) can.  Nothing that exists right now or ever will exist can separate us.  There is NOTHING strong enough to separate us from our Lord.  Nothing.

Verse 39.  “nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Are you afraid of heights or deep places?  What about fierce animals?  NO one, NOTHING, even our own fear – NOTHING can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  You can TRUST in Him.

Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org