Romans 8

Romans 8

Romans 8 is one of the most fascinating chapters in the entire Bible. Within the letter of Romans, it lies in the center linking chapters 1-7 and 9-16 together. It is the hinge between living by the law and living by the Spirit and it provides understanding for why the Gentiles are being welcomed into God’s family. Romans 8 also spans from creation to restoration, providing evidence and comfort to those who believe when all things will be made new. It declares the gospel in a new light and tells the story of Scripture. 

Romans 8 begins, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus”. What a liberating message! For those who believe in Jesus and have received the Holy Spirit there is no condemnation. That means there is no more guilt or burden of sin keeping us from God. Christ’s death and resurrection means we have freedom from sin and death and are no longer condemned under the law of sin. This links back to the fall in Genesis 3, when humanity first sinned and it wedged us from God’s presence. Now because of Jesus, sin no longer has a hold on believers and we can live with God’s presence again through the Holy Spirit. 

The role of the Spirit has been active since the beginning. In Genesis 1, the Spirit of God was over the waters and brought about life. Now that same Spirit, dwelling in believers, is our new life. It allows us to know God’s will and obey his commands not through a set of rules but by guidance from the Spirit. The Spirit is truly bringing about the new creation in every believer as we live out the Eden ideal in our lives even today. 

Romans 8 also declares something the Abrahamic covenant promised: adoption into the family of God. The original promise to Abraham promised the inclusion of Gentiles into the family of God. The prophets also spoke about this. Paul says that because of Jesus, that promise has now come alive (Romans 8:15). All believers are now included in the family of God and its blessings. This is something the whole biblical story was looking forward to. 

In Romans 8:22, Paul says that creation is waiting for restoration. “The whole creation has been groaning… waiting for the revealing of the sons of God”. You see since the fall, creation has been in a decaying, correlating state. Creation itself has been waiting for the restoration. But Paul says something interesting here. He doesn’t say that creation is waiting for its own renewal, but rather is it waiting for “the revealing of the sons of God”. What does that mean? It means that full restoration will come when believers are revealed in their full glory, when Jesus returns. When Christ comes back, heaven and earth are reunited. When Jesus comes back, all believers share in the second resurrection and we live forever. When humanity is renewed to its original calling, to rule on behalf of God, then restoration will take place. 

This is what the entire biblical story is moving towards and we are living it out right now. Romans 8 captures the entire biblical story and launches us into our mission, the same mission Jesus had for his disciples. That is, we are to make disciples and live for Him and while we eagerly await his return.