Bread of Life Fellowship

The promise of Romans 8:28 for good is the good of what end? It is the good end of being conformed into the image of Christ. It is an end that only delights those who love God.

Romans 8:29-31 teaches us of the loving choice God made of us and what he to and what he chose us for - That we might be conformed the image of his Son.

From Romans 8:28 consider God's design in his orchestration of all things. We might protest that all is for our good but then we might not understand what is our good.

To be a joint heir with the Lord Jesus is a great promise of security and future glory.

From Romans 8-17 a secured position for the present and a bright hope for the future.

Considering the provision and full possession God has provided for his children.

The Witness of the Spirit is the core element in the believers assurance of salvation.

What does it look like to put sin to death.

If you live according to the flesh we will die... if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. The word 'if' is a huge clue as to what Paul is teaching here and how it applies to the believer.

Our empowerment comes with a proper sense of indebtedness.

The flesh, our members, the body are all identified in Romans 6,7 and 8 at vessels of sin and death that are to be overcome by living in the Spirit. But is there no hope for our bodies-- Is the best we can hope for to be released one day from those bodies altogether-- Consider here in short... God's plan for your sinful bodies.

The clear declaration over the Christian is 'you are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit.' This declaration entails the believers security in Salvation. But then Paul says, -if the Spirit dwells in you.- And there we learn that this security is confirmed in the believers 'assurance' of the Spirit's indwelling. Consider here what constitutes that assurance.

Consider these four points of our positional sanctification- The work of Christ to deal with sin and condemn it in His flesh has set a foundation for holy living. That foundation is fourfold. 1st vs. 1 we are not under condemnation. 2nd vs 2 we are set free to realize our purpose in the law. 3rd and 4th as considered in this message the full requirement of the law is accomplished in us from the start. And we are set beyond the restrictions of the flesh to live in the domain -range- of the Spirit of Life. The believer begins their life in the wide open place of the Spirit.

Romans 8-3 tells us that Jesus, who had a body after the likeness of our sinful bodies, condemned sin in the flesh. What does that mean-- How-- In what way was this done by our Savior and what does this mean for the believer. Here is the work by which we are not under condemnation, we are free in the law and we are released into the domain of the Spirit of LIfe.

From Romans 8-2 consider the freedom Christ, the freest man who ever lived, brings to the believer. It is not a freedom outside of the law but a freedom within in it.

From Romans 8-1 we find the beginning point of the sanctified life... We start secure in Christ and delivered from any condemnation. As we shall learn through the initial study of Romans 8... Paul's great interest is to bring the believer to comprehend what they are in Christ and the position they have through him before he would have them consider their practice.

Most certainly the believer is positionally sanctified at exact moment of their new birth. That Sanctification continues through a process of growth. And yet Romans 7 and 8 present to us the practical outworking of God's grace in sanctification brings us to a pattern of development in which we pass through a crisis into the Gospel of our Sanctification.

Correcting confusion in God's work of sanctification. Understanding a where sin rises in the believer helps us understand where sin is also defeated. Considering who Paul is describing in this passage is key to understanding where you fit into the text.

One of the most debated passages in the New Testament. Is Paul giving a personal testimony-- Is it a testimony of his life before being born again or his life after that moment-- Is he addressing a contemporary experience or a past experience-- Where does sin express itself in and from the Christian-- Here is part one of this important passage...

Considering why the Law is holy and just and good.