#24 The Spirit Life of the Kingdom: Romans 8:1-17
Summary Devotional: Nothing to Fear, Nothing to Lose, Nothing to Hide
OR The New Covenant brings A Fresh Wineskin!
Read: Romans 8:1-30
"We are children of God, and if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, in
order that we be raised with him." Rom 8:16-17
The Party of Pentecost inaugurates a whole new way for people to relate to God. But what do the day to day
realities and implications of "Christ in you" look like? Romans 8 is perhaps Paul's closest attempt to unpack the essence
of these day to day realities- and mysteries - for those who choose to follow Jesus Christ. God as "Spirit" saturates this
chapter as Alpha/Omega, and is found here more times than in any other similar section in all the NT letters.
Those to whom Paul writes remember the honeymoon and the party fever of Pentecost, but find themselves in a
very different situation. The church in Rome faced very real fears, fears that are found today all over the world in and out
of the church. In Romans 8, Paul announces the same message as Jesus at His inauguration: freedom has once again
arrived from God. Because Christ's Spirit is in us, we have every necessary resource available to experience a liberty from
God within our suffering. The fears that have to this point stressed us out or enslaved us cannot long stand firm when
God’s Pentecost remedy rains down.
The first fear early believers felt surfaces in Romans 7, that famous chapter where Paul again and again cries out:
“deep down, I want to do what God wants, what is right, but over and over I give in to the other part of me that wants to
do evil and be selfish. Will I ever escape these same traps of my OT ancestors? Will I ever grow past my stuck points
and live more like my Master?”
Paul addresses this fear of condemnation in the first 17 verses of chapter eight. Here Paul lays out the blueprint of
life in God's household. Holy Spirit comes within first of all and forever whispers unmistakably on the loudspeaker of
our heart: "Because of my Son's death, you are no longer condemned! Not guilty! You are a child of your heavenly
Father. Address him confidently as Abba, Daddy, Father. Shame and self-hatred must pack their belongings and set out
together for the far country."
Dressed with a new identity and loaded with rich possibilities, God's children need no longer fear remaining
hopelessly stuck in the mud of our sinful habits. We are always limited by our human weakness, yet we also are
empowered by the Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. We will always succumb to temptation in this life, yet
also within resides plenty of wattage to set our minds and wills on saying ‘Yes’ to God's leading. No longer do we let our
inward passions and appetites rein us in at their every whim and at every turn. Nothing on life’s canvas is too trivial for
Holy Spirit’s brushing of our heart. God's spirit infects every decision: from how we drive to what we drink, from
speaking our mind to spanking our kids, from what we watch to what we wear.
Paul was clear: having Holy Spirit within us does not mean we are without sin in this life. Certainly God expects
us to sin. But dominated in our daily decisions through Holy Spirit, a radical new aroma adorns all our relationships.
There is momentum toward freedom. We sin but we have choice to do so, rather than feeling complete hopelessness to do
otherwise. We sin, but our identity is no longer sinner but saint, holy one set aside by God for good works. This is Easter’s
gospel we receive and give to others we find in condemnation’s bondage.
This narrow road of being God's child does not end here. Paul's words lead head long into the 2nd fear of his
Roman readers: the fear of death…the reality that life as they know it will never be easy or even possible again.
Christians in Rome endangered their earthly life the minute they arose from the water and confessions of their baptismal
font. The converted often found themselves the hunted or the blamed, which is often true of Christians today in China,
Sudan and many Muslim countries. What does Pentecost say about becoming a torch for Nero's party, being the victims of
terrorism, or facing the inevitable feelings of despair while living counter culturally in a decaying society?
Paul says without flinching or missing a beat: children are heirs, and heirs of ABBA have a secure resurrection
future. Knowing this, the suffering and futility of this life should not catch us off guard. God is in charge. If the Father
sent and sacrificed His precious Son, will He abandon the heirs of His kingdom now? If He sends his very Sprit within us
to seal our final inheritance, why should we fear death, earthly verdicts, or the worst this life has to offer? In the face of
famine, arrest, imprisonment, nakedness, sword, lion and death, Paul calls us to remember: “despite what you feel and
© 2012 John Lewis. All Rights Reserved
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others day, none of these sufferings can separate us from God's intimate presence and promised future. The trials of today
are not worthy to be compared to the glory of heaven one day revealed.”
The cards I hold now are not the ones I am betting on. This life is not the final destination, simply the dress
rehearsal. God’s Spirit weaves all of life's circumstances, from prosperity to persecution, from delight to death, and
somehow works them together for one good purpose: to make us like Jesus.
This confidence about the end requires Spirit-empowered glasses to see beyond our current circumstances. The
word for this critical Spiritual resource is HOPE. Fear and despair enslave people everywhere who face overwhelming
difficulties without this hope. No wonder the polls and predictions of the "experts" push and paralyze so many lives into
the downward spiral "quiet desperation."
So Paul invites those suffering in Rome to cultivate hope by coming to God. Ask Holy Spirit to help us to see life
with the long-term view of the Kingdom. Learn to pray and live with a spirit of patience and waiting-one eye on the
newspaper and one eye on heaven. Let our inward groaning and hopelessness be transformed by Holy Spirit into genuine
prayer-first on behalf of ourselves, and then in intercession for others.
Dear friends, how do we face our own fears of suffering, of the future, of slavery to frustrating habits, and of
death itself? Over and over, let us in our frailty also remember Holy Spirit's freedom-present and future. It is God’s gift
for us to taste today. As children of God we live in a beautiful paradox: we are already conformed and are still being
conformed to the character of Christ. As heirs of Almighty God, we latch on to our immovable hope in ordinary
frustrations as well in life’s most desperate circumstances.
We end with the spirit of Romans 8’s closing triumph:
WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE: the blood of Christ clears our record from every sinful blemish and our heart from
the voice of self-hatred that shouts shame when we fail.
WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE: if our inherited retirement plan is fully vested and "out of this world," then we can
lay down our worries about the future, take risks in the face of obstacles and laugh at the demand we pursue a life of
wealth and security.
WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR: Sin may persist but it is a cut weed whose grip must loosen over time as freedom’s
gift moves into our heart’s furniture. Our victory is assured. The future that matters is decided. The transformation from
being dominated by anxiety to being controlled by peace no longer seems impossible.
Nothing to hide. Nothing to lose. Nothing to fear.
A community who experiences these "spiritual gifts" in the midst of groans, difficulties and even persecution will find
herself in the center of God’s Pentecost plan, a “spirit-filled” church of the Acts variety.
As we face the uncertainties of a world bent on rebellion and self-inflicted suffering, may we pray anew: "Come Holy
Spirit. Baptize your worldwide family anew."
To be filled with the Spirit meant purity, truth, and love in daily life, and sure guidance in all the (early church) did. Only
then could the Spirit say what was in people’s hearts, or pronounce forgiveness of sins as Christ himself granted it and
gave strength for a new life. Because forgiveness meant that God himself took away sin, it was a power from God that
abolished the rule of sin.
Eberhard Arnold, The Early Christians
© 2012 John Lewis. All Rights Reserved
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