Romans 8:1-39 sums up what Christianity is in a nutshell. There is no condemnation from God for those that belong to Jesus. That is because the power of the holy spirit has freed us from our sinful nature. The law of Moses wasn’t able to solve the craving for sin in our flesh, so God sent Jesus, a sinless human, to die in our place because the laws of God require that sin be punished by death. Jesus took our punishment and made use right with God so we can receive the holy spirit and overcome sin in our lives (Rom 8:1-4).
People of the world are dominated by their sinful nature, but those who have received God’s spirit are empowered to live by God’s law. When people are led by sin nature, it leads to death, but those who are led by the spirit reap life. Those controlled by their sin nature can never please God because sin nature is hostile to God’s ways (Rom 8:5-8).
Believers are not to be controlled by sin nature because they have the spirit, nonbelievers do not have the spirit of God which was promised only to those that believe, so they are not in covenant with God (v9). Even though people’s physical bodies will die because of sin, those with God’s spirit will have eternal life, because the holy spirit is the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and is more powerful than death itself (v10-11). Therefore following the spirit is superior to following the flesh, and believers are not obligated to follow their sin nature because they have power over their carnal desires. If you live by the flesh you will die in sin, but when living by the spirit you have the power to put to death your carnal nature (v12-13). Only those living by God’s spirit are children of God and are joint heirs of the kingdom along with Jesus. It is they who will inherit the blessings that God promises and they will share in Jesus’ glory, but they will also share in his persecution and suffering (v14-17).
All creation is cursed because of sin and we should eagerly await the day God restores all of creation to the way it was before corruption and death (v18-22). God put his holy spirit inside of his people and that is only a taste of his future glory. Currently, all nature is corrupt even the bodies of the believers, however, in the future, believers will get new sin-free bodies free from death and decay (v23-25). God called his people as brothers and sisters of Christ ahead of time and put his Spirit inside of them. When God’s people pray in the spirit, the holy spirit guides them on what to pray for and how to pray so that God’s will is done on Earth (v26-27).
All things work together for the good of those that love God and are called to his purpose (v28). Remember those that who love God keep his commandments. [John 14:15, 1 John 5:1-3] They are the ones whom God knew in advance, who are brothers and sisters of Christ [Mat 12:46-50]. It is the believers whose sins are forgiven and who now have God’s glory (v29- 30).
God is for his people so nothing can stand against them. The believers have full access to God’s grace which is his power to aid them. God didn’t even spare his own son, so why would he spare anything else good from his children (v31-32)? No one can stand up to God and accuse him of anything, likewise, no one will condemn God’s people, because God has already forgiven them (v33-34).
Nothing can separate the believers from God’s love, not even hardships, persecution, and other struggles of life. (These things were prophesied to happen to God’s people [Ps44:22]). However, these things aren’t a sign of failure in God’s love because we have victory over all of it. Not death, nor demons, nor angels, nor fears of today, nor worries of tomorrow, not powers in the sky or ground, nor anything in all creation can separate God’s people from his love (v35-38).