Coming Up: Sonday August, 2014
Romans 8:1-17. Authentic Spiritual Living
Read Romans 8:1-2
The orchestra sat waiting, poised and ready to burst into melody. Only the piano played the initial verses of that grand old hymn, And Can It Be. But as the final verse began, No condemnation now I dread…, the orchestra exploded into symphony together as if all creation awoke and joined into adoration and praise. As believers we should live in a constant state of such adoration and praise. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection every believer can sing along -
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head
and clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
and claim the crown
through Christ, my own.
Billy Graham knew that to be true and when interviewed on national American television in his hey-day he was asked about his certainty of getting into heaven. After Mr Graham responded with absolute certainty the phone lines in the studio rang hot for hours with people incensed about his arrogance and surety.
You should be equally certain for in Romans 8:1-2 we see the heart of the Gospel. There is absolutely no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus. The wrath of God has been fully spent on Christ and nothing awaits us except the love of God, His acceptance and the glorious renewal of all things including ourselves.
In Christ we have been eternally set free from the law of sin and death. When we came to faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit entered our being and applied the saving work of Christ to us. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit you and I have been made new in Christ, renewed in the image of God and made able to trust in Jesus for our salvation.
The Law of God was never able to save us because through the Law we became conscious of sin and justly wore the punishment for our sin. But Jesus came and died on the cross bearing the weight and penalty of the Law on our behalf. He became our substitute and through Him we can we sing with all creation that wonderful grand old hymn
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head
and clothed in righteousness divine
Bold I approach the eternal throne
and claim the crown
through Christ, my own.
Prayer:
Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¨ Pray for the session of your congregation as they lead and make decisions on your behalf. Pray that these men would be Spirit filled and Spirit led in their daily lives.
¨ Pray that everyone in the congregation would willingly submit to their God given authority.
We cannot live as though keeping the Law saves us because it communicates heresy to non believers. But we cannot live contrary to the Law either for it equally communicates heresy to non believers. To witness through our lives we need God’s grace!
1. How would you explain the law of sin and death?
2. Where and how did this law originate?
3. How would you explain the law of the Spirit of life?
4. Name 3 other people you’d love to see saved and pray for them below in supplication.
Intro: God loves it when you and I relate to Him as our heavenly Dad. He wants us to depend on Him for everything, not just in the hard times of life.
Discuss your relationship to God and how its grown over the years.
Read Romans 5:6
How does God describe us in this verse? Why is that?
What did Jesus do for us?
What should our role be now that He’s done that?
Pray together: Praise God for your salvation. Pray that you would both grow in intimacy and depth of relationship with God the Father through Jesus.
Intro: Boys like to be strong and to be able to fight and shoot and conquer things. But when it comes to our own salvation we are powerless and need to rely solely on God. We cannot help ourselves 1 little bit into God’s salvation.
Share how you became a Christian.
Read Romans 5:6
How does God describe us in this verse? Why is that?
How can we make sure we are saved?
Pray together: Praise God for your salvation. Praise God for His grace to you. Pray that you would grow into strong Christians.
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