Romans 8:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Romans 8:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 8There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Verse 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Verse 3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, Verse 4so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Verse 5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Verse 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Verse 7For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law-indeed it cannot, Verse 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Verse 9But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Verse 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Verse 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Devotion
My son recently served on the jury for a manslaughter case. The defense attorney passionately argued that his client should not be "condemned to prison" for a crime the prosecuting attorney failed to conclusively prove. The jury agreed, and the man was found not guilty. In these verses from Romans 8, we find assurance that we also are spared condemnation for our actions. Not because of any ineptitude on the part of a prosecutor, but because of the mercy of the One who has every right to condemn us. In our sinful selves, we deserve death, but we have been "set free from the law of sin and death." The price has been paid for our sins, paid through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now we rejoice that we are no longer under the death sentence we deserve but are truly free through the Spirit of Christ living in us.
Prayer
Living Lord Jesus, you have paid the price for our sins through your own suffering and death. We thank you for sending your Spirit to live in us, bringing us life and peace while assuring us of eternal life. Such mercy! Such grace! May our lives reflect our gratitude. Amen.