Our Scripture Of The Week Is:

Romans 8:1-2 KJVS
[1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
[2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8 is one of the most powerful and popular chapters in all the Bible. In it, Paul describes with great detail what it means to live as Christian, both now and for eternity. The chapter begins, as well, with one of the most comforting statements in all the Bible. The previous chapter ended with Paul crying out in frustration about his wretchedness and asking who would deliver him from his "body of death."

He answered by giving thanks "to God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:25). Now he states absolutely why the gospel is such good news for all who believe. The Greek words translated as "there is therefore now no," as in the English Standard Version (ESV), are very emphatic. The literal phrasing is Ouden ara nyn katakrima, which accomplishes two things.

First, it ties this statement to the claim made in Romans 7:25, according to the word "therefore."

Second, it definitively states a permanent, present, and complete lack of "condemnation," from a Greek word meaning "a sentence" or "penalty." In crystal-clear language, the Bible indicates there is absolutely no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.

None.

Zero.

Paul's statement leaves no room for even a tiny bit of condemnation to sneak in. In short, if you are "in Christ Jesus," God will never, ever condemn you for any sin whatsoever. The condition of this statement, however, is crucial: salvation is for those who place their faith in Christ (Romans 3:23–26). There is no other way (Acts 4:12), and those who reject this salvation will not be rescued from condemnation (John 3:18).

How can this be?

Paul has already built the case in chapters 3—5 of this letter to the Romans. When we place our faith in Christ, God so closely identifies us with His Son that He gives us credit for Jesus' sinless, righteous life, and He accepts Jesus' death as payment for our death-deserving sin. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

So if God is judging us on the basis of Jesus' righteousness, how could we ever be condemned?

God would never condemn Jesus, so He will never condemn those who are seen by God as being in Christ.

And how do we come to be "in Christ"?

Only by faith (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8–9).

Paul wrote in the previous verse that there is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This verse begins to describe why that is true, and it has much to do with the Holy Spirit. This is only the second mention of the Holy Spirit in Romans, but merely the first of about 19 mentions of the Spirit in chapter 8!

Why is there no condemnation from God for those in Christ Jesus?

The law—or principle—of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law—or principle—of sin and death.

The word used twice as "law" in this verse does not refer to the law of Moses, about which Paul has written so much in Romans. Instead, it describes the idea of a universal truth.

The first truth or principle is the Spirit of life. Put another way, the Spirit of God always gives or brings life. That notion has set Christians free only in Christ Jesus. Without faith in Christ, we will not be justified by God (Romans 5:1), and if we are not justified we will not receive the Spirit who brings life. Put positively, because we have faith in Christ, God has given to us His Spirit that brings life. That has set us free from the law or principle of sin and death.

That second law is just that sin always, always leads to death. It is the reason we were all condemned to eternal death and separation from God in the first place (Romans 3:23; 6:23). The only way to escape from the law of sin and death is to access the law of the Spirit of life through faith in Christ.


Our topic today is:

GOD’s Deliverance From The Judgement Of The Flood Discussion

After the finality of God's statement in the previous verse, verse 8 catches us by surprise. In light of the great wickedness of humanity, the Creator has just expressed the pain His creation of mankind has caused Him. Even worse, He has announced His plan to wipe humanity, along with birds and animals, from the face of the earth.

Now, however, we are told that one man, Noah, has found favor in God's eyes. The rest of the chapter will explain exactly what "favor" means. It won't stop God from carrying out His plan to destroy so much of His creation. It certainly won't mean that Noah's life will be perfect, or easy, or painless.

However, it will mean that humanity will continue. The end of civilization will be followed by a new beginning. Noah will not only survive the upcoming judgment, along with his wife and children, but he will carry on the survival of the human race. This reference is also important because it is rare.

Very few people in the Old Testament are said to have found favor in God's eyes. Noah was special, and that favored status before God would mean the difference between death and life for future humanity.

This verse begins a brand new section of Genesis. Just as chapter 5 began with the "generations of Adam," this new section begins with "the generations of Noah."

However, the chapter doesn't immediately launch into a list of Noah's descendants. Instead, it will first tell his amazing story, beginning with his character. We are told he is both righteous and blameless among the people of his time. These are both words of comparison. Noah's choices stood in contrast, at least in God's sight, to the sinful, selfish choices of the rest of humanity.

Noah was righteous in the sense that he did was right, and he was blameless in the sense that he didn't do what was wrong. In strong distinction to those around him, Noah was a moral, god-honoring man. The term blameless is used in Scripture to refer to those who are exceptionally obedient to God (Job 1:1; Luke 1:6).

The idea is not someone who is "absolutely perfect." Noah wasn't a sinless, morally perfect man. Only Jesus ever accomplished that (Hebrews 4:14). But by character, reputation, and practice, Noah was exceptional. In simple terms, he did good things and didn't do bad ones. That set him apart from the rest of humanity.

Even more, we're told that Noah walked with God. Those words are only said of one other man in Genesis: Enoch, the man God took away without any report of his death (Genesis 5:22–24). Noah enjoyed a very close relationship with God.

Noah's three sons are listed again, as they were in Genesis 5:32. Along with Noah and his wife, these men and their wives will be the only humans saved from God's judgment on the sins of humanity. Few other details are given of their lives or character. Strictly speaking, we don't know who was the oldest or youngest, or exactly how old Noah was when they were born.

Genesis 5:32 gives a rough idea of Noah's age, but has every appearance of a general statement, not a specific one. Though the Bible does not say so in explicit terms, we might assume that Noah's sons also stood apart from the normal wickedness of humanity (Genesis 6:5, 8). This is mostly because they are welcomed on the ark.

The other patriarchs of Genesis chapter 5 are credited with having "many" sons and daughters. Noah is not described in this way. While the Bible does not say, directly, that these were his only three children, that is certainly likely. Noah's father Lamech died prior to the flood, and the three sons mentioned in this chapter all survive with Noah on the ark.

It's possible that this was all part of God's favor on Noah: limiting the loss of his family in judgment. Another, sadder, possibility is that Noah had other children, who are not mentioned in the Bible. The other patriarchs of Genesis chapter 5 are credited with having children at a much younger age than Noah's 500 years at the birth of these three sons.

This chapter frequently repeats the reasons for God sending the flood. Verse 5 explained that man, on the whole, thought of nothing but evil. Here, the same idea is brought out again. God sees the earth as it is: corrupt and ruined. What He had made and observed as good in Genesis 1 He now sees as unacceptably disgraced by human sin.

A primary evidence of the corruption of the earth was violence. Instead of being filled with good, the earth was filled with human violence to others. The Hebrew word translated "violence" here is hā'mās'. This implies more than just the kind of brute force attacks we think of when we hear the English word.

This can also include injustice, oppression, and cruelty. The term also suggests the effects physical violence has on a person or group which has been violently conquered: oppression, deprivation, and misuse. Men of the pre-flood world are not only disobedient to God, they are harsh and abusive to each other.

This verse describes the extent of the corruption of sin on the earth: It was everywhere. It was everyone. And it was self-inflicted. "All people" or "all flesh" had corrupted their ways