Romans 8:18-27
We learn in Romans 8:17 that the children of God will share the sufferings of Christ. These are tough words.  It means we should expect and embrace the sufferings that come our way.  We should endure and continue our spiritual walk with the understanding of the need for suffering as a stepping stone in our journey.  Our verses for today bring words of encouragement, these sufferings that come our way “are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (v.18).  I, personally, am deeply intrigued by this statement.  We already know the story of the Christ’s life among us.  We know of the miracles he performed, of his resurrection and ascent to heaven.  All these deeds clearly show the glory of God.  But we are promised additional revelations of this glory in the future and our current sufferings are well worth it.

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Romans 8:12-17
“Blood is thicker than water.”  “Friends come and go, but family is always there.”  “Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”  There are many sayings about family and most emphasize the fact that family is important.  There are always the black sheep of the family, members of the family we are a bit ashamed of.  “Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts” is often true.  We also don’t like to admit, like Fred Allen did, “I don’t have to look up my family tree, because I know that I’m the sap.”

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Romans 8:1-11
We see it all the time.  The camera is on a close up shot, just a face sometimes.  You hear the words, “We the jury find the defendant,” dramatic pause, “Not Guilty!”  The face goes from a somber look to one of pure jubilance.  The dread of being imprisoned or even death row which hung heavy over the court room suddenly dissipates as smiles, handshakes and hugs are passed around.  And we might even silently cheer at the TV.

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Romans 7:21-25
The first time I remember reading through these verses, I got angry.  Paul was describing my condition to a T; I wanted to do good, I wanted to be free from the sin that bound me, but I kept doing the things that I hated.  I could find no freedom, only the vicious cycle of sin and guilt.  I wanted to know what the answer was to my sin, I wanted to know what I had to do to fight my way through.  When the answer was ‘Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord’, I got mad.  That wasn’t an answer, this wasn’t the Magic To Do List that would cure all my ills, this was a person.  I was disappointed and I felt cheated.  It was my first real crisis of faith.  All the hocus pocus of religion seemed to be wrapped up in this one phrase; you say you will set me free but then don’t give me the instructions that I need.  I got up and walked away; I was ticked.

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Romans 7:14-20
There is an ugly little truth that none of us wants to admit; sin lives in us.  As much as we work to make it appear to be something else or not an issue, there is something within us that leads our thoughts into places that we don’t want to go, into places where we know that it is wrong to go, and yet we go there.  Worse yet, we take pleasure in the going, we will dwell there, taking that pleasure, all the time knowing that what we are doing is wrong, that were we are is not the right place for us to be.  And yet we stay and then return again, and there doesn’t seem to be anything that we can do about it.  We work up our will power and make our best attempt to deny the thought and the entry, but sooner or later, the thought wins and we give in, once again.

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Romans 7:7-13
Tell someone not to stare at an ugly mole on someone’s face and invariably the only thing anyone can see is that mole.  Tell a teen not to wear their hair a certain way, the second they are out of sight, their hair is immediately in that style.  Put a delicious desert in front of a dieter, walk away, and it won’t last whole long.  It is in our very nature to want to do exactly what we have been told not to do.

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Romans 7:1-6
We are dead in Christ.  The death that He suffered on the Cross has been given to each of us as a gift, no strings attached.  All that is needed is our acceptance of that gift and all of what it is and all of what it means is ours.  That Death severs all of our obligations and penalties we have incurred under the Law.  The life we lead under the Law has been executed and we are no longer bound by sin; mind boggling to say the least.  Everything that we have known, everything that we have done, every penalty we have incurred and ‘good work’ that we have earned have been erased by the Death of Christ.  The lives that we led under the Law and under sin are just plain gone; executed, buried and no longer to be found.

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