Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading the book of Romans with Session 4, the summaries of chapters 8 and 9.

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Romans

Session 4

Chapter 8. Love

Therefore, those who live for Christ Jesus, are not condemned:

• They live according to the Spirit, not sinful desires;
• I am now free from the law of sin and death;
• For the law could not be fully obeyed by sinful people;
• But God sent His own Son, like a normal man, to fulfill all the
• Good requirements of the law, and condemn sinful behavior,
• That the law would be fulfilled in us whose lives are not
• Directed by sinful desires, but rather we live by the Spirit;
• For those who live according to sinful desires are always
• Thinking about sinful things, but those who live by the
• Spirit are always thinking about the things of the Spirit;
• Always thinking about the sinful desires of the body will lead
• To one’s death, but keeping one’s mind on things of the Spirit
• Will lead to a life of peace;
• The earthly mind rebels against God because it cannot obey the
• Law of God; Those who live only for the desires of the body
• Cannot please God, but you do not live for the desires of the
• Body, as you live for the Spirit if the Spirit of God is living
• Within you; Anyone who does not have the Spirit of God
• Living within them does not belong to God; If you have Christ
• Within you, you have your sinful body under control, and
• You can live right; The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the
• Dead will give life to you because His Spirit lives in you;
• So, my brothers, this makes us debtors—not to our sinful
• Body, for when you take control of your body, you can truly
• Live; Everyone who is led by the Spirit of God is a child of God;
• You do not need to be bound by fear, as you have received the
• Spirit of adoption, so you can now call God your Father; The
• Spirit of God, Himself, assures us that we are His children, and
• That makes us heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ;
• If that leads us into some suffering, He will be with us, and He
• Will bless us; I consider these things I am suffering now to be
• Very small trials compared to the blessings that will come to
• Me; The world has been struggling, but waiting in hope,
• Groaning as in birth pangs until now, and likewise we, as
• Believers, also have been silently groaning, waiting for our
• Adoption, the redemption of our body;
• But we have been saved by the hope we have in things we have
• Not seen; After all, hope in things which can be seen is not
• Hope, or why would anyone say they have hope in things
• Which he can see? If we have hope in something unseen, we
• Hope with patience;
• And the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not always
• Know what we should be praying for, but the Spirit Himself
• Strives in prayer for us in ways we cannot hear; He searches
• Our hearts, and prays for us according to the will of God for us;
• And we know that everything works together for good to those
• Who love God and are following His plans for them;
• He knew us before we were born, and He planned for our lives
• To be conformed to the life of His Son who would be the first
• Among many believers; And all those whom He knew before
• Hand, He called to Himself, made them righteous, and then
• Transformed their lives;
• So then, we say: When God is for us, who can be against us?
• He gave up His Son for all of us, so we can be sure He will
• Freely give us everything we need; Who can condemn those
• Whom God has chosen? God justifies, and Christ is at God’s
• Right hand, interceding for us;
• Who can keep the love of God away from us? Can trouble, or
• Stress, or people, or hard times, or embarrassment, or danger,
• Or conflict? The scriptures say we are in danger every day, like
• Sheep going to be slaughtered; But even with all these things,
• We will overcome through Him who loves us;
• There is nothing, not death, life, angels, governments, powers,
• Nor things present or in the future, not heights, not depths,
• Nothing in all creation, can come between us and the love of
• God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.    

Chapter 9. Stone

I am telling you the truth, as the Holy Spirit is my witness:

• And my heart is grieved continually with sorrow,
• As I wish that I could be the one who is cursed from Christ
• On your behalf, my brothers, my kinsmen, all Israelites,
• You have received the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
• The law of God and His promises; All this came to our fathers
• From whom Christ came to be over all;
• But not everyone in Israel is from Israel;
• The children of Abraham are not all the children of God,
• It is the children of Isaac who are the called,
• These are the children of the promise: The promise given to
• Sarah that God would bless her and she would have a son;
• And it was spoken to Rebecca, Isaac’s daughter, that of her two
• Sons, the older would serve the younger, and it is written:
• ‘Jacob, I have loved, but Esau I have hated;’
• So, what can we say—is God wrong in what he has done?
• Certainly not! For God told Moses He would show mercy and
• Compassion to those whom He chooses; It is God who chooses;
• The Scripture says even Pharoah was chosen by God for his
• Part in the history of Israel, so that God would show His power;
• And the name of God would be spoken over all the world;
• God shows mercy on some, and hardens others, as He chooses;
• Then, you might ask, ‘How can God condemn if He controls
• What people do?’ So, who are you to argue with God? Will you,
• The one who is created, ask your Creator why He made you as
• You are? The potter has control over the clay to made vessels
• For different purposes, some for good, and some for evil;
• But what if God, intending to show His power, would endure,
• With patience, the evil vessels, so that He could shower the
• Rich blessings of heaven on the vessels of mercy, which he had
• Already prepared beforehand, like us, whom He chose, not
• Just Jews but also Gentiles?
• In Hosea He says: ‘I will call them My people, who were not
• My people,’ and they will be called ‘sons of the living God;’
• Also, Isaiah speaks about Israel: Though the number of the
• Children of Israel will be like the sands of the sea, there will be
• A remnant who will be saved, for the Lord will finish His work
• On earth quickly; And Isaiah also said: The Lord left us a seed,
• Or we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah;
• So, what is there to say? The Gentiles, who never tried to live
• Rightly before God, have attained right living in faith;
• But Israel could never achieve right living according to the law,
• Though they tried; Why? Because they did not live by faith,
• Only by the works of the law which was a stumbling stone, as
• It is written: I will place a stumbling stone in Zion which will
• Cause them to stumble, but whoever believes on Him will
• Not be shamed.

End of Session 4 of the book of Romans.