Clean - Romans 8

This week I finish teaching on Romans 8. I need to first say that it has been a tremendous privilege to teach on what a lot of scholars call one of the greatest chapters in all of the Bible. I know I didn't do it justice, but my hope and prayer is that our students would start to grasp that in Jesus Christ they are clean. There is no condemnation for those students who are in Christ! Here are a couple of other things that stick out.

First, those who are clean are adopted into the family of God. We can cry out "Abba" to our God who is our daddy. I know what it means to adopt and child and I know what it means to be an adopted child. I am my son's daddy. Larry is my daddy. Noah has my last name. I have my dad's last name. I know this is elementary and I think that is one of the points. God loves me as His child. He wants to be in such an intimate relationship with me that I can call him Daddy! This God that takes down Kings and raises them up has made it possible for us to call him Abba!

Second, that if we want to share in Christ's glory then we need to share in His sufferings. When I came across this text I froze. How can I call upper-middle-class students to suffer for Christ? How can I teach them that suffering isn't just an outcome of following Christ, it's part of the plan? We are to follow Him...to Calvary! And it is through suffering that my faith in Christ strengthens, not when everything is going great. To many students think God is most present with them when they are doing great and that He has left them when they feel horrible. But this text challenges us that God is SO PRESENT with us that Spirit intercedes for us with words that we can't express!

More to come...