Bible Study Blog Party

Hi everyone! Today I'm participating in a Bible Study Blog Party hosted by Faith over at I Like That. 

Let me first start by saying, this is going to be a very long post! If you don't have time to really read this, and not just skim over it, then you might want to save it for a more convenient time. A time when you can read along in your Bible and study these verses.

Without further ado, lets begin!

When I think of a bible study, there are two pictures that come to mind. 

The first one is more of a school-like scenario where you have one teacher who loves to dig deep into the scriptures and uses long words that are sometimes confusing, with a class room of students quickly jotting down in notebooks, hoping to come away with a small bit of information to then apply to life. 

The second is of a smaller group of people, lets say a group of blogger friends, who open their Bibles together, who share what they have learned, who ask questions even if they don't know the answers, who care about understanding what puzzles them, hoping to come away with a small bit of information to then apply to life. 

You notice that I ended these two scenarios the same. Because no matter how you study, the overall goal is to apply what you have learned to everyday life. 

Lets study Romans 8 more like the second scenario, shall we? Because, I am not a teacher with big words, and I try not to be confusing. :)

Lets open out Bibles together and share whats on our hearts, lets ask questions, lets care about understanding, and let our goal be to apply this small bit of what we learn to everyday life.

If you study better taking notes, then go for it! (I know us bloggers love to fill up our favorite notebooks!) And this wouldn't technically be a bible study if you didn't open your Bibles, so get your Bibles out to look up the verses as we go.

My take on Romans 8... I will break it up into seven sections with a few verses at a time and then tell you what these verses mean to me. At the end of each section, I will ask a question, feel free to answer in the comments.

The first half of this chapter was harder to understand than the last half. Since this is a bible study, I think it is very important to dig deeper and try to fully understand these verses than to just scratch the surface. (And just so we all our on the same page, my Bible is NKJV.)

Section 1. Read Romans 8:1-5
In my version, it starts by saying that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Condemnation means a strong disapproval. So there IS approval in Jesus. These are the people who walk according to the Holy Spirit, and not those who walk according to the flesh. 

This first part is important, because it kind of sets the stage for the following verses. These first few verses talk about the law of the Spirit and the law of sin and death or, flesh. When you walk according to the law of the Spirit, you are following Gods will and direction, but if you are walking according to the flesh, then you are following earthly desires and selfish motives. 

What is sin? Sin is the consequence of disobeying God. Wait, read that again and let that sink in for a minute.

It says that the law of the Spirit sets us free from the law of flesh.  Yes, we are sinners, but God has made a way for us to be free from that bondage. Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins. He burdened our sins so that we can have life with Him. That means that we have a way out, if we choose it. 

How did you understand verses 1-5? 

Section 2. Read Romans 8:6-11
These next six verses are very bold and pretty clear. There is no sitting on the fence, no grey zone, no serving two masters here. It's one or the other. We can either fall into Satan's trap, or live for God who gives peace and life. We can not please God if we walk according to the law of flesh. 

If the Spirit of God dwells in us, even though our sin makes us subject to death, we can have life because of His righteousness.

How would you explain these six verses to a friend who did not know God?

Section 3. Read Romans 8:12-15
We are not in debt to the flesh. We do not owe the law of flesh anything. We are not beholden to live as the world. Because if we do live according to the flesh, the result is death. But if we live by the Spirit, we will live. 

If we believe in God, and follow His guidance, we are sons of God. We are His children! We have not received the spirit of bondage, of fear. We have received the gift of adoption, so that we can cry out, "Abba, Father." 

Abba means, "daddy." Whenever we are afraid, anytime, anyplace, if we are scared too death, just say His name. Our Daddy, our Father is right there. He is our help in times of need. God is bigger than the boogie man. (Is anyone singing the song? :D) 

Have you ever been scared and remembered these verses?

Section 4. Read Romans 8:16-21
Just because we are children of God, doesn't mean that we will be spared from suffering. It actually says that we will suffer. We will have difficult times. We will have trials and tribulations. But it doesn't all stop there. There is hope. Because the things we suffer today can not be compare to the glory that will come. We will be glorified together with Him. 

Jesus is coming soon! And one day...

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be! 
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing and shout the victory!

Look that hymn up and really read the words to that song, and notice in one of the verses it says, "Just one glimpse of Him in glory, Will the toils of life repay." 

Whatever we are suffering now, God is our hope.

Do you believe that Jesus is coming soon? 

Section 5. Read Romans 8:22-25
The next five verses correlate our sufferings with birthing pangs. These are painful times. It talks about how our hope saves us. This next verse stumps me a bit. In verse 24 it is kind of hard for my mind to wrap around and understand it. It says, "For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?" 

Lets try to understand this more with a object lesson.

Ok, so lets say that two people are hiking in the woods on a trail that crosses a raging creek. One person is blindfolded, and the other can see. The first person hears the roaring creek and hopes there is a bridge to cross it. But the second person sees the bridge and walks across without pause. The person with the blind fold would need to trust someone to help them across so they would know where to step, whereas the second person would go to the bridge without hesitation and cross without need of a guide. 

I think it would be way scarier to cross a creek blindfolded. All I would hear would be the raging waters, the troubles and trails. I would be unsure of where I was stepping and have to hope and put my trust in Someone I can count on. 

Do you get the picture? Can you see how being blindfolded causes one to hope and have faith, vs. if you can already see whats ahead, then you are confident and don't need help?

Well, we cannot physically see God, but we can see him in nature, in miracles, in creation. We can read about Him in our Bibles and talk to Him in prayer. God is real. He is our Guide.

And we are saved with this hope that He will come again, because He has promised us this. 

How do you see God in your life even throughout the suffering?

Section 6. Read Romans 8:26-31
God searches us and knows our hearts, even in our weakest moments, even if we don't know how to pray or what to pray, we have a Advocate. 

Romans 8:28 is a well known verse that says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." 

What a great promise! Gods got us. And if God is for us, who can be against us? God is stronger than the biggest enemy. He has already won! 

Do you find comfort in Romans 8:28 or Romans 8:31?

Section 7. Read Romans 8:32-39
How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? God loves us so much that He sent his only son to die for us. This gift that He freely gives us is one we should thank Him everyday. 

Who shall bring a church against God's elect? Only God is our Judge. 

Who is he who condemns? It is Jesus who died and rose from the dead, who is at the right hand of God. He is our Advocate. 

What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Whatever Satan throws in our way, whatever trials we face, whatever sorrows we bear, in all these things, we are conquers through Him who loves us. 

Romans 8:38,39 
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels not principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor hight not depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What are your thoughts on Romans 8? Do you feel like you now have a clearer understanding of these verses? Isn't it amazing that so much is packed into one chapter of the Bible? How do you best study your Bible? Were you able to learn anything new from this Bible study?