Romans 8:1-12
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Lesson 314 There Is Therefore Now No Condemnation Romans 8:1-12 MEMORY VERSE ROMANS 8:1 There is therefore now no condem nation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the S pirit. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: One chair for each child in your class, a folded piece of paper for each chair, markers, music, a happy face sign and a sad face sign. Two bed sheets or table clothes, balloons, and a safety pin. ATTENTION GRABBER! Going to Timbuktu Stand with your class at one side of the room and read the following poem: As I was going to Timbuktu I discovered a rock within my shoe. As I sat and thought, “What can I do?” A man walked by like this (walk limping). Ask your class to think of other funny ways to get to Timbuktu. Have them come one at a time to the teacher, each person must think of a new way to get there. Explain that there are many ways to walk in this life. Romans 8:4 tells us to walk according to the Spirit. People who walk according to the flesh may think that that is strange, but we are to walk according to God’s ways. LESSON TIME! Have you ever done something wrong, even though you knew it was wrong, but you did it anyway? Or maybe you thought about doing something that you knew would be wrong, even if you didn’t actually do it. Well, we all have either done or thought something wrong, God calls it sin. He knew that we would sin and that we couldn’t keep His perfect law. God didn’t just leave us in our sinful condition though; He provided His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit, who give us life and peace. We’ll learn more about that today, as we read this letter from Paul to the church. When we live in the Spirit we can say no to sin. R OM AN S 8:1-2 T h e r e i s t h e r e f o r e n o w n o c o n d e m n at i o n t o t h o s e w h o ar e i n C h r i s t J e s u s , w h o d o n o t w al k ac c o r d i n g t o t h e f l e s h , bu t ac c o r d i n g t o t h e S p i r i t . Fo r t h e l aw o f t h e S p i r i t o f l i f e i n C h r i s t J e s u s h as m ad e m e f r e e f r o m t h e l aw o f s i n an d d e at h . This chapter is a continuation of a letter that Paul is writing to the church in Rome. In this part of the letter Paul is describing the victory we can have over sin in our daily lives through Jesus Christ. Because we have asked Jesus into our hearts there is no condemnation (or punishment) for us. As we saw a couple of weeks ago, we are “justified” or declared to be righteous and receive God’s grace and eternal life. Paul now begins to tell the church in Rome about the benefits of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. When we ask Jesus into our hearts, God gives us the Holy Spirit. He dwells with us and helps us. Paul says that sin produces death, but that the Spirit of God gives life and when we know Jesus we are set free from death. When we live in the Spirit we can say no to sin. God loved us so much, that He provided a plan through His Son Jesus to save us. He sent Him in a human body like ours, but without sin, and He conquered sin for us by giving Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. He gave us a helper too, the Holy Spirit, who helps us daily. R OM AN S 8:3-11 Fo r w h at t h e l aw c o u l d n o t d o i n t h at i t w as w e ak t h r o u gh t h e f l e s h , G o d d i d by s e n d i n g Hi s o w n S o n i n t h e l i k e n e s s o f s i n f u l f l e s h , o n ac c o u n t o f s i n : He c o n d e m n e d s i n i n t h e f l e s h , t h at t h e r i gh t e o u s r e qu i r e m e n t o f t h e l aw m i gh t be f u l f i l l e d i n u s w h o d o n o t w al k ac c o r d i n g t o t h e f l e s h bu t ac c o r d i n g t o t h e S p i r i t . Fo r t h o s e w h o l i v e ac c o r d i n g t o t h e f l e s h s e t t h e i r m i n d s o n t h e t h i n gs o f t h e f l e s h , bu t t h o s e w h o l i v e ac c o r d i n g t o t h e S p i r i t , t h e t h i n gs o f t h e S p i r i t . Fo r t o be c ar n al l y m i n d e d i s d e at h , bu t t o be s p i r i t u al l y m i n d e d i s l i f e an d p e ac e . B e c au s e t h e c ar n al m i n d i s e n m i t y agai n s t G o d ; f o r i t i s n o t s u bj e c t t o t h e l aw o f G o d , n o r i n d e e d c an be . S o t h e n , t h o s e w h o ar e i n t h e f l e s h c an n o t p l e as e G o d . B u t y o u ar e n o t i n t h e f l e s h bu t i n t h e S p i r i t , i f i n d e e d t h e S p i r i t o f G o d d w e l l s i n y o u . N o w i f an y o n e d o e s n o t h av e t h e S p i r i t o f C h r i s t , h e i s n o t Hi s . An d i f C h r i s t i s i n y o u , t h e bo d y i s d e ad be c au s e o f s i n , bu t t h e S p i r i t i s l i f e be c au s e o f r i gh t e o u s n e s s . B u t i f t h e S p i r i t o f Hi m w h o r ai s e d J e s u s f r o m t h e d e ad d w e l l s i n y o u , He w h o r ai s e d C h r i s t f r o m t h e d e ad w i l l al s o gi v e l i f e t o y o u r m o r t al bo d i e s t h r o u gh Hi s S p i r i t w h o d w e l l s i n y o u . Paul emphasizes that we have a sinful nature, and that God knew we could not obey the Old Testament law.