Abba, Father

Romans 8:14-16

Of all of the names of God that appear in the Bible, only one was revealed to us through the life of Jesus in the New Covenant. Jesus said, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world” (John 17:6). Jesus never revealed Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Nissi, Jehovah-Shalom or any of the other Old Testament Hebrew names for God; but He did reveal “Abba, Father” (Mark 14:36). Jesus brought God from the distant mountain of Sinai to the close mountain of Zion. We now can see God as our Everlasting Father and as our Abba.

The Holy Spirit was so jealous of this word ‘Abba’ that He refused to allow the translators to change it. It appears three times in the New Testament, with the third coming in Galatians 4:6. It means “daddy”, and it remains the most intimate way to address our fathers unto this day. By giving the believer the right to call God, “Abba”, and the Holy Spirit is testifying of the fatherly love that our heavenly Father shows toward us.

“Abba, Father” removes the distance between God and man, bridging the divide that our law-keeping and our sinning have created. No longer do we view Him as angry and judgmental; but now He is our daddy that takes us in His arms and protects us from all harm.

Before we know God as Abba, we fear Him because of our failures and sins. This is why Paul tells us that we have not received the spirit of bondage “again to fear”. We feared God in an unholy way before we met Christ, and this fear was bondage. Now that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, we no longer are in bondage to fear.

When Paul tells the Galatian church that they can cry “Abba, Father”, he goes on explain to them that they should “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). Only when you feel the distance between you and God has been taken out will you cry out to Him as your daddy. When you feel that comfort to call Him that, you will know that you have been made free from the Law of performance and works. To go back into that formalism, where God is not your daddy, is to go back to law, which brings back the yoke of bondage.

We have the Spirit of adoption working in us, identifying us as God’s prized possessions. Since we have been adopted into His family, we are joint-heirs with Christ, meaning that we receive everything that He has coming to Him. He has paid it all, and now due to the adoption process of God, we are the recipients!

Never feel condemned for getting on intimate terms with God. Some will tell you that God is holy and august and that if you call Him “Daddy” you are getting too familiar with Him. Don’t you dare say that to my daughter about how she should talk to me! She belongs to me and I belong to her and she has the right to call me “Daddy” anytime and every time that she desires. I never want her to feel so distanced from me that she feels it necessary to call me “Pastor Paul”; that would turn my stomach! If you are that close to your children, how much closer do you think our Daddy God wants to be to us?

The Carnal Mind vs. the Spiritual Mind

Romans 8:6

To be of a carnal mind brings on death; while life and peace are found in being spiritually minded. In light of the end results that each mindset brings, it would be a wise thing to understand what it means to be carnally minded and to be spiritually minded.

Carnality is often viewed as things that are sinful. People declare certain movies or music to be carnal or dressing inappropriately or cursing to be things of a “carnal nature”. If this definition is correct then carnal minded must be sinful thinking. What would constitute sinful thinking? That is a little tougher to answer than it is to ask. Thank God the Bible tells us what carnality is so that all of this is cleared up.

Paul addressed the church at Corinth with some heavy instruction due to some of the things that they were doing. This church had an incestuous fornicator in their midst (5:1); they were getting drunk on communion wine (11:21); they were suing one another in court (6:1); they were sleeping with temple harlots (6:16) and they were abusing the gifts of the Spirit in worship services (chapter 14). In light of all of this, Paul never evoked the power of the Law to get them to live right, but rather reminded them of their righteousness in Christ and said, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

Before any of these other things were mentioned, Paul called the Corinthian church “carnal”, but it was for none of these sins that he referred to them this way. Their carnality was wrapped up in their identification. “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (1 Corinthians 3:4). It was for identifying themselves through any other means than as God’s righteousness that Paul called them carnal. He never said it over their lawsuits, their fornication or their drunkenness, but he said it over their divisions.

For the believer to see themselves through any other lens than the finished work of Jesus Christ is to be carnally minded. To face your trials and troubles and your sins and failures as if the cross never happened is to be carnally minded. To lean upon the arm of the flesh, trusting in your reading, praying, fasting, giving and going to bring you life and peace is to be carnally minded. Carnal minded Christians are never at peace, because they never have a sense of fulfillment that is found only through the cross of Christ.

To think with a carnal mind is to ignore the finished work of Jesus and place yourself under the judgment of God. This way of thinking is an enemy of God (Romans 8:7), incapable of producing righteousness. To walk in this way of thinking is to live according to your talents and abilities, with little or no regard as to who you really are in Christ. It is impossible to be pleasing to God in this state, and you will see no “life and peace”.

This does not mean that you are backslidden from God and that you are going to go to hell because you have leaned on the arm of the flesh. You do not lose relationship with God, even though you go about your Christian walk by your works. You DO however hinder fellowship with God when you trust your works for righteousness. He loves you just the same, but thinking that you have to earn His love will only lead to frustration and separation, neither of which are God’s will for your life. Jesus has paid for you to have no condemnation. Think this way and live in life and peace!

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1

Paul told the church at Corinth that he did not speak to condemn them (2 Corinthians 7:3) and Jesus said that He did not come to condemn the world either (John 3:17). If Paul didn’t preach condemnation, and Jesus did not show up to give condemnation, why are we so quick to condemn? Could it be that we have very little revelation of our own liberty from condemnation?

Paul states this first verse of Romans 8 in an unequivocal manner: “NO condemnation”. The word ‘no’ is ‘not even a little bit’ in the Greek, meaning that there is no room for condemnation at all, because of Christ Jesus. Once you accept Jesus Christ and His free pardon from sin, there is absolutely no room for you to be condemned. Jesus was condemned for all of our sins at the cross; thus there is none left for you or me!

The last part of the verse is “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”, which appears to place qualifications on the gift of no condemnation. In the original Greek, these words do not appear in this passage, but instead appear at the end of verse 4. Bible scholars call this process of moving one passage to another place as “interpolation”. Why would the translators do this if the Apostle Paul did not write it that way?

The only explanation that I can find is that they simply could not believe that there were no qualifications or conditions upon the gift of no condemnation. Most Christians will tell you that you are under no condemnation as long as you do the right thing, but if you fail then you are condemned in your sin. This is diametrically opposed to the third verse which tells us that Jesus had sin condemned in His flesh (Romans 8:3). Since all sin was condemned in the body of Jesus, it cannot ever be condemned in my body. Hallelujah!

If walking according to the Spirit is the requirement for “no condemnation”, then Jesus broke this rule when He withheld condemnation from the woman caught in the act of adultery. There is no clearer example in the Gospels of a moment when the full weight of the law should have fallen on a law-breaker than when this woman was caught sleeping with a married man. The Pharisees hoped to trap Jesus by forcing Him to decide to either stone her under Moses’ Law or let her go free. Jesus trumped them all with, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). Of course the Law condemned them all, so they dropped their rocks and left. Jesus then released the woman with the blessed promise, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). If ‘no condemnation’ comes only for those who walk in the Spirit, this woman is disqualified. She was living according to her fleshly desires, yet Jesus did not condemn her. It is a gift, and Jesus gives it freely!

As soon as we embrace the gift of no condemnation, the righteousness that the Law tried to bring out in us will come to the surface. Paul said, “That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Here, the phrase “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” is in the Greek text, but now the meaning becomes clear. Walk according to what the Holy Spirit says about you and you will see the righteousness of God come out in your lifestyle. What does the Spirit say? “Now no condemnation”!

It’s Not ‘What’, But It Is ‘Who'

Romans 7:15-25

Much has been debated about the timing of these passages. Some say that Paul is writing about himself before he became a Christian. Others say that this was Paul after conversion but before victory over the flesh, while still some argue that this was Paul’s current condition at the time that he wrote the epistle. There should probably be less discussion over when this occurred and more examination as to what is actually written. Within these verses, Paul gives us important insight into the struggle that all believers face at one time or another with overcoming sin.

No born-again believer wants to commit sin, much less live in a sinful lifestyle. When we find ourselves in failure, we are quick to go back to God and rest beneath the waterfall of His forgiveness. How to keep from sinning again is the goal of every Christian, with the Apostle Paul being no exception. He found that no matter how badly he wanted to do the right thing, he ended up doing the thing that he hated (Romans 7:15), which led him to the conclusion that the law was good (verse 16), but that it was inflaming sin within him (verse 17). A life of habitual sin has rubbed off on us all, with sinning requiring about as much effort as tying our shoes. We have done it for so long, we think nothing of it, which is why Paul says, “It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:20). In other words, he could sin without effort.

Though he had strong will-power (verse 18), he noticed that when he concentrated on doing the right thing, there was a law that took over in his life which caused evil to surface (verse 21). The more that the believer concentrates on doing the good and shunning the evil, the more that they place themselves back under the law of works and self-righteousness. When we go back under law, sin dominates us (Romans 6:14), and failure is inevitable. Why is this so? Because the law always causes sin to abound! (Romans 5:20)

This war that is happening in the Apostle was not in his heart, for his heart is perfectly sanctified before the Lord, forever (Hebrews 10:14). The war is happening “in my members” meaning that this is within his flesh, which he will have until he leaves this earth. It is warring against the “law of my mind”, meaning that Paul wants to do better because he knows that would be the right way to live, but his habits lead him elsewhere. You are not being dominated by an old nature that is still alive in you, for you died with Christ, “once” (Romans 6:14). Instead, the old habits of sin die hard so to speak and when you concentrate on performance you inflame those old passions. Notice that the more he thinks about doing the good (“law of the mind”), the more that he does the bad (“law of sin”).

Paul desired to live that which was holy, just and good, which is what the Law of God is (Romans 7:13). In fact, he said that he delighted in the Law of God (Romans 7:22). The New Creation in Christ, by our very nature would delight in anything that is holy, just and good. However, our new man knows that the works of the Law do not justify him, but the Finished Work of Jesus is our justification. With salvation comes a true desire to live right and do right, and Paul had this as well.

The believer need not concentrate on what they are going to do to overcome sin, for this speaks of works and law. This is what the rich young ruler wanted to know as well, “what must I do?” (Matthew 19:16). Our victory does not lie in what we can do, but in WHO HE IS! Paul concludes, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). The solution is found in the last verse of the chapter, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 25). It is the person and power of Jesus Christ that lives through us that brings us all victory.

Paul did not break the book into chapters (that was the role of the translators), so we find his final solution to the indwelling problem of sin in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. Because Jesus has died and I have been baptized into His death, there is now no condemnation to me either. What sweet victory is found!

Hell’s Favorite Verse

Romans 7:9

More than serving as a catchy title, I firmly believe in that statement. Satan knows what the Bible says, though he has no revelation as to what it means. In his knowledge of the Word is an ability to twist and distort scriptures. He did it to Eve in the Garden and he did it again in the wilderness to Jesus. He will do the same to you and I because he is a liar and the father of all liars (John 8:44).

Some verses need no twisting; they simply need removed from context. Take the “text” out of “context” and you are left with “con”, which is exactly where Satan does his finest work. Other verses do not even need that treatment; they can simply be quoted for what they are and within the framework of the information given, Satan can devise a plan.

In Romans 7:9, Paul is talking about the role of the Law in his life. In case you think that he is speaking of some other law than the Mosaic Law, he actually quotes the 10th Commandment in verse 7 and says that sin took occasion (opportunity) by that commandment to work in him all different kinds of lusts. Without the commandment in his life, he found sin to be dead. In other words, the knowledge of the Law actually caused the very thing that the commandment told him not to do, to get stronger. The more he heard, “Don’t lust”, the more he lusted. Thus it is until this day.

Believe you me, Satan has Romans 7:9 memorized. He knows that when the commandment comes, sin will revive and we will die. I am not claiming that he understands it perfectly or that he even cares to, but I guarantee you that every demon in hell knows that if they can use the Law against the believer, they will be able to heap condemnation and guilt upon them. The more that the Law is placed in front of the saint, the more that sin begins to revive and stir within them. If you were the devil, wouldn’t you use this to your advantage?

At the cross, Jesus stripped the Law out of our way and nailed it to His cross. He then pointed at the Law which was nailed to the cross and made fun of the powers of darkness through this triumphant act. That is what Paul is saying when he reminds us that Jesus, “Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Jesus had removed the one weapon that the enemy had to use against the believer: the Law.

When the pulpit brings emphasis back to the Law, we are weaponizing sin. Have you ever heard of something being “weaponized”? This refers to something being put into a form that it can be used to harm people by. Sin has no authority where there is no law, for without the law, “sin was dead” (Romans 7:8). When we put the Law back up as the standard for people to live by, we weaponize sin, giving it a revival of sorts in our life. Why would we do this? This is lunacy!

Satan works day and night to place believers back under a lifestyle of “do this” and “don’t do that” and he plays cruel tricks with us. When we “do this”, he tells us that we haven’t done enough. When we do what we shouldn’t, he tells us that we are guilty and that we are going to hell. How can we stop this cycle?

Put the Law back where it belongs! Jesus nailed it to the cross and “took it out of the way” (Colossians 2:14). Don’t worry about living right; it is His job to change your heart through the finished work of the cross. Your job is to rest in that finished work and trust Him. Do this and you take the weapon out of the enemy’s hands. Isn’t that what we all want?

Your Old Spouse is Dead

Romans 7:1-6

Contrary to what it is often used for, these first several verses of Romans 7 are not Paul’s treatise against divorce. Within the context of the entire book, this illustration of marriage and divorce is meant to work as a metaphor for Paul’s teaching on freedom from the Law of Moses. When viewed through this lens, these verses speak volumes as to what truly happened to us when we received Christ.

Paul’s audience is the Jewish people (“I speak to them that know the law” verse 1) and he reminds them that the Law dominates them as long as they are alive. Just as a woman is bound to her husband by the covenant of marriage as long as he is lives (verse 2). If the husband dies, she is loosed from that covenant.

If a woman runs off with another man while she is still married, she is called an adulteress (verse 3), but if she were to wait until her husband was dead and then remarry, she “is no adulteress” (Romans 7:3). Using this example, Paul concludes that we are dead to the marriage that we had with the Mosaic Law due to the “body of Christ” (Romans 7:4). The phrase “body of Christ” speaks of the death of our Lord on the cross. We were baptized into His death at salvation (Romans 6:3), thus we are as dead to the Law as He is. Now that we have died to the Law, we are free to marry another, and the one that we are married to is the one “who is raised from the dead” (Romans 7:4).

Our first husband was a tough taskmaster. He made loud demands on us that we could never keep. He was perfect and just and good but he always reminded us that we were none of those things. We spent day and night trying to live up to his standards and we constantly fell short. When we were unable to perform just right, he provided us with no mercy or help. He spoke the truth to us, but it always cut and hurt because it exposed our flaws and our problems. He wore us out, and we were constantly tired and beat down.

Then he died, and our life started brand new again. Our old husband was the Law and our salvation sounded his death sentence. Jesus, having kept the demands of the Law perfectly, paid the price for all of our Law-breaking, which freed us from that Old Covenant. Now we are married to our new husband, Jesus Christ. He puts no hard demands on us; in fact, He is easy and His burdens are light. We serve Him in every way though He never demands it. His loving presence brings forth wonderful fruit from our lives (Romans 7:4). We are a better spouse to Him than we ever were to our old husband, because this husband washes us with the water of words, speaking sweet nothings into our ear (Ephesians 5:26).

We have been joined together to Christ through the marriage of salvation (Ephesians 5:31). This marriage has delivered us from the bondage of the Law (Romans 7:6). Don’t think that you will run away and “sin like crazy” now that you are free from the trappings of the Mosaic Law. Actually, the contrary is true. We once served our husband in the letter of the Law, with its demands written in stone. Now, we serve our new husband with a new spirit (verse 6). Quite literally, we served the first husband because we had too. We serve the new husband because we truly want to, in our heart.

Grace, Then Signs and Wonders

Acts 14:1-4

Paul and his traveling brother Barnabas found themselves in Iconium, preaching the gospel in a Jewish synagogue. His message brought great multitudes of Jews and Gentiles to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but it also brought anger out in many. Unbelieving, but devout Jews began to stir up the Gentiles in the city, turning them against Paul and Barnabas. Week after week, Paul preached “boldly in the Lord”; “the word of His grace” (Acts 14:3). Notice the perseverance and the message. Paul kept right on preaching the message of grace, no matter how much opposition that He faced.

What were these Jews opposed to? Were they opposed to God? Of course not; they loved God fervently. Were they opposed to Gentiles being converted? Apparently not, as they let them into their synagogue. It was the word of God’s grace that Paul continued to preach that caused him so much trouble. They felt that salvation had much to do with keeping the Law, and Paul simply would not give in to this way of thinking.

No matter how much opposition they presented, Paul continued to be bold in his preaching of grace. God give us preachers who will use their boldness not to beat the sheep or expose people’s sins, but to boldly proclaim the finished work of Jesus and the free favors of God! The more that Paul preached grace, the more the Jewish adherents to Mosaic Law became infuriated.

God stepped in and “granted signs and wonders to be done at their hands” (Acts 14:3). The more that Paul proclaimed God’s grace and favor, the more that God responded by bringing forth mighty miracles. These miracles were to place God’s seal of approval on the message that was being presented. Jesus never performed a single miracle until the Father first said of Him at Jordan, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). With the “well-pleased” came the power to perform. The more that God’s grace is preached boldly, without reservation and fear, the more that God will respond in the church with signs and wonders.

There is no need to fear that we can preach “too much grace”. Since grace is Jesus (John 1:17), saying that one can preach “too much grace” is like saying that one could preach “too much Jesus”. There is simply no such thing! Ask a sinner how to get to heaven and most of them will reply with some form of works or the other. In fact, many of them will quote directly from the Law of Moses, citing the keeping of the 10 Commandments. How can we fear that they are going to get too much grace? They are full to the brim with Law and they are still going to hell!

The multitude of the city was divided over Paul’s preaching of grace (Acts 14:4) and this percentage remains until this day. Not everyone will turn to the preaching of God’s grace and favor, but many will. Those who respond with faith will see great things done in their lives as God changes them from the inside out. As grace becomes the chief message of the church there will be mighty miracles done which no one will be able to attribute to man. God will get all of the glory, for His Son Jesus is being proclaimed in all of His loveliness. Only grace destroys man’s self-dependency and exalts Jesus’ finished work. Let us be guilty of one thing and that is of preaching “too much grace”!