Lesson 115

Romans Chapter Eight         

Freedom in Christ through the Holy Spirit

The Dynamic for living the Christian Life

Review:

8:37   The Conquest of Suffering;

"But in all these things..."

 

#1  Quality of the victory  =

 

#2  Comprehensiveness of the victory  =

 

 

 #3  Fact/reality of is predictable, why?  =

 

 

- loved is a participle;

Do you think the force of the  loved is  present or a past tense?

 

How is it that we know love?

 

 

 

*  The cross not only provides the power to save but also to live  a holy and separated life, and to be able to live out His purpose for you, to become conformed to the image of His Son!

 

Rom. 8:38-39    Settled convictions

- For I am convinced that  and the rest of the 2 verses fills in what he is convinced about.

 

 

 

-  Peitho speaks of being persuaded or convinced by the facts of something;  the facts of the case;

 

 

As translated it is active;  while the Greek here is passive; I have been convinced; I have been acted on by some external source, something outside of himself. 

Truth - the Word of God; + the illuminating ministry of the H/S

 

*  Principle:  Settled convictions result from truth of the Word communicated through teaching. 

    Settled convictions are needed if there is to be growth and assurance.

 

 - Elements needed for settled convictions:

1.  availability of truth 

2.  teaching of that truth 

3.  believing of that truth learned

 

-  Is it possible to know truth if truth doesn't exist??

 

 

 

A fundamental issue that you must answer is this, has God spoken or has only man spoken?

 

 

 

 

-  The whole purpose of the church is to teach the truth, make it  available so that you can build a conscience, a F/O/R, so that you have settled convictions, so that you can also say as did Paul I have been convinced on the basis of a solid foundation of DVPT.

      Look at 1 Tim 3:15.

 

 

For I have been convinced, persuaded, have total confidence; 

[based on the truth known and believed]

 

 

 

-  The list here in vs:38 starts where vs:35 left off.

 

- Actually see 5 groupings here;

#1  death/life 

#2  angels/principalities/powers

#3  things present/things to come

#4  height/depth

#5  any other created thing

 

#1  death/life  this describes our condition of existence in life  - no condition of existence whether death or life can separate us from the love of God.

 

For the believer who has the settled convictions related to his position in Christ and all that is his as a result of that, for that one the sting of death is gone;

#2  angels/principalities/powers = no preternatural can separate us from the love of God!  i.e. supernatural  

 

What this is saying is that nothing that they can do, no matter how powerful they are can separate the believer from the love of God!

 

 

Whose greater? God or these angels, principalities and powers??

 

 

#3  things present/things to come  idea here is the dimension of time;

 

Nothing in time now or nothing in the future can separate you from the love of God.

 

 

#4 height/depth  no dimension of space;  

 

 

#5 any other created thing  this is sort of a catch all; it closes any and all possible loopholes; anything or category left out;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there a stronger passage in the Word of God that your aware of  than this one to develop our confidence and assurance as to our  standing with God and His love for us?

 

 

 

 

Point is this security is linked to our position in Christ, it is an established fact we need to believe it and to rest in it!