ROMANS 8 COMMENTARY

ROMAS 8 COMMETARY
Written and edited by Glenn Pease
PREFACE
The following commentary consists of my own thoughts combined with the thoughts of the many
authors both ancient and modern who have made comments on this most important letter of
Paul. I have quoted so many others because I have found in each a unique way to convey the
ideas that Paul is seeking to communicate. This is the longest commentary I have collected
because it is the most popular chapter in the Bible for commentators and preachers. I have
dozens of authors I have not quoted, for this could go on and on, for there are endless comments
that can be collected. I intend to do more shorter studies in the future on this great chapter.
Sometimes I have not been able to give credit, and if anyone discovers the name of the author
quoted and lets me know, I will gladly give credit where credit is due. If anyone does not want
their quotes expressed in this commentary, they can let me know as well, and I will delete them.
My e-mail is glenn_p86@yahoo.com The purpose of this commentary is to bring the thoughts of
many authors together in one place in order to save the Bible student a lot of time in research. All
of the comments are available to anyone, but it takes an enormous amount of time to read all of
the resources. I have brought together what I feel are the best thoughts on the text in this one
place to save others the time. It is my pleasure to do so, and I use these studies myself to teach a
class of about 20 people. The numbering system uses letters as well as numbers because it gives
me the freedom to add new material I discover without doing the numbers all over. I welcome
any comments, and I will add them to this commentary if they contribute new and valued insight.
I share comments of scholars who differ in their views, and leave the reader to decide which are
most consistent with God's full revelation.
ITRODUCTIO
Commentators have been at a loss for words to praise the worth of this chapter. Almost every
sentence is filled with essential doctrine. A. T. Pierson wrote, “This eighth chapter of Romans is
one of the mountaintops of the ew Testament. It is the grandest thing Paul ever wrote, and if he
had written nothing else, he has here given us a continent of thought, broad as the grace of God;
and we might spend eternity in exploring it and still feel that we had touched but the borders of
this wondrous theme.”
Charles Spurgeon, “This chapter is like the garden of Eden, which had in it all manner of
delights. If one were shut up to preach only from the eighth of Romans he would have a subject
which might last a lifetime. Every line of the chapter serves for a text. It is an inexhaustible mine.

Paul sets before us a golden ladder, and from every step he climbs to something yet higher, from
sonship he rises to heirship, and from heirship to joint-heirship with the Lord Jesus.”
D. L. Moody, “...when I get into the heart of the eighth chapter of Romans, I really thing that is
the best Paul ever wrote,”
Spener once said, “If holy Scripture was a ring, and the Epistle to the Romans its precious stone,
chapter 8 would be the sparkling point of the jewel.”
Tony Campolo, This chapter is in many ways the most confidence-building passage of Scripture
I know of. Some have likened the Bible to a treasure chest with each chapter a fabulous jewel
with its own particular beauty in the message it speaks. Romans 8 may well be the most valuable
jewel of all.
Charles Erdman, “If the Epistle to the Romans rightly has been called “the cathedral of the
Christian faith,” then surely the eighth chapter may be regarded as its most sacred shrine, or its
high altar of worship, or praise, and of prayer.” It deals with two great realities, 11. The power of
holy living, and 2. The hope of eternal glory.
Ray Stedman: “the most powerful human document that has ever been penned.” John Piper:
“Which of us, who has tasted the goodness and glory of God in this great gospel, does not count
the book of Romans precious beyond reckoning? . . . there is no greater exposition of the Gospel
of God than the book of Romans.” Donald Grey
Barnhouse: “Every movement of revival in the Christian church has been connected with the
teachings set forth in Romans.”
John MacArthur, “I cannot find words to express all the riches contained in this chapter. As I
studied each verse I felt like I was on an ascending path culminating in a paean of praise.
Romans 8 will sweep you off your feet and carry you into the presence of God Himself. When you
read such a monumental chapter with an open heart and mind, I guarantee you will be enriched.
It would be impossible not to be changed after internalizing the truths contained in this life-changing
chapter.”
Steve Zeisler, “This chapter is in many ways the most confidence-building passage of Scripture I
know of. Some have likened the Bible to a treasure chest with each chapter a fabulous jewel with
its own particular beauty in the message it speaks. Romans 8 may well be the most valuable jewel
of all. So far, as we have looked at the process of sanctification, in chapters 5 through 7, it seems
to resemble driving lessons. My first efforts as a driver were in a car with a standard
transmission, so I was trying to learn to operate the clutch. If I didn't give it enough gas it died. If
I gave it too much gas it lurched. I was going back and forth trying to get the timing with my feet
worked out so that I gave it just enough gas to make smooth transitions. But I forgot to steer. And
as soon as I started trying to steer, I went around a corner, over corrected, and hit the curb on the
left. Then I went back to the right. I braked too hard the first time, and the guy behind me nearly
hit me because I stopped so suddenly. Later I braked too softly and rolled through a stop sign.
In the process of learning to drive you make a mistake and then over correct the other direction.
That is a bit like what we see described in these chapters of Romans where grace is announced to

us. There is a whole series of questions that go back and forth trying to make sense of it. Having
veered off too far in one direction, we go back the other direction making a different mistake. We
learn of grace---does that mean that though we're forgiven we continue in sin and failure, exactly
as before? By no means! So we over correct and determine to clean up our act, follow the law
with great determination only to discover that the law is inadequate to renew our lives.”
Thomas Jacomb, “Search all the Scriptures, (I will except none,) turn over the whole word of
God, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelation, you will not find any one
chapter into which more excellent, sublime, evangelical truths are crowded, than this which I am
entering upon. The Holy Bible is the book of books; in some, though not in equal, respects, this
chapter may be styled the chapter of chapters. It is indeed the epitome, abridgment, storehouse of
all the saints' privileges and duties : you have in it the love of God and of Christ displayed to the
utmost, and shining forth in its greatest splendor. Would any take a view of the Magnalia Dei
with respect to his glorious grace ? here they lie open before them. Paul in it speaks much of the
blessed Spirit, and surely he was more than ordinarily full of this Spirit in the penning of it. i
Blessed be God for every part and parcel of holy writ ; and, in special, blessed be God for this
eighth chapter to the Romans.”
Great Texts, “THE eighth chapter of Romans, says Spurgeon, is like the
garden of Eden, full of all manner of delights. Here you have
all necessary doctrines to feed upon, and luxurious truths with
which to satisfy your soul One might well have been willing
to be shut up as a prisoner in Paradise ; and one might well be
content to be shut up to this one chapter, and never to be
allowed to preach from any other part of God s Word. If this
were the case, one might find a sermon in every line ; nay, more
than that, whole volumes might be found in a single sentence by
any one who was truly taught of God. I might say of this
chapter, All its paths drop fatness. It is among the other
chapters of the Bible like Benjamin s mess, which was five times
as much as that of any of his brothers. We must not exalt one
part of God s Word above another ; yet, as one star differeth
from another star in glory, this one seems to be a star of the
first magnitude, full of the brightness of the grace and truth of
God. It is an altogether inexhaustible mine of spiritual wealth,
and I invite the saints of God to dig in it, and to dig in it again
and again. They will find, not only that it hath dust of gold,
but also huge nuggets, which they shall not be able to carry away
by reason of the weight of the treasure.
Harrison, “It is altogether too narrow a view to see in this portion simply the antidote to the
wretched state pictured in chapter 7. Actually the chapter gathers up various strands of thought
from the entire discussion of both justification and sanctification and ties them together with the
crowning knot of glorification.
We will see in this chapter the complete picture of salvation.

Past Justification-free from the penalty of sin.
Present Sanctification-free from the power of sin.
Future Glorification-free from the presence of sin.
Life Through the Spirit
1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus,[a]
1. Barnes, “There is, therefore, now - This is connected with the closing verses of Rom. 7. The
apostle had there shown that the Law could not effect deliverance from sin, but that such
deliverance was to be traced to the gospel alone; Rom_7:23-25. It is implied here that there was
condemnation under the Law, and would be still, but for the intervention of the gospel.
o condemnation - This does not mean that sin in believers is not to be condemned as much as
any where, for the contrary is everywhere taught in the Scriptures; but it means,
(1) That the gospel does not pronounce condemnation like the Law. Its function is to pardon;
the function of the law is to condemn. The one never affords deliverance, but always condemns;
the object of the other is to free from condemnation, and to set the soul at liberty.
(2) There is no final condemnation under the gospel. The function, design, and tendency of the
gospel is to free from the condemning sentence of law. This is its first and its glorious
announcement, that it frees lost and ruined people from a most fearful and terrible
condemnation.
(The first verse of this chapter seems to be an inference from the whole preceding discussion.
The apostle having established the doctrine of justification, and answered the objections
commonly urged against it, now asserts his triumphant conclusion, “There is therefore, etc.; that
is to say, it follows from all that has been said concerning the believer’s justification by the
righteousness of Christ, and his complete deliverance from the Law as a covenant, that to him
there can be no condemnation. The design of Paul is not so much to assert the different functions
of the Law and the gospel, as simply to state the fact in regard to the condition of a certain class,
namely, those who are in Christ. To them there is no condemnation whatever; not only no final
condemnation, but no condemnation now, from the moment of their union to Christ, and
deliverance from the curse of the Law. The reason is this: that Christ hath endured the penalty,
and obeyed the precept of the Law in their stead.
“Here,” says Mr. Haldane on the passage, “it is often remarked that the apostle does not say,
that there is in them (believers) neither matter of accusation, nor cause of condemnation; and yet
this is all included in what he does say. And afterward, in express terms, he denies that they can
be either accused or condemned, which they might be, were there any ground for either. All that
was condemnable in them, which was sin, has been condemned in their Surety, as is shown in the
third verse.”)
Which are in Christ Jesus - Who are united to Christ. To be in him is an expression not seldom

used in the ew Testament, denoting close and intimate union. Phi_1:1; Phi_3:9; 2Co_5:17;
Rom_16:7-11. The union between Christ and his people is compared to that between the vine and
its branches Joh_15:1-6, and hence, believers are said to be in him in a similar sense, as deriving
their support from him, and as united in feeling, in purpose, and destiny. (See the supplementary
note at Rom_8:10.) Who walk. Who conduct, or live. ote, Rom_4:12. ot after the flesh. Who do
not live to gratify the corrupt desires and passions of the flesh; ote, Rom_7:18. This is a
characteristic of a Christian. What it is to walk after the flesh may be seen in Gal_5:19-21. It
follows that a man whose purpose of life is to gratify his corrupt desires, cannot be a Christian.
Unless he lives not to gratify his flesh, he can have no evidence of piety. This is a test which is
easily applied; and if every professor of religion were honest, there could be no danger of
mistake, and there need be no doubts about his true character.
But after the Spirit - As the Holy Spirit would lead or prompt. What the Spirit produces may
be seen in Gal_5:22-23. If a man has these fruits of the Spirit, he is a Christian; if not, he is a
stranger to religion, whatever else he may possess. And this test also is easily applied.
1B. David Riggs, “Chapter 7 involved the inward conflict he had when he lived under the law. He
now shows that he was freed from that conflict.
1. ow - As distinguished from the time when he projected himself back under the law.
2. o condemnation - Freed form sin's guilt and enslaving power, the law of sin and death
no longer has control. See 7:23.
3. Whether he may or may not again come into condemnation is not a matter of
consideration here.
4. In verses 1-17, Paul divides people into two categories - those who let themselves be
controlled by their fleshly desires, and those who follow after the Holy Spirit.
1. He gives strong exhortation to cause us to choose the right path.
2. Clarke, “There is, therefore, now no condemnation - To do justice to St. Paul’s reasoning, this
chapter must be read in the closest connection with the preceding. There we have seen the
unavailing struggles of an awakened Jew, who sought pardon and holiness from that law which
he was conscious he had broken; and in which he could find no provision for pardon, and no
power to sanctify. This conviction having brought him to the very brink of despair, and, being on
the point of giving up all hope, he hears of redemption by Jesus Christ, thanks God for the
prospect he has of salvation, applies for and receives it; and now magnifies God for the
unspeakable gift of which he has been made a partaker.
Those who restrain the word now, so as to indicate by it the Gospel dispensation only, do not
take in the whole of the apostles meaning. The apostle has not been dealing in general matters
only, but also in those which are particular. He has not been pointing out merely the difference
between the two dispensations, the Mosaic and the Christian; but he marks out the state of a
penitent under the former, and that of a believer under the latter. The last chapter closed with an
account of the deep distress of the penitent; this one opens with an account of his salvation. The
now, therefore, in the text, must refer more to the happy transition from darkness to light, from
condemnation to pardon, which this believer now enjoys, than to the Christian dispensation
taking the place of the Jewish economy.
Who walk not after the flesh, etc. - In this one verse we find the power and virtue of the Gospel
scheme; it pardons and sanctifies; the Jewish law could do neither. By faith in our Lord Jesus

Christ the penitent, condemned by the law, is pardoned; the carnal man, labouring under the
overpowering influence of the sin of his nature, is sanctified. He is first freely justified; he feels no
condemnation; he is fully sanctified; he walks not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit.
This last clause is wanting in the principal MSS., versions, and fathers. Griesbach has excluded
it from the text; and Dr. White says, Certissime delenda; it should most undoubtedly be expunged.
Without it, the passage reads thus: There is, therefore, no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus; for the law of the Spirit of life, etc. It is a fairly assumed point, that those who are in
Christ Jesus, who believe in his name, have redemption in his blood; are made partakers of his
Spirit, and have the mind in them that was in him; will not walk after the flesh, but after the
Spirit: therefore the thing itself is included in the being in Christ, whether it be expressed or not:
and it was probably to make the thing more obvious, that this explanatory clause was added by
some copyist, for it does not appear to have made an original part of the text; and it is most likely
that it was inserted here from the fourth verse.
3. Gill, “There is therefore now, no condemnation,.... The apostle having discoursed largely in the
preceding chapter, concerning the struggle and combat believers feel within themselves, and
opened the true causes and reasons of the saints' grievances and complaints, and what gives them
the greatest uneasiness in this life, proceeds in this to take notice of the solid ground and
foundation they have of spiritual peace and joy; which arise from their justification and
adoption, the purposes and decrees of God, and particularly the everlasting and unchangeable
love of God in Christ, the source, spring, and security, of all the blessings of grace. The chapter
begins with a most comfortable account of the safety of believers in Christ; the apostle does not
say there is nothing condemnable in them, for sin is in them and is condemnable, and condemned
by them; and is hurtful to their spiritual joy and comfort, though it cannot bring them into
condemnation, because of their being in Christ Jesus: he says there is ουδεν κατακριμα, not one
condemnation to them, or one sentence of condemnation against them; which must be
understood not of illegal ones, for they are liable to many condemnations from their hearts, from
the world and the devil; but of legal, justifiable ones, and there are none such, neither from God
the Father, for he justifies; nor from the Son, for by his righteousness they are justified; nor from
the Holy Spirit, who bears witness to their spirits, that they are in a state of justification: there is
not one condemnation lies against them, with respect to their numerous sins, original and actual,
though every sin deserves one; not one from the law of God, of which sin is a transgression, for
though that is a condemning law, yet it is only so to them that are under it; not to them that are
Christ's, whom he has redeemed from it: moreover, the apostle says, that there is no
condemnation now to the saints; which now must not be considered, as if it supposes that there
was formerly condemnation to them; it is true indeed they were under a sentence of
condemnation, as considered in Adam, and under a covenant of works with him, and in their own
apprehensions when convicted; but as considered in Christ, as the elect of God always were, and
who was their surety, and so their security from all eternity, they never were in a state of
condemnation: nor does this suppose, that there may be condemnation to them hereafter, though
not now; for sin, the cause of condemnation, is removed; Christ has bore the condemnation their
sins deserved in himself; their justification is from all sin, past, present, and to come; their union
to Christ is indissoluble, and neither the love of Christ, nor the justice of God, will admit of their
condemnation; for this now, is not an adverb of time, but a note of illation; the apostle
inferring this privilege, either from the grace of God, which issues in eternal life, Rom_6:23; or
from that certain deliverance believers shall have from sin, for which he gives thanks, Rom_7:24;
The privilege itself here mentioned is, no condemnation: condemnation is sometimes put for
the cause of it, which is sin, original and actual; now though God's elect are sinners, both by

nature and practice, and after conversion have sin in them, their sanctification being imperfect,
yet there is none in them with respect to justification; all is transferred to Christ, and he has
removed all away; he has procured the pardon of all by his blood, he has abolished all by his
sacrifice, he justifies from all by his righteousness, and saves his people from all their sins:
condemnation may also be considered with respect to guilt; all mankind are guilty of Adam's sin,
and are guilty creatures, as they are actual transgressors of the law; and when convinced by the
Spirit of God, acknowledge themselves to be so; and upon the repetition of sin, contract fresh
guilt on their consciences; but an heart sprinkled with the blood of Christ, is clear of guilt; for all
the guilt of sin is removed to Christ, and he has took it away; hence there is no obligation to
punishment on them, for whom Christ died: again, condemnation may design the sentence of it:
now though the law's sentence passed upon all in Adam, and so upon God's elect, as considered in
him; yet as this sentence has been executed on Christ, as their surety, in their room and stead,
there is none lies against them: once more, condemnation may mean actual damnation, or eternal
death, the wages of sin, which those who are in Christ shall never die; they are ordained to
eternal life, and are redeemed from this death; they are made alive by Christ, and have eternal
life secured to them in him, and which they shall certainly enjoy: the persons interested in this
privilege are described, as such
which are in Christ Jesus; not as mere professors are in Christ, who may be lost and damned: but
this being in Christ, respects either that union and interest which the elect of God have in Christ,
from everlasting: being loved by him with an everlasting love; betrothed to him in a conjugal
relation; chosen in him before the foundation of the world; united to him as members to an head;
considered in him in the covenant of grace, when he engaged for them as their surety; and so they
were preserved in him, notwithstanding their fall in Adam; in time he took upon him their
nature, and represented them in it; they were reckoned in him when he hung upon the cross, was
buried, rose again, and sat down in heavenly places; in consequence of which union to Christ,
and being in him, they are secure from all condemnation: or this may respect an open and
manifestative being in Christ at conversion, when they become new creatures, pass from death to
life, and so shall never enter into condemnation: hence they stand further described, as such
who walk not after the flesh; by which is meant, not the ceremonial law, but the corruption of
nature, or the corrupt nature of man, called flesh; because propagated by carnal generation,
has for its object fleshly things, discovers itself mostly in the flesh, and makes persons carnal and
fleshly; the apostle does not say, there is no condemnation to them that have no flesh in them, for
this regenerate persons have; nor to them that are in the flesh, that is, the body; but who walk not
after the flesh, that is, corrupt nature; and it denotes such, who do not follow the dictates of it, do
not make it their guide, or go on and persist in a continued series of sinning:
but after the spirit, by which is meant, not spiritual worship, in opposition to carnal ordinances;
but rather, either a principle of grace, in opposition to corrupt nature, called Spirit, from the
author, subject, and nature of it; or the Holy Spirit of God, the efficient cause of all grace: to walk
after him, is to make him our guide, to follow his dictates, influences, and directions; as such do,
who walk by faith on Christ, and in imitation of him, in the ways of righteousness and holiness;
and such persons walk pleasantly, cheerfully, and safely: now let it be observed, that this walk
and conversation of the saints, is not the cause of there being no condemnation to them; but is
descriptive of the persons interested in such a privilege; and is evidential of their right unto it, as
well as of their being in Christ: and it may be further observed, that there must be union to
Christ, or a being in him, before there can be walking after the Spirit. The phrase, but after the

Spirit, is left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions; and the
whole description of the persons in some copies, and in the Ethiopic version.
4. Henry, “The apostle here beings with one signal privilege of true Christians, and describes the
character of those to whom it belongs: There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in
Christ Jesus, Rom_8:1. This is his triumph after that melancholy complaint and conflict in the
foregoing chapter - sin remaining, disturbing, vexing, but, blessed be God, not ruining. The
complaint he takes to himself, but humbly transfers the comfort with himself to all true believers,
who are all interested in it. 1. It is the unspeakable privilege and comfort of all those that are in
Christ Jesus that there is therefore now no condemnation to them. He does not say, “There is no
accusation against them,” for this there is; but the accusation is thrown out, and the indictment
quashed. He does not say, “There is nothing in them that deserves condemnation,” for this there
is, and they see it, and own it, and mourn over it, and condemn themselves for it; but it shall not
be their ruin. He does not say, “There is no cross, no affliction to them or no displeasure in the
affliction,” for this there may be; but no condemnation. They may be chastened of the Lord, but
not condemned with the world. ow this arises from their being in Christ Jesus; by virtue of
their union with him through faith they are thus secured. They are in Christ Jesus, as in their city
of refuge, and so are protected from the avenger of blood. He is their advocate, and brings them
off. There is therefore no condemnation, because they are interested in the satisfaction that
Christ by dying made to the law. In Christ, God does not only not condemn them, but is well
pleased with them, Mat_17:5. 2. It is the undoubted character of all those who are so in Christ
Jesus as to be freed from condemnation that they walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
Observe, The character is given from their walk, not from any one particular act, but from their
course and way. And the great question is, What is the principle of the walk, the flesh or the
spirit, the old or the new nature, corruption or grace? Which of these do we mind, for which of
these doe we make provision, by which of these are we governed, which of these do we take part
with?
5. Haldane, “Haldane adds, “Faith, says Luther, unites the soul with Christ as a spouse with her
husband. Everything which Christ has, becomes the property of the believing soul : everything
which the soul has, becomes the property of Christ. Christ possesses all blessings and eternal life :
they are thence forward the property of the soul. The soul has all its iniquities and sins : they
become thenceforward the property of Christ. It is then that a blessed exchange commences :
Christ who is both God and man, Christ who has never sinned, and whose holiness is perfect,
Christ the Almighty and Eternal, taking to Himself, by His nuptial ring of faith, all the sins of the
believer, those sins are lost and abolished in Him ; for no sins dwell before His infinite
righteousness. Thus, by faith, the believer s soul is delivered from sins, and clothed with the
eternal righteousness of her bridegroom Christ. O happy union ! The rich, the noble, the holy
Bride groom takes in marriage his poor, guilty, and despised spouse, delivers her from every evil,
and enriches her with the most precious blessings. Christ, a King and a Priest, shares this honor
and glory with all Christians. The Christian is a king, and consequently possesses all things ; he is
a priest, and consequently possesses God ; and it is faith, not works, which brings him all this
honour. A Christian is free from all things, above all things, faith giving him richly all things.”
6. Waggoner, “Conviction, ot Condemnation. The text does not say that those who are in Christ
Jesus will never be reproved.

Do you think he ne'er reproves me?
What a false friend he would be
If he never, never told me
Of the faults that he must see!
Getting into Christ is only the beginning, not the end, of Christian life. It is the entrance to the
school where we are to learn of him. He takes the ungodly man with all his evil habits and
forgives all his sins, so that he is counted as though he never had sinned. Then he continues to
give him his own life, by which he may overcome his evil habits. Association with Christ will more
and more reveal to us our failings, just as association with a learned man will make us conscious
of our ignorance. As a faithful witness, he tells us of our failings. But it is not to condemn us. We
receive sympathy, not condemnation, from him. It is this sympathy that gives us courage, and
enables us to overcome. When the Lord points our a defect in our characters, it is the same as
saying to us, There is something that you are in need of, and I have it for you. When we learn
to look at reproof in this way, we shall rejoice in it, instead of being discouraged.
7. Bosworth sees the no condemnation as being at the final judgment. “The spiritual nature of the
faith-righteous man has been so re-enforced by the Spirit of God as to be released from bondage
to Sin in the flesh, enabled to meet the ethical demands of the law and be sure of life even for the
body as well as the spirit. Therefore no dalliance with the flesh! {8:1-14). There is then, as we
have been saying in all our argument, no verdict of condemnation to be feared in the judgment
day by those who are living in faith union with Christ Jesus (i). The life giving Spirit that resides
in him, and also in them by virtue of their faith-union with him, has established its control in
their lives and so freed them from the control of Sin and death (2). This termination of the control
of Sin and death the law was impotent to secure because man's lower nature would never obey
the law's commands. But God by sending his own Son, possessed of the nature that in other men
is so hospitable to Sin, with the purpose of having him deal at close range with the power of Sin,
succeeded in condemning Sin to expulsion from its domain in the lower nature of man (3). This
God did with the purpose of securing the realization of the law's ideal in lives that are no longer
lived in accord with the impulses of the lower nature, but in accord with the higher nature that is
akin to, and now controlled by, the Spirit of God (4).
It was this victory of the higher nature that had to be won, for they that are in accord with the
lower nature fix their attention upon the gratification of its demands, while they that are in
accord with the higher nature fix their attention upon the fulfillment of its desire (5), and to do
the former results in the ruin of death, while to do the latter means life and peace (6). Attention
fixed upon the lower nature is hostility to God, for it is open rebellion against God's law, and in
the nature of the case must be, for God's law requires love, while the lower nature is thoroughly
unloving (7). So they that live in accord with the lower nature necessarily cannot please God (8).
But you are living, not in accord with the lower nature, but in accord with the higher, spiritual
nature, for I certainly may assume that the mighty Spirit of God has allied himself with your
higher nature. Of course, whenever this is not so, and the Spirit of Christ in whom God's Spirit
dwells in fulness is not in a man, then that man does not belong to Christ and has no place among
those whom Christ saves (9). But if Christ is in you, then the body to be sure is still death-smitten
because it is a part of the sphere of Sin and death; but the higher spiritual nature is free from
death because, re-enforced by the Spirit of Christ, it is able to live the righteous life (10).
Moreover there is victory also for the body, since the Spirit of him who raised Jesus' body from

the dead lives in you. He that raised Jesus' dead body in new and glorious form will do the same
for yours, since the same mighty resurrecting Spirit dwells in you that dwelt in him (11). So then,
Brothers, bear well in mind, no matter what some mis- guided and misnamed Christians may say
to the contrary, that we are under no obligation to gratify the demands of our lower flesh nature
while in this world of flesh (12). If you do live in accord with the flesh, the fatal ruin of death will
blight and destroy all your being. But if, with the re-enforcement that your spiritual natures have
received from the Spirit of God, you mercilessly put to death the evil practices of your lower
nature, your whole being will have the life that reaches its fulness in the Spirit Age to come (13).
For it is those now being led by the Spirit of God who will take their place among the sons of God
in the Spirit Age to come (14). Therefore. Since Jesus Christ has delivered us (7:25). o
condemnation. In the coming messianic judgment. The verdict of the judgment day has already
been pronounced (cf. 5:
8. Jamison, “In this surpassing chapter the several streams of the preceding argument meet and
flow in one “river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of
the Lamb,” until it seems to lose itself in the ocean of a blissful eternity.
First: The sanctification of believers (Rom_8:1-13).
There is therefore now, etc. — referring to the immediately preceding context [Olshausen,
Philippi, Meyer, Alford, etc.]. The subject with which the seventh chapter concludes is still under
consideration. The scope of Rom_8:1-4 is to show how “the law of sin and death” is deprived of
its power to bring believers again into bondage, and how the holy law of God receives in them the
homage of a living obedience [Calvin, Fraser, Philippi, Meyer, Alford, etc.].
no condemnation: to them which are in Christ Jesus — As Christ, who “knew no sin,” was, to
all legal effects, “made sin for us,” so are we, who believe in Him, to all legal effects, “made the
righteousness of God in Him” (2Co_5:21); and thus, one with Him in the divine reckoning. there
is to such “O CODEMATIO.” (Compare Joh_3:18; Joh_5:24; Rom_5:18, Rom_5:19). But
this is no mere legal arrangement: it is a union in life; believers, through the indwelling of Christ’s
Spirit in them, having one life with Him, as truly as the head and the members of the same body
have one life.
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit — The evidence of manuscripts seems to show
that this clause formed no part of the original text of this verse, but that the first part of it was
early introduced, and the second later, from Rom_8:4, probably as an explanatory comment, and
to make the transition to Rom_8:2 easier.
9. Don’t let your kids get a hold of this verse, for they will be quoting it to you every day when
you condemn them for their behavior, or lack of it. I know I did not take the garbage out to the
road for two weeks in a row, but mom, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. I
know dad that I should not have been driving without my license, but remember there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ. It is obvious that these kids have a misunderstanding
of this verse, but even mature believers have this same perverted concept of what this verse
means. Many take this verse as a basis for teaching that believers can do what they please and
not have to fear any condemnation or judgment, for Jesus died for all of their sins, past, present,
and future, and so there is no punishment to fear. Sin is no longer an issue for the believer. One
author put it like this: At this very moment, we believers in Christ are enjoying the privilege of
zero guilt, zero regrets, zero looking backwards, zero feelings of inadequacy or inferiority, and
absolutely no sense of impending doom or fear of punishment” Another preacher said, In plain

language: God has nothing against those who are in Christ Jesus, God has no reason to punish
them, has no reason to be displeased with them. That’s what Paul says in the words of our
text.....o condemnation: that’s absolute language, language not open to misinterpretation.
o condemnation: that’s to say that God holds me ot Guilty of my sins, and it’s to say at the
same time that God does not in any way treat me as guilty of any sin! How gloriously rich!!Yes,
congregation, this is relief! God in heaven neither has feelings of disfavor nor shows disfavor to
those who are in Christ Jesus! Still another preacher tucks in this little note: no
condemnation also means there is no punishment. God never punishes His children. Even a
wayward child need not fear the punishment of God.”
10. God judged men at the cross and Jesus bore our condemnation for sin, but let us keep in mind
it was only the penalty of sin in relation to God in the sense that now sin does not separate us
from God. Sin in the Christian life still brings penalty. If a Christian steals he can go to jail or
even be executed. If a child lies he gets punished and the Christian suffers all through life for
personal and corporate sin. The no condemnation we have in Christ is that our sin will not and
can not separate us from the love of God in Christ because of the cross. We have assurance of
ultimate victory over sin, and even death, the last enemy, is to be destroyed. Meanwhile the
Christian is subject to all the judgments and punishments of the unsaved. He has no liberty to
violate law of nature or of society. The justice of God demands that there be an accounting of
Christians at the end of time. If all are equal and none suffer loss then there is no difference
between being obedient and disobedient. God’s justice would be less than that of parents and a
just society. Rewards and punishments are a necessity to make sense out of life on all levels. The
motivation to be an ideal Christian is cut if the slip shod Christian will be equally rewarded.
11. The reason that many are disgusted with the hyper Calvinistic view of this idea of no
condemnation is because of the radical statements of some who say such things as the following.
“All those who are in Christ, i.e., believers, are eternally secure from going to hell whether they
continue to obey Christ or not..” “How the believer lives his life does not effect his eternal
destiny.” This is an encouragement to those who choose to make a decision for Christ and then
just live the same way they have done as a non-Christian. This is a mockery of what Christ did in
dying for them, and what the Father's purpose was in restoring man to fellowship with him. The
goal is for the redeemed to be conformed to the image of his Son, and the view in these statement
is that they can live like the devil, and still be acceptable to the Father.
This is a stain on Calvinism, and why so many choose to follow the thinking of the Arminians
who say that people who live godless lives have no eternal security, but face the judgment of God.
This type of Calvinism puts sanctification on the back burner saying it is no big deal. So what if
Christians are no better than non-Christians, and so what if they are worse? The main thing is
they are saved, and that is what counts. The whole idea of becoming like Christ, which is the clear
goal that God has in mind for the elect, is pushed aside in order to get carnal disobedient
professing believer into heaven. This totally ignores what Paul says in verse 13, “For if you live
according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of
the body, you will live.” A person professing to be a believer, but who lives like a nonbeliever has
plenty to worry about, for they are living according to the flesh rather than the Spirit. This anti-sanctification
view is fortunately not the view of most Calvinists, and if you want to pursue this
issue on “no condemnation” you can find what is more consistent Biblical views of both
Calvinists and Arminians in Appendix 2. Let me share one quote here from Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

“..verses 5 to 13 bring out clearly that a complete change in us is absolutely essential to salvation.
If a man does not undergo a radical change, if he does not enter into the realm of the Spirit, `the
righteousness of the law' can never be fulfilled in him. Christianity, as the Apostle has told us so
often, involves a complete, a radical change in the nature of the human being.”
12. John MacDuff, “In Christ. It was the vital truth so beautifully enforced by the Divine
Master Himself in His valedictory Parable of the vine and its branches--Without Me; out of
Me; severed from Me, you are nothing, and can do nothing. Out of Christ, apart from Him, each
soul is like a stranded vessel--mastless, sailless, rudderless, the sport of ocean forces--lying high
and dry on the sands, away from its buoyant element. But the tidal wave flows--the rocky inlets
and creeks are one by one filled--the abandoned is set once more a living thing on the waters--
anew compassed by the inviolate sea.
That is the man in Christ. Environed with this new element--life in his living Lord with its
ocean fullness and unsounded depths--he is safe, joyous, happy. o cyclone above, no submerged
rocks beneath; a halcyon calm around. In Me you shall have peace. ot in vain did the early
Christians--even in the midst of their great fight of afflictions--the sea and the waves roaring
and their hearts failing them for fear--write on the slabs of their catacombs--I CHRISTO--I
PEACE.
Enough now farther to say, that grasping thoroughly the phrase in its full evangelical meaning,
all the varied succeeding affirmations of our chapter become at once comprehensible and
luminous. It is the Basket of Silver in which Apples of Gold are inserted. Let us keep this in
mind all through our exposition, as affording the guarantee of every covenant blessing--specially
the two already distinctively indicated. It forms Paul's security and the security of all believers as
he utters the closing challenge and persuasion --Shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is I$ CHRIST JESUS our Lord.
2. because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life
set me free from the law of sin and death.
1. Salvation is liberation. When Paul was converted by receiving Jesus as his Savior, he was
liberated from one system of law and brought into another system. The system he was under was
a condemning one, and led to judgment and death. In Christ he came into the system of grace
which was not condemning and it led to life. It was a transition from death to life, for by being
liberated from the law he could never fully obey, and so was perpetually condemned, he was
brought under the law of the Spirit where he was accepted by God as worthy of eternal life, not
because he was perfect, but because he had a perfect Savior who fulfilled the law for him.
2. otice, a new law is in effect when we are in Christ. It is the law of the Spirit of life. The Holy
Spirit is like a super power that comes into our being with Christ, and overwhelms the power of
our sinful nature so that it can operate on a higher level. Under the law the fallen nature is
hopelessly enslaved to do the wrong thing. It wants to sin so badly that it cannot obey the law of

God. It might by sheer will power sometimes obey, but it will soon fall back into disobedience
because it just does not have the power to conform to God's will. The Spirit of life comes into us
with the receiving of Christ, and he supplies that needed power to set us free from the sin nature,
and live in obedience. Without the Holy Spirit, we would just fall right back into bondage to the
old nature. This is the very thing that happens when a believer quenches the Spirit, for on their
own they cannot overcome the old nature. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is the key to being
liberated, and the key to staying liberated. Jesus earned for us the pardon for our sins and this
made us justified before God, but the Holy Spirit gives us power over our sins, and this leads us
to be sanctified before God. Back in Romans 7:21–25 we see Paul as captive to laws he could not
escape. He wrote, “So I find it to be a law that even when I want to do right, evil lies close at
hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at
war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my
members.” He is sunk unless there is a power to help him overcome that law of sin, and here it is
in the law of the Spirit of life.
3.Christians talk so often of no longer being under the law, but they forget that they are still
under a new law of the Spirit. There is always some law under which we operate, and so we are
never lawless, or totally independent of all law. A law is a power, rule, or influence by which our
conduct is guided and controlled. The old law controlled us so that we would fail to live up to
God's standard. We were too weak in the flesh to avoid sin. The new law is not based in our flesh,
but in our spirit. The flesh is still weak, but the law of the Spirit gives us power in our higher
nature to overcome the law of the flesh. That is what being spiritual is all about. A spiritual
person is one who does not let his flesh determine what he is going to do. He has a spirit open to
hear the word of God, and in that spirit obey the word of God. He is no longer a slave doing only
what his flesh wants him to do. He is free to say no to his body, and yes to God. It may still be a
battle, and temptation to go the way of the flesh is strong, but now he has the option of overruling
the flesh, and choosing the way of the Spirit. Without the Spirit he never had that option. The law
could say don't do it, but it could not give you the power to not do it. The law of the Spirit says
don't do it, and here is the power to not do it. With this new power we are free to say no to the
flesh, but we are also still free to say yes, and so we have to choose which law we are going to
allow to govern our lives. The carnal Christian still lets the law of sin and death be a major
influence in their conduct. The more mature we become, the more we let the law of the Spirit of
life control our behavior.
4. Jesus was totally under the control of the Spirit of life, and that is why he could always say no
to the temptations of the flesh. He had the temptations, but he had the power of the Spirit to say
no. Just say no is always possible in the power of the Spirit. This makes the pursuit of holiness a
valid option for believers. The foundation for our sanctification is the law of the Spirit of life. The
more we allow this new law in us to govern us, the more we become like Jesus in attitude and
action, in character and conduct, in principles and practice. The sanctified life is the life that is
more and more overcoming the flesh, and more and more living in the power of the Spirit. Flesh
oriented people are drawn to sin, but Spirit oriented people are drawn to righteousness. To be
filled with the Spirit means to be so completely surrendered to the Spirit that we are in a state
where we have full power to always overcome the flesh and choose the way of God. When
believers fall into temptation to go the way of the flesh, it is because they have been feeding their
flesh, and starving their spirit. They have neglected the word of God, and prayer for his guidance
and power, and the result is that the law of the flesh takes over and leads them astray. It is a great
sin because they have the potential to always win over temptation. God never allows any
temptation that we cannot overcome, but if we neglect the power of the Spirit, and even quench

his role in our lives, we face temptation in our own strength, and we will fall.
5. The two laws are in constant battle in our lives, and so it is important that we grasp the work
of the Holy Spirit to have the advantage. One of the problems is that the Holy Spirit is the most
neglected person in the Godhead. We associate with God the Father and Jesus in prayer, and we
study their character and teaching often, but we can go for long periods in our Christian life and
never think once of the Holy Spirit. It comes as something of a surprise that the person of the
Holy Spirit is the primary focus in this great chapter. otice the different names of the Spirit in
this chapter.
[verse 2] The Spirit of life
[verse 9] The Spirit of God
[verse 9] The Spirit of Christ
[verse 11] The Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead
[verse 14] The Spirit of God
[verse 15] The Spirit of Adoption
5B. Beet, “In former days Paul was compelled to do the bidding of sin. But the Holy Spirit has set
him free by making His own will the rule of Paul's life. Just so a conqueror, by setting up his own
laws in a conquered country, makes the former laws invalid. That the country obeys the new law
is a proof of conquest. Similarly, the presence and guidance of the Spirit have made Paul free
from the rule of sin. This is not a change of bondage, but freedom from all bondage. For the law
of the Spirit is the will of our Maker, and therefore the law of our being. And to obey the law of
our being is the only true freedom.
The contrast of Paul's past bondage and present liberty proves that he is not now condemned. He
remembers the time when, in spite of his better judgment, he did the bidding of sin. He now does
the bidding of the Spirit of God. He finds that he is free from the IJondage of sin only as he
follows the guidance of the Spirit; and therefore infers that the guidance of the Spirit has made
him free. He knows that his liberation came through Christ's death : and he enjoys it to-day by
resting upon Christ. His freedom is therefore God's gift, and a proof of God's forgiveness. Just so
a prisoner, whose prison doors have been opened by the king's command, has in his past
imprisonment and present freedom a proof of pardon. Whereas the freedom of a law-breaker
who has never been apprehended is no such proof. There are thousands to-day to whom every
doubt about their present salvation is banished by a remembrance of their former bondage to sin
and fruitless efforts to do right. Since Paul's liberation took place in Christ, he has a right to infer
that all who are in Christ have been set free, and are therefore no longer condemned. Thus the
law, by making us conscious of our bondage, not only drives us to Christ, but furnishes, to those
who believe, an abiding proof of God's favor.”
5C. “Romans 8:2 mentions two laws. Illustration: the law of gravity and the law of aerodynamics.
The law of gravity says that a large, heavy metal object in the sky must fall to the earth and crash
(the airplane must crash!). But the law of aerodynamics is a higher law and overcomes the law of
gravity and enables the heavy metal airplane to soar and fly and not crash. By the law of sin and
death I fail and fall and crash (Rom.7:23-25) but by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus I
am able to live a life that pleases God (Rom.8:2). There are certain things that the law cannot do.
The law is just but it cannot justify (Rom.7:12; 3:20). The law is holy but it cannot sanctify

(Rom.7:12). The law can tell me that I am a sinner but it can’t make me a saint! (The mirror can
show me my dirt but it cannot cleanse me!) What the law could not do, GOD DID! What THE
LAW could not do, THE LAMB could!” author unknown
6. Steve Zeisler gives us some statistics on the role of the Holy Spirit in this chapter. “Romans 8 is
a chapter filled with the practical contact of the Holy Spirit with believers. Depending on your
version or translation, there are between 15 and 19 references in this one chapter, references to
the Holy Spirit as He works His sanctifying grace in our lives. Romans 8 is a syllabus on
sanctification. The Holy Spirit is the prominent subject and the most prominent person of the
Godhead in this chapter.
This chapter is, by far, the most concentrated teaching on the Holy Spirit in the Book of Romans.
The term “spirit,” which can refer either to man’s spirit or to the Holy Spirit, occurs only four
times in Romans before chapter 8 (1:4; 2:29; 5:5; 7:6). Of these four previous occurrences of the
term “spirit” in Romans 1-7, one instance is a clear reference to a man’s human spirit (Romans
1:4). The second reference (2:29) is debatable. The third reference (5:5) is a rather clear reference
to the Holy Spirit. The use of “Spirit” in Romans 7:6 is somewhat debatable as well (capitalized
in the ASB, but with a footnote with the alternative rendering, “spirit”). In Romans 8, the term
“spirit” occurs 18 times in the ASB and 19 times in the King James Version This term occurs
but 7 more times in Romans 9-16 (9:1; 11:8; 14:17; 15:13, 16, 19, 30). Thus, the term “Spirit” or
“spirit” occurs in chapter 8 over 60% of the time when it is used by Paul in Romans.”
7. Here are some of the things the Spirit does for us in this chapter.
1. (verse 2) He sets us free from the law of sin and death.
2. (verse 5 and 9) He enables us to set our minds on the things of God.
3. ( verse 11) He enables us to have the assurance of eternal life.
4. ( verse 13) He enables us to put to death the misdeeds of the body.
5. ( verse 16) He enables us to have assurance that we are children of God.
6. ( verse 26) He helps us in our weakness
7. (verse 26 27) He intercedes for us, and help us pray in accordance with God's will.
8. Each person of the Godhead has a vital role in the total plan of salvation.
A. God the Father selects us-Election.
B. God the Son saves us-Justification
C. God the Spirit sanctifies us-Sanctification
8B. David Riggs, Law of the Spirit of life -
1. The law revealed by the Spirit which is capable of producing life.
1. It is Christ's law as to the source, and the Spirit's as to the agent of making it
known.
2. It is the law of life because it is the principle or rule by which spiritual life is

obtained.
2. Made me free - This shows, again, that he was not in chapter 7 talking about his conflict
as a Christian because he would not say in one breath, I am carnal, sold under sin...sin
dwells in me...bringing me into captivity to the law of sin (7:14,20,23, etc.), and in the
same breath say, I am free.
1. His conflict was a thing of the past, not of the present.
3. The law of sin and death - The law of sin resulting in death which was in the members.
1. From verse 3, the law could not do it. In other words, it could not deliver him from
the conflict, but the other could.
2. If the law of sin and death refers to the law of Moses, Paul would be saying that the
law of Moses could not deliver us from the law of Moses.
9. William ewell in his commentary wrote, We have now come to that great chapter which sets
forth that part in our salvation which is exercised by the third Person of the Godhead, the blessed
Holy Spirit. Without Christ's work on the cross there would be no salvation, and without the
presence and constant operation of the Holy Spirit, there would be no application of that
salvation to us, -indeed, no revelation of it to us!Let us therefore with the profoundest reverence,
and greatest gladness, take up the study here in Romans Eight of that work of the Holy Spirit
which is directly concerned with our salvation.”
10. An author by the name of Johnson wrote, “ Just as faith in Christ's work is indispensable for
our justification, so faith in the power of the Spirit is indispensable for our sanctification. Since
we have found peace with God by looking to the finished work of the Redeemer on the cross, we
are now to find the peace of God by looking to His unfinished work on the throne, of which the
Holy Spirit is the sign, seal, and executor. Cf. 2Cor 13:14 (grace from Christ is the channel, love
from the Father the source, and the fellowship of the Spirit the means of God's ministry to
us)...Romans eight, then, gives us a vivid picture of Who our Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ,
uses in His deliverance of us from the power of indwelling sin. It is the Spirit of God Whom He
uses to subdue the power of the flesh and give liberty for the fulfilling of the will of God in our
lives.”
11. The Disciple's Study Bible has a wonderful summary note on the Holy Spirit writing..The
Spirit gives life (Ro 8:2), peace (Ro 8:6), freedom (Ro 8:9), leadership (Ro 8:14), assurance (Ro
8:16), hope (Ro 8:23; Ro 8:24), and help (Ro 8:26). The Spirit is with all Christians (Ro 8:9, Ro
8:14). The Spirit makes Christians God's children and able to say Father'' when we pray (Ro
8:15). The Spirit assures us that we are in fact God's children (Ro 8:16), and that, even though we
pass through much suffering, we will eventually share in the glory of Christ (Ro 8:17).
With all this we remain free. We must choose to follow the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit
(Ro 8:5), to set our minds on what the Spirit desires (Ro 8:5), to be controlled by the Spirit (Ro
8:9), to put to death the old way of life (Ro 8:13), and to be led by the Spirit (Ro 8:18). These
phrases all refer to a serious commitment to live as Christians with the help of God's Spirit. This
includes high moral standards (Ro 8:4) and more. Obeying the Spirit means a personal loyalty
and obedience to Christ which expresses itself by following the leadership of the Spirit in all life's
decisions. This is active cooperation as well as passive yielding. The Spirit's work is not

irresistible. The Spirit prefers to wait and allow us to obey His leadership freely. Paul's call to
obey the Spirit makes no sense at all if the Spirit is only an impersonal power or force. The Spirit
is personal, and this leads to the commands to respond to the Spirit in a fully personal manner.””
(Disciple's Study Bible)
12. Dr. Daniel Hill give us a dozen principles- “SOME PRICIPLES:
1.The law of the Spirit of life is a law found not on tablets of stone but on the heart of the believer.
2.It is a law possessed by the Holy Spirit.
3.While normally a law regulates and controls, this law sets free.
4.II Corinthians 3:17 ow the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.
5.Since the Law of the Spirit is the Holy Spirit himself that law is not to be limited by a rigid
system of law of legalism:
6.II Corinthians 3:6 Who (God) also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the
letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7.The Law of the Spirit of life for the believer works in the believer at all times.
8.We too often think that the Holy Spirit is totally idle when we are out of fellowship and that is
not the case:
9.James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: He jealously desires the
Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?
10.Galatians 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
11.We are always free, we are always indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but to enjoy the benefits of
freedom and the power and ministries of the Spirit we must be in fellowship.
12.And we are the Holy Spirit works in us continually cleansing us, conforming us, to the image
and character of Christ.
Hill goes on, “Here, in Romans 8:2 the word for freedom is not a legal word but a word that looks
at the function of freedom.
The means of freedom back in Romans 6:7 was the baptism of the Holy Spirit wherein we were
united with Christ in His death.
Here the means of freedom is the Holy Spirit but His continual working in the believer's life.
The verb SET FREE is a aorist tense that here looks back at what started at salvation and
continues even today.
This freedom is related to the three stages of maturity we studied...more maturity, more freedom.
It is a freedom that allow the one who is free to be independent and in that independence submit,
to act out of his or her free will to serve God.
Some Passages that Describe our Freedom:
Romans 8:21 That the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the
freedom of the glory of the children of God.

ature, the environment, will one day be as free as you, the believer. I toss that in because we
think of being as free as nature? ature, to personify it, wants to be as free as we are.
Since the beginning of the church there are those who cannot stand the freedom the believer has:
I Corinthians 10:29 For why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?
Also Galatians 2:4 the Jerusalem Council: But it was because of the false brethren who had
sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into
bondage.
We are to maintain freedom so as to not be brought back into any rigid system: Galatians 5:1 It
was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again
to a yoke of slavery.
We are to use our freedom to minister to others: Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom,
brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve
one another.
We must not let it become a stumbling block: I Corinthians 8:9 But take care lest this liberty of
yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
Peter touches on this also in I Peter 2:16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a
covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.
The Holy Spirit as the agent of freedom in the life of the believer uses the word of God to define
this freedom: John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The objective of the CCL, however, is not freedom, it is what you will do with your freedom.
Peter talked of those who promised freedom: II Peter 2:19 Promising them freedom while they
themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
The Law of the Spirit of Life sets us free from sin and from death so that we can function in that
freedom, free from bondage, serving God and serving others.
Jesus Christ set the precedent for our freedom:
1.Jesus Christ set the precedent at the cross. He was free to reject the cross, but He recognized
the Father's authority and became obedient even unto death,
2.Hebrews 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He
suffered.
3.Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
4.The Lord Jesus Christ was totally obedient. His obedience at the cross results in our spiritual
freedom.
5.The application to us is that we need to exercise our volition towards self-discipline and
consistently use our freedom for the learning, thinking, and applying of Bible doctrine.
We are free in the Spirit and that means we are free to live the Christ Centered life in freedom,
not bondage, serving God and others out of our freedom.
LET ME GIVE YOU A RULE: If as you as progressing in your spiritual life, you are moving to
greater bondage and law, there is a problem. If however you are moving towards greater freedom
and grace, you are on the right track.

One is rigid and therefore predictable and comfortable.
But the only the other can lead you to places you never imagined, never even dreamed of, could
not even hope for.
This freedom from the law of the Sin ature and its resulting spiritual death is what Paul
struggled against in Romans 7. He could not free himself from it, but now the Holy Spirit has
come onto the stage, taken center stage, and given that freedom.
Again, this is functional. Positional freedom was the issue in Romans 6:3-11. ow we are into the
living of the spiritual life.”
13. Barnes, “For the law - The word “law” here means that “rule, command, or influence” which
“the Spirit of life” produces. That exerts a control which is here called a law, for a law often
means anything by which we are ruled or governed; see the notes at Rom_7:21, Rom_7:23. Of the
Spirit. I see no reason to doubt here that this refers to the Holy Spirit. Evidently, at the close of
Rom_8:1, the word has this reference. The phrase “the Spirit of life” then means the Holy Spirit
producing or giving life; that is, giving peace, joy, activity, salvation; in opposition to the law
spoken of in Rom. 7 that produced death and condemnation.
In Christ Jesus - Under the Christian religion; or sent by Christ to apply his work to people.
Joh_16:7-14. The Spirit is sent by Christ; his influence is a part of the Christian scheme; and his
power accomplishes what the Law could not do.
Hath made me free - That is, has delivered me from the predominating influence and control of
sin. He cannot mean that he was perfect, for the whole tenor of his reasoning is opposed to that.
But the design, the tendency, and the spirit of the gospel was to produce this freedom from what
the Law could not deliver; and he was now brought under the general power of this scheme. In
the former state he was under a most bitter and galling bondage; Rom_7:7-11. ow, he was
brought under the influence of a scheme which contemplated freedom, and which produced it.
The law of sin and death - The controlling influence of sin, leading to death and condemnation;
Rom_7:5-11.
14. Clarke, “For the law of the Spirit of life - The Gospel of the grace of Christ, which is not only
a law or rule of life, but affords that sovereign energy by which guilt is removed from the
conscience, the power of sin broken, and its polluting influence removed from the heart. The law
was a spirit of death, by which those who were under it were bound down, because of their sin, to
condemnation and death. The Gospel proclaims Jesus the Savior; and what the law bound unto
death, It looses unto life eternal. And thus the apostle says, whether of himself or the man whom
he is still personating, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death. Most people allow that St. Paul is here speaking of his own state; and this state
is so totally different from that described in the preceding chapter, that it is absolutely impossible
that they should have been the state of the same being, at one and the same time. o creature
could possibly be carnal, sold under sin, brought into captivity to the law of sin and death; and at
the same time be made free from that law of sin and death, by the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus! Until the most palpable absurdities and contradictions can be reconciled, these two
opposite states can never exist in the same person at the same time.
15. Gill, “ For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,.... These words are of difficult
interpretation. They may be understood of the Gospel revealing and declaring deliverance from

the law of Moses; wherefore there can be no condemnation, Rom_8:1, by it. The Gospel may
be designed by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus; which may be called a law, not as
succeeding the law of works, by which that is abrogated; nor as requiring conditions to be
performed, or as enjoining duties to be observed, or as delivering out threatenings in case of
disobedience; but as it is a doctrine, order, and chain of truths, as the Hebrew word תורה signifies,
and which is sometimes used for the Gospel, Isa_2:3 as νομος is, Rom_3:27. It may be called the
law, or doctrine of the Spirit, because the Spirit is the author of it, and makes it powerful and
effectual to the good of souls; by it the Spirit of God is conveyed into the heart; and the substance
of it are spiritual things: and the law of the Spirit of life, because it discovers the way of life
and salvation by Christ; is the means of quickening dead sinners; of working faith in them, by
which they live on Christ, and of reviving drooping saints; and also it affords spiritual food, for
the support of life: and this may be said to be in Christ, or by him, inasmuch as it comes from,
and is concerning him; he is the sum, the substance, and subject matter of it:
the law of sin and death may intend the law of Moses, called the law of sin; not as if it was
sinful, or commanded or encouraged sin, for it severely prohibits it; but because by it, through
the corruption of man's nature, sin is irritated, and made to abound; it is the strength of sin, and
by it is the knowledge of it: and it may be called the law of death, because it threatened with
death, in case of disobedience; it sentences and adjudges transgressors to death; and when it is
attended with power, it strikes dead all a man's hopes of life, by obedience to it; it leaves persons
dead as it finds them, and gives no life, nor hopes of it; by it none can live, or be justified: now,
though Christ is the author of deliverance from it, yet the Gospel is the means of revealing and
declaring this deliverance; which designs not an exemption from obedience to it, but freedom
from the curse and condemnation of it; and this sense well agrees with Rom_8:1; likewise the
words are capable of being understood of the power and efficacy of the Spirit of God, in
delivering regenerate persons from the dominion and tyranny of sin; and which may be
considered as a reason why they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, Rom_8:1, life
may well be ascribed to the Spirit of God, or be called the Spirit of life, because he has life in
himself as the Father and Son have; and is the author of life to others, of natural life to all men as
creatures, and of spiritual life to the people of God in regeneration; and is a quickening spirit to
them afterwards, as he will be to the dead bodies of the saints in the resurrection: by the law of
the Spirit may be meant, the energy and power of the Spirit in conversion; which work requires
power, and a man has no power of himself to effect it; but there is a power in the Spirit, which
works irresistibly, though not by any force or compulsion to the will, but it moves upon it sweetly,
powerfully, and effectually: and all this may be said to be in Christ: the life which the Spirit is
the author and giver of, is in Christ as the head of his people, the proper repository of all grace,
and the fountain of life; the Spirit himself is in him, both as God and as man, and as Mediator,
hence the saints receive him and his gifts and graces from him; and the law of the Spirit, or his
power and efficacy in working, is in or by Christ, through his sufferings and death, and in
consequence of his mediation: now this powerful and quickening efficacy of the Spirit delivers
regenerate persons from the force and tyranny of sin, called here the law of sin and death; a
law of sin, because it has power and dominion over unregenerate persons, its throne is in the
heart of man, and its laws are many and powerful; and the law of death, because its reign is
tyrannical, barbarous and cruel, it is unto death: and from its governing influence, and
tyrannical power, does the Spirit of God free his people in regeneration; not from the being of
sin; nor from the rage of it, and disturbance it gives; nor from such power of it, but that they may
fall into sin; but so as that sin does not properly reign over them, nor legally, nor universally, or
so as to bring a death on their graces, and their persons into condemnation. Once more, those

words may be understood of the holiness of Christ's human nature, as a branch of our
justification, and freedom from the guilt of sin, and condemnation by it: for as the law of sin
and death may design inherent corruption, and the force and power of it in the saints; so the
opposite to it, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, may mean the purity and holiness of his
human nature. That Christ's human nature is pure and holy is certain, from express texts of
Scripture, from its union to the Son of God, from the ends and purposes of its assumption, from
the inefficacy of Satan's temptations, and from the whole course of his life and conversation; for
though he was in the likeness of sinful flesh, was reckoned a sinner by men, was attended with
infirmities, the effects of sin, though not sinful, had all the sins of his people imputed to him, and
endured afflictions, and at last death; yet his nature was pure and untainted: for he did not
descend from Adam by ordinary generation; and though made of a woman, yet the flesh he took
of her was sanctified by the Holy Ghost; his body was prepared by God, and curiously wrought
by the Spirit, from whom his whole human nature received a fulness of habitual holiness: and
this may be called the Spirit of life in him, because he is a quickening Spirit in regeneration,
justification, and the resurrection from the dead; the law of it, because the holiness of his
nature lies in, arises from, and is conformable to a law that is within him, written on his heart;
and because, together with his obedience and death, it has a force, power, and authority, to free
from condemnation; for this is not a mere necessary qualification of him to be the Mediator, or
what renders his obedience, sacrifice, and intercession, efficacious and valuable, or is merely
exemplary to us, but is what is imputed to us, as a part of our justification. The law requires a
holy nature of us, we have not one, Christ assumed one for us, and so is the end of the law, or
answers the requirement of the law in this respect, as well as in all others: and hence, though
sanctification begun in us, does not free us from the being of sin, and all its force and power, yet
perfect sanctification in Christ frees from all condemnation by it.”
16. Jamison, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free — rather, “freed
me” - referring to the time of his conversion, when first he believed.
from the law of sin and death — It is the Holy Ghost who is here called “the Spirit of life,” as
opening up in the souls of believers a fountain of spiritual life (see on Joh_7:38, Joh_7:39); just as
He is called “the Spirit of truth,” as “guiding them into all truth” (Joh_16:13), and “the Spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isa_11:2), as the inspirer of
these qualities. And He is called “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” because it is as members of
Christ that He takes up His abode in believers, who in consequence of this have one life with their
Head. And as the word “law” here has the same meaning as in Rom_7:23, namely, “an inward
principle of action, operating with the fixedness and regularity of a law,” it thus appears that “the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” here means, “that new principle of action which the Spirit
of Christ has opened up within us - the law of our new being.” This “sets us free,” as soon as it
takes possession of our inner man, “from the law of sin and death” that is, from the enslaving
power of that corrupt principle which carries death in its bosom. The “strong man armed” is
overpowered by the “stronger than he”; the weaker principle is dethroned and expelled by the
more powerful; the principle of spiritual life prevails against and brings into captivity the
principle of spiritual death - “leading captivity captive.” If this be the apostle’s meaning, the
whole verse is to this effect: That the triumph of believers over their inward corruption, through
the power of Christ’s Spirit in them, proves them to be in Christ Jesus, and as such absolved
from condemnation. But this is now explained more fully.”

17. This whole chapter is about the work of the Spirit in perfecting salvation. In fact, there are
those who believe strongly that we are never really and authentically saved until this work of the
Holy Spirit is accomplished in us. John Piper has a conviction that he shares that one is justified
not as an act of faith but by a life of faith, and this would seem to show that works then are a part
of salvation and thus incorporate the view of James and Paul and show that both faith and works
are vital to salvation. The point is that without sanctification there is no evidence of justification.
I like this concept for it eliminates the easy believe-ism that does not produce Christ honoring
followers, but just culturally conformer followers. His message is too long to put it here, and so I
have put it in APPEDIX 1 JOH PIPER
18. Haldane, “This verse, as is evident by the particle for, is connected with the preceding. It
connects, however, with the first part of that verse, where the great truth of which it is
explanatory is announced, assigning the reason why there is no condemnation to them who are in
Christ Jesus ; which is continued to the middle of the 4th verse, in the latter part of which the last
clause of the first is repeated. On the supposition of that clause being genuine, the Apostle follows
here the same method as in the second chapter of this Epistle, where the 14th verse connects with
the first part of the 12th. Many, by the phrase law of the Spirit of life, understand the
commanding influence of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification of the believers to be intended, and
by the law of sin and death, the corrupt principle, or power of sin in them, as in chapter vii. 23
and 25. But these explanations do not suit the context. The main proposition contained in the
preceding verse is, that to them who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. But why is
there no condemnation ? Is it because they are sanctified? o; but because by their union with
Christ they have been freed from the law and its curse, as the Apostle had shown in the preceding
chapter, verse 4th. Besides, it is not true that believers are delivered from the law of sin that is in
them as respects their sanctification, which would contradict what Paul had just before said of
the Christian s internal warfare with sin, as exhibited in his own experience, to which deliverance
he looked forward, but which he had not yet obtained. It is further to be observed, that the above
explanations do not accord with the two following verses, which point out the ground of that
freedom from condemnation which is here asserted, being explanatory of the verse before us,
declaring that sin has been punished in Christ, and that the righteousness which the law demands
has been fulfilled by Him in those who belong to Him.
Law of the Spirit. Various significations belong to the term law, according to the connection in
which it stands, and to which it is applied. In the conclusion of the preceding chapter, and in the
verse before us, where it occurs twice, it is employed in three different senses. first of these it is
denominated the law of sin, namely, the strength of corruption acting with the force of a law. In
the end of the verse before us, where the term death is added to that of sin, it imports the moral
law, the transgression of which is sin, and the consequence death, and is employed in the same
sense in the two following verses. To the law of the spirit of life belongs a different meaning,
signifying the power of the Holy Spirit, by which He unites the soul to Christ, in whose righteous
ness, as being thus one with Him, it therefore partakes, and is consequently justified. This law is
the Gospel, whereof the Holy Ghost author, being the authoritative rule and the instrument by
which He acts in the plan of salvation. It is the medium through which He promulgates Divine
testimony, and His commands to receive that testimony, and exerts His power to produce this
effect ; by which, also, He quickens and enlightens those in whom He dwells, convinces them of
their sin and of the righteousness of Christ, and testifies of the almighty Savior, whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith....

The Gospel is the law of the Spirit of life, the ministration of which, being committed to the
Apostles, giveth life, in opposition to the letter, or old covenant that killetfi, 2 Cor. iii. 6. It is the
Spirit that quickeneth, John vi. 63, as it is said, * I shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live,
Ezek. xxxvii. 14. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, xv. 45, the Apostle speaks of two sources
of life. He says, The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a
quickening spirit. By the living soul is meant the principle of natural life which we derive from
Adam by natural generation. The quickening spirit refers to the heavenly and supernatural life
communicated by the Holy Spirit from Jesus Christ. The reason of the comparison is, that as
Adam, receiving a living soul, his body was made alive ; in like manner, believers, receiving in
their souls the Spirit of Christ, receive a new life. It is not meant that the Spirit of Christ is not
also the author of natural life, Job xxxiii. 4. Jesus Christ is the life itself, and the source of life
to all creatures. But here the life referred to is that life which we receive through the Gospel, as
the law or power of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which the Apostle calls the life of God, Eph.
iv. 18.
That the Spirit of life, then, is in Jesus Christ, not only as God, but also as Mediator, is a ground
of the most unspeakable consolation. It might be in Him as God, without being communicated to
men ; but, as the Head of His people, it must be diffused through them as His members,
who are thus complete in Him. Dost thou feel in thyself the sentence of death ? listen, then, to the
testimony of the Scriptures concerning Him. This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal
life ; and this life is in His Son. I am come that they might have life. He that believeth in Me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die.
Because I live, ye shall live also. I am that bread of life; he that eateth of this bread shall never
die. I am the resurrection and the life. This life, then, is in Jesus Christ, and is communicated to
believers by the Holy Spirit, by whom they are united to Christ, and from whom it is derived to
all who through the law of the Spirit of life are in Him. It is on this account that, in the passage
above quoted, 1 Cor. xv. 45, Jesus Christ, as Mediator, is said to be made a quickening spirit. In
obtaining this life, the believer receives his justification, the opposite of condemnation, which
without this life cannot subsist, and from which it cannot be separated.
The holy law may also be called the law of death. It threatens with death in case of disobedience,
and on account of transgression adjudges to death. The commandment, says the Apostle, which
was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. It brings the sinner under the penalty of death. In
the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. The law * killeth ; and the ministration of the
law, written and engraved on stones, was death, 2 Cor. iii. 6, 7. By the law death reigned from
Adam to Moses, Rom. v. 14 ; and the wages of sin, which is the trans gression of the law, is death.
Since, then, the law of God, which, though it commands holiness, gives the knowledge of sin, and
the breach of it is death, and since, without the law, there could neither be sin nor death, it may,
without arguing the smallest disrespect or disparagement to the holy law, be called the law of sin
and death. That it is so denominated in the verse before us, appears from the repetition of the
term law in the beginning of the following verse, evidently in connection with that in the end of
this verse, where the reference is clearly to the moral law, namely, the law which had been spoken
of from the 4th to the 13th verse of the foregoing chapter, which the Apostle had there shown, as
he asserts in verse 3 of this chapter, could not set free from sin and death.
Besides, that by the law of sin and death is here meant the moral law, appears unquestionable,
when it is considered that if the same meaning be attached to it as belongs to the phrase * the law
of sin in the conclusion of the preceding chapter, the Apostle must be held to have contradicted
himself. For in that case he bitterly laments his being under the power of the law of sin, and

speaks only of his hope of future deliverance ; and here, in the same breath, he unqualifiedly
asserts his freedom from it. otwithstanding, then, the similarity of these two expressions, and
their juxtaposition, it is impossible, without charging a contradiction on the Apostle, to assert
that he attached the same meaning in both places to the word law, which in different connections
is capable of significations quite distinct.
Hath made me free. The reason why there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
is, that being in Him they have been made free from the law of sin and death, all its requirements
having been fulfilled by Him in them, as is affirmed in verse 4. This freedom is likewise declared
in 2 Cor. iii. 17, in which passage it is said, Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. If the
Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Me free. Here it is to be observed that
the Apostle, instead of speaking generally of believers, as he does in the first and fourth verses,
saying them and * us, changes, as has been above remarked, the mode of expression, and refers to
himself personally hath made me free. A very striking contrast is thus pointed out between his
declaration in the 24th verse of the preceding chapter, and that contained in the verse before us.
There, he is speaking of the power of sin, which operates in believers as long as they are in this
world. Here, in reference to condemnation, he is speaking of the guilt of sin, from which they are
perfectly freed the moment they are united to the Savior. In the former case, therefore, where he
speaks respecting sanctification, he refers in verse 24th to his deliverance as future, and exclaims,
Who shall deliver me ? In reference to the latter, in which he is treating of justification, he speaks
of his deliverance as already obtained, and affirms, He hath made me free.
Every believer should take to himself all the consolation which this verse contains, and with Paul
he may with confidence say, The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made im free from
the law of sin and death. Many, however, will say, We should be happy indeed if we could, with
Paul, adopt this language ; but what assurance can we have of being free from condemnation,
and of being in Christ Jesus, since the flesh isso strong in us and the spirit so weak, since we are
still prone to so many sins, and subject to so many defects ? Assuredly if a man is satisfied in
sinning and following carnal desires, and is not desirous to turn from these ways, he has no
ground to conclude that he is freed from condemnation, for such is not the state of any believer.
But if, on the other hand, he groans on account of his sins, crying out with the Apostle, O
wretched man that I am ; if they displease him, if he have a godly sadness on account of having
committed them, and earnestly prays to God to be delivered from them, he may be assured of his
salvation. For the Christian is not one who is without sin and evil inclinations, as is abundantly
shown in the preceding chapters ; but one who resists and combats against them, and returns to
God by repentance. His groans on account of his sins, and his meditating on the word God, his
earnest endeavors to be holy and to grow in grace, although not with all the success he desires,
are proofs of his regeneration. For if he were dead in his sins, he would not be affected on account
of them, nor would he resist them. And whoever resists the flesh by the Spirit of God, will in the
end obtain the victory, for the Holy Spirit in us is greater in goodness and power than all that is
against us, Satan, and the world, and the flesh. All this should inspire the believer with courage to
fight the good fight of faith, and to follow the movements of the blessed Spirit...” As Cranfield
explainsThe life promised for the man who is righteous by faith is, in the fourth place, described
as a life characterized by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. The key word of this section is
which, while it is used only five times in chapters 1 to 7 and eight times in chapters 9 to 16, occurs
twenty-one times in chapter 8, that is, much more often than in any other single chapter in the
whole ew Testament. In the majority of its occurrences in Romans 8, it quite certainly denotes
the Holy Spirit, and in two of them it clearly does not. In the remaining instances it is a matter of
some controversy whether the reference is, or is not, to the Holy Spirit: in all of them, in our

judgment, it is.
And so Johnson declares that Romans 8...is also the great chapter on the Holy Spirit, Who
supplies the dynamic for the new life created in believers by the new birth. Just as faith in
Christ's work is indispensable for our justification, so faith in the power of the Spirit is
indispensable for our sanctification. Since we have found peace with God by looking to the
finished work of the Redeemer on the cross, we are now to find the peace of God by looking to
His unfinished work on the throne, of which the Holy Spirit is the sign, seal, and executor. Cf.
2Cor 13:14 (grace from Christ is the channel, love from the Father the source, and the fellowship
of the Spirit the means of God's ministry to us)...Romans eight, then, gives us a vivid picture of
Who our Deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ, uses in His deliverance of us from the power of
indwelling sin. It is the Spirit of God Whom He uses to subdue the power of the flesh and give
liberty for the fulfilling of the will of God in our lives. We turn now to the consideration of the
liberty that the Spirit bestows. (Romans 8:1-4)
19. The Disciple's Study Bible has a wonderful summary note on the Holy Spirit writing...
The Spirit is not a possession we hold on to but a Person we love and obey. People must choose
between the way of the flesh or sinful nature and the way of the Spirit. We should choose the
Spirit of life'' (Ro 8:2-note), the Spirit'' (Ro 8:4-note), the Spirit of Christ'' (Ro 8:9-note), the
Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus'' (God, Ro 8:11-note), the Spirit of God'' (Ro 8:14-note), and
the Spirit of sonship'' (Ro 8:15-note).
The Spirit gives life (Ro 8:2-note), peace (Ro 8:6-note), freedom (Ro 8:9-note), leadership (Ro
8:14-note), assurance (Ro 8:16-note), hope (Ro 8:23-note; Ro 8:24-note), and help (Ro 8:26-note).
The Spirit is with all Christians (Ro 8:9-note, Ro 8:14-note). The Spirit makes Christians God's
children and able to say Father'' when we pray (Ro 8:15-note). The Spirit assures us that we are
in fact God's children (Ro 8:16-note), and that, even though we pass through much suffering, we
will eventually share in the glory of Christ (Ro 8:17-note).
With all this we remain free. We must choose to follow the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit
(Ro 8:5-note), to set our minds on what the Spirit desires (Ro 8:5-note), to be controlled by the
Spirit (Ro 8:9-note), to put to death the old way of life (Ro 8:13-note), and to be led by the Spirit
(Ro 8:18-note). These phrases all refer to a serious commitment to live as Christians with the help
of God's Spirit. This includes high moral standards (Ro 8:4-note) and more. Obeying the Spirit
means a personal loyalty and obedience to Christ which expresses itself by following the
leadership of the Spirit in all life's decisions. This is active cooperation as well as passive yielding.
The Spirit's work is not irresistible. The Spirit prefers to wait and allow us to obey His leadership
freely. Paul's call to obey the Spirit makes no sense at all if the Spirit is only an impersonal power
or force. The Spirit is personal, and this leads to the commands to respond to the Spirit in a fully
personal manner. (Disciple's Study Bible) (Bolding added)
20. William ewell (Romans 8) writes in his excellent commentary that we have now come to
that great chapter which sets forth that part in our salvation which is exercised by the third
Person of the Godhead, the blessed Holy Spirit. Without Christ's work on the cross there would
be no salvation, and without the presence and constant operation of the Holy Spirit, there would
be no application of that salvation to us, -indeed, no revelation of it to us!
Let us therefore with the profoundest reverence, and greatest gladness, take up the study here in

Romans Eight of that work of the Holy Spirit which is directly concerned with our salvation: for
Romans is a book of salvation. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the message that concerns
salvation. Christ Jesus and Him glorified is that which concerns our perfecting as believers. The
latter, other epistles will unfold more fully. But the teaching of the work of the Holy Ghost in
Romans regards His fundamental operations, -just as it is fundamental phases of Christ's work
that are presented here.
The Eighth Chapter of Romans is the instinctive goal of the Christian. Whether or not he can
tell why--whether or not he can give the great doctrinal facts that give him comfort here, he is,
nevertheless, like a storm-tossed mariner who has arrived at his home port, and has cast anchor,
when he comes into Romans Eight!...
This Eighth of Romans, then, comes after the work of Christ-after His atoning blood has put the
believer's sins away; after he has seen, also, that he died with Christ, -to sin, and also to that legal
responsibility he had in Adam; after the words, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are
not under Law, but under Grace; and, finally, after the hopeless struggle of the apostle has
shown the flesh to be incurably bad; and that there is a blessed deliverance, which, though not
changing the body of this death, nevertheless gives freedom there from through our Lord
Jesus Christ....
21. Living Stream Ministry, “But the liberation that Paul speaks of and that Christians long for is
almost wholly the issue of the operation of the organic law in Romans 8. It is organic because
Paul indicates that the righteous requirement of the law, rather than just being judicially satisfied
once for all, is continually being fulfilled in us as we walk according to the Spirit in our spirit
(8:4).
Without an organic view of the law in Romans 8, several aspects of the divine truth in this
chapter are difficult to comprehend, much less experience. These aspects include: 1) Paul’s
continuing focus on the law through the operation of the law of the Spirit of life, 2) Paul’s
interchangeable use of terms for God, Christ, and the Spirit in verses 9 through 11, 3) Paul’s
emphasis on the subjective operation of the organic law in the various parts of man, and
ultimately 4) the connection that Paul draws between the organic operation of this law and the
fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Within the thirty-nine verses of Romans 8, Paul covers an exhaustive array of topics related to
the economy of God’s salvation, including Christ’s incarnation (v. 3), death (vv. 32, 34),
resurrection (v. 34), ascension (v. 34), and indwelling (v. 10); the Spirit’s indwelling (vv. 9, 11),
leading (v. 14), witnessing (v. 16), and interceding (v. 27); and the believer’s predestination,
conformation, and glorification (vv. 29-30). Within the last category alone, Paul speaks of the love
of God in initiating and safeguarding the believer’s position in Christ (vv. 35-39), the operation of
the Spirit in conforming our inward parts to Christ (vv. 6, 10-11), and the arrangement of our
outward environment for the fulfillment of God’s purpose (v. 28). Given the broad range of topics
in Paul’s discourse, it is difficult to identify the subject of Romans 8. Many suggest that the
subject of Romans 8 is the Spirit in contrast to the law in Romans 7. While this suggestion
certainly satisfies the neat dichotomy that is proposed by proponents of the Law-Gospel
hermeneutic of Reformation theology[1], it is insufficient when considered in the context of the
first seven chapters of Romans.
In the chapters leading up to Romans 8, Paul spends a considerable amount of time dealing with
the subject of the law, including the condemnation of God upon humankind generally for its

ROMANS 8 COMMENTARY

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ROMANS 8 COMMENTARY