David Henneke's Podcast

Our security in Christ is an established fact. Nothing can separate us from His love! In Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation or separation! Since God is for us, who can be against us?

While we might not be able to fully comprehend God’s omniscient eternal plan, we can believe in what the Bible clearly says—every aspect of salvation, originates with God. Salvation is empowered by God’s Grace Alone, thru Faith Alone in Christ Alone.

Since salvation has nothing to do with our own efforts, since salvation is purely by Grace Alone, thru Faith Alone in Christ Alone, then… why does God save any of us? Since salvation is not based on my work or my activity, then… what is its purpose?The purpose of Salvation is so that Believers would be “conformed to the image of His Son” and that Christ would be “the firstborn among many brothers”.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”What do we know? As Children of God, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every aspect of our lives is in God’s hands. We know that every aspect of our lives will be divinely used by the Lord for His Glory and for our Good.

Although we have been redeemed and we are absolutely secure in our adoption as God’s children, we still struggle, We still face adversity, hardships and times of great suffering and there are times when we do not even know how to pray in the midst of those circumstances. The Holy Spirit knows both the mind of God and the mind of His children. The Holy Spirit works to facilitate the communication that takes place between God the Father & His beloved children so that we can walk in obedience to the word of God, the will of God and the heart of God. That’s why the answer to our prayers often looks completely different than we ever imagined.

Suffering and struggling are a refining process through which we all must pass. As we pass thru the Seasons of suffering, we learn to expand our trust in God and we learn how to rest & rely upon the care & control of God. In verse 17, Paul stated that believers will share in Christ’s suffering. In verse 18, he completes that thought by stating that the sufferings we now face are completely overshadowed by the glory that awaits those who are in Christ Jesus. The present suffering is temporary, while the future glory is eternal!

In the 1st part of Chapter 8, Paul has given us a beautiful overview of God’s work in believers’ lives (1–11). God has fully participated in our salvation and He continues to participate in our sanctification. The fact that we have been regenerated and that we have received the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit do NOT in themselves guarantee holy living, but they do make holy living possible. In fact, in this section (12-17), Paul emphasizes our responsibility to eliminate sin from our lives. Fulfilling the obligation to “put to death” the desires that draw us away from God is only possible by the Spirit ……….because We cannot do this on our own!

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

As long as we live in this world we will face constant tension—there is a constant conflict that exists between our new spiritual life and our old sinful nature. No longer are we slaves to sin….we are slaves of righteousness. While we may be slaves of a new master, we still live in enemy territory. Sin is no longer our master but it is still a powerful adversary. If we fail to take sin seriously, we will fall into sin again and again. If we don’t take our victory seriously, we fail to utilize the help of the Holy Spirit.  Beginning in Romans 8, Paul will explain the work of the Holy Spirit in overcoming the bad and producing the good in our lives

It is one thing for a Believer to understand that their identification with Jesus Christ means that they have died to sin (6:2), it is another thing for the Believer to count or to reckon that to be true (6:11), it is something else for the Believer to deal with the sin nature that remains. This is the internal conflict in the area of sanctification that every Believer must deal with. In verses 1-6, we see the relationship between the believer and the law and in verses 7-13, we see the relationship between the law and sinFOUR FACTS ABOUT THE LAW:(1) The Law Reveals Sin  (vs. 7)   (2) The Law Arouses Sin (vs. 8-9)(3) The Law Reveals the Fact of Condemnation and Death (vs. 10-11)(4) The Law Shows the Sinfulness of Sin (vs. 12–13) 

The Christian life is not one of independence and rebellion. We have died to the law so that we might be married to “Him who was raised from the dead”. We have been delivered from the law so that we might faithfully submit to our Savior and wholeheartedly serve our Lord.

Paul begins this section in almost the same way as the beginning of the Chapter. He wants to make sure there is no misunderstanding of the nature of grace. It is true that we have been forgiven by the Grace of God. It’s also true that the forgiveness we have received does not give us the right to do anything we want. Rather, our forgiveness provides us with the opportunity to live the way God wants us to live.

In Chapters 1-5, Paul’s focus was on justification. This next section of the letter (Chapters 6–8) deals with sanctification. Chapter 6 explains that believers are free from sin’s controlChapter 7 discusses the continuing struggle believers have with sinChapter 8 describes how believers can have victory over sin This morning we will be looking at the first 11 verses, it begins with a QUESTION (vs. 1), then there is an ANSWER (vs. 2, followed by an EXPLANATION (vs. 3-11).

The passage before us is one of the greatest theological sections of the Bible. In these 10 verses, Paul summarizes the theology of the preceding chapters about the sinfulness of man and the provision of Salvation thru our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There is a positive progression that takes place here. The passage begins in the abyss with man’s ruin, it then ascends through the rescue of redemption and culminates with the reign of grace for those who believe.