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None Can Condemn
As if our justification were not enough, Paul also points to the objective reality of Christ’s intercession for us. In conjunction with the Holy Spirit, Jesus intercedes with us, and He has a “preoccupation with the security of his people” (Murray). He asks His Father to give us all that we need to persevere in our faith, and the perfect love between the three persons of the Trinity means this prayer is always according to God’s will and always accomplishes that for which our Lord prays. View Resource
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Setting One’s Mind on the Spirit
Even though the Spirit of God provides us with real power to obey God now, that power does not perfect us in this life. John Calvin comments on Romans 8:1-2: “Wherever the real fear of God is vigorous, it takes away from the flesh its sovereignty, though it does not abolish all its corruptions.” We should have a legalistic expectation of how far we will progress in the Spirit, but not a defeatist attitude. By faith and through the Spirit, we will grow in conformity to Christ. View Resource
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God Does What the Law Cannot
Paul is insistent that Jesus is the answer to sin because He has done what God’s law cannot. It is not the law’s fault that it cannot justify sinful people; rather, it is our fault. Outside of Christ, our fallenness takes hold of the law, and we are unable to fulfill it. The good news of the gospel is that God sent His Son to do what we could not do even with the help of the law. Such is the nature of His grace—grace for which our gratitude must never cease. View Resource
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No Condemnation In Christ
As we strive to obey God and walk in the Spirit, we will find ourselves falling short. It is at those points that we must remember that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Our sins and failures do not move the Lord to give up on us or to cast us out of the kingdom, for we are secure in Christ. Secure in Christ, we live a life of faith and repentance, continually serving the Lord and putting sin to death. View Resource
