Romans 8:1-11

We are on the homestretch of our readings from the Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans. This Sunday, July 16, we read Romans 8:1-11.

In these verses, Paul turns to the way the redeemed in Christ experience the Holy Spirit, both as the One through whom our hearts and minds are guided in the life in Christ, and the One through whom we grow into beings who are integrated in body, mind, and spirit.

In Romans 8:1-4, Paul speaks of “the law of the Spirit”, contrasting this with “the law of sin and death”. It helps to think of these “laws” as more akin to “the law of gravity” (part of natural law) than as “the law of the land” (a set of rules and regulations). See if you can trace the power of sin in relation to these two versions of the law as described in Romans 8:1-4.

In Romans 8:5-11, Paul contrasts “the level of our lower nature” with “the level of the spirit”. How would you describe these two levels in human beings? Is it possible for a person to live wholly at the level of our lower nature? Is it possible for a human being to live wholly at the level of the spirit?