“If the Spirit dwells in you” (Rom. 8:9-11)
Image from Pixabay. Why is the apostle writing this eighth chapter of his epistle to the Romans? He is writing it because the Christian lives in a fallen world, a fallen world that is not only a place of sickness and disappointment, but which is also a place in which the devil lives and works and prowls in order to do maximum mischief among the saints and to overthrow their faith if he can. In this chapter, Paul talks about “the sufferings of this present time” (18), the vanity of the creation (20), the bondage of corruption (21), groaning and travailing in pain (22-23), infirmities on top of uncertainty (26-27). These in fact are among the “all things” that God is working for the good of those who love him (28). And yet, as we wait in hope for God to work them for our good, these sufferings, tribulations, distresses, persecutions, famine, nakedness, dangers, and sword (35), can make it seem at times as if God has abandoned us. After all, if God really is for us,...
