Therefore

Who dictates who am I?

Previously in Romans

In chapter one, Paul exposed us to the sinful nature of our flesh, without first reminding us of where our faith comes from, not from the evidence in nature, but from the knowledge of His works since creation. Then in chapter 2 and 3, he challenges us to scrutinize our hearts and truly meditate who we serve and how we reflect our relationship with Yahweh to others.

Chapters 5 through 7, Paul is trying to have us meditate deeply in what Yeshua came to accomplish, salvation from sin, and to learn to differentiate between what’s from Yahweh and what’s from the system that’s trying to keep us in bondage. Which He summarized beautifully in Romans chapter 7 verses 21 to 24:

And of course, Paul inserts a very important note into the mix, so we do not forget:

With this in perspective, let’s begin… Romans chapter 8

What comes as the result of this war that rage inside me and Yeshua’s work of salvation?

Romans 8:1-2 LSB ~ Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

I’m not sure how clearer can Paul be. Yeshua work on the cross, traveling to Sheol and resurrecting in that glorious “First Fruits” first day, brought back the Law of Righteousness and the Spirit to live in us. As Yahweh promised through the prophets He was going to do. Pulverizing our hearts of stone, that do not want to conform to Yahweh’s Law, but to the laws of sin, falling slave to it again. We were the weakest link in the covenant, not Yahweh.

Romans 8:3 LSB ~ For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Yahweh made us crushed the sin in the flesh at the cross, so the life in His blood brings us back to life, taking the place of our sentence, but first we must experience the brutality of our stone-cold heart. As Zeḵaryah (Zechariah) declared, a process that started with us, but the final fulfillment is about to happen in the heart of Israel.

Yahweh has crafted a plan that He started from the beginning, there is nothing new under the heaven, what makes things look new to us is because our stone-cold heart does not want to abide under the wings of our Creator, as Adam in that unfortunate day, he relinquished the gift that Yahweh put on his hands, for a piece of a forbidden fruit. As Esav (Esau) sold his firstborn right to his brother Ya’acov (Jacob).

From the beginning Yahweh told us what He was going to do, through sin we forgot His words, and then He had to remind us of His purpose, this time, He set apart a family from all the nations, to create a nation of His own, a new beginning, through a man called Abram, Yahweh promised Abram that through his seed, all nations of the world would be blessed. (Genesis 12: 1-3).

Wow! What a promise. But why Yahweh needed to set him apart from all the nations? Remember that Adam relinquished his covenant with Yahweh, he missed the day of his visitation when Yahweh called on him: “Where are you?”.

Yahweh then called Moses, to bring Israel from slavery from Egypt, as He brought Abraham out of the slavery of idolatry and traditions. Through the blood of a lamb, Israel obedience brought them out into the wilderness, where He made a covenant with them, for Him to be their God and they to be His people, to which they agreed. And still, about a month later, they broke everything they had agreed to. But Yahweh kept His part of the bargain. Repeatedly.

And as He reminded Israel through the prophet Isaiah:

We often forget that the new thing Yahweh is doing is restoring heaven and earth into its former original design. But the beginning does not start at the beginning. Yahweh through Isaiah, is reminding the people of Israel of this new thing that they have not follow, and because of this, they were going to be exile to Babylon, the northern kingdom of Israel has already been exiled to Assyria, Judah is then hanging from a threat.

As I mentioned before, we are the weakest link in this covenant we have with the God of Israel. Shaul is reminding us of that, repeatedly in Romans chapter 8. Let’s go back to verse three forward.

Romans 8:3-4 LSB ~ For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,  so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We are unable to follow Yahweh in our own strength, because even when we are willing, we often find excuses not to be. For this reason, He made it extremely accessible to us. The ways were already laid out in the Hebrew Bible, more specifically the Torah (Pentateuch), there not new instructions or traditions to approach Yahweh, but there’s a new door, but only through that door we can come closer to the Almighty Elohim. That door is Yeshua the Messiah. When we enter that door with conviction and not keeping a foot out of the door, then He equips us with the Ruach Ha‑Kodesh—Holy Spirit—.

But to stay inside the door, it is required of us to follow the lead of the Spirit of God, who is the one who guide us and remind us of the truth. We cannot do this on our own, and we have proved that time and time again.

We Must Grow

Romans 8:5-8 LSB ~ For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,  because the mind set on the flesh is at enmity toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

Paul is very clear that we need to abide in Yeshua, and the tool He left behind for us is His Spirit and Scriptures, which includes Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, The Gospels and the Letters of the Apostles, including the book of Revelation. God has found ways to keep His Word intact through out generations. Miraculously we still have the Hebrew Bible intact, since the Greek and Roman Empire did their best to burn it down. And we believers of Yeshua haven’t done our best to preserve it either, sometimes we even contributed to its extermination. But the Word of God still stands.

You should keep that in mind, of course, we did not do that, our founding fathers of the faith did, but should keep us humble to accept how close we were to eradicate what Yahweh has given us as a gift. The Law of God has lastest through generations, kept alive probably by Noah and his son, until Abraham received the promise of redemption. But through Moses, God made His Word available to us in a way we can pass on to our children.

We should start recognizing how delicate our faith is, walk faithfully in His ways, the way He established in the wilderness. In that powerful day we celebrate today as Pentecost, which really is called Shavuot, in a day like that one, God gave Israel the ten Commandments, and centuries later gifted us a way to follow it, in an upper room in the city of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).

It is a shame that today many so-called believers had made their life mission to teach others to neglect the commandments of Yahweh, directly rebelling against Yeshua and the true purpose of His mission here on earth (Matthew 5:17-19).

Paul did not deviate from the calling Yeshua entrusted him with. He was teaching individuals that do not understand the purpose of those laws, the benefit encapsulated within them. The Word of God is alive and is exactly what this world needs to be renewed and set free, once and for all, from the bondage of death itself. And is this reason why Yohanan (John) called Yeshua “the Word”.

Yeshua is the reason and the fulfillment of Yahweh’s way of life. He is the culmination of death, the kinsman redeemer and the Passover Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

Everything written, all its traditions and appointed times belong to the Messiah. He established it from the beginning, and we demonstrate when we abide in His way, that we belong to Him even when we are still in this corrupted world. We are the living witnesses of His unfailing love. If we stay firm in His way, even to death, Yeshua will be faithful to restore everything that has been taken from us, including our lives.

Romans 8:10-11 LSB ~ But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

We Have No Excuse

Since we are equipped with the Spirit, after having been allowed access to the Father, we are without excuse to commit the sin we were under when we received this Hope of Glory.

Romans 8:12-17 LSB ~ So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the practices of the body, you will live.  For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, “Abba! Father!”  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, also heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

One thing for sure is this, Yahweh knows we might fail, after all, He has not removed us from this world. That was not the intention of the first coming of the Messiah. The first coming of the Messiah was to restore our relationship with Yahweh, so then we can learn to walk under His authority, because when He returns as the conquering King, He is not coming to forgive sins, He is coming to eradicate it once and for all. At that time, it would be better for you to have your lamps ready to shine brightly.

That it is hard, yes, asked the people of Israel. They know what persecution is, they know what it is to be at the brink of extinction, they are threatened today as always, even by their allies. Today our country is following the same pattern of Nazi Germany, where many believers want to stand in the sidelines while the persecution is rising. But make no mistake, once the persecution catch up with the Israelis, and they are forced out to Aliyah—returning to their land—we grafted in believers will suffer the consequences, especially those who are wanting to sit this out. Their faith will be tested as it has not been tested before, and Yeshua will start separating the weeds from the real thing. The remnant that has been faithful, maybe—just maybe, will be spared. This should not cause fear for true believers, as Paul continues:

Romans 8:18-27 LSB ~ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 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. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly wait for it. And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

The war for eternity is not a laughing matter, this is a serious covenant we have with Yahweh, consumed by the Bread which was crushed, sealed by the Blood of the Lamb and confirmed by the risen of our High Priest, Messiah Ben-Yosef, the suffering servant prophesied in Isaiah 53.

But our Messiah will return, He first came to prepare the way for us to receive the King. We now live as those who live under the laws of a Kingdom we cannot see yet, with our physical eyes, still at the same time, with our spiritual eyes we can see it as clear as day. This is our hope, the hope of a promise that is yet to be revealed to us as we read in Romans 8:18. And as Yeshua proclaim in His hometown synagogue:

Again, Paul must stretch enough how obedience is important for us to continue to walk in His way. Yahweh reveals Himself to us so we can walk in His way, guided by the Ruach Ha‑Kodesh (Holy Spirit).

Romans 8:28-30 ~ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.

Lamentably many will interpret this set of verses to support a doctrine of predestination, which completely decimates everything Paul has been trying to teach so far. When Paul speaks about predestination, He is expressing what has been expressed by Yahweh since the beginning; He already established the way we are to walk, which for a Hellenistic audience, “predestination” seems like a perfect word.

The true meaning of this passage relies on how the thought started: “And we know that for those who love God”, and the key phrase is: “who love God”. Through Yeshua, the Spirit made clear how it looks to love God.

Love is the full expression of Torah, God’s (the Father) commandments. And whoever loves Yahweh, is known by Him. This is an intentional circular reasoning, because there is no way to demonstrate your love to Yahweh and to stay in His Son, Yeshua, but by loving Yahweh, with everything we are. And that is why the most important commandments are these:

All Scriptures hang on love; and for us to obey the commandments we can abide‑to, while in the wilderness, or on exile, as we are walking today, is the way we demonstrate our love to Him who has sacrificed everything He is, because of His love for us. We walk in the way that has been predestined from the beginning, and we are make ourselves known to Him, because He knows those who walks on His ways, but rejects who do not, or those who pretend to walk in them.

Yahweh will make everything to work for good for those who love Him, who walk in the way He prepared and traced from the beginning, that abide in Yeshua, His Salvation, in this way they are been known from all eternity. And this for those who love Him the way He has established, not on our twisted perception of love.

Romans 8:31-34 LSB ~ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Yahweh has orchestrated this plan of redemption from the beginning, our fall did not took Him by surprise, He has always loved us, and as a good Shepherd, He has guide us. As a good perfect Father, He has nurture us, corrected us and disciplined us. And as a perfect Master, He had gifted us with Shabbat (Rest) and righteous instructions and laws (Torah), for us to live a prosperous life.

Nothing Can Separate Me from His Love

This promise has been offered to all who believe. Actually, this promise has been offered to all, because this is the love of Yahweh, who wants all to come to repentance and to be saved. And from this promise nothing and no one can separate us from.

Romans 8:35-39 LSB ~ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Satan has tried his best to separate us and accuse us. All the enemies of Yahweh had tried to separate us from Yahweh’s way, and even ourselves have tried to separate ourselves from His love. But still, His love keeps knocking at the door of our hearts, even when we were too far gone, from our own perspective, or by the perspective of our society.

Israel has done evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and still they stand, as a living witness to our faith. The faith Paul introduced us to in the first chapter of this letter. A faith based in evidence, of His power and unfailing love. For those who endure to the end, the fullness of His love will be revealed, not just as hope, but as an ever‑present event from then and forever.

Conclusión

Paul has taken us through a roller-coaster of ideas, which are foreign to our flesh, especially as Gentiles. From chapter 1 to 8, Paul has introduced us to a life of learning, from a student of rabbi Gamalier, as a reminder to Messianic Jews of the origins of their faith, and to educate Gentiles in concepts that far exceeds the concepts we have been taught through paganism and materialism. Paul has exposed us to the sound doctrine of the Ruach (Spirit) of Yahweh, a doctrine for a congregation that have started to divide in worthless discussions. It is sad to think that it seems the message has not sink‑in into our hearts yet.

Two major movements claiming to follow Yeshua (Jesus) and still divided because they keep throwing stones at each other, labelling each other in insults and hatred. One screaming “You Pagans”, the other “You Heretics”, and then each movement is divided in themselves even more.

Two major movements claiming to follow the Elohim of Avraham (Abraham), Yitzchak (Isaac) and Yaacov (Jacob), and keep throwing each-other under-the-bus—betraying one another—and sometimes aligning with a mutual enemy in the hope that that enemy exterminates the other.

And while each side plays the victim and the religious self‑righteousness game, there is a world in need of the One and only Elohim. The One who loves us but also loves our enemies. Who wants all nations to come to repentance. After all, that’s what He promised to Abraham.

It seems we keep forgetting for what reason He has revealed Himself to us. And that is what Paul is about to lay out for us from now on.

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“May Yahweh bless you and keep you; May Yahweh make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; May Yahweh lift up His face towards you and give you Shalom (Peace)”.

Shalom, Shalom.