Romans 8

“16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” – Romans 8:16-17

The Holy Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit. This is a stumbling block, a significant hurdle for American Christians. They have allowed the carnal mind, which cannot be subject (Romans 8:7), to rule them, making their spirit of no effect in the Kingdom of God. If you are a blood-bought, redeemed son in Christ, and joint heir together with Him, then your spirit should agree with the Almighty.

Romans 8 is one of those cherry-picking chapters where people load up on the blessings and see none of the duty. There’s the discussion of pre-destination sometimes misused by all sides. There’s verse 15 in which the New Religion cries Abba Father but are paralyzed by fear, glued to the news cycle, readily adapting to the decrees of antichrist governments against that which is holy. And there’s verse 37, we are conquerors through Christ, but conquerors of what, they cannot say other than worldly carnal musings.

Likewise, Christians, if that’s what they are, love 1 John 4:19, but without boldness living in fear, what of verse 18 before it and verse 17? Who among us, having the early century martyrs as our example, stood boldly when the world was told to cower in fear over flu? There is no fear in the love of God, and if our spirit bears witness with the Holy Spirit, we do not walk contrary to God but abide in power and love without fear. And verses 38 and 39 in Romans 8 are often cited by those living in comfort and ease, untested, never serving, denying Christ in deed, having gushing words about God, and not a drop of the service wherewith we are called to bear fruit. And verse 36, are they who won’t live for the King ready to die for Him?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” – Romans 8:35

Fear of not fitting in, fear of not being liked, fear of appearing to be different; these are nothing. Massive problems loomed during the first century, and today American Christians are being tested at the hand of God’s supreme and sovereign power; do they know it? This is not a prophetic statement; it’s Scripture. If you are Christ’s, He will never stop loving you, but you can exit the love of God coming under chastisement instead for failure to follow Him in tribulation. The American Church failed massively, and with so few exceptions, it must be called a complete failure for the past three years. And given that Roe has been overturned, where are the large Church organizations galvanizing in each state?

When they teach verse 35, they apply it personally to Paul and his situation without instructing the brethren on how to prepare for these things. Do they consider these afflictions possible today? American Christians must realize that our spirit is to bear witness together with the Holy Spirit.

No man knows the degree of pain and suffering while we await His return. These things need to be settled in your mind now. They must be discussed with family, among the trusted and faithful brethren at Church, purposing in your heart to prepare. All things that proceed out of a man come from the heart. The body is weak, and the mind makes war on the Spirit; if you prepare only in your mind and with stuff, you can talk the talk, but it’s in your spirit where God will find you, and unless your heart agrees with God, you will falter, perhaps even denying Christ. If your soul is not right with God, you will fail the coming temporal, carnal, and earthly tests. Every true and faithful Christian is tested, regardless of a current global or national situation. Without the purpose of heart, no physical preparation can sustain a man; the Holy Spirit of God leading the believer is where iron is sharpened against a day of judgment.

“13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” – Romans 8:13-15

There are levels of application to be made in verse 13. First and foremost, without salvation from death and hell by the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus, being dammed already, your eternal death awaits. And in the spirit of the believer, living after the desires of your body, you will have no heart for the trials that appear to be lining up. Without a true purpose in the love of Christ, the Christian cannot function within the Kingdom of God, reverting to the kings of this world and our present time and pursuits of vanity, forgetting the hope of Christ that lives in us (Romans 8:24-25).

No man can lose his eternal salvation, but to be clear as a bell with any who read this, if you only have a form of godliness, mere religion, a hearer of the word and self-deceived about your eternal soul’s condition, you will die. Life eternal is to those that are His, not by sacraments, not by earthly priests, nor denominations, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by Christ.

Because verse 14 shows the only way, our spirit must agree with the Spirit of Holy God, “For as many as are led.” Who is your master, your king, what spirit do you fear? What spirit is in you; those that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, and none other! The spirit of bondage to any other is not of God, for we are bound in the Spirit of God, Christ the heir of all things, we being a joint heir with Him, there is no spirit of fear, no spirit of bondage, but as many that have the Spirit of God, they have a Father which art in Heaven.

“25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 26 Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.” – Proverbs 29:25-26

And if bound in the Spirit of God, our spirit bearing witness to the same, you are loosed from a heart of fear and bondage toward the kings and tyrants of this world. The closing in of tribulation, distress, persecutions, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword from this world cannot hold you if you are bound to Christ by the Spirit of God in you. There is no fear in the love of God; now we, led by the Spirit, the sons of God being conformed to the image of God’s own Son, mortifying the deeds of the flesh, rejecting any and every spirit of bondage, receiving the adoption from the same Spirit, with Christ, heirs of Heaven, we cry, Abba, Father!

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” – Romans 8:26

The Kingdom of God is built for tribulations. Don’t breeze past that sentence. The Kingdom of God is designed for the hardcore, ugly days of evil upon the land, afflictions, and sufferings all around. The believer can compromise away his rights in the Kingdom if led by the spirit of fear; that’s the only way you can lose. We, those born again of the Spirit of God, have a Kingdom with a multi-failsafe power in our heart’s needs. But not only that, the Kingdom of God is built to withstand time. God didn’t create a pretty good Kingdom struggling to get by for those that dwell in Him. It’s constructed to withstand anything, for it’s the forerunner of God’s eternal Kingdom, His Son coming again to take full possession; it shall not pass, nor shall the believer. But so too, here now, the Kingdom of God has no equal. It can’t be torn down; it can’t lose a war; it can’t be destroyed; none shall overthrow it.

The Holy Spirit of God in us helps with our infirmities. Well, sure, often misapplied to verse 26, but a Bible truth nonetheless, He is our comforter, but the infirmity spoken of in verse 26 is our lack to pray as we ought. God knows what you have need of; what God wants is you, all of you, your very spirit. Pray, pray past the desires of your body, the needs of your flesh, pray until you can think of nothing to pray; knowing not what you ought, heart naked, alone with the Almighty, soul bared open, every fear and care evaporated, left where you ought; alone only in the fear of God. That’s where your spirit comes into bond with the Spirit of God, making intercession on our behalf, for what could you say to God? There’s nothing left to say, He is God, you are the clay, but dust, life a vapor; He gave you your conscience spirit, breathed it into being, the might and glory and majesty of Power at the throne that spoke the worlds into being, and you come unto that which is Holy. The scariest prayer you’ll ever make has a life-changing effect to follow; Lord, I’ll do whatever you want. Now you agree with God our King, ruler of Heaven and earth.

“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” – Romans 8:34

Outside of the will of God, that is where we lose and the only place we can—justified by God, who can make any accusation of merit against His soldiers? It’s Jesus Christ that died on the cross, tortured to death for your sins. But the Kingdom of God, being made to withstand even death itself, Christ rose from the grave again on the third day proving the Scriptures true. The power of the Creator of life eternal is absolute and confirms the earnest of the promise beforehand that the Holy Spirit of God would dwell within us. It’s Christ that died for His inheritance, those that are His. Yea rather, that is risen again from the tomb and ever liveth to make intercession by faith; seated at the right hand of God, Christ continues to make mediation. The accuser of the brethren is defeated; Christ the daysman makes our case in the power of the resurrection unto eternal life. The Kingdom of God by the Holy Spirit in you has redundant intercessors and continual advocates with the Almighty; although God will remind you that it’s He who works through you, though you falter, you cannot fail in the will of the Father.

What place have the kings of this world with us? If you believe these things, if so be that we suffer whatever they may bring, we suffer it with Him. What is that to a child of the LORD most high, knowing that we may also be glorified together with Christ Jesus.

We have not the spirit of fear but of the power of God, and His love, and soundness of mind. At the moment of faith, you received all this, but be sure, it’s those that are led by the Spirit, whithersoever He listeth, that see the Kingdom of God, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.

It’s why the would-be rulers of this world hate Christ and fear the Kingdom of God. If, as at times in church history, we had no fear of the tribulations, carrying on as though the petty powers of hell have no control, then brothers and sisters, fearless by the Spirit of God in us, what kingdom of men can stand; for we have a King that cannot fail and a kingdom that cannot be ended if you do not wane in the calling of Christ to remain in the will of God; walking after the Spirit.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1