According to Vanderbilt University professor, Dr. Charles Talbert, Romans is a “situational letter, not a theological treatise [aimed at persuading] the Roman house churches to support Paul's projected mission to Spain.”[1] Romans is a “situational letter,” Paul wasn’t trying to get the house churches in Rome to support his projected mission to Spain. Paul was trying to address the situation of law and Spirit. Remember, Paul wrote the letter from Corinth, and he needed Roman help in locating ahead-of-time bases of operation in Rome as well as logistical support to include translators. Paul’s most beloved letter was entrusted to a woman we hardly know. We learn this from Romans 16:1-2. Phoebe was a deacon in Paul’s ministry and was sent to Rome with the letter to facilitate all of this.
Phoebe was the first person to interpret and explain Romans.[2] Phoebe was the person who could answer their questions and explain further what Paul meant, due to her first-hand knowledge of Paul’s message and her experience of serving the gospel alongside him as a co-worker. Phoebe was the first interpreter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul’s words about her reveal to us that women were playing crucial roles in the ministry of the early church.
Given the lack of a Jewish presence in Spain and the various language groups other than Greek, Paul would have needed Roman help in locating ahead-of-time bases of operation, as well as logistical support, including translators.
Romans 8:1-25
In The Key of the Spirit
“The Spirit is the key to the eschatological tension in which believers find themselves.”[3] Paul refers to the “Spirit of life” and the operative power of the Holy Spirit points to the theme of Romans chapter 8. Interestingly, Paul uses the word “spirit” (Gk. pneuma) only four times before chapter 8 (1:4; 2:29; 5:5; 7:6) but twenty-one times in chapter 8, and twenty of those refer to the Holy Spirit.
In a nutshell, Romans chapter 8 could be summarized as “Those living by the capital “S” Spirit prove victors over the flesh,” or, “The Spirit is the key,” or, and probably the best explanation is what the Spirit does: “Mediate to Christians the life and hope that have been the key themes since Romans chapter 5.”[4]
Romans 8:1-4
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 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.
As we learned in Romans 4:25, “ Jesus was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” While the meaning of “ There is, therefore, no condemnation” may seem self-evident, commentators have considerable trouble with it. Is condemnation averted through justification? Does 8:2 refer to a judicial verdict or to penal servitude? After reading at least three approaches to Romans 8:1-2,[5] I agree with Chuck Lowe that the most popular suggestion is that “sanctification is the consequence—rather than the grounds—of justification.”[6] We are justified and then we enter our lifelong process of sanctification. Romans 6:5-8 is interpreted as such; our sanctification is the outgrowth and evidence of justification. During your devotional time, consider evaluating how Romans 8:1-2 can be linked with Romans 5:12-21.
Verse 3 has a “sending” formula, similar to that of Isaiah 6:8, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send?” Paul tells us “For what the law could not do . . . God did by sending His own Son.” Luke writes something very similar in Acts 13:39, “you could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
It is through the big “S” Spirit that we enjoy new spiritual life, the law of the Spirit is different than the Mosaic law. We have been rescued by the Spirit from the condemnation due to our sin in Adam. But what does verse 3 mean by “For what the law could not do?” Clearly, this is different than “the law of the Spirit” in verse 2. The law in verse 3 certainly refers to the law of Moses, divine in origin and goodness, but insufficient to save us, weak-in-the-flesh folks, from the powers of the world. It’s important for us to realize that obedience to the law is not based on faith. Doctoral candidate, Elsa Tamez writes, “For Paul, no human being is capable of condemning sin by eliminating it at once, or even by practicing justice. The law of the Jews, a gift of God for fulfilling justice, had itself been taken captive by sin and "weakened by the flesh."[7]
Yet, the law was and is necessary. A carnal person, a person without the gift of the Holy Spirit, is only interested in what benefits himself now. At one end of the spectrum, we have liberty with no law. When “every man does what is right in his own eyes," as mentioned at the end of the book of Judges, we have anarchy, a state of disorder due to the absence or ignorance of the law. Carnal man sees this as a license, an entitlement—no restrictions and no law telling anyone what can or cannot be done. This is enmity against God. Liberty without the law is anarchy. In our society, the power to manage liberty comes from the rule of law.
There is much to contemplate about what Paul is trying to say about the law in this part of Romans. Paul distinguished between living by man’s law—that would be the flesh, and living by God’s law—the law of the Spirit. God’s holy law stimulates and exposes sin. God’s law provokes, exposes, and condemns sin. Do we live like heathens, having no law? Do we observe the law, ignoring the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Or do we find a convergence of the two?
At the other end of the spectrum, is nothing but law and no liberty. William Penn once wrote, “Law without liberty is tyranny.” Without liberty, everyone is in bondage. Liberty without law is license, an entitlement. A biblical mix of liberty and law is true freedom. True freedom exists only when the excesses of human nature are constrained by moral and ethical laws that have the good of all as their aim.
Our Imperfect Love Fulfills the Law— by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the big “S.” There are some who say it is impossible for us to keep God’s law. Those apart from Christ, the ones dominated by the flesh, are not even trying to keep God’s law. It is possible for believers can keep the law because, “The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you” (Romans 8:11). Jesus kept the law perfectly. Paul kept the law, although imperfectly because the Spirit of God lived in the imperfect body of Paul. Paul said ”I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). Our imperfect love fulfills the law by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit—the big “S.” All the law is fulfilled. Galatians 5:14, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’ Galatians 5:18, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
John Calvin wrote what has become known as the threefold use of the law to show the importance of the law for the Christian life.[8] The first purpose of the law is to be a mirror. The law of God reflects and mirrors the perfect righteousness of God. The second purpose of the law is the restraint of evil. The law, in and of itself, cannot change human hearts. It can, however, serve to protect the righteous from the unjust. The third purpose of the law is to reveal what is pleasing to God. By studying or meditating on the law of God, we attend the school of righteousness. We learn what pleases God and what offends Him. We are justified not because of our obedience to the law, but in order that we may become obedient to God's law. To love Christ is to keep His commandments. To love God is to obey His law.
The Jews of Paul’s day did not observe the law to find salvation. They observed the law as a national privilege as God’s chosen people in order to keep their salvation; to stay in covenant. After all, Jews are God’s chosen, His elect (Deut 14:2). God made a covenant with Israel, not with the other peoples of the world. Clinging to the law can be thought of as covenantal nomism: “nomism from the Greek word for “law,” nomos, and is a deliberate contrast to “legalism.” Their works of the law excluded Gentiles from God’s salvation in Christ.[9] In addition to Paul preaching against works of the law, Paul argued in Romans 3:20 that God was freely available to everyone, not just the Jews.
Romans 8:5-6
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [a]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Does our living lead to corruption or eternity? Paul expects the status of believers as children of God to practice moral behavior that is consistent with this status, where the Holy Spirit and the believer are in harmony. William E. W. Robinson is quoted, “Thus, ‘spirit’ and ‘flesh’ are two competing lifestyles rather than a battle within the believer.”[10]“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:17). The conflict for us is that Christ dwells in us yet so does sin. We are disabled by sin, but we are not dominated by sin. Indwelling sin is temporary.
How do we know if we are living according to the flesh or living according to the Spirit? We can answer that question with a question followed by Scripture. Are your desires against the Spirit, against the welfare of the soul and the body, and is your mind the seat of wisdom? “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
Paul identifies things of the flesh in Colossians 3:5 and 3:8: “Put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry . . . put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.”
Chuck Lowe writes, “Deliverance comes not through the death of Christ on behalf of sinners but through their own death in Christ and through their transformation by the Spirit. These latter are, of course, not two different paths to freedom; for it is in (union with the dead and resurrected) Christ that the Spirit sets them free (8:2).”[11]
Romans 8:7-13
7 Because the [b]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Again, when “every man does what is right in his own eyes," as mentioned at the end of the book of Judges, we have anarchy, a state of disorder due to the absence or ignorance of the law. Carnal man sees this as a license, an entitlement—no restrictions and no law telling anyone what can or cannot be done. This is enmity against God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
David Wenham writes, “To be dead to a thing is a strong expression denoting that such a thing has no influence over the person anymore. One that is dead is uninfluenced and unaffected by the affairs of this life.
Paul appeals to the marriage relationship in Romans chapter 7. A wife is bound to her husband so long as he lives, but when he dies, she is free from the law with respect to her husband (7:2-3). Similarly, Paul's readers were bound by the law, the flesh, and sin; but by dying, they have been released so that they can belong to Christ and live for him (7:4-6).[12]
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [c]through His Spirit who dwells in you.12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
The dead are insensible to sounds, and tastes, and pleasures, to the hum of business, to the voice of friendship, and to all the scenes of commerce, gaiety, and ambition. When it is said, therefore, that a Christian is dead to sin, the sense is, that it has lost its influence over him; he is not subject to it. Wenham concludes: “he is in regard to that, as one in the grave is to the busy scenes and cares of this life.”[13]
Just as what we noticed in Romans chapter 6, in Romans chapter 8 verses 1 through 11, we find an equipoise between the indicative and the imperative. In Romans 8:1-11, Paul wants to encourage his audience of all that God has done and will do for them, the indicative. Going forward, from verse 12, and through chapters 9-16. Paul preaches the imperatives, what to do and not do. “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”
Paul wants to convey the importance of a convergence of law and Spirit. Paul doesn’t want Christians to kick back thinking that they have been freed from the Law of Moses by the cross of Christ. To live strictly by the law and ritualism is legalism. The extreme opposition to that way of life, claiming salvation by grace alone, is called Antinomianism. It is a perversion of the gospel to think that since we are saved by the free grace of God we can ignore living according to the moral law of God.
The term Antinomianism is derived from the Greek αντι (alpha nu tau iota) for “anti” or “against,” and νομος (nu omicron mu omicron sigma) nomos for “law,” thus, it is rendered: “against law.” [14]
Romans 8:14-17
In Romans 8:14-17 we transition from the believer’s present to the believer’s future.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[e] Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Although the Greek word for children is τέκνα, and the Greek word for sons is υιοι, we don’t have to wonder if we are “sons of God” as used in verse 14, or “children of God” as used in verse 16 because Scripture in this context reveals “sons” and “children” are essentially used interchangeably.[15] The use of “children” in verse 16 is inclusive. In Christ, women are included as heirs of God.
Paul wrote something very similar in Galatians 4:3-7, “
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, [b]“Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir [c]of God [d]through Christ.
Paul makes people brothers and sisters when he reminds them of their kinship as children of one Father, brothers and sisters of one another, and of the first-born Son (8:14-17).
Author Nigel M. Watson uses a source from John K. Evans to convey that “For centuries before Paul, the sentiment had prevailed, in Roman society, that sons and daughters should share equally in their father’s estate, along with the deceased man’s wife.”[16] However, Watson cautions the reader with that in the past, apologists for Christianity have sometimes made sweeping claims about the difference Christianity made to the status of women in antiquity. Watson provides a quote by Carolyn Osiek regarding remarks in a recent essay that it has sometimes been argued that Christianity improved the condition of women as contrasted to the Greco-Roman society in which it took shape. She claims, “Such arguments are now recognized by most historians of ancient Mediterranean cultures as erroneous and ethnocentric. The fact that the actual dignity and well-being of women improved in Christian cultures is highly debatable.”[17]
I imagine that we all tell our children that they are heirs of our legacy, downfall, or kingdom and that they were once a good tax deduction. From the hallows of my museum-like man cave, filled with all sorts of what some might consider “junk,” I proclaim to the kids that when I die, all of this is theirs. To that, I always get an “eye roll.” As children of God, we are heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ. Of course, God isn’t our biological father, therefore, we are adopted. Adoption was very common during Paul’s time, and Paul alludes to the legality of adoption practices in Rome whereby those who are adopted are freed from all past debts. Christ gave his life as a ransom and paid the debt owed by the children of God. Paul’s choice of Roman law was only natural under both theological and geographical circumstances.
Emperor Claudius expelled many of the Jews from Rome as recorded by Luke in Acts 18:2 and this may be one of the reasons Paul was referred to as the Apostle to the Gentiles. The new congregation in Rome was Gentile Christians and returning Jews. Paul’s audience could easily grasp the significance and legal implications of adoption under the Roman institution.
Paul used adoption to drive home the one main truth of salvation in Romans 8:14-17. When we become children of God, we are justified and sanctified. As we learned in Romans 4:25, “ Jesus was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
The latter half of verse 17 reads, “We suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Recall that in Romans 8:1-14 Paul issues indicatives, all that God has done and will do for the Gentile and Jewish Christians. Verses 18-30 introduce the imperatives, the glory that one day will be ours after we suffer and groan, and after the bondage and whole of creation groans. Paul’s point about the glory in verses 18-25 is that it is the climax of God’s plan for the world and for His people.
Romans 8:18-21
Paul’s “environmental mantra” of Romans 8:18–21 leads to a more comprehensive understanding of creation and salvation.[18]
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Paul was not ignorant or blind to the suffering of human existence; he considered that the future glory far outweighed the present sufferings. The present suffering and the future glory cannot be compared to each other.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.
The inheritance that comes to us in Christ involves sharing in His suffering, the pathway to sharing in His glory. The glory in the previous verse, verse 18 to be revealed will appear as the children of God (sons of God) are revealed in their new nature, and the creation is liberated from its present state of imperfection and decay. The renewal of creation occurs in Isa 32:1–8; 43:16; 44:1–5 and Ps 104:29. The link between the Spirit and new creation also appears in Ezekiel 36–37. Ezekiel 37:1–14 combines the recurrent theme of the “breath of life,” emanating from Gen 2:7.
21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
When and how is creation corrupt?
In Genesis 3:17-19 we learn,
“Then to Adam, he said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
When and how is creation corrupt? What grows best in our garden, the weeds, or the crops? Creation’s fallen state is not the same as that of humanity, In Genesis 3:17-19 we learn, that Adam heeded his wife and ate from the forbidden tree. Consequently, the ground was cursed, and we’ll eat bread until we turn to dust. Keep in mind that Adam isn’t the one who cursed the ground. God cursed the ground. The ground and all other creation did not disobey the command to not eat of the tree, but through the disobedience of the primeval couple, the rest of the natural world is a victim of humanity’s disobedience, now subject to futility and unable to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. It brings forth weeds more easily than useful crops. There are a handful of biblical references to the corruption of creation as well as other Jewish literature, especially in literature during the intertestamental period, the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments.[19]
There’s an interesting concept of something referred to as the threefold temptation. In a nutshell, there is biblical evidence of temptations happening in three. For example, the forbidden fruit in the garden represented a threefold temptation. Eve saw that the tree was [1] good for food, [2] it was a delight to the eye, and [3] it was desired to make one wise. So, we have pleasures of the senses, covetousness for earthy goods—essentially, lust of the eyes; and lastly, self-assertion or pride of life as Eve desires to be wise.
Another example is love of the world, found in 1 John 2:15-17, where we have:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—[1] the lust of the flesh, [2] the lust of the eyes, and the [3] pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The last example is Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Jesus fasted for forty days and never yielded to temptation. He was hungry, a lust of the flesh Satan promises Jesus the kingdoms of the world, tempting Jesus with lust or delight of the eyes to receive the kingdoms of the world. Satan tells Jesus to throw himself down and call upon the angels, a pride of life or an act to make one wise, the third temptation.
Interestingly, the three activities seem to fit a pattern of fasting, supporting ministry, and prayer. In fasting, we battle against the lust of the flesh. In supporting ministry through our finances, mission support, time, or talents, we renounce worldly goods. Finally, in prayer, we subject ourselves to the will of God and overcome the tendency for self-assertion, pride of life, or covetousness.
Now, back to where we were talking about creation being corrupt. God said, “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” The inheritance that comes to us in Christ involves sharing in His suffering, the pathway to sharing in His glory. The revelation of sharing in God’s glory will more than wipe out all the harm and loss that the created order has suffered because of Adam's fall. For Paul, creation points beyond itself to the nature of God who has revealed himself in his works. There, he is discernible for all people. This truth must not be suppressed but should lead humanity to gratitude and praise of God (Rom 1). Failure to do so, and worshipping creatures rather than the creator, is the foundational sin from which all other failures against God and people derives.
Romans 8:22-25
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
The fates of human and non-human creation are inextricably interrelated, as it connects the groaning of creation and the suffering of humans. One day creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay. Non-human creation enjoys the promise of also obtaining the freedom of the glory of the children of God, the full participation in eschatological salvation. In Paul’s vision, this salvation will include creation or more to the point, the eschatological reversal and salvation of creation will include the believers.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Sin entered the world and spread to all men and the effects of death spread to all creation because of Sin's entrance into the creation. I would suggest that before the fall, humans could snuggle with lions and bears without fear, rose bushes would be without thorns, and we could live in harmony with mosquitos. Of course, we would still have to work. Work had always been part of Adam’s and Eve’s lives in the Garden (Genesis 2:15), but work would be more like recess, more like a walk in the park. Stress and fatigue would not be part of our vocabulary. Did Adam and Eve, before the Fall, know anything about hope and faith?
The author of Hebrews reminds us of God’s promises and that “we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end” (Hebrews 6:11). Hope is a firm conviction that the future promises of God will be fulfilled. Adam and Eve were in the presence of the God of hope (Romans 15:13). Paul writes in verse 24, “Hope that is seen is not hope.” Who hopes for what he sees or has? There would be no reason for our first parents, Adam, and Eve, to be in a perpetual state of anticipation and expectation regarding something that they could see and possess.
Faith is closely tied to hope. Faith is what gives hope and substance. Paul tells us in 2 Cor 5:7 that we “walk by faith, not by sight.” The contrast of walking by faith and not by sight is not relevant prior to Adam and Eve nibbling on the fruit. In 1 Cor 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” Faith and hope are fulfilled in heaven.
Peter explains creation as the living hope (1:3) towards an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance (v 4), followed by the grieving and testing that creation must undergo (vv 6-7) before we “rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (vv 8-9). Martin H. Scharlemann wrote, “Hope eventuates in salvation.”[20] Paul told the Corinthians that faith, hope, and love are the three things that last (1 Cor. 13:12). All three are indispensable on earth. The following statement is from an article in the magazine titled America: “In the world to come we shall no longer have to believe because we shall see. We shall no longer have to hope because we shall possess. We shall still love, however, but without the least inconstancy.”[21]
From Scripture, it appears that faith and hope are fulfilled in heaven. However, might it be presumptuous to proclaim faith and hope were absent before the Fall or will be absent in heaven? What if God has something else for us to have faith and hope for in heaven?
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Watson, Nigel M. "And If Children, Then Heirs' (Rom 8:17)—Why Not Sons?" Australian Biblical Review 49 (2001): 53-56.
Wenham, David. Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995.
[1] Charles H. Talbert, “Romans: A Commentary.” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible & Theology 62 (2): 194. [2] Jennifer Powell, and Amy L B Peeler. “Phoebe: The First Interpreter of Romans: Paul’s Most Beloved Letter Was Entrusted to a Woman We Hardly Know.” Christianity Today 64 (8): 56. [3] J. D. Dunn Romans 1-8, Romans 9-16 Word Bible Commentary 38 A-B 2 vols., (Waco, TX: Word, 1988), 416. [4] Douglas J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), 116. [5] From Chuck Lowe, “There is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1): But Why Not?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (2): 231-2. Basically, one of three approaches is taken to harmonize this passage with traditional Protestant doctrine. One interprets 8:2 as a reference to the death of Christ for sinners so that condemnation is averted through justification rather than through sanctification. The second solution accepts 8:2 as a reference to sanctification but suggests that "condemnation" in 8:1 refers not to a judicial verdict but to "penal servitude." [6] Chuck Lowe, “There is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1): But Why Not?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (2): 232. [7] Elsa Tamez, “Now No Condemnation: A Meditation on Romans 8.” The Ecumenical Review 41 (3): 449-50. [8] Institutes 2.7 [9] Douglas J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014),7-8. [10] William E. W. Robinson, Metaphor, Morality, and the Spirit in Romans 8:1-17 (Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2016), as quoted by Kent E. Brower, “Metaphor, Morality, and the Spirit in Romans 8:1-17.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 40 (5): 75. [11] Chuck Lowe, “There is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1): But Why Not?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (2): 244. [12] Chuck Lowe, “There is No Condemnation (Romans 8:1): But Why Not?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (2): 243. [13] David Wenham, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995), 275. [14] Lewis S. Johnson (Samuel Lewis) “Studies in Romans.” Bibliotheca Sacra 130 (520): 329-30. [15] Scott T. Franchino “Tios and Teknon in the Doctrine of Adoption: Romans 8” Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN): Theses & Dissertations, January 1: iv. [16] John K. Evans War, Women, and Children in Ancient Rome (Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge, 2015), 71; As quoted by Nigel M. Watson in “And if Children, Then Heirs’ (Rom 8:17)—Why Not Sons?” Australian Biblical Review 49: 54. [17] Carolyn Osiek, “Reading the Bible as Women,” The New Interpreter’s Bible ed. Leander E. Keck et al.(Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1994), 1.186. [18] Christoph Stenschke, “Human and Non-Human Creation and its Redemption in Paul’s Letter to the Romans.” Neotestamentica 51 (2): 262. [19] 1 Enoch 45:4–5 (the earth will be transformed for the upright along with the Chosen One); Jub. 4:26; 2 Apoc. Bar. 31:5–32:6; 4 Ezra 7:11, 30–32, 75. [20] Martin H. Scharlemann “An Apostolic Descant (An Exegetical Study of 1 Peter 1:3-12)” Concordia Journal 2, no. 1 (January 1976): 10. [21] “Easter Hope.” 2000 America 182 (14): 3.
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