We have all struggled with shame and guilt over what we have done. We swore to God we would never do it again and we did. OR when the bottom of our life seems to fall apart we automatically assume it is because God is trying to hurt us and pay us back for all the wrong that we’ve done. This week we are going to discuss how Paul wants to get us away from this place of shame, guilt, and uncertainty over how God feels about us. In Romans chapter 8, Paul is going to show us that as we struggle with sin, even when we blow it, even when we fail, that in those moments, we can be confident that God’s love for us never changes.
1. Read Romans 8:1-4. What is the good news found in these verses? As a group, restate these verses in your own words.
2. He does not love us because we live like Christ, he loves us because we are in Christ. We are loved as if we were Christ. That is what Jesus Christ did for us the moment we received him as our savior and Lord. How can you see these statements pulled from the previous four verses?
3. In what specific ways have you experienced the Spirit’s power to enable you to resist temptation and do God’s will?
4. Read Romans 8:7-9. What stands out to you in these verses? What is the difference between the realm of the flesh and the realm of the Spirit?
5. Read Romans 8:5-14. According to these verses, list all that the Spirit does for us.
6. Read Romans 8:14-16. What does it mean to you to be adopted as a son of God?
In all of the rest of the book of Romans, Paul mentions the Holy Spirit three times. How many times does Paul mention the Spirit in chapter 8?
7. Read Romans 8:26-27. What are some of the times in your life when you have needed to rely on the intercessory prayers of the Holy Spirit?
8. Read Romans 8:35-39. Paul’s confidence does not come from what he did, his confidence comes from what God did. What can we be confident that God has done for us?
Summary of Romans 8: What did God do?
- God entirely forgives me. (1-4)
- God personally leads me. (5-14)
- God lovingly adopts me as His child. (14-15)
- God passionately sustains me. (16-17)
- God victoriously fights for my good. (28-37)