Vaiden Rochelle

What kinds of perils were the early Roman Christians likely exposed to? They were hunted by the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman soldiers during Nero's time and killed. They were ostercized, starving, poor, and threatened with death for their faith in God and accepting Jesus as God's son. Today, Christians in this country face ridicule more than any other peril. In other countries, especially Moselem ones and some communist ones, they are forbidden to address Jesus as God's son and to preach the gospel. If they do and are caught, they are put to death or ran out of the country. In other places where voodoo is the religion of the area, they are often threatened to be killed or run out of the area. How does this passage reassure us? We must realize that God loves us, and He will never forsake us, no matter whatever we experience. Nothing can separate His love from us. Even though we may die for Him, He loves us, and we will live with Him forever. His love will give us strength to endure all things. In what sense do we Christians "overwhelmingly conquer" despite the obstacles we face? Once we are filled with God's love, we must realize that nothing will happen to us to take it away. No matter what happens to us, as long as we love God, His power living in us will keep us safe from spiritual death and therefore, we will conquer sin and death.

What is the significance of the statement: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" This is such a powerful and comforting question! When God is for us, (and He is for everyone who calls Him Father and has surrendered his or her complete heart to Him) the enemy must cower and realize that no matter what he does, he is defeated. Sure, our physical body may suffer or even die, our lives may be in tatters, but our spirit and soul will not be conquored because we belong to God, who is the almighty, powerful one! Who might our enemies be? We don't war with people; we war with evil spirits or demons. That is why it is possible to say we don't hate the person, we hate what they do. What they do is the sin coming from the satanic force. What is the evidence that God is for us? God did not even spare His own Son for us. Instead, Jesus died willingly for us all. Therefore, we should see that God will give us everything we need as we need them. The fact that Jesus died for me so that I don't have to go to hell is totally amazing. Mere words are not enough to express my thankfulness. Salvation gives me hope that I will be with Jesus and experience the future glory. How does it allow me to act? I have freedom in Jesus. My soul praises and worships Him! I live life confidently knowing that eventually one day I will live with Christ. Also, it gives me confidence to conduct my life now as a daughter of God. I am a child of the King. I have every spiritual tool at my disposal as long as I stay in harmony with Christ.

What does it mean to "be conformed to the likeness of his Son"? After we ask for forgiveness of our sins and we accept that Jesus is God's son, Jesus will declare us "not guilty," forgive our sins, and declare us as his brothers and sisters. Also, He promises that as long as we continue living for Him, we will share in His future glory. In practical terms, what does that involve in our lives? This goes back to John chapter 15 where He is the Vine and we are the branches. Verse 4 states that He lives in us and we are to live in Him if we love Him and belong to Him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit will always be with us to guide us and comfort us. Also, we are able to have life more abundantly as long as we love Jesus and do the will of our Father. Until Jesus comes, we will have trouble and trials, but the Comforter will always be in us to guide us through these times. Why does Paul support this statement with ideas of our destiny? First, since God loves us, He sent Jesus to die to rescue us from sin and give all who ask for it, a life with Him. Jesus had to go through what He did to do what God needed Him to do. Therefore, it makes sense that since we are to be sons and daughters of God, we will have to go through trials for the glory of God also. This is part of the brotherhood with Jesus.

What is the actual promise contained in verse 28? What does this promise mean? It means that all trials we go through will bring us closer to God if we love HIm and are doing His will. All the problems we face will make us stronger and give us more insight into human nature and the nature of God. God will help us see situations the way He wants us to see them. In other words, we're not responding with emotion but with the spirit of God in these situations.

In what sense do we expect to experience God's glory when Christ comes? When Jesus comes, everything will be restored to the way He intended it to be. Hallelujah! How will the suffering creation experience God's glory? We will be transformed into the image that God wants us to have. In what ways will our spirits experience God's glory? Our spirits will rise out of the dead in Christ first, then as the believers are taken away into the sky to be with Jesus as He comes. Once we are together, there will be no more pain, suffering of any kind, nor any negativity in our spirits whatsoever.

What are the characteristics of a man who has lost hope? It ususally shows up in what he says or how he says things. Also, it is evident in his thought life. For example, is there a lack of desire to go to church or to attend other christian functions? What about the prayer life? His mind is not always focused on God and what He wants for him. These actions contrast with a person who is full of hope in God. That person behaves just the opposite of the one who has lost hope in God. He looks forward to going to church to hear about the things of God and to being around other believers. He also looks forward to the leadings of God through the Holy Spirit. Like Paul H., I can say I know these two differences first hand, and I am so grateful that God reached down and saved me!

How does the Holy Spirit act as a Helper or Mediator or Intercessor in verses 26-27? The Holy Spirit knows our hearts and will speak to God on our behalf. He will express the feelings, concerns, and joy to our Father what we can't express but nevertheless feel and prayers. What similarities do you see between the Holy Spirit's ministry here with Jesus' teaching of the Spirit's ministry as Counselor/Comforter/Paraclete in John 14:16 and 15:26? In John 14:16, the Holy Spirit is coming to comfort us and will teach us what God wants us to know. There is a similarity because the Holy Spirit knows what we are feeling even if we can't express it, so, therefore, He is able to comfort us. Why do you think we tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us? Since the Holy Spirit is with us all the time, it is easy for us to think that we did things on our own. Only when we pray for specific events to turn out a particular way, do many of us acknowledge God's intervention and the help of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:17-22 In what ways was Jesus's suffering lot in life? He suffered when he took on human form because humans suffer. Then, He suffered when He died on teh cross. Why does all creation seem to be suffereing? It's because of sin in the world. What will signal the end of that downward cycle of suffering, decay, and death? When Jesus comes back to claim us. Yes, there is good to look forward to in this present life, and that is the coming of Jesus. Also, the Holy Spirit is with us in everything. Jesus said he came to give us life more abundantly.

No, it is not possible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit residing in us. What is the difference between the indewelling of the Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit? Paul H wrote that he agreed with what Elwood said about letting a guest into your house vs. giving the guest the keys to your house. What a super analogy! I totally agree!

Romans 8:12 Do we have to sin? No. Are we compelled to sin? No. When we have the Spirit of God living within us, we will not want to sin. Is it possible to live for two hours of wakefulness without sinning? Yes, it is. It is possible to live our lives without sinning. Where do we Christians get such a defeatist attitude toward sin? From the Holy Spirit living within us, which is varified through the scripture. Anyone who has the Holy Spirit living within them will not want to sin. Sinning is a choice that people make.

What does it mean to be conformed to the likeness of His Son? Romans 8:29 In this passage, it means that we should strive to think like Jesus and to do what Jesus would do in every circumstance we encounter. In practical terms, what does that involve in our lives? In order to be comformed to the likeness of His Son, we should always keep an attitude of prayer, talk often throughout the day with God, and listen to what He tells us. We should read the Bible daily,study it, and act upon it. Paul supports this statement with ideas of our destiny because it is natural to live as God wants us to live since we love Him. Also, living our life as God wants us to live it is what we're going to be doing when we are with God. All brothers and sisters in Christ should have the mind of Christ; therefore, we all will act like Him and be a relection of Jesus.

In Romans 8:14-21,28, I counted six times where we are alluded to being sons and daughters of God. In verse 29 there is one more. I'm reading the Living Bible Paraphrased text. God promises that since we are His children, we will share in His treasures. Now, if we are going to share His glory, we must also share in His suffering. After we, the sons and daughters of God, are resurrected, He will also give us new bodies that will never be sick again and will never die. He also through the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. Also, according to verse 28, we have the promise that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans. In Romans 8:14-21, 28 we learn that God will resurrect His children, sin, death, and decay will all disappear, and we will enjoy life without sin.

The law was not meant to save us. It was to help us know how to live for God. Sin and death are the weak links. For us to be saved, we must believe that Jesus is God's son, and Jesus alone is the one who saves us from sin if we confess our sins and ask for His forgiveness.

Setting your mind on the Spirit means to listen to God and to do what He tells you to do. We can do this through reading the Bible and listening to what the Holy Spirit reaveals to us, through listening to God when we pray, by listening to what God reveals through your pastor in the sermons, and by listening to His voice as He talks to you personally. Sometimes, when faced with unpleasant circumstances, the devil will try to get people focused on the negative points and remain there, letting them escalate. Therefore, it is important to be praying for a spirit of discernment so that we'll be able to recognize these times so that we'll be able to rebuke the devil and instead think like God would have us to think. It "boils down to making a choice." We must be aware that the devil is out there and wanting to cause us to lose out with God. We must be ever watchful and prayful to not let that happen. We must also be aware that we cannot win over the devil on our own. "Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world." IJohn 4:4

We can't keep the law on our own. Temptation is great, and we do make mistakes as well as sin. Therefore, we need to ask God for forgiveness when this happens. We are the weak link. Only belief that Jesus saves us from our sin will save us.

The "flesh" means (I want to say "sinful nature"!) the condition of the spiritual heart before a person was saved, or accepted to live for Jesus. The "flesh" is the complete opposite of living the way God wants a person to live for Him.

What a challenging question!! The "I" Paul is writing about is referring to those who have not decided to yield themselves totally to doing God's will. At one time, it was Paul, so therefore, he is quite capable of writing based on experience. All of us can identify with the "I" in verses 14-25 before we decided to let God have our lives completely. What insightful verses!!

Total depravity is a negative condition of the spiritual heart followed by its actions. Whenever someone chooses to let any form of negative thoughts into their heart and not immediately cast them out, he or she is a candidate for this takeover. Therefore, it is important whenever we are tempted to harbor ill feelings toward someone or something, or to act upon negative thoughts, we must pray for forgiveness and ask God to help us get rid of them and replace them with thoughts He would have us to have. This means that after a while, it is possible for God's original goodness to depart from that person. Today, most people think that man is basically good because to think otherwise is a scary thought. Society tends to think that all good people are going to enter into heaven, no matter what religious beliefs they hold. This is another seduction of the devil. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that man is born with sin in him because of the sin Adam and Eve committed.

The law shows us plainly how to correctly live for God. It also shows us that we are incapable of living correctly for God without His help. I can't see that it does anything poorly since it is from God. Of course the law itself can't save us because only Jesus saves us. We have to accept Him as our Lord and Savior and admit that He is God's son. There shouldn't be any conflict here. The law is one entity, and Jesus is the other.