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What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 ESV
What can we expect in our relationship with Jesus, not our false desires, but scripture-based promises of what happens after we begin a relationship with Him?
No Condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set us free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ESV
The Greek word for “condemnation” means “looking down” and in Christ since we are totally forgiven for past, present, and future sins, we should stop looking down on ourselves and judging or “looking down” on others.
The Spirit Within (Romans 8:9-11)
We are not alone. Awareness of the Spirit’s presence is the key factor of growing or stagnating in Christ. The most important prayer we can pray as believers is, “God fill me with your Spirit, allow me to walk in the power and presence of the Spirit.”
A New Identity (Romans 8:14-17)
We are not only children of God but in Romans 8:14 we are called “co-heirs” of Christ. No greater description of our relationship exists in the Bible – we are family, identified with Christ, and joined with Him in the eternal purposes of God.
Family is family, we get all the benefits that Jesus earned by his death, burial, and resurrection, and no, we don’t deserve them. That’s grace. Awesome!
We Get to Suffer with Christ (Romans 8:18-25)
Uh Oh! Let’s skip this one. But remember that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed!
All Things Will Work for the Good (Romans 8:28)
How many times have we heard, “It will all work out,” or “God has a better plan,” or “We don’t understand now, but we will later.” One of the most quoted verses for making sense of difficulties is the promise of Romans 8:28 …
We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
However, the “all things for the good” works only when we live according to His called purposes.
The Spirit and Jesus pray for us.
When others promise to pray for me, I often wonder if they really do. Two great expectations of us following Jesus are …
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26 ESV
And …
Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:27 ESV
And I know that they do!
The expectations just mentioned are found in Romans 8, perhaps the greatest chapter in the Bible explaining what happens when we decide to follow Jesus. Let’s remember …
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37 ESV