part 22

Humanity’s two greatest struggles boil down to misunderstanding who God is and misunderstanding who we are in Christ. In Romans 8:12–17, Paul brings his teaching on sin to a powerful conclusion: as adopted children of God, Christians are no longer obligated to live according to the sinful nature (the flesh). Instead, through faith and reliance on the Holy Spirit, we actively put sin to death— separating ourselves from it through truth, confession, and repentance. Because we have received the Spirit of adoption rather than a spirit of fear or slavery, we can cry out to God as "Abba, Father.” Though carrying Christ's name in a broken world brings present suffering, our true identity as fellow heirs with Christ guarantees that His ultimate glory will be ours as well.