ΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣΡΩΜΑΙΟΥΣ

1. Hakuna Hukumu ya Adhabu (8:1-4)1. No Condemnation (8:1-4)

Warumi 8 inaanza na mojawapo ya sentensi zinazoweka huru kuliko zote katika Biblia nzima. Baada ya kilio cha "mtu mnyonge" kilichohitimisha sura ya 7, Paulo haendelei na maombolezo. Analijibu.Romans 8 opens with one of the most liberating sentences in the entire Bible. After the wretched-man cry that ended chapter 7, Paul does not extend the lament. He answers it.

Basi. Neno lingine la bawaba. Kwa sababu Kristo amekufa na kufufuka, kwa sababu mwamini amehesabiwa haki, kwa sababu Roho sasa anakaa ndani ya mwamini — basi hakuna hukumu ya adhabu iliyobaki. Si msamaha wa sehemu. Si adhabu iliyoahirishwa. Hakuna hukumu ya adhabu. Si sasa, si wakati ujao, si kamwe. Hukumu iliyokwisha kutolewa katika mahakama ya Kristo ndilo neno la mwisho juu ya maisha ya mwamini.Therefore. Another hinge word. Because Christ has died and risen, because the believer has been justified, because the Spirit now dwells in the believer — therefore no condemnation remains. Not a partial reprieve. Not a postponed sentence. No condemnation. Not now, not in the future, not ever. The verdict already rendered in Christ's courtroom is the final word over the believer's life.

Paulo anaendelea. Kwa sababu sheria ya Roho wa uzima ulio katika Kristo Yesu imeniweka huru, mbali na sheria ya dhambi na mauti. Anatumia nomos — sheria — kwa maana ya kanuni inayotawala, kama tunavyosema "sheria ya mvutano wa dunia." Kuna sheria inayomvuta mwamini chini — sheria ya dhambi ambayo bado inakaa ndani ya mwili. Kuna sheria nyingine inayomwinua mwamini juu — sheria ya Roho wa uzima. Sheria ya pili inaishinda ya kwanza kama vile sheria ya kuruka angani (aerodinamiki) inavyoshinda sheria ya mvutano wa dunia. Mvutano wa dunia haujaondolewa; umeshindwa na kanuni yenye nguvu zaidi. Mwamini bado anahisi mvuto wa dhambi, lakini amepewa nguvu ya kupanda juu yake.Paul goes on. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. He uses nomos — law — in the sense of governing principle, the same way we say "the law of gravity." There is a law pulling the believer down — the law of sin still resident in the body. There is another law lifting the believer up — the law of the Spirit of life. The second law overcomes the first the way the law of aerodynamics overcomes the law of gravity. Gravity has not been abolished; it has been overcome by a stronger principle. The believer still feels the pull of sin, but is empowered to rise above it.

Mistari ya 3 na 4 inaeleza jinsi ushindi huu ulivyopatikana. Yale ambayo torati haikuweza kufanya — kwa sababu mwili ulikuwa dhaifu mno kuitii — Mungu aliyafanya kwa kumtuma Mwana wake mwenyewe katika mfano wa mwili wa dhambi, na kuihukumu dhambi katika mwili. Msalaba ndipo mahali dhambi ilipohukumiwa na mwamini alipowekwa huru.Verses 3 and 4 explain how this victory was secured. What the law could not do — because the flesh was too weak to obey it — God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemning sin in the flesh. The cross is where sin was condemned and where the believer was set free.

2. Maisha katika Roho, Si katika Mwili (8:5-11)2. Life in the Spirit, Not the Flesh (8:5-11)

Paulo anaeleza nia mbili zinazotawala aina mbili za wanadamu. Wale wanaoishi kwa kufuata mwili huziweka nia zao katika mambo ambayo mwili unatamani. Wale wanaoishi kwa kufuata Roho huziweka nia zao katika mambo ambayo Roho anatamani. Nia hizo mbili zinaleta mwisho miwili tofauti.Paul lays out the two mindsets that govern the two kinds of human beings. Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires. Those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The two mindsets produce two destinations.

Angalia maneno halisi ya Paulo. Nia ya mwili haielekei tu kwenye mauti; nia hiyo ni mauti. Nia iliyowekwa katika Roho haielekei tu kwenye uzima; nia hiyo ni uzima na amani. Mwelekeo wa nia ndio mwisho wenyewe. Nia ya mwili ni uadui juu ya Mungu, haiwezi kujitiisha chini ya sheria yake, haiwezi kumpendeza.Note Paul's exact words. The fleshly mind is not just headed for death; it is death. The mind set on the Spirit is not just headed for life; it is life and peace. The orientation of the mind is the destination. The fleshly mind is hostile to God, unable to submit to His law, unable to please Him.

Lakini, Paulo anaongeza, ninyi hamwi katika mwili, bali katika Roho — ikiwa Roho wa Mungu anakaa ndani yenu. Na mtu yeyote asiye na Roho wa Kristo, huyo si wake. Hapa ndipo ilipo alama kuu ya Mkristo. Mwamini si mtu wa juhudi za kimaadili anayejitahidi zaidi; mwamini ni mtu ambaye ndani yake kuna Mtu Mwingine. Roho yule yule aliyemfufua Yesu katika wafu sasa anakaa ndani ya mwili wa mwamini. Nguvu iliyofungua kaburi ndiyo nguvu inayomwezesha Mkristo kuishi. Hatujitahidi kuelekea uzima wa kiroho kwa matendo yetu. Tunatenda kutoka katika uzima wa kiroho kwa Roho anayekaa ndani yetu.But, Paul adds, you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit — if the Spirit of God dwells in you. And anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. Here is the great Christian distinctive. The believer is not a person of moral effort trying harder; the believer is a person with another Person inside. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in the body of the believer. The power that opened the tomb is the power that makes a Christian live. We do not work toward spiritual life by performance. We work from spiritual life by the indwelling Spirit.

3. Tumefanywa Wana (8:12-17)3. Adopted as Sons (8:12-17)

Paulo anahamia kwenye mojawapo ya picha zenye uchangamfu zaidi katika Agano Jipya. Tuna wajibu — lakini si kwa mwili, si kuishi kwa yale yanayotuangamiza. Tuna wajibu wa kuishi kwa Roho aliyetupa uzima mpya. Na wale wanaoongozwa na Roho wa Mungu, Paulo anawaita wana wa Mungu.Paul shifts to one of the warmest images in the New Testament. We have an obligation — but not to the flesh, not to live by what destroys us. We have an obligation to live by the Spirit who has given us new life. And those led by the Spirit of God, Paul names as sons of God.

Kufanywa mwana ni picha ya kushangaza. Katika ulimwengu wa Kigiriki na Kirumi, kumfanya mtu kuwa mwana hakukuwa mpango wa akiba endapo watoto wa kuzaa hawakupatikana. Kufanywa mwana kulikuwa uchaguzi wa makusudi wa mrithi. Mtu mwenye wana wa kuzaa angeweza bado kumfanya mwingine kuwa mwana wake, na mwana huyo wa kufanywa alirithi sawasawa na wengine. Mwamini amechaguliwa kwa makusudi, ameletwa ndani ya familia, na amepewa haki kamili za mrithi.Adoption is a stunning image. In the Greco-Roman world, adoption was not a backup plan in case biological children were unavailable. Adoption was the deliberate choice of an heir. A man with biological sons could still adopt another, and the adopted son inherited equally. The believer has been deliberately chosen, brought into the family, and given the full rights of an heir.

Mwamini analia Aba. Neno hili la Kiaramu ni neno la ndani la kifamilia la "Baba" — kama mtoto mdogo anavyomwita baba yake kwa upendo. Roho mwenyewe hushuhudia pamoja na roho zetu ya kuwa sisi tu watoto wa Mungu. Na kama tu watoto, basi tu warithi — warithi wa Mungu, warithi pamoja na Kristo. Lolote Kristo analorithi, tunarithi pamoja naye. Kila kitu alichopewa kama Mwana, tunashiriki kwa kufanywa wana.The believer cries out Abba. The Aramaic word is the intimate family word for "Father" — what a small child calls his daddy. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Whatever Christ inherits, we inherit with Him. Everything He has been given as Son, we share by adoption.

4. Viumbe Vinavyougua na Tumaini la Utukufu (8:18-27)4. The Groaning Creation and the Hope of Glory (8:18-27)

Kisha Paulo anapanua mtazamo hadi kiwango cha ulimwengu wote. Anasema mateso ya wakati huu wa sasa hayastahili kulinganishwa na utukufu utakaofunuliwa kwetu. Viumbe vyenyewe vilitiishwa chini ya ubatili — si kwa kupenda kwao bali kwa mapenzi ya Mungu — na vinaugua, vikingojea siku ambayo watoto wa Mungu watafunuliwa kikamilifu.Paul then widens the lens to cosmic scale. He says the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us. Creation itself was subjected to futility — not by its own choice but by God's — and is groaning, waiting for the day when the children of God will be fully revealed.

Kuna kuugua kwa aina tatu katika sehemu hii. Viumbe vinaugua, vikingojea ukombozi wao wenyewe. Sisi tunaugua, tulio na malimbuko ya Roho, tukingojea ukombozi wa miili yetu. Na Roho mwenyewe anaugua ndani yetu, akituombea kwa kuugua kusikoweza kutamkwa.There are three groanings in this section. Creation groans, awaiting its own redemption. We groan, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, waiting for the redemption of our bodies. And the Spirit Himself groans within us, interceding for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.

Maneno ya Kigiriki yanayotafsiriwa "kuugua kusikoweza kutamkwa" kwa usahihi zaidi yanamaanisha "kuugua kulikozama mno kwa maneno." Huu ni mmojawapo wa mistari ya kichungaji zaidi katika Agano Jipya. Mwamini asipojua jinsi ya kuomba — huzuni inapokuwa nzito mno, hali inapokuwa ngumu mno, wakati ujao unapokuwa haujulikani mno — Roho mwenyewe humwombea, kwa kuugua kunakopita lugha kabisa. Baba anayeichunguza mioyo anakusikia waziwazi. Maombi hayo hufika kila mara.The Greek phrase for "groanings which cannot be uttered" is more literally "groanings too deep for words." This is one of the most pastoral verses in the New Testament. When the believer does not know how to pray — when grief is too deep, when the situation too complex, when the future too uncertain — the Spirit Himself prays for him, with sighs that bypass language altogether. The Father who searches hearts hears them clearly. The prayer always lands.

5. Mambo Yote Hufanya Kazi Pamoja kwa Mema (8:28-30)5. All Things Work Together for Good (8:28-30)

Kisha unakuja mstari unaonukuliwa zaidi katika sura hii, na mmojawapo wa mistari inayonukuliwa vibaya zaidi katika Biblia nzima.Then comes the most quoted verse in the chapter, and one of the most misquoted in the entire Bible.

Angalia kile ambacho mstari huu unasema na kile usichosema. Hausemi mambo yote NI mema. Unasema mambo yote HUFANYA KAZI PAMOJA kwa mema. Baadhi ya viungo ambavyo Mungu anavitumia katika maisha ya mwamini ni vichungu. Baadhi yake vinaumiza. Baadhi yake, vikitazamwa peke yake, havionekani kuwa kitu kingine ila hasara. Lakini Mungu anavichanganya. Anavikoroga. Anavifuma pamoja kuwa kitu ambacho, mwishowe, bila shaka kitakuwa kwa ajili ya mema ya mwamini na kwa utukufu wake Mungu mwenyewe.Notice what the verse does and does not say. It does not say all things ARE good. It says all things WORK TOGETHER for good. Some of the ingredients God uses in the believer's life are bitter. Some of them are painful. Some of them, in isolation, look like nothing but loss. But God blends them. He stirs them. He weaves them into something that, in the end, will be unmistakably for the believer's good and for His own glory.

Daudi ndiye mfano mkuu wa Agano la Kale. Kabla Daudi hajasimama juu ya mlima akimwua Goliathi, alilazimika kwanza kupita katika bonde la uvuli wa mauti. Kabla ya zaburi zake kuu, alilia juu ya kifo cha mtoto wake mchanga. Miaka mingi baadaye, juu ya mwanawe Absalomu, alilia, Mwanangu Absalomu, mwanangu, mwanangu Absalomu! Laiti ningalikufa mimi badala yako. Mtu huyu aliyeupendeza moyo wa Mungu alikuwa na kila sababu ya kuandika Zaburi 23 — si kutoka barazani pa jumba la kifalme katika mwanga wa jua, bali kutoka mabondeni. Naam, nijapopita kati ya bonde la uvuli wa mauti, sitaogopa mabaya; kwa maana Wewe upo pamoja nami. Bonde lilimfundisha uwepo wa Mungu; kilele cha mlima kisingeweza kamwe kumfundisha hivyo.David is the great Old Testament example. Before David stood on the mountaintop killing Goliath, he had to walk first through the valley of the shadow of death. Before his greatest psalms, he wept over the death of his infant son. Years later, over his son Absalom, he cried out, Absalom, my son, my son, would God I had died for thee. The man after God's own heart had every reason to write Psalm 23 — not from a palace porch in the sunlight, but from the valleys. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me. The valley taught him the presence of God; the mountaintop never could have.

Hadithi ya pili inaonyesha jambo hili kwa uwazi zaidi. Mtu mmoja aitwaye Roger Irving alipoteza mkono wake wa kulia akiwa na umri wa miaka kumi na saba katika ajali ya mashine ya kukandamiza yenye uzito wa tani saba. Miaka kadhaa baadaye aliwapoteza wana wawili wakati wa kuzaliwa. Alipatwa na anguko la kifedha lililofuta kila kitu alichokuwa ameweka akiba. Alipata saratani ya koo na akapoteza sauti yake. Kisha akapoteza uwezo wa kuona wa jicho lake la kulia. Alipoulizwa angewezaje kustahimili mlundikano huo wa misiba, alijibu kwa urahisi: Imani yangu kwamba Mungu ana kusudi lenye thamani kwa maisha yangu. Hakuamini kwamba Mungu kwa makusudi alisababisha mkono wake kupondwa, au aliwachukua wanawe, au alimpa saratani. Lakini Mungu, alisema, anaweza kutuonyesha jinsi ya kugeuza msiba kuwa kitu chenye thamani.A second story makes the point even more vividly. A man named Roger Irving lost his right arm at seventeen in an accident with a seven-ton press. Years later he lost two sons at birth. He suffered a financial collapse that wiped out everything he had saved. He developed cancer of the larynx and lost his voice. Then he lost the sight of his right eye. When asked how he could possibly endure such an accumulation of calamity, he answered simply: My faith that God has a worthwhile purpose for my life. He did not believe God deliberately caused his arm to be crushed or took his sons or gave him cancer. But God, he said, can show us how to turn a disaster into something worthwhile.

Hasara zenyewe zikawa sehemu za kugeukia. Mkono uliopotea ulimfundisha nidhamu na kumsukuma kwenye kazi ya mauzo, ambako alifanikiwa sana. Wana waliopotea walimwongoza kwenye Uskauti, ambako badala ya wana wawili aliishia kufanya kazi na mamia ya wavulana katika maisha yake yote. Anguko la kifedha lilimfundisha thamani ya mke wake na utawala wa Mungu badala ya fedha. Sauti iliyopotea ilimfundisha kuongea kwa kutumia umio (esophageal speech) — naye akaendelea kuwafundisha wengine utaratibu huo huo kupitia Shule ya Tiba ya Chuo Kikuu cha Miami. Alipoulizwa kuhusu kupoteza jicho lake la kulia, pigo la karibuni kabisa, alitabasamu na kusema kwa urahisi, Bwana bado hajanionyesha jinsi ya kugeuza pigo hili kuwa baraka.The losses themselves became the pivots. The lost arm taught him discipline and pushed him into sales, where he excelled. The lost sons led him into Scouting, where instead of two sons he ended up working with hundreds of boys over a lifetime. The financial collapse taught him the worth of his wife and the rule of God instead of money. The lost voice taught him esophageal speech — and he went on to teach the same procedure to others through the University of Miami School of Medicine. When asked about the loss of his right eye, the most recent blow, he smiled and said simply, the Lord hasn't yet shown me how to turn this blow into a blessing.

Mke wake alisimulia sehemu iliyobaki ya hadithi. Alisema mara nyingi alikaribia kuvunjika chini ya mlundikano huo. Lakini katika maombi angeyaona mateso machoni pa Yesu alipotazama chini kutoka msalabani, naye angekumbuka kwamba ni kupitia mateso yake ulimwengu ulikombolewa. "Na kama Yeye alivyofanya kwa njia yake kuu," alisema, "ndivyo nami ningeweza kujifunza kufanya kwa njia yangu ndogo." Hivyo ndivyo Warumi 8:28 inavyoonekana katika ndoa.His wife told the rest of the story. She said many times she nearly broke under the accumulation. But in prayer she would see the suffering in Jesus' eyes as He looked down from the cross, and she would remember that it was through His suffering that the world was redeemed. "And as He did in His big way," she said, "so could I learn to do in my small way." That is what Romans 8:28 looks like in a marriage.

Mistari hii inakwenda mbali zaidi bado. Katika 8:29-30 Paulo anataja kile ambacho wanatheolojia wamekiita mnyororo wa dhahabu wa wokovu: wale ambao Mungu aliwajua tangu asili aliwachagua tangu asili wafananishwe na mfano wa Mwana wake; wale aliowachagua tangu asili aliwaita; wale aliowaita aliwahesabia haki; wale aliowahesabia haki aliwatukuza. Viungo vitano, kila kimoja kimeunganishwa na Mungu mwenyewe, kila kimoja tayari kimekamilika kwa mtazamo wa Mungu. Kutukuzwa kwa mwisho kwa mwamini ni hakika kiasi kwamba Paulo anakiandika katika wakati uliopita.These verses go further still. In 8:29-30 Paul names what theologians have called the golden chain of salvation: those whom God foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son; those He predestined He called; those He called He justified; those He justified He glorified. Five links, every one of them welded by God Himself, every one of them already accomplished from the divine standpoint. The believer's final glorification is so certain that Paul writes about it in the past tense.

6. Zaidi ya Washindi (8:31-39)6. More Than Conquerors (8:31-39)

Kisha linakuja hitimisho — na hakuna kitu kinacholingana nalo mahali pengine popote katika Agano Jipya. Paulo amekuwa akijenga hoja kwa mistari kumi na sita. Ametaja ukweli wa kutokuwepo hukumu ya adhabu, Roho anayekaa ndani, kufanywa wana, urithi, viumbe vinavyougua, Roho anayeomba kwa ajili yetu, mambo yote kufanya kazi pamoja kwa mema, mnyororo wa dhahabu. Na sasa anasimama kuuliza: Basi tuseme nini juu ya mambo hayo?Then comes the close — and there is no parallel to it anywhere else in the New Testament. Paul has been building an argument for sixteen verses. He has named the truth of no condemnation, the indwelling Spirit, the adoption as sons, the inheritance, the groaning creation, the interceding Spirit, the working of all things for good, the golden chain. And now he stops to ask: What then shall we say to these things?

Hoja hii inatoka kwa kikubwa kwenda kwa kidogo. Ikiwa Mungu hakuzuia zawadi kuu kuliko zote — Mwana wake mwenyewe — hakika hatazuia zawadi ndogo zaidi. Ujasiri wa mwamini katika kila rehema ndogo umetia nanga katika rehema kubwa kuliko zote ambayo tayari imetolewa. Kisha Paulo anapitia mfululizo wa maswali ya balagha, kila moja likiwa haliwezi kujibiwa na mpinzani yeyote. Ni nani atakayewashitaki wateule wa Mungu? Mungu ndiye anayewahesabia haki. Ni nani atakayewahukumu adhabu? Kristo Yesu aliyekufa — naam, na zaidi ya hayo, aliyefufuka — sasa hivi yuko mkono wa kuume wa Mungu, akituombea.The argument is from the greater to the lesser. If God did not withhold the greatest gift — His own Son — He certainly will not withhold lesser gifts. The believer's confidence in every smaller mercy is anchored in the largest mercy already given. Paul then runs through a series of rhetorical questions, each one of them unanswerable by any opponent. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died — and more than that, who rose — is even now at the right hand of God, interceding for us.

Na kisha kilele kikuu. Paulo analundika maadui wanaowezekana. Dhiki, au shida, au adha, au njaa, au uchi, au hatari, au upanga. Anasimama kunukuu Zaburi 44 kuhusu kuuawa mchana kutwa, kuhesabiwa kama kondoo wa kuchinjwa. Na katika mambo hayo yote — si licha ya hayo, si baada ya kuyaepuka, bali ndani yake — tunashinda, na zaidi ya kushinda, kwa yeye aliyetupenda.And then the great climax. Paul piles up the possible enemies. Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword. He stops to quote Psalm 44 about being killed all day long, regarded as sheep for the slaughter. And in all these things — not in spite of them, not after we have escaped them, but in them — we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Hakuna kifungu kingine katika Maandiko kilicho sawa kabisa na hiki. Paulo anataja kila aina ya uhalisia ulioumbwa. Orodha nzima ya vitu vinavyoweza kututenga. Mauti — adui mkuu. Uzima — pamoja na majaribu yake yote. Malaika na enzi — kila nguvu ya kiroho isiyo ya kawaida. Yaliyopo — kila tatizo la sasa. Yatakayokuwapo — kila hofu ya wakati ujao. Yaliyo juu na yaliyo chini — kila upande wa uhai ulioumbwa. Kiumbe kinginecho chote — ufagiaji wa mwisho unaofunika chochote ambacho huenda tumekisahau.There is no other passage in Scripture quite like this one. Paul names every category of created reality. The whole list of possible separators. Death — the great enemy. Life — with all its trials. Angels and principalities — every supernatural force. Things present — every current crisis. Things to come — every fear of the future. Height and depth — every dimension of created existence. Any other created thing — a final sweep covering anything we might have missed.

Hakuna hata kimoja kati ya hivyo kinachoweza kututenga na upendo wa Mungu ulio katika Kristo Yesu Bwana wetu. Hata kimoja. Si sasa, si kamwe. Huo ndio wimbo mkuu wa Warumi 8 na, kwa hoja nzuri, kilele cha maandiko yote ya Paulo. Kilio cha "mtu mnyonge" cha sura ya 7 kimejibiwa na uhakika usiovunjika wa sura ya 8. Mwamini aliyesimama akitoa machozi mwishoni mwa sehemu iliyopita sasa anasimama salama katika upendo ambao hakuna kitu mbinguni, duniani, wala chini ya dunia kinachoweza kuuvunja.Not one of them can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not one. Not now, not ever. That is the great anthem of Romans 8 and arguably the high point of all Paul's writing. The wretched-man cry of chapter 7 has been answered with the unbreakable certainty of chapter 8. The believer who stood in tears at the end of the last unit now stands secure in a love that nothing in heaven, on earth, or under the earth can break.