Romans 8:12-17

Context Matters

If you have ever taken an introduction to exegesis course, you may remember one of the most important rules for properly understanding a given text: look at what comes before and after. If you understand the context in which your passage takes place, then you are far more likely to come to the right conclusions regarding the overall message of the text.

This is most certainly the case with our text this morning, in which we are given a clue straight away that what is about to be said is directly connected to what has just been stated. Verse 12 begins with the Greek construction ara ouv (so then), which relates not just to the earlier verses of chapter 8, but most likely the entirety of chapters 5-8.