when Paul uses “Therefore” here, what he’s doing is, he’s tying the previous seven chapters that he’s just written, with chapter 8, by linking all that he’s written earlier. And by tying these all together, it’s giving us the “Why”.
So, let’s take a look, or at least a snapshot at what Paul was saying in the previous 7 chapters. And to do that, I’ve picked one verse from each of the preceding chapters to kind of give a reminder of what he was saying:
In Chapter 1 (18) it says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
Chapter 2 (5) says, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.”
Chapter 3 (12) says, “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
In chapter 4 (13), “It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.”
Chapter 5 (18) gives us, “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”
Chapter 6 (11), “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
And finally, in chapter 7 (24), “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
