BLESSED ASSURANCE
Romans 8:14-17
My brothers and sisters, in recent weeks, we have been studying this glorious eighth chapter of Romans. From verse one to verse four, we talked about how “Relationship has its Privileges.” We learned in that lesson that the privilege of relationship gives us the privilege of no condemnation, to those who are in Christ Jesus. Then last week in the same four verses, we talked about “Life in the Spirit.” In that lesson we found out what the scriptures meant when it said that Jesus Christ our Savior fulfilled the law and in addition, if we live in the Spirit we will have freedom from the law of sin, and we can be found righteous when we walk not in the flesh, but after the Spirit. Verses five through thirteen, shows us the conflict of the Spirit with our old nature and I felt that the other two lessons drove that point home, so the Spirit moved me to the fourteenth through the seventeenth verse. In these verses we will see more of the benefits of being Spirit-filled. In-fact in this lesson we will see how Spirit-filled believers are made sons, daughters and heirs through adoption.
The text starts off by reminding us that they, which are after the flesh does mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. If we are to be blessed, we need to be filled, and if we are filled with His Spirit then we will have the assurance to be called the sons of God.
First of all, in order to have this blessed assurance . . .
1. WE SHOULD NEVER RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE OF FEAR AGAIN (vv.14, 15a)
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;”
One of the saddest things that happen to the church is that many of us still have the spirit of bondage of fear. It is not that we are afraid of what people can do to us, but surprisingly, we are afraid of the blessings that are lying before us. We would rather wish and wait for something from God, rather than to launch out in deep waters of faith. This spirit of bondage causes us to stand in wanting rather then living in having. We are like this because many have yet to be led by the Spirit of God. The Spirit leads the believer and carries him through the trials of this life. He bears the believer up, carrying him over the corruptions of this world. The Spirit also leads and guides the believer along the way of righteousness and truth. He guides the believer by moving in advance ahead of him. He blazes our paths for us, making sure that the believer knows where to walk. He will direct the believer to whatever the believers ask the Father. In other words the Spirit guides us like a person that is challenged by his sight.
I’m reminded of an episode on The Dog Whisperer. There was a lady who owned two Labrador Retrievers. From the start of the program you would see these dogs frolicking about in the yard, but as he gave the situation concerning the dogs the narrator informed us that one of the dogs was blind. Now we shouldn’t feel sorry for this dog because the owner said that the dog was living a normal, healthy life. He along with the other dog played in the yard and sometimes the other dog would guide the blind one by holding its leash. But this dog had exceptional inner senses. It actually sensed it way around. He knew his way around the house or where he was through his senses. If something was on his right, he would go left and vice versa. If something was in front of him, he would stop. This dog was amazing, he did not have eye sight but his senses were his guides. Now it would be safe to say that the dog had a disability, but the disability didn’t have him, because although he did not have his sight, he was not without sight. Now, in the church many of us have our sight, but we have a disability of being blind, because we will not allow the Spirit to lead us. So, if we are led by the Spirit, we will never put on the spirit of bondage in fear again, because the Spirit will lead us into places protected by His presence.
Secondly . . .
2. THERE IS A NEED TO RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION (V.15)
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
The second thing we notice is that we need to receive the Spirit of Adoption. The Spirit adopts the believer. Note two very significant points.
1. The Spirit delivers man from a terrible spirit"the spirit of bondage." Note what the bondage is: it is fear. Man is gripped by the bondage of fear, usually experiencing some apprehension, anxiety and terror.
2. The Spirit gives access into God’s presence. The believer has access to God because he has been adopted as a son of God. Note: the Spirit is called "the Spirit of adoption." Adoption is such a significant work of the Holy Spirit that it is called "the Spirit of adoption." The believer actually receives the "Spirit of adoption" and he will have the sense of consciousness, the sense of awareness and the sense of knowledge. He will understand that he is a son of God. The believer is a son of God with all the privileges of son-ship, especially the privilege of access, that he can enter God’s presence anytime and anyplace. It is this wonderful privilege that enables the believer to break the bondage of fear and to conquer the spirit of fear.
No matter what faces the believer, the believer is able . . .
• To enter the presence of God.
• To lay his fears before God.
• To cry out, "Father, Father—help me!"
• To know that God will help him, for God loves him as His adopted sons.
So there is a need for us to have the Spirit of Adoption.
Finally, if we receive the Spirit of adoption then . . .
3. WE CAN BE TRANSFORMED FROM PAUPERS TO THE CHILDREN AND HEIRS OF GOD (v.16 & 17)
“The Spirit [Himself] beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; 17. And if children, then heirs-heir of God, and joint heirs with Christ-if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.”
There is a transformation that will occur once we take off the bondage of fear and embrace the Spirit of Adoption. We will be transformed from paupers to the children and heirs of God. I might have said this one time or another but when you put a new or clean suit of clothes on a person who may be homeless and give them a home, they will act like a different person. They would walk differently and carry themselves differently. Their change of clothing and environment will change their attitude about the way they live. It is like the late Deacon Wayne Douglas’ testimony. He would tell the church of how the Lord saved him from being a street person and alcoholic, then made him into a child of the living God. In other words he missed the bar that was next door to the church and being inebriated and dirty wandered into the church. And that night the Lord truly saved him and he never returned to the bottle or his homeless state. In fact he married a young lady in the church and later became the chairman of Deacons.
Likewise, many of us have that same testimony but we are too full of pride to admit it. No, I am not saying that we were alcoholics, nor am I saying that we were tore up from the floor up, but we were just as sinful. Our salvation might not have come quite as fast as Deacon Douglas’ but we kept coming to church, hearing the Word of God, until something wonderful happened. At last, the sermon that changed our heart was heard and that day we shook off our clothes of homelessness for discovered our heavenly home, we dropped our old clothes of sin and picked up our new suit of clothes, that had been washed in the blood of the Crucified Lamb. I thank God that I am no longer a pauper, but now I am a joint heir with Christ and a child of the living God.
