FULFILLING OUR OBLIGATION
Romans 8: 12-17 (p800) February 3, 2013
INTRODUCTION:
Have any of you here this morning had to appear as a witness in a court case? I have, and I’ve also been with several of you who have had to be witnesses in difficult situations.
When I was 26 years old I had to testify that one of the young men who was being put into a drug rehabilitation center was extremely violent and had to be held down to keep him from hurting himself, and from hurting us…I was a witness for the defense…and I really tried to “tell the truth, the whole truth, so help me God.”
I’m not sure how effective and powerful my testimony was…but the defendant was found, “not guilty”…It might have been that three or four of us on the staff testified to the same truth, and although the testimony came from four different people and different perspectives, it matched…it was not only true for each of us…but it rang true to the jurors.
Or let me ask you one more question…an easier one…Has anyone asked you if they could use you as a reference on a job application or a school admission form…”Yes” me too, lots of them…by the way, if I don’t know you or your family well I’ll tell you “No” or I’ll put that truth down on the form.
But sometimes, for you and I the request is easy…we recommend this person or family wholeheartedly…they’re not perfect! No one is, but I’ve witnessed their character and integrity and I have no hesitation about putting my name on the dotted line as a witness…
I believe the theme of our text today…and maybe the verses that hold all of Romans chapter 8 together are found in verses 4-16…
“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of “Sonship” literally, “Spirit of Adoption”) and by Him we say “Abba” father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Why is this essential? Why does the Apostle Paul place such great emphasis on this truth?
I BECAUSE AT ONE TIME WE WERE ALL SLAVES
Slavery was the horrible and sinful stain of our nation…its ugliness resided in our country through the 1960’s and even finds some gloomy bigotited pockets today…Those of us who have never been judged by the color of our skin will never understand its pain…or its ridicule…slavery existed in Rome as Paul wrote this amazing chapter…slaves were property…they had no rights…their owner would dictate what kind of existence it would be…in fact Paul would right one of his letters to a slave named Philemon…slavery was very real.
“Paul says when you were “adopted into God’s family in Christ you did not receive a spirit that made you a slave Again…SLAVE AGAIN to fear.
He’s saying “At one time you were a Slave to fear.” At one time we were all slaves to fear.
When was that? “When we were controlled by the sinful nature…when we had our minds set on what that nature desires.”
You see Satan doesn’t treat anyone as a child…He treats absolutely everyone as a possession…as a slave. His goal will never be to bless you…His goal will always be to keep you under his control…away from freedom…enslaved by your sinful nature…Jesus describes Him well…as “The Thief” who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy…(And then Jesus describes why he came) I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10)…Two chapters earlier in John 8 Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8: 44)
You see Satan has an ally in every single man and woman, including you and I…His ally is “our nature”, “our hearts”…He whispers “you know you want this…look…and we look and our “nature” our “hearts” go “yeah I do want that…a feeling washes over us…that would feel good…The law of God might say don’t…but we do any ways.
And the Evil one usually figures out something we really like and focuses on that with a scheme to have us mastered by it…like a padlock and chains…Remember these words?.... We’re tempted by our own evil desires…Then after desire has conceived it give birth to sin and sin when it’s full grown give birth to death” (James 1: 14,15. I like how the message translation sends… [The temptation to give into evil comes from us and out us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare up of our own lust: lust gets pregnant and has a baby, Sin...Sin grows up to adulthood and becomes a real killer.”]
We know what it’s like to be slaves to the sinful nature…we know the misdeeds of the body...everyone of us. Satan promises the same things…he did to Eve in the garden…Freedom…Happiness…Independence…and our nature responds like metal to a magnet to those promises…and before we know it…sin has become a full grown killer…we’re not happy…we’re not free….and were not independent….Sin is like a narcotic…the more you take for the pain…the more you need.
And pretty soon, as 2 Peter 2:19 says, “We have become slaves to the sin that masters us.”
That which controls our thinking…And that which controls our lives…this might be a life that has you lying in the gutter of addiction…or it might be a life that has you greedily accumulating wealth in the penthouse…Either way, even if you have not realized it yet…you are a dead man (or woman) walking into a Christ less eternity…”you are living according to the sinful nature and you will die” (v13)
[Satan is still saying to your soul…”God didn’t really say that…don’t worry about it…you’re not gonna die…look how good that looks…How your eyes will be opened…com on…you believe in God, that’s enough…just live for yourself….don’t worry about eternity…be happy today]
And pretty soon we wonder,” why the things we thought would give us freedom, begin to feel like chains.”
But there’s good news…gospel news, amazing grave news…
II BECAUSE GOD HAS AN ADOPTION PLAN
[The Romans took adoption very seriously…when verse 16 says, “but you have received the Spirit of Sonship…it literally says “the Spirit of Adoption…the Greek word is “huiothesias” and means….”The placement of a son, that does not naturally belong to a Father into a position where he has the same privileges, benefits, and responsibilities as a natural born son.”
Romans went through a process where rights were transferred…where a child was symbolically purchased from the other family line…it was called Patria Potestas…when it was complete the adopted child had every single privilege and right of the natural born…It was done in the presence of 7 witnesses who stepped forward and swore the adoption was genuine… (Many of the Roman Emperors were adopted sons…including Caesar Augustus)]
The Apostle Paul is a Roman Citizen…He knows the process and the result…the adopted child loses all rights to his former life, including all debts. 2) Even if other children are born afterwards it doesn’t affect his inheritance…He is a co-heir…3) He receives a new name…He is regarded as a New person, and 4) in the eyes of the law he is absolutely the Son of a new father.
The Apostle Paul carries every single one of these Roman truths over to our Spiritual adoption by God, the Father…Our former life is erased, our debts are cancelled. We are co-heirs with God’s only Son Jesus Christ… We are brand new people.
And the witness to the process…The one who proclaims the adoption is absolutely real and true…God’s Spirit…
And the first word that witnesses to this miracle is a cry—“Abba” Aramaic for Father, but probably more like….”Daddy”.
I cry pretty easily…If something grabs my heart I’m just a short step away from needing a hanky…
[The other day Peanut came up the stairs and into my room and said, “Papaw I really love you.” No prompting…No presents…It wasn’t and “I love you too…It was a genuine I really love you…and I held his face and said Peanut, I really love you too…and I started to cry…and he said, why are you crying Papaw...and I said it’s because I felt happing in my heart…and Peanut said, “Your silly…and walked away.”
Crying something is different than…saying something….crying something has an emotion behind it...and I believe the emotion prompted by the Holy Spirit in the slave turned child is Joy…maybe Joy covered in gratitude “DAD”! “ABBA”
It comes from a realization in my Spirit that I am no longer a slave…I no longer am condemned to death…I have an answer for my temptations and struggles now…and in the future…We are now God’s children…we are now heirs of God, our Father and Co-heirs with Christ…Get that…
Jesus is God’s only Son…but we have been adopted by God to share the exact same inheritance as his only Son…Because of His only son. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs---heirs of god and co-heirs with Christ” (v 17)
“The Holy Spirit Himself, joined with our Spirit cries out…”This adoption is authentic, it’s real, it’s guaranteed….God is now our Father!
Out text starts with a “therefore”…it links the following scripture with what came before….what came before….”If the Holy Spirit lives in you, He’s the same Spirit that brought Jesus back to life. He now lives in your temporary body, and He will bring it to life as well.”
“THEREFORE” Brothers (He’s writing to born again, spirit filled followers of Christ) we have an obligation….a responsibility…what is that obligation…live a resurrected spirit life…not a dead body sinful nature life!
[I’m reading the book called “Undaunted” it’s the story of Josh McDowell’s life….subtitled, “One man’s real life journey from unspeakable memories to unbelievable grace….If you or someone you love went through abuse…or difficulty as a child I recommend this book highly…
In this book Josh mentions the spiritual turning point in his life…He was a Christian, but living in his own strength…one day Bill Bright from Campus Crusade for Christ visited their school he sat with 10 or 12 of them at lunch…and said, I’d like to share a concept with you that has the potential to transform not only your lives, but those of everyone you meet.”
There are basically 3 kinds of people in the world…and I’m referring to women as well as men, the Natural Man….the Carnal (Worldly) Man---and The Spiritual Man.
(LOOK AT THE 3 CIRCLES)
I’d like to put these somewhere where you can see them and prayerfully consider your life…Here are the 3 ways people live, but only the person who has put Christ on the throne and self at His feet…can know His suffering and His glory…through His Spirit on a daily basis…
Before His fruit will constantly be evident…before your thinking and life is transformed from being worldly and carnal…He must sit on the throne daily, hourly…but if he does…watch the spring of living water explode from the untouched source!!!!
The natural person, the worldly person…they are weary and dying of thirst…but the spiritual man or woman has tapped into an unexhaustable well of living water!
Isn’t it time for us to do just that?
Let’s Pray.
