Introduction:
A little girl who, on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher’s sermon this morning confused me." The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?” The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?" "Yes, that’s true," the mother replied. "He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?" Again the mother replied, "Yes." "Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?" The majority of us believe that through the Holy Spirit God lives in the believer. The problem is that we are not quite sure exactly how that works. Because we still feel the tension between the competing natures. This tension is what frustrates us because there are still times when the sinful nature wins out. We need to remember becoming a Christian does not flip a switch disabling the sinful nature; it’s still there craving to be satisfied. Even though the Christian has died to sin, the possibility of giving in to temptation and sinning is still very real. Why? Accepting Jesus Christ does not destroy the fallen creation, it restores our relationship with the Creator. So what good is it to have the Spirit? The Spirit is what empowers us to be able to resist temptation and avoid falling to sin’s trap. The Spirit also serves as a reminder of God’s promise that one day we will be free from this struggle when the redemption of His creation is completed. Today we are going to unpack the second section of Romans chapter 8 and discover what the signs are that the Spirit is in control of our lives.
I. Understanding our role in God’s process.
A. Christ has freed us from the obligation to the sinful nature.
1. Jesus Christ not only makes forgiveness of sin possible His sacrifice on the cross makes it possible for us to be restored to the right relationship with God.
2. No longer are we under any obligation to please the sinful nature, however the problem is that the sinful nature will fight to regain control.
3. Paul issues a stern warning, making it clear that continuing to live according to the sinful nature will result in misery and death.
4. The implications are quite clear, we can remove ourselves from that saving relationship with Jesus Christ by choosing to live according to the sinful nature.
5. The Holy Spirit enables us to be able to continually put to death the sinful nature. The phrase “put to death” is in present tense showing that it is a continual action.
B. Our new life is obligated to the Spiritual nature.
1. Even though we have been given this new Spiritual nature, it does not mean that everything that feels natural is right.
2. The Spiritual nature changes our position with God by moving us from being people in rebellion to dearly loved children.
3. 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-17—NIV 2011)
4. The key to success in this battle with the sinful nature is to rely daily on the reality of the Spirit’s presence in our lives.
5. Our role in God’s process is to personally commit to cooperating with the Spirit’s work in our lives.
II. Signs that the Spirit has begun to take control.
A. The Spirit provides us with guidance in our daily life.
1. Paul speaks of us being led by the Spirit. In the Greek this word implies surrendering to the will of another.
2. When we surrender our lives to the authority of Christ the Spirit works to guide us in a way that pleases Him.
3. The Spirit will never lead us in ways that will contradict Scripture or that places outside of God’s will.
4. The Spirit will help us be able to determine what God’s will is in a particular situation to enable us to make the right choice.
5. We grow in Christ only by submitting to the Spirit and following His guidance for our lives.
B. The Spirit enables us to have an entirely new relationship with God.
1. The truth is that the sinful nature desires to make us slaves but the Spirit desires to set us free so we can be a child of the King.
2. Paul uses the Greek word huiothesia which is the word for legal adoption in the Greco-Roman world.
a. The practice of adoption was not common in the Jewish culture.
b. In adoption all previous relationships are severed and the individual receives full rights and privileges as a son of their new father.
3. To signify this new relationship Paul uses the Aramaic word “abba” to reflect the intimacy that we now enjoy with God.
a. The word shows a close intimate relationship between a father and their child.
b. The only equivalent we have in the English language to abba is dad or daddy.
4. We have now been given the privilege to approach God as a child would approach their earthly father.
5. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6—NIV 2011)
C. The Spirit assures us that we have a new life in Christ.
1. Paul portrays the Spirit as bearing witness that we are truly members of God’s eternal family.
2. Under Hebrew Law matters had to be established by at least two witnesses. The realization of our salvation is testified to by the inner person and the Spirit.
3. As long as we our submitting to the Spirit there should be no doubt in regard to our salvation and new relationship with God.
4. Our desire to please and freely approach God is evidence that Spirit is actively at work in our lives.
D. The Spirit reminds us that we are of great value to God.
1. Paul brings everything together by showing that the Spirit enables us to be heirs of God and coheirs with Christ.
a. We will share in His suffering in this world.
b. We will share His glory in eternity.
2. This is in line with the Greco-Roman practice of adoption that would even allow a slave who was adopted to inherit their master’s possessions.
3. The idea of being an heir builds on the Old Testament theme of Israel being an heir to the land that God had promised them.
a. Once in the land Israel would be able to enjoy all of God’s promised blessings.
b. We have the same type of promise and we wait for that day when we will enjoy all of the blessings God has promised us through Christ.
4. This is the ultimate game changer, God showed His love for us and our value to Him by allowing His Son to die for us and then giving us His Spirit to bring us into His family.
III. Taking our text to heart and living it.
A. We need to decide which nature we are going to obligate ourselves to.
1. Our role in God’s process involves using our freewill to make a choice of which nature we are going to serve.
2. God has a plan for each of our lives and we must commit to cooperating with the work of the Spirit.
3. There may come a time when we need to remove ourselves from a situation or a group of people to keep us from bowing once again to the old nature.
4. Once we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit begins His work of changing us from the inside out. We need to make the right choice so we don’t hinder that work.
5. God’s plan is to help you reach your potential and become the person that He created you to be.
B. We need to allow God to determine our self-worth and value instead of the world.
1. Is it your job, hobbies, money, possessions, family, friends or spouse? Or maybe it is determined by the volunteer work you do in the community or the church?
2. Because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18—NRSV)
3. If we get our self-worth from things of the world that poses a problem because they do not last forever. God wants us to gain our self-worth from Him because He is eternal.
4. What determines our self-worth will determine where our ultimate commitment and priorities are.
Closing:
A minister brought home a 12 year old boy named Roger. Both of Roger’s parents had died from a heroin overdose, so you can imagine how hard it was for Roger to adjust to his new home-an environment free of drug-addicted adults. One of the family’s natural children named Craig says every day he heard his dad saying things to Roger like, "No…that’s now how we act in this family," and "No…You don’t have to scream or hurt people to get what you want," and "No Roger, we expect you to show respect in this family." Roger didn’t have to make those changes in order to become part of the family-he was already welcomed into the family-but being part of the family meant living a new way. The grace of Craig’s dad made Roger part of the family, but Roger had to work hard to be different once he was in the family. Craig says, "It was tough for Roger to change, but he was motivated by gratitude for the incredible love my dad had shown him."
