Christians: We Are Part of the Family of God!
The Book of Romans
Romans 8:6-17 (Reading vs. 1-17)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - July 17, 2016
(Revised January 6, 2021)
MESSAGE:
*I love my family! And they love me, even though I'm not always so lovable. I can't think of anything more important than our families, except for one thing, and that is being part of God's family.
*Tonight, we will focus on one of the most wonderful truths in the whole Bible: The truth that when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, His Father becomes our Father, and we become part of the family of God!
*But think about how you become part of a family. Basically, there are only three ways: Marriage, birth, and adoption. God uses a spiritual version of all three to make us a part of His family.
*First: Marriage: Most of us know that the Bible calls Jesus the Bridegroom, and God's Church is the Bride of Christ. There are at least 7 or 8 key passages that talk about this truth.
*For example, in Ephesians 5:22-33, God gives us His wonderful plan for marriage, and it is based on God's plan for Jesus and His Church. Listen to part of what Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:
25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it,
26. that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27. that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
30. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.''
32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
*When we respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are miraculously saved, and we become part of the spiritual Bride of Christ.
*We also become part of God's family by birth! When we believe in Jesus, we are born again into God's family by the Holy Spirit of God. John 1:11-13 talks about this truth and says this about Jesus:
11. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name:
13. who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
*Jesus also talked about this new spiritual birth in John 3:5-7. There the Lord told Nicodemus:
5. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'"
*When we trust in Jesus, we are literally, spiritually born again, and we have two birthdays! This miraculous gift of new life is absolutely essential for salvation, and it is always the work of God's Holy Spirit.
*We also become part of God's family by adoption, and we will cover this in our Scripture tonight. But Christians: Praise the Lord, we are part of God's family! What does this mean for our lives?
1. FIRST TONIGHT, IT MEANS WE BECOME A HOME FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.
*Everyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior becomes a home for God's Holy Spirit. And receiving the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. Here's why:
-In vs. 6, having God's Spirit takes us from death to life: "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
*In vs. 7-9, having God's Holy Spirit also makes it possible for us to please God:
7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
8. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. . .
*In the last part of vs. 9, having God's Spirit is also proof of us belonging to Jesus, because "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His."
*In other words, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. And if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you absolutely have the Spirit of Christ living in your heart.
*God proved this to missionary Russell Morse in the most difficult of circumstances. In the mid-1900s, Russell served the Lord near the border of China and Burma. And in 1951, he was captured by Chinese Communists.
*Russell was held captive for 21 months. They told him that his wife and youngest son had been killed. Then they put Russell in an isolation cell for 15 months. He was completely cut off from any outside contact.
*They broke Russell's glasses and shoved him into his cramped cell without his Bible or any other book. Twice a day a bowl of food was pushed through a slot in the door, but he never saw a face, or heard a human voice. Russell was totally cut off from all human contact, unsure of whether anyone in the outside world even knew he was still alive. He was completely alone.
*But Russell Morse was not alone! The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ was right there with him in that cell. The Holy Spirit was right there giving comfort to Russell and bringing Bible verses to his memory. (1)
*God's Holy Spirit was there with Russell Morse, and His Spirit will always be with us. Christians: We are part of God's family! So, we have become a home for the Holy Spirit.
2. WE ALSO WILL GET A ROYAL RESURRECTION.
*Paul stressed this truth in vs. 10-11, where he said:
10. . . If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
*Now, unless the Lord comes back first, all of our physical bodies are going to die. Why? Paul tells us in vs. 10 that it is "because of sin." Ultimately, it all goes back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve sinned by eating the one and only kind of fruit they were forbidden to eat.
*In Genesis 2:15-17, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'''
*Then in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they immediately died spiritually. And they began to die physically, because the curse of death fell on the world.
*From that time on, everyone ever born was born under the curse of death. We were also born with the deadly spiritual sickness called sin. That's why we never have to teach our children how to be selfish or how to lie. They all get that naturally, and so did we.
*Our bodies are going to die because of sin, but Christians, God's Holy Spirit has already given life to our spirit. And we have the sure promise that our physical bodies will rise again!
*Again in vs. 10-11, Paul said:
10. . . If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
*Just as Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, our physical bodies will be raised from the dead. And they will be transformed into an eternal body like His!
*This is the extremely important part of our faith. Here's part of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15. Please listen to vs. 12-20 from the New Living Translation. There Paul began with a question, and said:
12. But tell me this -- since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?
13. For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
14. And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless.
15. And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
16. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.
18. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished!
19. And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.
20. But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.
*God will surely raise our physical bodies again from the dead. And He will transform them into a body like His!
*Billy Graham gave a testimony that gives us a small taste of the great things in store for God's children.
*Billy said, "The first death in our immediate family was that of my maternal grandmother, Lucinda Coffey. Grandmother talked often about her husband, Ben Coffey, who had been badly wounded in the Civil War.
*Ben was wounded while serving with the 11th North Carolina Regiment, which led the advance on Gettysburg from the west July 1, 1863. Shrapnel almost severed his left leg. While Ben was lying on the battlefield, a bullet grazed his right eye, blinding it forever. Doctors were forced to amputate his wounded leg sometime later.
*Ben's friends testified to his concern for spiritual values. I never knew him; he died in 1916 at the age of 74. When Grandmother Coffey died, I was in elementary school, and my sister Catherine and I were called out of school.
*The manner of her dying became a legacy of faith for our family." She had been very weak, but "when she died, the room seemed to fill with a heavenly light. . . She sat up in bed and almost laughingly said, 'I see Jesus! He has His arms outstretched toward me. And there's Ben! -- He has both of his eyes and both of his legs . . . And I see the angels.'"
*"Then," said Dr. Graham, "She slumped over, -- absent from the body; present with the Lord." (2)
*Just before she went to Heaven, Billy Graham's grandmother saw her husband's spirit made perfectly whole. But one day Ben's body will be raised from the dead, and it will be perfectly whole too! It will be a body like Jesus has right now! We will be like Him! And we will live with Him forever in Heaven!
*But it never could have happened without the cross. No resurrection without the crucifixion. And no salvation without the suffering of our Lord. But Jesus did suffer, and die on the cross, and rise again from the dead! And because of our faith in Jesus Christ, so will we!
*Christians: We are part of the family of God, so we will get a royal resurrection.
3. WE ALSO NEED TO HAVE A RIGHTEOUS RESPONSE.
*How are going to respond to all that God has done for us? Paul shows us how we should respond in vs. 13. But first, he shows us how we must not respond to God's goodness and grace.
*In vs. 12 and the beginning of vs. 13 Paul said, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die."
*William MacDonald explained that "we owe nothing to the flesh, to live according to its dictates. The old, evil, corrupt nature has been nothing but a drag. It has never done us a bit of good. If Christ had not saved us, the flesh would have dragged us down to the deepest, darkest, hottest places in hell. Why should we feel obligated to such an enemy?" (3)
*But in vs. 13, why did Paul tell Christians "if you live according to the flesh you will die." Was Paul talking about us losing our salvation?
*Many good, godly Christians believe that we can lose our salvation, and this is one of the verses they use to support that belief. But every verse of Scripture has to be weighed against the whole counsel of God. And there are many Scriptures that proclaim the eternal security of believers.
*Church: We stand on Scriptures like John 3:36. "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.''
*In John 6:37-40 Jesus said:
37. "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
40. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.''
*Jude 1:24-25 also says:
24. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25. to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
*Was Paul talking about Christians losing our salvation in vs. 13? William MacDonald said, "No, but the apostle often includes words of warning and self-examination in his Letters, realizing that in every congregation there may be some people who have never been truly born again. (3)
*But Christians, we have been born again into the family of God! And the last part of vs. 13 shows us the righteous way to respond. Pail said, "But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
*Every family member has responsibilities, and the same is true in the family of God. Our responsibility as believers is to mortify or put to death the evil deeds of our body. And every true Christian will want to do this. We could never do this in our own strength, but by the Holy Spirit of God, we can!
*Also remember that Philippians 2:13 tells us that God is at work in us "both to will and to do for His good pleasure," so we surely can respond to God's love and grace in the right way.
*Mary Lewis told about a very young Christian girl who went to her mom and said, "I know that Jesus lives inside my heart, but how do I tell Him that I love Him? Do you think if I write 'I love you' on a piece of paper, and eat it, He'll get the note?" (4)
*There was a whole lot that little girl didn't understand. But she loved the Lord, and she wanted to show it. Well, Jesus told us how to show our love. In John 14:15 the Lord simply said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."
*Christians: We are part of the family of God, so we need to have a righteous response.
4. BUT ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN AFFECTIONATELY ADOPTED BY GOD.
*There is much to say about our adoption into the family of God.
[1] FIRST: WE CAN HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD:
*Verses 14-15 say:
14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear. . .
*Here Paul was not talking about reverential fear of God. Instead, he was talking about the kind of fear that comes from bondage to a cruel slave master or a devilish religion. And we don't have to look in history books to see examples.
*But Jesus Christ came to set people free from the devil's bondage! Hebrews 2:14-18 makes this truth clear. And there, God's Word says:
14. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
15. and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
16. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
17. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
18. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
*That's why here in vs. 14-15 Paul can say, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.''' Christians: We have been adopted into God's family, so we can have great confidence in our relationship with God.
[2] AND WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY GOD.
*In the last part of vs. 15, God's Word tells Christians, "You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'''
*Here God's Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of Adoption," because He confirms that we have been adopted into God's family. And while all believers have also been born again by the Holy Spirit, God tells us that we have been adopted. And I'm glad because it means we were chosen by God.
*The love of a parent for an adopted child is a special, big kind of love. My parents didn't choose me, and there were probably days when, given the choice, my Mama would have said: "No thanks!"
*But God has the kind of love for us that He can look at us warts and all, and still say: "I choose you." We have been adopted into God's family, so we have been chosen by God.
[3] AND WE CAN BE CLOSE TO GOD.
*In vs. 15, we can be incredibly close to God, because we "received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'''
*This is an amazing, even shocking truth: That because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, when we approach the God of the whole universe, we aren't required to say things like, "Oh most holy and magnificent Lord God of the universe, Omnipotent Ruler of all."
*Don't get me wrong. God always deserves our deepest devotion and our highest praise! But because of "Spirit of adoption" in our hearts, we can cry out to our Heavenly Father just like a little baby cries to its earthly father, "Daddy! Daddy! Abba, Father."
*The cross of Jesus Christ gives us this amazing, miraculous closeness to God. It's beyond ordinary comprehension, but in vs. 16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." We have been adopted into God's family, so we can be close to God.
[4] AND WE ARE IN GOD'S CARE.
*Again, vs. 16 says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
*Think about our little babies. The truth is that they are often disgusting. They always seem to have something oozing out of them. But if they drool on us, or spit-up on us, or whatever, that's okay, because we love and adore them.
*We will do anything necessary to take care of our children, and that's the way our Heavenly Father feels about His children. In fact, God is taking care of us right now. And He will take care of us forever!
*Paul reminds us of this truth in vs. 17, where he said if we are God's children, then we are "heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."
*In other words, Christians: "If we are God's children, and we are! Then we have an everlasting inheritance from His riches in glory. That means we are eternally rich beyond our wildest imagination.
*Bill Bouknight told a story from the worst part of the Great Depression. One day, a very distressed lady walked into the office of a big insurance company. This lady didn't know how life insurance worked. And she very sadly told the clerk: "I'm afraid I can't keep paying the premiums on my husband's life insurance. He's been dead for 6 months now, and I just can't afford it."
*The amazed clerk called the manager. He looked over the policy and then told the lady that she would soon receive a check for $200,000! Church: In today's money that would be almost $3,500,000! And that lady almost fainted. (5)
*She had no idea how rich she was. And Church: Neither do we. We had no claim at all on this inheritance. But because of our Father's love, and because of the cross of Jesus Christ, God's is always giving us the best care of all.
CONCLUSION
*Christians: Thank God we are part of the family of God! And if you have never put your trust in Jesus Christ, please know that God wants you to be in His family too. Call on the Lord to save you. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) SermonCentral sermon "Batten Down the Hatches" by Melvin Newland - Romans 8:31-39
(2) Adapted from "Just as I Am" - The Autobiography of Billy Graham, Harper San Francisco and Zondervan, 1997 - p. 4
(3) Adapted from BELIEVER'S BIBLE COMMENTARY by William MacDonald - Edited by Arthur Farstad - Thomas Nelson Publishers - Nashville - Copyright 1995 - "The Holy Spirit as the Power for Holy Living" - Romans 8:1-39 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(4) SermonCentral illustration contributed by Mary Lewis
(5) Sermons.com sermon "Witness of the Spirit" by Bill Bouknight - Romans 8
