I'm not sure if I am the only one that does this or not. Growing up, if I was ever walking down a dark country road by myself, I found myself whistling, or singing, or humming an old familiar gospel song. It seemed like it made everything safer. It made me feel protected as I drew myself closer to Jesus in praise songs.
I also find myself today, when in heavy traffic, turning up the radio and singing along to praise music to God. It seems to lower my blood pressure, reduce my anxiety, and it simply calms my spirit.
I will sing most every Christian song I hear on the radio. I still may have been all by myself on that dark country road, or I am still in heavy traffic just as much as I was before, but the darkness of my heart faded. The tangled emotions of the heavy traffic seem to smooth out. I felt as if God was walking with me. I feel like Jesus is sitting next to me as we travel along.
I think that we have all had times when we've felt alone, but as followers of Christ, we're never truly alone. The presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit is always with us. Jesus promised that, before He left this earth. Today we will be using the 8th chapter of the book of Romans to talk about the Holy Spirit's indwelling us. Prayer
As I deliver this message, I want you to silently ask yourself, “Can I truthfully say that the Holy Spirit lives in me.” Jesus taught us that once we have accepted Him as our personal Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us from that moment on. The Apostle Paul's message in Rom. 8 has a lot to say about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives as Christians.
Romans 8: 9 – “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.”
The first thing I noticed when I read verse 9 is that Paul contrasted two ways of living: “in the flesh” and “in the spirit.” In the first 8 verses of this chapter, Paul described those who live in the flesh as focused on their own pleasures. They focus only on their own needs and their own concerns. But life in the Spirit is different.
People who live by the Spirit have repented of their sins and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus took the penalty of our sin. Those of us who belong to Him are no longer under the law of the flesh. Because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we will never experience the condemnation of God.
Romans 8:10-11 – “10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.”
In verse 10, Paul describes our bodies as dead because of sin. You see, as believers, we have many advantages and benefits in this life, but we still cannot escape physical death. Our mortal bodies are breaking down, and one day they will perish.
Death is inevitable and is the inevitable outcome of sin in the world. But we can experience eternal life because of righteousness. That righteousness is not our own, we are far from good enough to be called righteous. Paul was referring to the righteousness of Christ, and we’re given His righteousness when we belong to Him.
The Holy Spirit assures us of a new life that we can have in Christ. God raised Christ to life at the resurrection, and through the indwelling Holy Spirit, He raises us to a new life in Christ. Even though our bodies will die, the Spirit is an assurance that He has breathed new life into us, and we live because now we have eternal life.
When Paul says to the Roman Christians, “You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,” he was identifying the second way of life for them, life in the Spirit. But then he says, “If indeed the spirit of God lives in you.” That word “if” in the Greek text carries the same assurance of it being absolutely true. So what Paul was saying was those who belong to Christ indeed have the Holy Spirit indwelling them.
When a person receives Christ, the Lord places his Holy Spirit within that person. That Spirit is what comforts us, guides us, corrects us, and assures us. But the counterpoint that Paul makes is also true. If a person is not indwelled by the Holy Spirit, he or she is not a follower of Christ.
The Holy Spirit constantly affirms us and our status as a child of God. When the Holy Spirit affirms you and your status as a child of God, don't ignore it. Don't deny it. Don't dismiss this affirmation. Just accept it. You have accepted Christ as your Savior and you are now a child of God.
Romans 8: 12 - 13a – “12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die….”
What Paul is saying here is that we will either be governed by our own flesh or by the Holy Spirit. The good news is that the person who is in Christ is no longer under any obligation to live according to the flesh. You see, in Christ, we find a different purpose, a new way to measure what is valuable in life. In Christ, we find something far greater than living out the desires of the flesh.
In fact, Paul said in verse 13, “if you live according to the flesh, you're going to die.” The person who continues to live a life characterized by sin is headed toward death. That doesn't mean that a person who's following Christ and commits some sin has lost his salvation or that he will die in his sin. Instead, Paul is explaining that a person who lives a life of continual, unrepentant sin is demonstrating that he is not a genuine follower of Christ. He didn’t lose his salvation, he never received it in the first place. That person just went through the motions.
When Paul said those who live by the flesh will die, he meant something different than he meant when he said in verse 10, the body is dead. In verse 10, the word dead refers to the physical death that even Christians will face. But in verse 13, Paul was warning about something more than physical death. Those who live in the flesh are headed for eternal death, the separation from God in hell. But Paul goes on to say:
Romans 8:13b-14 – “But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.”
Paul contrasts living according to the flesh in verse 12 with the Christian work of putting to death the deeds of the body in verse 13. The Greek word used for the phrase “put to death” signifies a continuous action. In other words, as believers, we don't simply put our sinful desires to death and never deal with them again. Instead, we are continuously defeating sin in our lives. Jesus called it, “Taking up our cross daily.”
If we were all truthful, we would admit that we have to deal with sin everyday of our life. But this work of killing sin is not something that we can do under our own willpower. We accomplish it by the Spirit. Paul is telling us that as we walk with the Spirit and respond to His guidance, He leads us to address our own issues with sin and temptation. Sometimes we call it our conscience. But actually, it is the Holy Spirit who steers us away from things we shouldn't do. When we live by the indwelling Spirit of God, the outcome is completely different from a life lived in the flesh. Instead of being on the road to death, we are on the road to eternal life.
I think God is reminding us today that if we are in Christ, we are led by the Holy Spirit. In verse 14 Paul says that those who live by the Spirit are God's sons. This is one of Paul's favorite metaphors to describe our relationship with God. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are adopted into God's family. That's why Paul also referred to believers as brothers and sisters. We are brought into an intimate relationship with Him and declared to be His children for eternity.
Children of God are those who are led by God's Spirit. I said before that when we accept Christ the Holy Spirit indwells us. But now Paul takes the idea a little farther.
As the Holy Spirit indwells us, we are led by that Spirit. This carries the same idea as sheep being led by the shepherd. They are led by him as their guide and protector. As children of God, we hear and respond to the Holy Spirit. We make decisions as we prayerfully seek the wisdom of the Spirit. The spirit gives us words to say when we're not sure how to respond to another person. And we grow in our trust in Him as He leads us.
If you ever find yourself having a difficult conversation and don't really know what to say next, in your mind or under your breath, ask the Holy Spirit to guide your speech and see what happens. I can tell you what will happen. You'll be quoting Scripture that you didn't even know that you knew. You’ll be pouring out wisdom that you didn’t even know you had. And now the verse that backs up everything that I've said so far.
Romans 8:15 – “15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
In Roman culture, adoption gave a child full legal standing in the family. An adopted child was as much part of the family as any of the other children who were born of the mother and father. When we are adopted as children of God, we can have confidence that we belong to God for eternity.
Let me ask you, “Which seems more personal, more connected—calling your dad father, or calling him daddy?” Daddy seems much more personal and connected. The name Abba, means daddy. God says when you become His child, you can call Him daddy.
You have probably read or heard most of the stories about the two brothers who used to tease their little sister by telling her she wasn't really a part of their family, that they found her on the side of the road and decided to take her home. Of course, the mother quickly corrected the record, telling the sister that she was born into the family and that she was loved by her parents, and also by her annoying brothers. Being a part of the family was important to this sister, and it also was an important concept for Paul.
Before coming to the family connection that we have in Christ, Paul wrote about a spirit of slavery which was a reference to the enslaving, strict obedience to Jewish law. With that spirit of slavery came feelings of fear. Even today, many people try to be as good as they can out of their fear of judgment and death. But don't you see, in Christ, we're set free from such slavery and fear.
In Christ, we receive the Spirit of adoption. The Holy Spirit does the work of adopting into the family those who come to Christ. The spirit of slavery is what leads to fear. The Holy Spirit leads us to cry out, Abba, Father! So, instead of fear, being adopted into God's family leads to joy that comes from our deep connection with God. And we should thank God for the freedom from fear and slavery to sin. So, the question now is, how can we know that we have been adopted?
Romans 8:16 – “16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children,”
In the Old testament there were rules that were made. One of those rules that was prescribed was that any fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses before it was considered true. You can find that in the book of
Deuteronomy 19:15 – “15 One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
Paul was saying that we have two witnesses that we are God's children--God's Spirit Himself together with our Spirit. And this is something deeper than just a feeling that God has adopted you. Paul was describing this sense of conviction that comes from your interaction with the living God.
Romans 8:17 – “17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”
Being children of God also makes us heirs. So, what is our inheritance? You are probably thinking, well, our inheritance is heaven, and that would certainly be true. The Bible describes heaven as a place where death will be no more. Grief, crying, and pain will be no more. Heaven is a place where we will be rewarded for our faithful deeds. People who endure trials will receive the crown of life. We'll also inherit all the promises that God has given to His people and we will have an eternity to experience all of these blessings. Do you see what you're missing by not knowing Christ in a personal way?
Another way to look at this inheritance is to see God Himself as our inheritance. The greatest part of heaven is the presence of God Himself. We receive a relationship with God, the opportunity to come into His presence and the promise of spending eternity with Him.
As children of God, Paul says we are coheirs with Christ. To be glorified with Christ means we take His path to glory, and the glory of Christ came through His suffering. Paul warned us believers that our inheritance may also mean we suffer with Him. Any suffering is temporary, but the blessings of our adoption and inheritance are eternal.
So, I have to ask you, are you a child of God? I can tell you that if you have never accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you are not a member of God's family. You are not a child of God. But to become God's adopted child, all you have to do is realize that you're a sinner just like all of us are, place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, agree with Christ to allow Him to guide you from this point forward, and ask Him to come into your life.
It is that easy. It really is. If you have accepted Christ and you know for certain that you are a child of God, then great! But if you need to make that decision, why not step out from where you are and come and talk to me. I will pray with you and show you how easy it is to become a child of God.
And if you do that, you will experience, you will immediately feel the presence of the Holy Spirit living in you. But God won’t make you do it. That choice is strictly up to you. Won't you come?
