Sons Or Slaves? (Trinity Sunday 2024)

SONS OR SLAVES?

Text: Romans 8:14 – 17

Rom 8:12-17 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— (13) for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (15) For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" (16) it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (17) and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

There is a story that I once read about an insecure little girl. The story was about “… a little girl who was asked to bring her birth certificate to school one day. Her mother wisely cautioned her about the important document and told her not to lose it. The child forgot; you guessed it. She did lose it. When she became aware of her loss, she started crying. When asked why she was crying, she answered, “I lost my excuse for being born!” (Wilson O. Weldon. Not Afraid. Nashville: Upper Room, 1984, p. 35). It is sad to think about how many people there are in the world who feel insecure about who they are just like the little girl in this story. Like this little girl, we want to feel that feeling of security. We want that security that comes from knowing that we belong to a family.

Someone (William Glasser) once said, “… the need to belong has been built into our nervous systems …. We always need involvement, and we always feel pain when we have none. The pain warns us to seek involvement with others.” (William Glasser. The Identity Society. New York: Harper, 1972, pp. 74-75). There is no doubt that there are many who feel like they are outsiders.

Have you ever heard someone say that even though they were in a crowd, they still felt alone? Have you ever felt like that?

Satan looks for opportunities like that as ports of entry to magnify that feeling of loneliness. This is where he uses his arsenal of lies, pulling one fiery arrow (Ephesians 6:16) out of his quiver to shoot at you one after the other. Here’s the thing we need to remember, Satan’s fiery arrows are no match for God’s love because as Paul says in Romans 8:38 - 39, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love.

Did you notice what Paul did in this text? Paul speaks about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as he reminds that if we are God’s children, then we are also heirs---joint heirs because we are adopted sons and daughters of God through what Jesus did for us on the cross.

THE LONGING TO BELONG

What is the difference netween being a slave and being one of God’s adopted children?

1) Slaves vs. sons: In the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, slaves were not members of the family. "Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. "So if the Son… " [God's only begotten Son (John 3:16)] "… sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:35-36 NIV). Believing and living in relationship in Jesus Christ is what keeps us free.

2) P C hangup: People from the pc camp (political correctness camp) might get hung up on the language of “son”. In doing so, they take the meaning out of context to make it fit into their pc camp. God’s Word I not bound by such foolishness. In the Greek NT, the word “son” is used figuratively of all children according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

3) Rivaling kingdoms: In his Bible commentary, David Guzik gives this illustration:

“An 82 year-old Christian woman from Hong Kong told of her life in China, but still used much of the vocabulary that the Communists used in describing their revolution - they called it “the liberation.” She was asked, “When you were back in China, were you free to gather together with other Christians to worship?” “Oh no,” she answered. “Since the liberation no one is permitted to gather together for Christian services.” “But surely you were able to get together in small groups and discuss the Christian faith?” “No, we were not,” the woman replied. “Since the liberation all such meeting are forbidden.” “Were you free to read the Bible?” “Since the liberation, no one is free to read the Bible.” ….. The point is clear: freedom does not consist in the word “freedom,” or in words, but in relationship to Jesus Christ, through abiding in His Word, and being His disciple.” (David Guzik's Enduring Word Commentary). The enemy works through those who submit to worldly methods to keep us away from being free through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! That is why Paul understood that his captors could arrest but the one thing they could not do was take away the freedom that Christ gives to us.