Trinity 2

(NIV): 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

In verse 15 we are told that since we have received the Spirit, we no longer have to live in fear.

Consider this for a moment or two. In general, what fears do people have? One list from 2010 has these top ten fears.

Speaking before a Group

Heights

Insects and bugs

Financial problems

Deep water

Sickness

Death

Flying

Loneliness

Dogs

Which of these fears is St. Paul referring to? To find the answer we need to read the verses prior to our text.

(NIV): 8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

It is the fear of condemnation. Jesus agrees in his talk with Nicodemus when he teaches that God did not send him into the world to condemn the world but to save the world. He also tells his disciples that they are to fear God.

(NIV): 26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

(NIV): 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Note how Isaiah responded when he was in the presence of God when God called him to be a prophet.

(NIV): 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Martin Luther would later begin the explanations to the commandments by stating that . “We should fear and love God.”

Why fear God? Because by nature we are sinners and we deserve only his wrath and punishment. In reading the chapters prior to our text, St. Paul develops the argument that because we are all sinners (no excuses), we all deserve to be punished by God who is just and who has the right and authority to punish those who sin against him. That punishment is not dependent on the severity of the sin or the wickedness of the person, but on the the majesty of the one who is being sinned against.

One emphasis of Trinity Sunday is just how majestic our Triune God is. He is not “the man upstairs” or the “architect of the Universe” or someone whom Winston Churchill described as being like his father “he loves me but he is busy elsewhere”. He is God who transcends everything and to whom we owe our everything and in whom we live, and move, and have our being. He is the one who must be obeyed and the one who has every right to command us and who uses his goodness for us. Since he is so transcendent, he deserves our complete devotion and not just what is convenient for us. Therefore, sins against him are much more serious than sins against anyone else.

Illustration: If you run away from a parent, you will be in trouble. But if you run way from a police officer, you will be arrested. (seek better example)

St. Paul warns us of what the consequences are of sinning against God. “If you live according to the flesh, you will die.” “Your body is subject to death.”

Romans 3:19–20 (NIV): 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

(NIV): 2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.

Because of our own sins, we should be afraid of God, very afraid. We are like the disobedient children in the past who were home all day with mom and had been quite naughty that day. In that scenario, the father was the ultimate authority and disciplinarian. Rather than punish the children, mom would make this chilling announcement. “Wait until your father gets home?” What did this mean? Did you fear your father that day? This is the in part the type of fear that St. Paul teaches we are to have toward God --- if we approach him based on what we do.

And yet, interspersed with threats and warnings and reminders of fear, are promises of hope, love, and commitment.

(NIV): 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

A dramatic change has happened in our lives because of the work of our God. We who were at one time “in the realm of the flesh” are now “in the realm of the Spirit of Christ.” This is what Jesus taught to Nicodemus. We are flesh who were born to parents of flesh. Our sinful nature (the realm of the flesh) is our natural state. Left in that state we could not be in the kingdom of God (Christ ruling in our hearts by the word of God). But God did not leave us in that state.

He wanted all men to be saved.

He sent his son, not to condemn the world, but to save the world.

Jesus was lifted up (sacrificed himself)

He rose again (the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead)

Therefore, we have hope. Hope that our sins are forgiven and that there is now no condemnation.

Hope that our relationship with God is that of a dear children and their dear Father. Our “Wait until you Father gets home” is not a threat that he will punish his children but that we can approach him in confidence and trust that he will use his power to guide and protect us. We also have hope that “he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies because of the Spirit who lives in us.”

Obligation. As those who have been saved and who hope in the Lord, we also have an obligation to dedicate our lives to God.

(NIV): 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15

(NIV): 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Conclusion. This can be hard. Because we still have certain fears which seek to cripple us. Take the number one fear on the list. Speaking in public. This has kept many Christians from talking about Jesus to those who need to hear it because they are afraid of what the response might be. These are the sufferings references in verse 17. But we cannot but help speak what we have seen and heard because the Spirit of Christ lives in us.