Rom 8-Abba Father-2-marks

| Abba Father – Part 2Some Marks of Sonship! Romans 8:14-17

January 21, 2007 (New Century Version) 14The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, “Father.” 16And the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say we are God’s children. 17If we are God’s children, we will receive blessings from God together with Christ. (English Standard Version) 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry,  “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.  PRAY Scripture Memory:You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 (NIV) Intro:I sound like my father…Spiritual Sonship may be recognized by the bearing of God’s image. A father generates a son according to his image; a human being brings forth a human being, and a child has the same human nature as the parents. The Lord likewise regenerates His children according to His image  (a Brakel, W.)We want to be our own person, and yet, that is not diminished when we strive to follow the good example of someone we respect. Preliminary Clarifications:☞ From The Christian’s Reasonable Service by Wilhelmus à Brakel – a Dutch pastor and theologian from the late 18th C. – taken from Romans 12:1☞ Adoption implies Sonship. Sonship is used generically. This morning: the 2nd of four sermons on Adoption1. The Process of Adoption2. The Marks of Sonship3. The Privileges of Sonship4. The Obligations of Sonship This morning: The Marks of Sonship – what does a child of God look like?Shorter Catechism Q: 34: What is Adoption?“Adoption is the act of God’s free grace by which we become His sons with all the rights and privileges of being His.”Mark #1: FaithOur Fundamental Basis of Sonship:We obtain the adoption of God through faith alone, by grace alone and through Christ alone.What do we mean “through Christ alone?”This refers to that which is outside of ourselves and which accomplishes or makes us right with God.Other options:☞ The church☞ Good works (helping the poor, giving, serving, etc.)☞ Religion (going to church, reading the Bible, etc.☞ Saying a prayer… What do we mean “by grace alone?”Other options:☞ Measuring up, in some way What do we mean “through faith alone?”Faith is a conduit. It is what we exercise in order to accept the gift of God’s grace. Faith does not make us right with God, in and of itself. Being sincere does not make us acceptable. We can be sincerely WRONG! It is not a matter of how MUCH faith one has. The crucial issue is what\who the object of one’s faith is.Faith means acting upon what we know in our hearts to be true on the basis of what God has said in his Word. In this case that means accepting the fact that your sin has made you completely unacceptable to God. That is why Christ came as He did, to suffer and die….It means entrusting yourself to God alone to make you acceptable to Him….Romans 6:23 (NIV) – The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Gal. 3:26 (NIV) – You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Question #1: – Have you embraced Jesus Christ, by faith, out of a heartfelt desire to be right with God and to be His child, to live in peace of conscience, in obedient love to God, and spend eternity with Him? Is your trust solely in Him and in what HE has done for you, rather than some sense of being good enough for Him?Have you surrendered to Him, thanked Him for what He did for you, and committed yourself to growing in your faith and understanding of Him as He has revealed Himself to us in His Word – not perfectly, yet from your heart?This mark is the bottom line…By faith we believe the gospel. By faith we move towards God. By faith we embrace His love and grace for us. By faith we focus our lives on eternity, desiring and striving to be conformed to His image. By faith we turn from sin to God, both sin already committed and sin which tempts us. By faith we believe that God’s willingness / desire to forgive far surpasses our desire to be forgiven. Mark #2: Bearing the Image of GodGod is the process of re-making us after the image of His Son and He calls us to move in that direction through the decisions we make. He calls us to Follow [His] example in everything [we] do, because [we] are his dear children.  (Ephesians 5:1 – NLT)Colossians 3:10 (NLT) You have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV) – 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  This means becoming more like Jesus as seen in: ☞ A growing hatred of sin, both our own and that which surrounds us, and a growing hunger and thirst for righteousness – a desire to come into the light…☞ A growing delight and desire to obey God in thought, word and deed. NOTE: As long we are on this side of eternity, however, the image of God will be imperfect in us; the best among God’s children has but a small beginning, and still has much of the old self. There is a battle within the heart of all true children of God between the desires of the Spirit and the desires of our old nature (Gal. 5:17). The reality of this battle is a crucial mark of a true child of God. |   | If there is no battle, THEN you have real reason to be concerned.If the battle is merely between your desire to be a better person and your frustration at still being a sinner…. Question #2: – Are you growing in Christ-likeness? Do you have a growing hatred of sin in your life, as God defines it, and a growing delight in and desire to obey God in all you do, think and say? Mark #3: A True and Growing Love for GodLike a natural child, particularly with respect to love for parents, brothers and sisters…“We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “This love is a veritable and infallible mark of sonship.”1 Corinthians 8:3 (NIV) – But the man who loves God is known by God. This love manifested itself continually in David throughout the Psalms. Psalm 18:1 (NIV) - 1 I love you, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 116:1 (NIV) -  I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Paul was strongly motivated by the love of God. 2 Corinthians 5:14 (NIV) - Christ’s love compels us. This love is seen in:☞ A growing desire to be with right with God and a growing dissatisfaction, even hatred of the stuff of this world☞ A growing desire to know and to enjoy God – a growing longing for a deeper relationship with Him Question #3: – Are you growing in your love and desire for God? Are you investing yourself in things which increase your knowledge of Him, and your understanding of his will for you as he has revealed it in his Word? Inspecting the Marks:☞ If you are convinced, by this, that you are not yet adopted into the family of God…This is a crucial first step…However, may it not be a final step…Seek and you shall find…Matthew 11:28 (NIV) – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. John 6:37 – Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. One final question for you: What is holding you back? ☞ If you are in doubt…Identify what is source of your doubto       Is it the fact that you are painfully aware of the sin which is still so much a part of who you are? (ans…)o       Is it the fact that you fall so far short of the standards we have set forth this morning? (ans…)o       Is it that you feel too unworthy…?Whatever your reason for doubt, PLEASE… ☞ If you can identify strongly enough with these marks of a true child of God to be confident in your standing as such with Him…If you are, indeed, a child of God…You will see and agree with the truth of what I am saying. However, you may well feel overwhelmed and inadequate in your evaluation of yourself…A believer will very readily approve of this, even if he is weak or just at the beginning; it will cause his heart to yearn for these matters with desire. However, it will also oppress him somewhat because he fears he is not, and perhaps will never be, a partaker of the adoption of God.However, here are some practical suggestions of how we SHOULD respond to these truths:Ø  REJOICE in the miracle of your standing…1 John 3:1 (NIV) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  Ø  Beware of the danger of taking credit for the marks above, as though they were the result of your own goodness. Ø  Beware the danger of dwelling so strongly on your unworthiness that you doubt your Sonship on the basis of your own unworthiness. “That is a manifestation of pride, for it would be as if you do not want to receive anything unless you would be worthy of it, and as if the gift would have to be commensurate with your worthiness.” (à Brakel)Know that God gives His children everything above and beyond, and contrary to, what they deserve; the best of them is as unworthy as the least among them, and it is all “to the praise of the glory of His grace ” (Eph. 1:6 NIV). Therefore, whatever God, in His grace bestows upon you, whether it be His Name, by adoption, or the blessings of this life, receive it all, doing so with much humility, and yet with grateful gladness.  Ø  Set your mind to pursue the things of God and to consciously and intentionally put away the things which might hinder that.  If you are a child of God here, this morning, God’s Word reminds we used to be “the same as others: ‘of [our] father the devil’ (John 8:44), ‘a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters’ (Isa. 1:4), ‘children of disobedience...the children of wrath, even as others’ (Eph. 2:2–3), and ‘cursed children’ (2 Pet. 2:14)” (à Brakel)As we mentioned last week, we have gone from being a child of the devil to becoming a child of God, from being a child of wrath to becoming the object of God’s favor, from a child of condemnation to becoming an heir of all the promises and a possessor of all blessings, and to be taken from the greatest misery to the highest joy—this is something which exceeds all comprehension and all adoration. (a Brakel, W.) A Truth to Remember: God adopts, as His very own children, all those who come to Him by faith, acknowledging their sin and trusting Him alone to change them from the inside out.A Challenge to Consider:Have you trusted Christ to forgive you, to adopt you and to conform you to His image? Do you believe His promises enough to trust completely in Him alone for your right standing with God? One thing I heard this morning was…  |