Sermon for 5/30/21 15 Minutes

Boyd Thrash

Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Romans 8:1–17

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Romans 8:12-17

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 8 verses 12 through 17. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Romans 8:12-17 In verses 8 through 11,,, Paul has just made a great promise,,, Since God raised Jesus from the dead,,, God promises spiritual resurrection life,,, through the Holy Spirit,,, for our mortal bodies now and physical resurrection in the future. Now in these verses we continue with more,,, "good news".

Romans 8:12–17 (HCSB) 12 So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs —heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday,,, we learned that God sent the Holy Spirit to help the disciples,,, and we have the Holy Spirits help today as well.

And it’s great that we have that help,,, since our walk with God is made possible with His help,,, especially since this would be impossible to do on our own.

This weekend,,, we celebrate the ultimate sacrifice that our fallen military men and women made as they fought for the freedom that we all share today in this country.

Even the freedom to speak and act in disrespect toward our country was made possible by the job that our men and women in uniform have done,,, and the great sacrifice of their life that the men and women gave that we celebrate this weekend.

Even though there is a lot wrong with our country today and there are many people in leadership that we don’t agree with,,, it’s still the greatest country to live in,,, I really want anyone to know that if they don’t agree with that statement then they are welcome to move,,, and,,, the sacrifice that these great heroes gave for their country,,, doesn’t need to go unrecognized.

So,,, I hope that this weekend you have set aside some time and do your best to attend a memorial service for them,,, to spend time in prayer for our country’s surviving families of these heroes,,, and as always,,, continue to pray for this country and it’s leaders.

Our scripture this morning,,, continues our look at the Holy Spirit and the benefits that we have,,, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

Let’s look at these verses and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 12 says: 12 So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh,

Paul begins this part of scripture by showing the stark contrast we have between the flesh and the Spirit.

We owe nothing to the flesh,,, to live according to flesh,,, or our earthly ways,,, will not be good for us.

If they,,, the ones that Paul is writing to,,, and us today of course,,, continue to live by the worlds standards,,, we will be dragged down in body and spirit,,, and we will be heading to hell if we don’t repent.

Of course Paul is talking to those that have already accepted Jesus as their Savior and he is telling them that they don’t have to live by the flesh any longer because of the Holy Spirit,,, which Jesus sent.

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Verse 13 says: 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior,,, when we are baptized,,, we put to death the sinful deeds of our earthly flesh,,, and we live forever in Heaven with Him.

This baptism is a symbol of our dying to sin and rising out of sin into our new life with Christ.

A life that is possible because of the Holy Spirit living in us and guiding us “when and if”,,, we pay attention.

And we see what we gain from this in the next verse.

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Verse 14 says: 14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.

When we truly accept Jesus as our Savior and live a life pleasing to God,,, which is made possible by the Holy Spirit guiding us,,, then we become a part of the family of God.

Paul says that when we are led by the Holy Spirit,,, we are God’s son’s,,, or God’s children.

When we are led by the Holy Spirit,,, it is evident that the way that we live our life is different than the way those in the world live.

This is a way of life that we can take advantage of today,,, as soon as we accept Christ as Savior.

It’s through this help that we are able to live a life that is pleasing to God,,, but we must listen and pay attention all the time as we go through our day,,, because it’s when we don’t listen that we fall short.

That’s why the things that we do every day and all throughout the week that strengthen our walk with God are so important.

It’s these things that help us to stay tuned in to the Holy Spirit all day,,, every day.

Again,,, as I’ve mentioned several times lately,,, prayer,,, Bible reading and study,,, worship,,, Sunday school,,, etc. all of the things that help to bring us closer to God are so important to our daily walk with God.

All of these things help us to grow in our relationship with God as we continue to live here on earth,,, even while we are striving towards perfection.

Which is something that we may not accomplish while here on earth,,, but it should always be our goal!

But it’s through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, that even makes this possible for us today!

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Verse 15 says: 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

When we accept Jesus Christ,,, we aren’t controlled by sin any longer.

It’s hold on us is released.

We are adopted into the family of God,,, we aren’t slaves any longer,,, but children of God,,, and being children of God we can now come before Him and cry out,,, “Abba, Father!”.

And since we have been adopted into the family of God,,, we should not fall back into fear,,, but now,,, truly rely on God’s strength and power to get us through anything that this world can throw at us..

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Verses 16 and 17 say: 16 The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs —heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

We have proof of God’s love for us through the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

My Believer’s Bible Commentary says that this is done primarily through the word of God.

As a Christian reads the Bible,,, the Spirit confirms the truth that,,, because he has trusted Jesus as his Savior,,, he is now a child of God.

This truth is made known to us as we read and communicate with God through our personal relationship with Him.

Then it says that membership in God’s family brings privileges that boggle the mind.

All God’s children are heirs of God.

An heir,,, of course,,, eventually inherits his father’s estate.

That’s exactly what is meant here.

All that the Father has is ours.

We have not yet come into the possession and enjoyment of all of it,,, but nothing can prevent us from doing so,,, in the future.

And we are joint heirs with Christ.

When He returns to take control of the world,,, we will share with Him the title to all the Father’s wealth.

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When Paul adds,,, seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. ,,, he is not making heroic suffering a condition for salvation.

And he isn’t describing some elite inner circle of overcomers who have endured great afflictions.

Instead,,, he sees all Christians as being co-sufferers and all Christians as,,, glorified with Christ.

Of course,,, we know from scripture,,, from testimony of others,,, and from our own testimony,,, that there are some who suffer more than others because of our walk with God,,, and this will result in differing degrees of reward and glory.

But all who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior are seen by Paul as incurring the hostility of the world,,, with all its shame and reproach.

----------------------------------------------------------- Just like every time that we talk about the Holy Spirit,,, we see how important it is to our daily walk with God.

Paul is making it clear to the people in this letter that when we are saved by Jesus Christ,,, we are adopted into the family of God and we share in the inheritance that is worth more than anything this world can ever offer.

And it’s through the Holy Spirit that we can succeed in our journey through this life,,, and an eternity with God in heaven.

And again,,, I want to remind you to make time to remember those that gave their life to make all of the freedoms that we enjoy today possible.

Memorial Day is a day that we must participate in so that we can honor those that gave their life for our country.

At the same time,,, as always,,, we remember the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on the cross,,, His resurrection,,, and ascension into heaven,,, that made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come to us,,, and to help us,,, in our walk with God,,, each week!