Remember Who You Are...
Notes
Transcript
You are God’s Child...
You are God’s Child...
You know one of the greatest blessings we have in this life is that a person knows where they come from… They know their past, their family and so forth...
We have that same experience being reborn as a child of God.
We know whose we are, having been bought with a price, we are the children of God.
This my friends is special because it gives us a sense of identity. And having that is important. It empowers the believer with confidence and strength knowing they can walk and live successfully, victoriously in front of the Lord our God.
Isn’t that awesome my friends… Yes it is.
So , with that in mind lets look at these verses today in Romans chapter 8
12 So then, brothers, 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 sons of God. 15 For 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!” 16 The 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, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
So lets look at what this is saying and I want to begin with what Paul says in verse 12
1. We are debtors!...
Paul says we are debtors. To be a debtor indicates we owe a debt, we have a prize or an amount that we are responsible for..
Think about buying a car, if you purchase a car or truck you are in debt, you owe someone for the privilege of driving and using that vehicle. We have to pay that back..
So when Paul says we are debtors we is saying this… He is saying we are under an obligation since we have the assurance of the resurrection by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit.
Christ died for us and set us free, so upon our confession we are moved from death unto life.
How wonderful, the sinful life and nature no long has any claim on us … in fact because Christ died for us, our obligation is to His way of life, His purposes and to rely on God’s Holy Spirit and not to the lower nature of man.
In fact the Scriptures remind us we were bought with a price… I Cor 6:20
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
So our obligation is to glorify God in this body.
Stop and think for a moment where you might be today without Christ. I am afraid to think where I would be....
But I know this, I would be miserable and without hope.
And each day, in this wonderful Christian life please understand, you are not alone.
Jesus is able to keep up you.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
So we walk in the presence of God by the power of the Spirit, in this constant reliance on the presence of Holy Spirit, we have freedom in this life.
And now lets consider another thought my friends..
2. Empowered to be led by the Spirit
As this new life in Christ is first discovered at the moment of our Salvation, we are to then take hold of that life and live as the children of our Heaven Father.
Look with me at verses 13 and 14
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 sons of God.
So in verse 13 Paul reminds of what improper motivations result in… if you, any person live according to the flesh they will die.
Remember what Paul said in chapter 6....
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I really like that term wages… you know why?
It speaks to the just wage for our efforts. Like in life, you work, you put forth effort for those who work for and you are compensated.
The same way you work for your self, your own interests and desires you earn your wage, and it is death, hell if you have lived this whole gift of life for yourself.
but on the other hand, a regenerate person, the saved person will sin after conversion, we know this… I John 1:8
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
But it doesn’t rule in or over their life. If sin ruled over their life it would prove they are a unregenerate person. Instead being a saved person it cannot continue in their life
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
You see being born of God is the answer… List en to Phil 1:6
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
God is working in us, growing us, strengthening us, teaching us, helping us … this is sanctification. Making us more like the Son every day until we see Him face to face.
So the Spirit leads us, helps us and blesses us. He is our guarantee of the good things to come.
And The Holy Spirit also instructs as to our idenity.
Look at verse 14 again.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Being led by Him, The Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are the Sons and daughters of God.
That is awesome my friends… just awesome.
Now, lets look at verses 15-17 as we explore this last thought....
3. The Holy Spirit leads us Forward
Now lets look at that passage...
15 For 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!” 16 The 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, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
In verse 15, Paul reveals to us a contrast, the life we once embodied that was bound in the slavery of sin, and the new life we have in Christ were we are the sons and daughters of God.
God did not save you just so you could fall back into slavery. Who is it that helps a person be released from jail in the hopes of watching them re-offend. No one, and certainly not God.
Instead of being orphans, and slaves, they are the son of God, by who we cry Abba Father…
Robert Mounce, a Greek scholar once said: The new father exercises authority over the new son, and the new son enters into the privileges and responsibilities of the natural son.
And with verse 16, as the Spirit has enabled us to cry out also gives us the joy of knowing who we are, the sons and daughters of God
It says that He (The Holy Spirit) bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and here is where it get gooder and gooder as my old Pastor used to say.
Look at verse 17
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
To be someones child means that you are their heir.
Listen to these passages
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
and then
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
So Paul says that we are heirs of God… We have the blessing of all that the Father has and is, we will benefit from that…
And along with that, Paul says we are not only heirs of God, but co-heirs with Christ.
All that Christ claims as His will belong to us as well. So consider, He is the resurrection and the life. And because Jesus is this, we will enjoy this as will
Remember Jesus says I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest… John 10:10b
But there is a negative side as well that we forget to talk about some times, as Jesus suffered, as His followers we might have to suffer as well. But to share in that suffering just confirms that we will share in His glory as well.
Now when I speak of suffering, I am not talking of His redemptive sufferings, like his scourge, his crucifixion etx…
But we do share in the consequences in terms of opposition form the world in which He came to save.
Christians are opposed, our convictions are not respected, at times we are ridiculed and it is also possible in certain parts of this world to be martyred for Him
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
As members of the same family , we all will share in the trials of life as well as the benefits of this life in Christ as well.
You see we are the children of God, sons and daughters.. how wonderful and we will one day stand in HIs presence and reap the benefits of His life given for us.
So in the midst of knowing who we are and whose we are… I want you to think about the good and bad in your life..
In the midst of the bad or the negative… do you need to ask Him to forgive you of sin, do you need released from your shame?
Is there something you need to do for Him?
Ask Him to forgive you, release you and ask HIm to help you day by day to hand your life over to Him
pray.