“Led by the Spirit”
TEXT: Romans 8:12-17
REVIEW
1. No sentence of doom to those in Christ: Because of the great work of Jesus Christ for us, we who have faith in Him no longer live under the sentence of doom that came into the world through Adam’s sin.
2. Contrast between life in the Spirit and life in the flesh: Paul tells us that this announcement of the greatest forgiveness and restoration to God is not for those who live according to the slavery of the sinful nature. Though all of us struggle with sin while we live in this life, there is a big difference between life in the Spirit, and life in what Paul calls the “flesh.” In the passage before us this morning, we continue to learn what the new life of the Spirit is all about.
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
12 Therefore, brethren, 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 as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "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 joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Debtors
Paul says in our passage this morning that we are not debtors to the flesh, meaning by “flesh” the sinful nature within us that leads to death. A debtor is someone who owes something to someone else. I enjoy reading the works of the famous 19th century author Charles Dickens. Any of you who have read Dickens know that the subject of being a debtor is a frequent one in his novels. What you may not have known is that in 1824, when Dickens was 12, he was sent away to work at a manufacturer of boot polish. Several months later his father was arrested for a debt problem. His family lived in a debtor’s prison for three months.
In our world today we do not associate debt with prison or slavery, but this is a fairly new development. Throughout history, and in the Bible, debt is connected with servitude. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells a parable where a debtor is thrown into prison. The general teaching on this topic is summarized in Proverbs 22:7: “… the borrower is servant to the lender.”
With this in mind, it is interesting that Paul says that we are debtors. He does not tell us who or what we are debtors to here, but the point is obvious. We are debtors to God. We who have been bought by the precious blood of Christ, we who have the most precious donation of the Holy Spirit – we owe God big time. Paul does not shy away from saying that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, and if you are a Christian then this is your confession as well. You have a tremendous debt, and you are consequently a servant of a marvelous Master.
Let’s consider two aspects of this debt for a moment. First, you have a debt to God for granting you forgiveness. You have sinned against a holy, loving, and powerful God. Your burden of sin was unbearable, and that burden has been lifted through the blood of Christ on the cross. Second, you needed to have perfect righteousness in order to be invited into the eternal presence of God. You long for a blessed eternity, and the only way your future could be secured was again through Christ – this time focusing on His perfect sinless obedience that has been credited to your account. He has also granted to you His Holy Spirit, by whom you are enabled to put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, and to live for God. It is no wonder that Paul started this book by calling himself a bondservant of Jesus Christ. We are freed from the prison house of the law of sin and death, but we have an enormous debt of gratitude to God. We should count it a marvelous privilege to be the lowest servant in the household of God.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God…
Amazingly, Paul does not press the idea of our status as servants. He switches to a still more noble theme. While we surrender to the Lord as His happy servants when we profess faith in Christ, we are blessed like the prodigal son returning home to his father. The boy has been practicing his speech to be admitted into his father’s business as one of the field hands, but he is whisked away to a great celebration, because His father insists that he be called – not a servant – but a SON.
This is our story. We who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? It is easy in our generation to get the wrong idea about this phrase. When we think of being led by God, we often think of God imparting special secret information to us that will help us to make happy and profitable decisions. It should give us pause to remember that when Jesus was led by the Spirit after His baptism by John, he was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The Spirit led Him into suffering. Ultimately the Spirit led Him to the suffering of the cross.
This was not the pathway for Christ alone. We are called to be followers of Jesus. This surely must be the same thing as being led by the Spirit. The Spirit would not lead us in a direction different than that of following Christ. Jesus assures us that His followers need to pick up their crosses daily if they are to follow Him. The Spirit-led life is not a life of ease, but a life of suffering that leads to glory. This connection between the leading of the Spirit and suffering is explicit in verse 17 of our passage.
We are sons of God, and there is nothing better than that. But sonship is not always easy. Our Older Brother, our King and Messiah led the way for the adopted sons of God. He leads us into suffering but not into fear. In the face of trial God moves us to boldly prayer by the Spirit of adoption. So we now, with the confidence of the children of God, we cry out “Abba” Father to the One who loves us.
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit
When we cry out to our Father through Christ our great High Priest, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is with us. He assures us that we are the children of God. He assures us that our future is rich though we may be poor in this life. We are heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Your sense of the testimony of the Holy Spirit may not always be strong, but you should daily seek this truth of God’s good provision for you so that you might walk in the confidence of the sons of God. This, Paul tells us, is not for hypocrites with false faith, but for those who are willing to suffer with Jesus. One way that we suffer with Him is when we face direct religious persecution. The intensity of attacks against the Christian faith varies greatly throughout the world and throughout church history. Some face direct persecution. I recently read of some new Ethiopian Christians who went ahead with a baptism of 60 people despite threats of attacks from those who reject the faith. This is generally not our story. Does this mean that the suffering of the sons of God that Paul speaks of here is not for us?
There is more to suffering than death threats and the confiscation of property. There is suffering that comes as we face great loss in a fallen world. This was Job’s story. There is suffering that comes when the Spirit leads us to “put to death the deeds of the body” as we fight against our own sin. There is also the suffering of willing Christian service. Think of our friends Maria and Petru in Baia Mare who have opened up their home to kids there for the last three years. What kind of inconvenience is it to let a group of young people know that they are allowed to come by any Saturday without an invitation? What suffering is involved when this couple feeds them during their visit? What suffering is it when Maria gives motherly Christian counsel through the ups and downs of their teenage lives? This is intentional love. This is the love of God, and it is the leading of the Spirit. It is a suffering love. The Spirit reminds us of the love of Christ for us on the cross, and so we bear one another’s burdens, and we set our affections upon those who do not deserve them. If we lack this kind of love, we can pray that God will give us this good gift. We know that we cannot fix our coldness, and often do not even want our hardness of heart to go away. But we offer suffering prayer for one another, and our confidence is again renewed that we will be glorified together with Jesus.
Application: A debt that we cannot pay
The size of our debt to God is more than we can pay. Remember the servant in Matthew 18. He owed his master millions. His master forgave him. This is nothing compared to our debt to God. What does it mean that we miserable debtors have been forgiven? Since we cannot pay the Lord back for this love, our imitation of His love is the most sincere praise that we can offer up to Him.
There is a moral imperative of forgiveness for the Christian. We who have been forgiven much cannot make our forgiveness of others a matter of debate in our hearts and minds. Full reconciliation may not be achievable. That will depend on the response of the other party. But full forgiveness on your part can happen by the power of the Spirit today. It is not only a possibility. It is a necessity.
There is also a moral imperative of suffering with the Lord. Set your love deliberately on someone who you simply choose to love – not based on his merit, but based on your settled conviction that God did this kind of thing for you. Through this sort of loving service, crown the Lord of glory with many crowns, and live in the great hope of your coming glorification.