May 28, 2017 To Be God’s Children by Pastor Josh Sheldon

Romans 8 and the Holy Spirit’s Work in Adoption

We'll turn please again your Bibles to Romans chapter 8. Begin at verse 12. I'll read through 17. I'll be our text for this morning. In your black pew Bible, that's page 944. So once more hear the word of the Lord.

So them brothers we are debtors. Not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. 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.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. But you've received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry Abba Father.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God and if children then heirs. Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him in order that we may be also glorified With him.

Our spiritual father is of course none other than John Calvin. Whose shadow is everywhere to be seen in the work of the divines who wrote the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Our confession of faith.

Modern scholarship Has dubbed John Calvin the theologian of the Holy Spirit? Did you know that? Our spiritual father Calvin. Calvin Who wrote and developed most of the doctrines and the theology upon which the Reformed Church stand has been called by?

Modern theologians. The theologian of the Holy Spirit. That's because he spent more time explicating the work of the Holy Spirit than almost any theologian before him and More I would argue than most theologians before him or since.

He made it clear about the work of the Holy Spirit. BB Warfield said this about the work of John Calvin and His work to us in the Holy Spirit. Said in the same sense in which we say that doc. The doctrine of sin and grace dates from Augustine.

The doctrine of satisfaction from Anselm. The doctrine of justification by faith from Luther. We must say that the doctrine of the work of the Holy Spirit is a gift from Calvin to the church. I Read this to you because the burden that Paul Has and Paul of course writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

That's why we say this is the Word of God. His burden in chapter 8 is that we should know the work and the person of the Holy Spirit. Who we call the third person of the Trinity I? Sometimes wonder when we are Before God in heaven we're seeing Jesus as he is.

I some don't want to sometimes wonder if he might ask us. Where'd y 'all get this ranking from? There's number two this number three now. There's a sense to it I'm being a little bit facetious. But they're all God all three persons are God as much as any other of the persons of God.

But there there's an ordering to them. The reason I say that the way I did. It's because I want us to be a church. I want us to be Christians that do not Put so much focus on God the Father that we forget that God the Spirit or God the Spirit that we forget God the Son.

In other words They are all working together have worked together. The salvation that we glorify in the salvation that we revel in is a work of the triune God. And Here in chapter 8 of Romans it is the Holy Spirit who has taken center stage.

We talked about this when we began the chapter that prior to this. He's only mentioned once or twice in the entire letter Chapters 1 through 7 he's only in there a couple of times and now. Having established for us the need for the gospel for I'm not ashamed of the gospel for is the power of God.

For salvation for all who believe to the Jew first, but also to the Gentile meaning to all Who believe and Then going through and showing us that the gospel is absolutely necessary. There's nothing but the gospel that can save us that it's nothing but the gospel which shows us the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

And finally We come in chapter 8 to this work of the Holy Spirit and what he has done for us. His burden in verses 12 through 17 in chapter 8 I would argue as a whole Paul's burden is to guide us into this deeper understanding of his work of the Holy Spirit's work in us and here in these verses before us this morning the Holy Spirit gives us a real and an inward confirmation that we are God's sons and daughters and for a purpose in order that we might live now as his children in full confidence of our ultimate destiny.

I Believe that's the point of Pericope as we call it this section this one thought that Paul has within this overall thought of chapter 8 this inward Confirmation this witnessing of the Holy Spirit giving us confirmation that we are indeed his children his sons and daughters and That for the purpose that we should mortify our sin.

That she would put it we should put aside the deeds of the flesh as he calls them here. The whole of Roman 8 Romans 8 has this motif this idea running through it the premise that God is worthy of our fullest confidence.

All his word is true all his promises are yes, and amen in Jesus Christ, and he's a reliable God. He's a true God. He never misleads he never fails to keep his word as the Holy Spirit as We're learning in chapter 8 and I need to warn you.

Just tell you not warn you so much because that sounds so dreadful. May take we're gonna take our time in this chapter as I looked ahead as I planned ahead. We have at least four and it may be five more sermons just in chapter 8 before we get to chapter 9.

We're gonna understand as best as I can explicate it to you. This work of the Holy Spirit of God who God willing is in you if you're a child of God if your faith is in the Lord Jesus Christ if you have repented of your sins and fled to the cross and found their forgiveness of sins.

The Holy Spirit is in you so saying earlier this morning, and this is the person of God. That we are focusing our attention on. And I said there's five more sermons that means we've been preaching on for two months of Sundays.

And I think we could stay there for a lot longer. To really understand the work of this person this third person as we call him of the Trinity. There are two lines of thought that are converging here in these verses chapter 8 verses 12 to 17.

On the one hand we have the way the Holy Spirit works within us to give us confidence in our relationship to God. And then we go on to the lifelong business of eradicating our sin an endeavor I would suggest to you is completely impossible if it is attempted absent full faith and confidence in God's character and our status our Standing with him.

We'll speak about this later, but I want to put this thought out to you. That as we go through this life as we mortify as the Puritans like to say and I like that word Mortify our sin put it to death crucified as we go on recognizing and getting rid of our sin.

I'm going to suggest to you that if we do this without Full faith and confidence and trust and as much as we can have knowledge in God and his spirit will fail. Because it is by God's Spirit that we accomplish this in the first place.

And we must trust him. We must have full confidence in him to lead us in this way. There's one stream of thought that's in these verses and secondly There's a long stream of redemptive history that I believe comes to a glorious conclusion and climax.

Here and what Paul says about our adoption his sons. So I had calmly read from chapter 4 Where God calls Israel his son let my son go and if you don't let my son go. Your son is going to pay the price.

This is my son and I will have him to worship me. Adam was God's first created son and Adam failed to remain true to the duties and the character of a son. Which is what he called God called Israel out of Egypt for as what Adam before that was supposed to be and Since that time since Adams fall in the garden as our Lord said in John 4 23 to the Samaritan woman God has been seeking who.

True worshipers who worship him in spirit and truth. We could say true worshipers who will worship him as sons and daughters a Moment ago. I said sons and daughters. Paul uses three terms and he never says daughters.

But the three terms he uses are very close to each other. They're almost synonymous in verses 14 and 15. He uses the word sons. He uses children in verse 16 and he uses heirs. Joint heirs with Christ in verse 17 at no point does he use the word I used which is daughters.

I Want to point out that sons includes our sisters in the Lord. It includes you if you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, it's a general term out of Egypt. I called my son that meant the whole nation that meant men women boys girls children adult.

We could go on and expand that a bit and we could say Jew Greek free slave men women and I make that point by way of. Just as I go through this message when I say son. When I say adopted sons that sort of thing it includes us all who have faith regardless of any of those distinctions.

The first two verses that I read to you they form a passage they form sort of a bridge between what came just before and. And what follows they speak to us of our duty as sons to mortify our sinful our ungodly ways called in verse 13 to the deeds of the body verses 14 and 15 when we get to those they speak of our sonship to God and then finally as we go through this verse is 1617 will speak to us of the inner witness of the Spirit how he assures us of our sonship and the ultimate promises that follow.

Or that in here to us because of that sonship all of this. All of this to confirm to us that we are secure in God. God would have us to be that secure and confident and assured and that's not in us. That's not in our ability that's not my discipline my ability to To knock off three different sins a week or anything like that.

This confidence this assurance we have is in the character of God. Who's making these promises to us and witnessing to us by his spirit of those? I can't overstate the importance of this that this certainty that we are to have is not in ourselves.

How well or how much or how fast we put to death the deeds of the body? Or how often or how loudly or how impassioned we cry out Abba Father? It is God's character. That's at center stage here. We have much work to do.

We are to put to death the deeds of the body. But this is all because of God and who and what he is and what he has done for us and is Testifying to us by his spirit. Verse 12 if you want to look at that again.

So them brothers we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. So so then those two words so then it brings us back to verses 9 through 11. And I'm not going to repeat all that for you right now.

Except for this that verse 11 is the promise made personally to each believer by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The promise that you will be raised up from the dead you will be resurrected as was Jesus Christ.

By the same Spirit who raised him up. So then because we follow in Jesus resurrection. Given that fact given all that Paul argued that we did we covered last week, so then therefore accordingly as a consequence of that.

We are debtors. We are debtors. The negative not to the flesh really focuses on the positive if not to the flesh. Then who are we debtors to. Well we're debtors to the one who is center stage here in chapter 8.

Which is the Spirit and his statement here also brings forth an assumption. And it's one that we don't often give a lot of thought to. Where chapter 5 tells us that by birth? We carry the weight of Adam's sin.

We are guilty already of Adam's sin because he represented us when he did his one act of disobedience. If that's not enough now we learn That we've also inherited a debt we are debtors a statement of fact.

It's an inherited debt. It's one that we passively became responsible for. It's sort of the way that our our grandchildren. Maybe even our children are going to pay for the massive and expanding national debt today.

It's one that simply comes upon you by birth and when it comes due it won't matter who initiated it. Only that it gets paid. And debts are like what John Adams once said about facts. Do you remember this John Adams said facts are stubborn things?

They don't wiggle very much. They don't have much room for Negotiation. They're stubborn. Facts are just what they are. Debts are like that. They have to somehow be satisfied. A debt has to be paid. So Paul's thought here is something like this the fact that the indwelling Spirit of God is bringing you life now and Promises to resurrect your mortal body just as he did Jesus's.

That brings an obligation. It brings a debt to the purveyor of these promises. That is to live our life now under the rule under the dominion of God the Holy Spirit. To whom the debt is owed. So what do we note here?

We owe a debt to someone or something for who and what we are. Debtors to the flesh or debtors to the Spirit. You're born with a debt to the one. And of course the debt is to the other. It's by conversion.

It's by the promises that he gives. But we owe a debt. And what is the debt that we owe? Well in either case whether you owe to the flesh or to the Spirit the debt you owe is To live your life according to the ruling principle of the one to whom you owe the debt.

To arrange your life to live it out to walk in the ways of that one to whom it is owed. Now debt in the Bible has some different shades of meaning. It could be a literal debt as in Jesus Christ's parable of the man who owed ten thousand talents to his master.

Well, he simply owed them. It was a debt. It was the money. It was a literal debt. The debt can be a moral obligation. Paul says in Romans 1 14. I am under obligation both to Greeks and barbarians. Romans 15 27 speaking of the gift to the poor saints in Jerusalem He said indeed they owe it to them.

It's a debt. Galatians 5 3. If you try to keep part of the law you are obligated. You are in debt to keep the entire law. So debt can be a moral obligation. Debt is also sometimes Present the word for debt is also translated properly as sin forgives forgive us our debts as we forgive others forgive us our sins as We forgive the sins of others or some translations.

Trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Luke 13 4 is an interesting one. Jesus says do you think that they meaning the ones who died when the Tower of Siloam fell and killed them. Do you think that they were worse offenders worse debtors?

When our current passage it is moral obligation. It really fits best the debt owed the obligation that must be paid is to conduct ourselves in accord with one of two ruling principles the point principle of flesh flesh or the principle of spirit.

Now once that debt is paid, of course, the reward is collected. Look down, please it verse 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.

I'm speaking of before see the debt has to be paid. Debts are stubborn things debts. Don't don't give very much. They don't like to negotiate if your obligations to the flesh you must satisfy what is owed by living according to that ruling principle.

Upon Satisfaction of its demands after you've made all the payments by living according to it during this life. The payments if you will those payments that you've made you get your reward. When you get as it were from the bank and says the mortgage is paid in this case death eternal separation from God conversely.

Conversely if what you owe is to the Spirit of God who gave life to you the Spirit of God who promises to Resurrect you if your faith is in Christ. If that is the one to whom you owe a debt if it is according to his ruling principle that you live now.

Not satisfying the whims of the flesh but putting to death the deeds of the flesh. Living in that way then the satisfaction of your debt when it's paid and you get that certificate says mortgage paid debt satisfied.

That issues forth into eternal life. That's pretty easy to understand. No, I used to think that John. The our author John was the one who is so black and white. You read John's gospel. It's dark. It's night meaning.

It's Excuse me. It's day. It's night. So it's good. It's bad. It's black. It's white. It's right. It's wrong very clear distinctions. That's in John. That's in all his letters. That's in the book of Revelation.

He always reminds me of the old cowboy movies. Do you remember the bad guy wears? The dark clothes and no matter what he does. They're always dusty. He could come out of the cleaners and as soon as he steps on the wooden plank sidewalk.

He's dusty and dingy and bad-looking. But the good guy. With all his white clothes and the spangles and everything. He could ride on the trail for days. He's still white and good. That's the kind of black and white.

I always saw him but Paul is like that too, isn't he? It's flesh or spirit. It's the worldly ways or it's godly ways. You either are in Adam or you're in Christ and there's no gray area between the two and Here in 8 12 to 17 of Romans.

You live according to the flesh you will die. You will have eternal separation from God. We're speaking of eternal dying. Condemnation or by the Spirit and then eternal life with God is black white is one or the other.

What is this style of life then that we're obligated to. I mean this would be an important question if the choices are so Distinct if there's one or the other. What is it that we're obligated to. What is this debt that we owe.

How do we pay it off if you will. Was death to sin? That's what Paul's talking about here death to sin. We owe a debt to the Spirit of God and that debt is paid by our constant effort at identifying and then putting to death.

Again, the Puritans like the word mortifying mortifying our sin any sin that is exposed. Exposed by the reading of the Word of God exposed by the indwelling spirit as he makes us more sensible to ourselves and who God is.

And what God has done? Whatever comes out. By deeds of body. Paul doesn't mean to drive us towards a platonic dualism where anything physical is evil. I mean read Proverbs read Ecclesiastes even the Song of Solomon that would rail against any such thing.

He speaks of living according to the flesh. He means to give vent to the desires of the natural man. Galatians 5 1921 gives us an illustrative list. It's only illustrative. It's not comprehensive. It can't be comprehensive because we're ever inventing new ways if we look at the world outside of us or around us.

There are things happening that are becoming legislated. That you can't go against anymore. That half a generation ago we wouldn't have even thought of. And that they come at us in this great flood. So I'm going to read this list from Galatians 5 19 to 21 as just An illustration of The types of things that are the deeds of the body that must be put to death.

But don't take it as a comprehensive list. Understand that the world around us is constantly inventing new ways and sometimes we're inventing new excuses. What are the deeds of the flesh that need to be put to death this death that we owe to the spirit?

We are debtors not to the flesh. Well. What's left out there? It rings all the more strongly by its exclusion. We are debtors to the spirit now here the deeds of the flesh sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity strife jealousy fits of anger.

Rivalries dissensions divisions envy drunkenness orgies and things like these. There's the most dreadful words in that whole list things like these to live by the Spirit Is not to do them. To live by the Spirit is to recognize them to repent of them to put them to death to be Done with them to set them aside.

That is in fact the debt we owe this lifelong enterprise against sin. John Stott puts it this way. Mortification is a clear-sighted recognition of evil as evil. Leading to such a decisive and radical repudiation of it that no imagery can do it justice except Putting it to death.

Clear-sighted recognition of evil is evil. Which means no excuses and I would argue the Holy Spirit testifying within wouldn't allow us for excuses. We have to repress the truth that he witnesses to us to do that.

But it's to recognize evil is evil. How do we do so? Well plain reading of the text of the Bible everywhere would tell us what is evil. And it doesn't compromise it's the black and the white type of thing it's the good the bad.

It's here. It is. There's no wiggle room. There's no compromise for it. Recognize evil as evil. And make a decisive and radical repudiation of it. There's so intense and so decisive we can say it's been put to death.

And with that in hand from verse 13, let's move on to verse 14. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You know the biblical idea of a son is one whose character reflects his father.

And you get a sense of this when you read about the kings of Judah. 2nd Chronicles chapter 34 verse 2 is typical. It says Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of David his father.

And he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. David was his father or we could say Josiah was his son because he lived according to that image according to those precepts that David would have.

You could see David King David the greatest of Judah's Kings you could see King David in his son and of course his great-great-great-great grandson quite a ways of Quite a few generations away, but you could see David's image in him now.

It's the same principle. We find though It's a bit more negative. In John's gospel chapter 8 and verse 44 where Jesus said to the Sarah to the Pharisees. You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father's desire.

You see what we do. What you do it proves your lineage. It proves whether your work or whether you're Moving forward from the Spirit or from the flesh. Whose son you really are you sonship Is something more than just birth.

Sonship means to reflect your father. It means that people can say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. To be this a son in the biblical sense Is to be like your father. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says that peacemakers will be called sons of God.

Then he tells us to address him. God as sons addressed. He called him our father our father who is in heaven. Following this idea of sons. Remember it means daughters. It means slave and free means male female Greek or Jew following that idea.

Jesus later tells us therefore you shall be holy as your heavenly father is holy. What does this mean? It means the act is a son to reflect your father be like him. That's a son's reasonable duty. One can trace the whole flow of redemptive history with sonship.

God created Adam to be his son to love him to worship him to obey him to Reflect him as he lived out the stewardship. He was given in a word to trust him. The Exodus many generations later. That was a great act of redemption which had as its one primary purpose restoration of sonhood.

To redeem his son out of Israel. Say to Pharaoh thus says the Lord Israel's my firstborn son, and I say to you let my son go That he may serve me. The Prophet Hosea reminded Israel this Hosea chapter 11 verse 1 when Israel was a child I loved him and out of Egypt.

I called my son. So Adam then Israel then the Kings they all had in common one thing. They failed. Adam sinned. Hosea says later of Israel the more they were called the more they went away. They kept sacrificing to the bales and burning offerings burnt offerings to the idols.

Even the best of Israel's Kings committed at least one major act of treasonous mistrust. Uzziah's heart swelled with pride a saw he sought human rather than divine healing. David we all know about hezekiah took credit for what God had done for him and Allowed his heart to be puffed up as well.

And then there's you and me no one of us can claim to be any better a son than any of these were. So what do we do? What are we to do then as with anything else in our relationship with God? When we see these things come out when we look at this whole history and all these men who failed so consistently and miserably.

There's really only one place to look for answers, and that's the Bible and in the Bible There's only one answer that's given us. That's Jesus Christ God's eternally begotten Son who became flesh God the Son who lived with same temptations the same struggles that we have yet without sin.

We could say that he never failed to be God's true Son you see where Adam failed Christ succeeded. Adam was offered the chance to fulfill God's purposes his own way the quick way the easy way. Sort of a fast-food approach to spiritual health.

Jesus was tempted by the same devil who tempted Adam the same devil tempted him to inherit the kingdom on terms other than God's where Adam accepted Jesus declined. Think of Israel God's Son who he called out of Egypt.

They spent 40 years succumbing to temptations. Jesus Christ God's Son spent 40 days triumphing over temptation. Matthew chapter 2 verse 15 says that Hosea's prophecy out of Egypt. I called my son finds an ultimate expression.

It finds a fulfillment it finds a satisfaction. It finds a son who never failed who at every step reflected God as a son should God's only begotten and beloved Son Jesus Christ. We've already covered this from previous chapters, so I'll be a little bit brief about this.

I'll say it very simply. His obedience Christ's obedience his sonship his proper sonship his Non-failure his obedience is by faith yours credited to your account. If your faith is in him and Paul says very clearly that what he did on the cross we were in him being represented our sins being punished in him and So forgiven for the current passage that means that his perfect Sonship is Yours to move on please to verses 15 16 these are the last two really for this morning.

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. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God 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. You know verse 15 starts with this negative affirmation of the Spirit's work. It tells us what we did not receive from him.

We did not receive a spirit of slavery. Now think about this for a moment think where we come from to get to this point in Romans 8. Chapter 6 verse 6 says we know that our old self was crucified with him.

That's Jesus in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. Verse 18 then says having been set free from sin you have become slaves of righteousness.

Yes, slavery is sort of like debt. You're enslaved or indebted to one or the other to the flesh or to the Holy Spirit to worldly ways of sin. Or to the righteous ways of Christ. But Paul says here That you did not receive the Spirit the idea.

The way of living if you will of slavery. To fall back into fear. That's not what we received and Slavery to sin is a spirit of fear. It's fear of abandonment. Worldly ways are ever-changing sometimes as breathtaking as I was saying a moment ago what made you accepted and loved one day might change direction as quickly and easily as the winds and Suddenly you were loved and lauded are offensive and reviled.

Worldly ways are slavery and It is fearful because it's ever-changing. You can't keep up and you need to change your whole worldview every half a generation or so. There's fear of failure. Slavery is fear of failure.

Is it not? It's how how hard it is to measure up. There's a constant pressure to be accepted. It's real. It's very powerful. Peter acknowledges this in 1st Peter 1 for 4. He says with respect to this.

This being your abandonment of your old ways was we with respect to this. They are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you too many Christians live with Almost the same sorts of fears.

But they direct them towards God fear that God will reject me fear that I won't measure up. This is what Paul's saying we did not receive. We did not receive from God what you get from the world, which is fear of rejection.

Constant failure and as I was saying the things you must believe the things you must affirm change so quickly. And so if we're going to be accepted out there it is a fearful thing. It's really hard to keep up with.

Jesus Christ is same yesterday today and forever. He never changes. We read his word. Take it at its plainest meaning. It's a firm and sure and eternally secure word. We never fail you, but do you ever bring?

Your insecurity from the world to your relationship with God. I think we all do that at some level. This fear of abandonment this fear of not measuring up this fear that I didn't accomplish enough. This fear that I didn't pray long enough today and tomorrow.

I won't mortify enough sin, and I won't sing loud enough in church. And I won't go to enough prayer meetings and so God is going to be angry at me. And a bolt of lightning is going to consume me or at least rebuke me.

You ever feel? In your relationship with God that you just don't measure up that you're just not good enough. That you're just not cutting it. I want to give you some encouragement if you feel that way you don't measure up.

You never did measure up. You never will measure up. Let me encourage you with a couple more things. That spirit that idea is different than the one Paul says is of the Holy Spirit. We'll speak in a moment about what it is that he does give us, but for now let me tell you it is not fear.

He did not give you a spirit of fear and fear. Here in these verses means anything that detracts you from your confidence your full trust and hope in God. And what he has done for you in his son and communicated to you by his spirit.

Anything that detracts from that is a spirit of fear. It's not from God. It is not the spirit who gives you that and that is a characteristic of fear filled slavery. Not sonship with God. Not sonship with God.