Romans 8:14-17
Trinity Sunday (First Sunday after Pentecost)
June 7, 2009
Romans
8:14-17 (New International Version)
14because
those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you
did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship.[a] And by him we cry, "Abba,[b] Father." 16The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now
if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,
if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his
glory. |
Polls of consumer confidence show that the outlook of many
people is shaken. We don’t need to dwell
on the reasons, for we are all experiencing them: growing unemployment, reduced hours or wages
for those who are still working, foreclosures, a huge drop in investment
values. God’s Word has great help for
these and all times. The words which
LIVE SECURELY UNDER THE TRIUNE GOD
II. With the privilege of prayer
III. Awaiting your inheritance
Calling us adopted children reminds us we were not
originally in God’s family. Sin
separated us from the Lord. Scripture
describes our natural condition as being spiritually blind, dead, and enemies
of God. We were hostile toward Him and
His desires for us.
The text speaks of being a slave to fear. Those in the Roman church who had come from
the background of idol religions brought sacrifices, but with the sense that
they were never enough. Would their gods
be satisfied? The feeling was,
“No.” Also those who knew the true God
of the Old Testament had lots of rules to follow regulating their worship and
many ways of violating them. Touch
something that was dead and you were ceremonially unclean and had to follow
cleansing rituals. Certain health
conditions produced the same problem.
There were dietary laws and all kinds of different sacrifices to
bring. Even removing all the ceremonial
laws of the Old Testament doesn’t solve the problem. If our focus is on God’s law and our deeds,
we will never have security or the hope of being God’s children.
But we have been brought in by the action of the
Lord. While the term “sonship” calls
attention to our legal standing in contrast with that of slaves, the word
carries the imagery of adoption. A child
doesn’t go out and find parents. Couples
take the action to adopt a child, sometimes involving great time and
expense. God took the initiative to make
us His own. He brought us into His
family by the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace. Baptism is a very visible way. The child does nothing—the work is the Lord’s
to plant faith in that heart. The Gospel
in the Word does the same. It produces
faith in Jesus as our Savior. The Bible
reminds us, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
The Apostle here pointed out, “The Spirit himself
testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” That testimony comes in His Word. He affirms our position repeatedly. Another statement that comes to mind is, “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!” Have no doubts.
The Spirit continues working in us after bringing us to
faith. We are led by the Spirit. Paul was talking about our Christian life in
response to God’s goodness. We strive to
obey His commands, we share the message of Jesus with others, and we live to
His glory.
In God’s family we are secure. We know we are loved. Jesus gave His life to save us. His love continues with us each and every
day. We know our identity. You don’t have to wrestle with the question,
“Who am I?” You are God’s son or
daughter, you have your needs provided, your body and soul protected, and your
life guided by your heavenly Father.
Live securely under the Triune God.
II.
Building on our position in God’s family the Apostle
pointed to a benefit we enjoy. We have
the privilege of prayer. Our Lord wants
us to talk to Him. He invites us to
communicate and promises an answer that is good. Jesus taught such assurance in a comparison
with earthly parents. “Which of you, if
his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how
to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him!”
He knows what is best for us. He
will give us what we ask for or something better, even when that answer is “no”
or “not now.”
“By him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” “Abba” is the Aramaic word for father. That cousin language to Hebrew is what the
Jewish people spoke at the time of Jesus.
So Paul is telling us we can come to God in the same way our Lord Jesus
did. It is a warm title, like
“Dad”. We have no hesitance in talking
to God, for we know He is always available to listen. We come boldly and confidently. Because He is interested in everything on our
mind we can bring any concern when we come in prayer.
So let’s use the privilege God gives us.
The word “cry” can also relate to a cry of delight, like
calling out “Father!” when Dad comes home.
That situation fits also. We
express our relationship with thankfulness for His gifts. Not all our prayers have to be asking for
things.
We also pray for others.
We regularly offer prayers of intercession in our services, seeking
God’s comfort when a family has lost a loved one, asking His care in time of
illness, rejoicing in gifts like new babies, special birthdays or
anniversaries. In regard to praying for
others, I’d like to highlight a special group within our congregation, our
Prayer Partners. That’s a new name for
our prayer chain. Several of our members
storm God’s throne with prayers for special circumstances when requested. The situations remain confidential. We invite additional members, men and women,
to take part in this activity. You can
sign up after the service in the lobby.
Remember, the Bible declares, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful
and effective.” Use your privilege of
prayer and grow in security.
III.
A child in a family has an assumed future blessing at the
death of his or her parents. Our
heavenly Father will not die, but we will one day do so. Then you are awaiting your inheritance. We are heirs of God and Paul also terms us
“co-heirs with Christ”. We look forward
to the same inheritance as Jesus, which fits since He calls Himself our
brother. After completing His earthly
mission to redeem the world, Jesus returned to heaven. He is in glory. We look forward to the same. On the Last Day our soul, which goes to
heaven at the moment we take our last breath, will rejoin our body. God’s Word speaks of the resurrection body of
believers as glorious. It will not be
subject to the effects of sin. That
means no more sickness, no more pain. We
will no longer be bound by earthly limitations.
Yet we will have a real body—not some ghostly existence. Remember how Jesus verified His presence to
His disciples. He even ate with them.
We will also have glorious surroundings. The Bible’s attempts to describe our future
home utilize names for beautiful gems with a street of gold and a gate
consisting of a giant pearl. Other comparisons
are beyond our understanding, like a sea of glass as Bible writers try to
convey scenes greater than anything we have ever witnessed or imagined.
We will even see God in His glory. We will share in His holiness so are able to
do so. We look forward to the absolute
security of our home with Him.
Meanwhile we share in Christ’s sufferings. Jesus pointed out that a servant is not above
his master. We can expect similar
treatment to what He received. He was
mistreated and persecuted. We may be
called on to suffer for Jesus. Not all
troubles in life are of that nature, certainly not the ones caused by our
wrongdoing. We may have to endure some
ridicule, inconveniences or setbacks because of our Christian confession. We will be glad to do so. The instances may increase as our society
grows less tolerant of Christian viewpoints.
Our suffering is not paying for sin like His did. It simply expresses a connection with the
Savior. Believers in previous eras of
history have made great sacrifices for their faith. Some still face great challenges and
abuse. Christian churches have been
burned; converts are treated as outcasts, and people have been physically harmed
or tortured if they were even suspected of being followers of Jesus. If we are called to endure such treatment it
is actually a privilege to be regarded as one of His. We recognize that such conditions are
temporary. We may have troubles now, but
future glory also awaits us because we are connected to Jesus in faith. He also promises to support and sustain us
while we endure difficult conditions.
You are secure. God will take
care of you.
The Trinity is not some dusty old theory that scholars in
ivory towers study and write volumes on.
It relates to everyday life. It
shows we have a great team working for us.
The Father sent the Son, who won for us the status of holy before God by
His perfect life of obedience to God’s Law and His death as the sacrifice for
our sins. The Holy Spirit produced the
bond of faith in the Savior and assures us of our position in His family. We pray to the Father with intercession from
the Son and the Spirit. We are
surrounded by His love and power in all circumstances. We are secure. We don’t know the details of the journey but
we know the big picture and our final destination of heavenly glory. We have greater certainty than any earthly
condition can provide. Never mind the
polls about the difficulty of life today.
Live securely under the Triune God.