Romans 8:12-17 "Led by the Spirit, Loved by the Father"

1:10And so I wonder for you, what's the answer to that question? What is your vision of the good life? What is the abundant life for you? I think for many people, it is a life without law and a life without pain. The good life is a life where I am in charge, where I don't have to answer to anyone else. I can live as I please. Nobody's telling me what to do. It's also a life without pain, a life without suffering, a life where things are easy and comfortable and convenient.

1:52Paul teaches, though, in Romans 8 that the abundant life isn't a life without law, and it's not a life without pain. Paradoxically, what Paul teaches and what the whole Bible teaches is that life is found on the other side of death. To get to the other side, we've got to follow God's leadership, and specifically, the leadership of the Holy Spirit. So this morning in Romans 8, we're going to see two truths from these verses. The first is, you are led by the Spirit because you are loved by the Father.

2:36And the second is that in love, the Spirit leads you to life through death. You are led by the Spirit because you are loved by the Father, and in love, the Spirit leads you to life through death. Now, before we get going in our passage, I want to give you a couple of reminders. If you back up to Romans chapter 8. Verse 9. Take a look there. We covered this last week. Paul says this. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

3:21So the first reminder is that believers in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not given just to pastors or missionaries or super Christians or people that are really, really mature. The Holy Spirit is given to every believer in Jesus Christ the moment that you believe. Friends, you have the Holy Spirit. And here's the second reminder. Back up to verses 5 and 6 of chapter 8. Paul says, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

4:15The second reminder is that believers in Jesus Christ set their minds on the things of the Spirit. And so last week we talked about questions like, what is your mind set? What is your mind set? Set on. And a real easy test for this is you can look at your calendar and your credit card statement. Your calendar shows you where you spend your time and you think about the stuff that you spend your time on. Your credit card statement shows you where you spend your money and you think about where your money is spent.

4:52It's like what America's mascot, Snoop Dogg, says. I've got my mind on my money and my money on my mind. But instead of taking his word for it, let's see what Jesus says. Matthew chapter 6. Jesus says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, friends, those are the reminders that I want to start with. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit. You are filled with the Spirit. And secondly, that believers set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Now, that sounds hard to do. If you've been walking with Christ for any length of time, you know that setting your mind on the things of the Spirit is actually hard to do. So how do we do that? Let's jump into our text. Let's get down to verse 14 to begin. Look at verse 14 of Romans chapter 8.

5:48For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. So if it seems to you hard to set your mind on the things of the Spirit, And to walk by the Spirit, the good news is we have help. We are led by the Holy Spirit. Look at what Jesus said in John 16. Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. So, when Jesus promised never to leave us or forsake us, when He said that He would be with us to the end of the age, this is what He meant: He meant that He would send the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of us, to live in us, and to guide us into all truth. So, Jesus is always with you through the presence of the Holy Spirit inside of you. All believers are led by the Spirit. And, friends, we are led by the Spirit because we are beloved children of God. Look at verse 14 again.

6:58Paul says, 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 have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. There's a couple of amazing truths in these verses. The first is this: you are a beloved child of God. You are a beloved child of God. But you may look at this and say, this is strange. Why does it say that we are all sons of God?

7:43I mean, is this what the people say in the last 10 years about Christianity actually true? Is it a patriarchal religion just for men? Is that right? Why does he say that you are all sons of God when there are men and women, boys and girls in this room? Look on the screen at Galatians chapter 3. Look at how Paul explains this. He says, For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

8:22Now, speaking of stuff people believe today, a lot of people look at that passage and they say, see, Paul is eliminating gender. He says there's no male or female. It doesn't matter if you're male or female. Those are just cultural constructs. They don't mean anything. And if you're a Christian, there's no gender anymore. But obviously, from the context, that's not at all what Paul is saying. He's not eliminating genders. He is saying, as you may have heard this expression before, the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

8:53We all need Jesus. We all need salvation. Jew and Greek, slave and free. Male and female, the ground is level. We all need Jesus, and Jesus is the Savior of all. That's what he's saying there. But now look at what he writes in the next chapter in Galatians chapter 4. Paul says, But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Listen to this, so you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

9:47Now, that is an incredible truth. Through faith, every believer, man, woman, boy, and girl, every believer receives the rights of the firstborn son. Isn't that incredible? That is what Paul is communicating. Because here's the deal: if Paul had said in verse 14, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God, then people in the ancient world would have said, well, yeah, that makes sense. You've got a firstborn son, and then you've got other kids, and you've got daughters. But if you're familiar with a monarchical system, you know how that works. The firstborn son gets everything. Yeah, you might be a Prince or a princess, but like that's a second-class existence. That's why Harry just gave it all up. He's like, what does it matter?

10:39And so if Paul says children of God, that implies a hierarchy. And what if he said, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God? People in the ancient world would have said, oh, yeah, that makes sense. So like, there's boys who have special privileges and girls who are looked down upon. You know, they're part of the family, but they're kind of second class. Because that's what the ancient world thought. And the remarkable thing about Christianity, friends, no matter what people say, no matter what you see on social media, no matter what books are written, is that Christianity is the only religion that teaches that male and female are equal before God.

11:22And here in Christianity, here in Romans chapter 8, what we see is that every believer, man and woman, boy and girl, has the rights of the firstborn son. You are a beloved child of God. That's the first truth. The second amazing truth from this passage is that you are an adopted child of God. Look at verse 15. Look at that second part there. You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father.

11:59The reality. In this broken world is that there are unwanted pregnancies. There are unwanted pregnancies. But there are no unwanted adoptions. Every adopted child was chosen. And you are chosen by God. Look on the screen at Ephesians 1. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. Friends, there are no unwanted adoptions.

13:12Before the foundation of the world, before your mountain of sins, with the full knowledge of every bad thing that you would ever do, God chose you in Him. He predestined you for adoption. You don't have to be reformed or. Calvinist, or whatever other weird words you want to use, you just have to read the Bible and it says, you were predestined for adoption. That is a fact. You were chosen before the foundation of the world to be God's beloved child, to relate to Him as Father.

13:50But, friends, so many Christians live like slaves. Now, when you think about the relationship that a slave has to a master, they obey their master, that's good. Right? They respect their master, they may fear their master, but slaves don't love their masters in most cases. There is a barrier that exists between master and slaves. But we are not slaves. We have received the spirit of adoption as sons, and that means that we cry out to God as Abba, Father. What a different relationship that is. Slaves obey and they fear, but in most cases, they don't love. And at any rate, they don't have the security that a child has, that a firstborn son has. And that is the relationship that you and I have with God the Father through faith. Christian, you are no longer a slave. You are a beloved child of God. You are seen as a firstborn son, an adopted and chosen firstborn son of God.

15:01But how can we be sure of that? How can we have that kind of confidence? Look at verse 16. Paul says, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit 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. Paul says we can have confidence because the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, beloved sons of God. There is an internal confidence that we have as Christians.

15:53I mean, parents know their children, don't they? Moms and dads, you can look across the room, a crowded space, and you can pick out your child. This is what Jesus says. He says in John 10 that he is the good shepherd and he knows his sheep. In Matthew 7, he says that at the end of the age, there are going to be religious people that stand in front of him and he's going to say, depart from me. I never knew you.

16:24Parents know their children. And children know their parents, too. A couple of weeks ago, I was standing out in the lobby after worship with one of my friends. We were having a conversation, and his son ambles over, but he's kind of like watching some action somewhere else in the lobby, and he's kind of walking like this, and he gets over to me and he puts his arms around my leg. And so I just stand there looking down at him, smiling, and he looks up and he's like, that ain't it.

16:56And he moves away. Why? Because he knows his father. And I'm not him. Kids know their parents. The word says that the Spirit Himself bears witness with us. He bears that witness when we bear the fruit of the Spirit. We look like Jesus. We do the things that Jesus did. We love the things that Jesus loves. So the Spirit bears witness that we are children of God. And because of that, we inherit. That's what kids do. They inherit from their parents. Look at this phrase, verse 17: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

17:42The first thing you see there is we have an eternal reward coming because we are children of God. Look on the screen at 1 Peter. Peter says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again. To a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Doesn't that sound great? All of the stuff in this world that you can inherit is going to rot, it's going to rust, it's going to get lost or stolen or it's going to wear out. But not the eternal reward that we have in heaven. We are heirs with Christ of all things.

18:33And here's the even more beautiful reality. Look at that first phrase in that section there, verse 17. We are heirs of God. Heirs of God. Here's what the psalmist says in Psalm 16:5. This is from the New Living Translation. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You know, when you get married, you tell your spouse, for richer or for poorer. You're saying to your spouse, no matter what happens, even if we lose everything, I am in this marriage because I love you. I am committed to you. And in the same way, we are going to have this amazing inheritance that we can barely comprehend. And yet, the greatest treasure is God Himself. Lord, you are my inheritance. Even if we got nothing else, You are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. So, friends, you are a chosen, beloved child of God. You're going to have an eternal reward, and you're going to inherit God Himself. You are an heir of God. You're led by the Spirit because you're loved by the Father. And so, you need to come to Him as the chosen and beloved firstborn Son that you are. Think about your mentality today. What is it? Do you have the mentality of a slave or of the firstborn Son?

20:06Remember how this whole chapter started? There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus for you, for all believers. No condemnation. You are chosen and adopted. Slaves have no rights, but you have the rights of the firstborn Son. Slaves have no reward, but you are going to inherit an eternal reward and God Himself. You are led by the Spirit because you are loved by the Father. And because you are loved by the Father, He wants you to have an abundant life, both now and forever.

20:46But here's the thing: in God's kingdom, life comes out of death. And what we're going to see in the rest of the passage is that life comes out of death of sin and death. Through suffering. So let's pick up here in verse 12. Paul says, So then, 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.

21:29Think about what God desires for you. How do you answer that question? What does God want from me? Does he want mere obedience to rules? Is that what he's after? No, the Lord wants abundant life for you. I'm not sure if you know this, but Jesus literally says, this is why I came. Look on the screen at John 10. Jesus says, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Again, think about the practical reality about how you think about Jesus. It's like you think of Jesus, and a lot of us think like, Jesus said, I came because I'm so frustrated with these people. They keep messing up over and over again, and I'm here because I'm annoyed.

22:22And in reality, he says, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. In God's kingdom, life comes out of death. That's what we see in the scripture. Look at John 12. Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. This is the consistent teaching of scripture. Life comes out of death. We died with Christ through faith, and so we will live eternally. And we're going to see those two other forms in this passage, the death of sin and death through suffering. So first, in God's kingdom, life comes out of the death of sin.

23:11Here's what the world tells you. This is the world's lie. An abundant life is a life without law. An abundant life is a life without law. It's freedom to sin, freedom to get drunk, freedom to gossip, freedom to sleep with anyone you want. It's pleasure at all costs. But look at what God's truth says, 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.

23:56How will we live? By grace. The sinful flesh? No, that's how we lived before we came to Christ. I love how Paul says it in Titus 3. Look at this. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. That sound familiar? That sounds just like my life before Christ. Well, how did that work out for us? Did that do us any favors?

24:35Definitely not. That's why Paul says in verse 12, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. We don't owe the flesh anything. The flesh has done nothing for us. The wages of sin is death. Sin had killed us. It was killing us, and it would have killed us. So instead, we are commanded to kill it. Verse 13. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. I want you to notice three truths in that verse. First, notice the command: put to death.

25:21A lot of us are treating our sin like they're kind of, you know, petty criminals. They need to get locked up for a little while. They need to sit. Time out. They need to spend six months in jail. Paul says sin only gets the death penalty. The command is put it to death. I want you to notice the subject. If you put to death. This is not passive. We're not waiting for it to happen to us or for us. The subject is you, if you put it to death. And I want you to notice the means.

26:04If by the Spirit you put to death. We cannot kill sin on our own. Our flesh is too weak. Temptation is too strong. Satan is too strong. We cannot do it if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. So remember, we are led by the Spirit because we are loved by the Father. And in love, God is leading us. The Spirit is leading us to life through death. God's desire for us is abundant life.

26:40How do we get that? The world says an abundant life comes without law. An abundant life is life without law. But God's truth is life comes through the death of sin. That is what God tells us. You want an abundant life. We can be honest about that. That's what we all want. Everyone wants an abundant life. Everyone is looking for the exact same thing. The good news is that Jesus came to give it to you. The Spirit empowers you to have it. Abundant life is not a sinful life. It's a life free from sin. But friends, you've got to be convinced that this is true. Many of us are not convinced that the path to abundant life is putting sin to death, and so we don't do it.

27:36So think for a minute about why you do anything. Why you do anything. Why you date the person that you date or you married the person you married. Why did you eat what you ate? Why do you go where you go? Why do you do anything? You are convinced that you have more to gain than to lose by doing that thing. Isn't that right? Even bad stuff, cheaters cheat, gamblers gamble, liars lie because they think I've got more to gain than to lose. That's just a fact. That's why we do things. So if it's true that our sin grieves the Holy Spirit and hurts others, and yes, even hurts us, and we become convinced of that, we will change. Because the world says that anything is permissible if no one gets hurt. But the reality is, Sin hurts everyone, and it turns us into slaves. Look at John 8.

28:38Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. A life where you have to drink, you have to use drugs, you have to overeat, you have to look at porn, you have to gossip, you have to lie, you have to have the latest thing. That is not freedom. That is slavery. But you have to be convinced that sinning makes you a slave, that it doesn't lead to an abundant life, or you won't kill it.

29:15So, friends, in God's kingdom, life comes out of the death of sin. And what we see here at the end of this passage is that abundant life comes out of another death, death through suffering. Look at verse 16 again. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit 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.

30:02In God's kingdom, life comes out of death, death through suffering. So the world's lie is an abundant life is a life without pain. An abundant life is a life without pain. But God's truth here is that we are heirs of God and heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Suffering comes before glory in the Christian life. Was this not true of Jesus himself? Look at Luke 24. And Jesus said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

30:53You see, in the Christian life, suffering precedes glory. That was true for Jesus, and it's true for us. The problem is that none of us like to suffer. So we read the book of Job, and all we can think about as we read Job is this guy lost everything. He lost all of his possessions. He lost all of his children. He lost his health. Our worst fears. Losing your stuff, your family, and your health. Nothing could be worse, we think.

31:31But here is the truth. Job was better off after he suffered. Job was better off after he suffered. Now, how can I say that? Job himself says it. Look at Job 42. This is the end of the book. He's talking to God. He says, I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you. Therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. Job says, I had heard of you.

32:12But now I see you. I knew about you, God, before I suffered. I knew about you. I knew factual information, but now I know you. There is a world of difference between knowing about God and knowing God. What made the difference for Job? Suffering. Job endured suffering and life came out of death through suffering. Friends, overwhelmingly, the Bible's view of suffering is positive. Not because it's fun, it's easy, it's painless, far from it. But as we know from experience, there are things that you learn through suffering, through trial, through difficulty, that you You can learn no other way.

33:06But we are allergic to suffering, aren't we? For sure, the most common questions I get as a pastor are, why does God allow suffering? Or, why did God allow me to suffer like this? Those are completely understandable questions. This world is hard. Suffering stinks. It naturally generates those questions, and so the Bible is filled with men and women asking that very question. Why does God allow suffering? Or why did God allow me to suffer? You see, we need to look at our suffering through the lens of the Bible, but our problem is that we look at the Bible through the lens of our suffering.

33:58You think about the challenge of living in the modern world. Until about 75 years ago, like roughly 1950, major suffering was just a part of life. Many babies died before they made it to childhood or to 18. Many women died in childbirth. There were widowers. Everywhere. Back in the day, you didn't volunteer for the army. You were voluntold. After the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, widows everywhere. Everybody was sick all the time. Stuff that we run to Walgreens and fix in a moment killed people.

35:03These days, I've been in pastoral ministry for 20 years. I have done 60 weddings and one funeral. These days we do not suffer much, and so we don't expect to suffer. So when we do suffer, we ask questions like, what's going on? What does this mean? Is God good? But we're looking at the Bible through our suffering instead of our suffering through the Bible. We implicitly agree with the world that an abundant life is a life without pain. But friends, what we see right here is that we are heirs with God and heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. Suffering comes before glory. The Bible doesn't teach that suffering is fun or easy. Or that we should not mourn over it. Every suffering that you experience is sad.

36:06It is the result of living in a world that is broken and marred by sin. But the Bible teaches that suffering is a good thing in the end because it accomplishes in us what can be accomplished no other way. Coaches have told you that you learn more from defeat than you do from victory. And in the same way, we learn more from suffering than from comfort. Friends, what is your view of suffering? In God's kingdom, life comes out of death, especially death through suffering.

36:47If you're a believer, I want you to remember this morning these great truths: that you are led by the Spirit because you are loved by the Father. And because He loves you, He wants you to have an abundant life. But life comes out of death, the death of sin and death through suffering. So, two applications: if you are a Christian here this morning. First, God is leading you to put that sin to death. Which sin? I don't know, but you do.

37:31And so does God. He wants you, as his loved child, to have an abundant life. But friends, that sin, you know the one I'm talking about, it's killing you. It's breaking your fellowship with the Father. It's breaking your fellowship with other believers. It's ruining your life. He doesn't want that for you. It's time to put that sin to death. You need help with that? Come and talk to one of the pastors. Talk to somebody in your life group this week. Put that sin to death. Second, God is leading you to embrace death through suffering.

38:18He's not asking you to love it. He's not asking you to pray for it or hope for it. He's asking you to embrace it as a good gift from him. Suffering is a good gift from a good God who cares more about your holiness than your happiness. He cares more about your character than your comfort. He cares more about your future than your feelings. Believers, you are led by the Spirit because you are loved by the Father. And in love, the Spirit is leading you to life through death. Amen. Embrace that.

39:03If you are not yet a Christian, I want you to understand this morning that God wants what you want. He wants you to have an abundant life. But my friend, you are looking for it in all the wrong places. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. Your sin has killed you. It is killing you, and it's going to kill you. But you already know that. You thought you could find abundant life apart from God by living for pleasure. Everything that the world says is awesome. But if that's true, why are you still unfulfilled?

39:51Why do you walk around with guilt and shame that you try to push down, but it keeps rising up? Why do you have to tell yourself that the things that you're doing are fine, and yet you can never really convince yourself of that? You are here this morning because God loves you. He loves you. Jesus said that he came to bring you an abundant life. There is no freedom in sin, but Jesus said, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

40:24So, friends, Jesus will set you free. All you need to do. Is receive him. Receive him. He's not asking you to change your life this very second. He's going to change your life. He's not asking you to clean yourself up. You can't do it. He's simply asking you to receive him through faith in his life, death, and resurrection on your behalf for your sins forever. He wants to welcome you into the family of God so that you can cry out to God, Abba, Father.

41:02No longer relating to him as a slave who has to work and work and work in hopes of an approval that is never coming. He wants you to have the confidence and assurance that is given to the beloved firstborn son. And Jesus is him. Jesus can be yours because he offered himself for you. He said, I came that you would have life and have it abundantly. So receive it today. You know there's not life anywhere else.

41:38Let's pray. Father, we all want abundant life. There's no point in pretending otherwise. Amazingly, your son Jesus says that's exactly what he came to give. And so, God, I pray this morning for every Christian who is here that we would embrace the abundant life that Jesus already secured for us. That we would put our sin to death where we need to do that. That we would embrace suffering where we need to do that. Knowing that you are a good father who has given us only good gifts, especially the gift of your son.

43:03And, God, I pray for those who are not yet believers in Jesus. I have been there. We have all been there. I pray that you would meet them this morning and that today would be the day that they stop their search for an abundant life that can never be found in career, in pleasure, in possessions. In all the stuff that the world says is so great and will finally fill their heart, God, I pray that they would receive Jesus by faith this morning. Would you reveal yourself to them? Would you grant them repentance and faith?

43:48Thank you, God, for your word. Thank you that we can call you Father. Thank you that we have so much to look forward to. We are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ through faith. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.