This evening I want you to take a chance on me. I’ll need you to gimme gimme gimme your attention, because knowing me knowing you, this is something you need to hear today. In fact, it’s better than money, money, money, and if you get what this evening’s sermon is all about, then you’ll get on like a dancing queen.
This evening we’re thinking about Abba - but not the Swedish pop group. Instead, we’re thinking about our Abba, and being able to call God Abba, as Paul says in verse 15. ‘And by him we cry, Abba! Father!’
We’re in a short series, as we work our way through Romans 8, and think about living by the Spirit. A fortnight ago, we heard about the wonderful good news that ‘therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.’ We already know the verdict on the last day; we’re already confident that nothing can condemn us because we are in Christ. Now that is good, and great, and wonderful, but there is even more to the Christian life than just knowing that truth.
Tonight, Paul opens up a bit more of what that means for us, as we are brought into God’s family and receive the inheritance. So let’s dive in at verse 12, as we unpack the glorious riches of Christ.
Verse 12: ‘Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.’ Paul says that we have an obligation, that we owe something to someone. He doesn’t spell it out here, we’ll work it out in a second, but notice that he tells us who we don’t owe anything to.
‘Not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.’ I wonder if you’ve ever changed jobs. You’ve worked hard for your previous employer, but now you work for your new boss. And then your old employer comes round, asking would you do a wee something for them. Could you help out? You would be able to say, I don’t owe you anything. I’ve finished working for you, you don’t control me any more!
That’s what’s going on here. Paul has showed how we have been rescued from living according to the sinful nature, our natural flesh, living according to our own desires. We don’t owe it anything - our time for living by the flesh is finished. But you might still be wondering, well, who do we owe something to, what is our obligation?
Look at the contrast Paul sets out in verse 13: ‘For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.’
These are the only two ways we can live - either by the sinful nature (the path that leads to death), or by the Spirit. So it must be to the Spirit, to God, that we owe everything. We’ve been ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven - everything we have is because of God. So how do we pay our debts? How do we respond to God’s good news?
It’s by the Spirit, as we put to death the misdeeds of the body. Do you see how strong this language is here? It’s not just ‘don’t do those things you used to do’, it’s ‘put to death the misdeeds of the body.’ We’re not to cuddle them, or pet them - we’re to put them to the sword.The Puritan writer John Owen urged his readers to ‘be killing sin or sin will be killing you.’
At the minute we’re seeing the danger of a contagious virus, spreading and causing illness and death, fear and uncertainty, and bare shelves in the supermarkets. And behind the scenes, in labs around the world, scientists and medics are trying to find ways to stop the virus; and hygiene standards have been raised to try to kill the virus. We need to be fighting the threat of sin much as we’re fighting the threat of coronavirus.
But notice that it’s not something we can do by ourselves - it’s ‘by the Spirit’ - we need his power to lead us and change us, to kill off our sins. And it’s an ongoing process, not just a once-for-all event. Sin will spring up again, and needs to be killed again, over and over again.
When you look at the two ways to live, which do you think is the easy one? Living by what pleases you, or killing off your sin and living to please the Spirit? It would be far easier to do what you want. The struggle is to put to death the deeds of the body, because, deep down, we might still want to do those things. But there is encouragement here.
You see, if you’re struggling, if you’re fighting against your sin, then that’s a good sign. As verse 14 continues: ‘because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.’ If you’re struggling with sin, if you’re (by the Spirit) putting it to death, then you’re being led by the Spirit. And if you’re led by the Spirit of God, you are a son of God. (Or a daughter! The language of sonship is because at this time only the sons inherited from their father).
What an encouragement! Perhaps this week you have been discouraged by your weakness; by how easily you’ve slipped again. You know better, you try harder, and still you fall. The fact that you’re frustrated is a good sign! It shows that you’re led by the Spirit, and that you are a child of God.
And it comes through the Holy Spirit, verse 15: ‘For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’
The Holy Spirit doesn’t come to bring fear and slavery. Rather, he is the Spirit of sonship, or adoption. He brings us into God’s family, he makes us into a child of God, and teaches us how to call God our Father. Abba (not the Swedish pop group), Abba is the word for dada, daddy, dad, in Aramaic. It’s by the Spirit that we can call the God of the universe our dad. We who were on the outside are brought in by the sacrifice of Jesus, and the work of the Spirit confirms what has happened in our hearts.
‘The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now 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.’ (16-17)
The Spirit confirms that we really are God’s children, and he also confirms that we are God’s heirs. God’s inheritance is for us, for all who believe, for all who are his children, and the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
What a transformation in a few verses! From owing everything for our very lives in verse 12, to inheriting everything in verse 17. Everything the Father has is ours in Christ. The glory lies ahead, and in the meantime, as children of our Abba Father, we are called to live by the Spirit, and put to death the deeds of the body.
Perhaps as you hear of what the Christian life looks like, you think to yourself, that sounds great, but I’m not there. I just do what I please. I live according to the flesh. Turn around today! Don’t stand around on the outside any longer! Come in, come home, and know the God of the universe as your Abba, your dad.
But maybe you are a Christian. You’re finding things tough. Sin keeps popping up. You keep doing things you don’t want to do. You’re struggling. Be encouraged by the Spirit living in you, leading you to keep fighting as you put your sin to death. You don’t need to live in slavery and fear; you’re adopted as a son, a child of God.
God gives you what you need to live for him - the power of his Holy Spirit dwelling in you. Keep going! Keep fighting!
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 15th March 2020.
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