The Christian's Identity and Our Status as Sons of God

Let's turn together now to hear the Word of God in the New Testament, in Paul's letter to Romans and in chapter number 8.

! Romans chapter 8, reading at the beginning of the chapter, down to verse number 17.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,

who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh.

For those who live according to the Spirit, set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.

Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

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.

And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

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 be 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 have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and of 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.

Amen.

Amen.

This is God's word.

We trust that he will bless to us, reading from it.

We're now going to praise God from the Scottish Psalter from Psalm number 30.

And at the beginning of the psalm, Psalm number 30, it's on page 239.

Lord, I will thee extol, for thou hast lifted me on high,

and o'er me thou to rejoice, may it's not mine enemy.

From verse 1 to the verse mark 5, to God's praise.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Rejoice, it's not mine enemy.

O thou who art the Lord my God, I am distressed to thee.

With thy cries lifted up my voice, and thou hast healed me.

O Lord, my soul, thou hast brought up, and rescued from the grave.

That I to play should not go down, a life thou didst me save.

O ye that are his holy ones, sing praise unto the Lord.

And give unto him times when ye this holiness reward.

For but a moment lost his wrath, life in his favor lies.

We may fall and I endure, a Lord of joy arise.

Let's turn together now to Paul's letter to Romans and chapter number 8.

And we're going to read at verse number 14.

Romans 8 and verse 14.

And so on down to verse number 17.

And I guess whatever we are looking at in life, if we have the opportunity to look from the outside inwards,

we can see something of the issues that are involved.

And at the beginning of our service this evening, we can perhaps pick up two lenses

that will help us to understand what this church looks like.

And that will help us, I hope, to understand what we look like ourselves.

And when we look at this church in Rome in the first place,

we see that in the masses of the population of the city,

there was a mix of cultures,

and most of them were made up of Greeks and of Jews.

And in the culture of the church in Rome,

there were two issues.

And the Gentiles in the church in Rome,

they found fault with the traditional Jewish Christians

because of their observance of the Old Testament law

and maintained that they were out of touch with reality.

On the other hand,

the Jewish Christians looked at the Gentile Christians

and saw them as modern-day lawless Christians

because they did not keep the Old Testament laws as the Jews did.

And when Paul is writing this letter,

he is writing it to,

in a way, to level out the whole of the experience

of all of the different cultures in Rome

so that they would understand the error of their thinking

and so that they would respect each other in the Lord.

The second lens that helps us to see what this church was like

is that there were two particular groups of people

that Paul is trying to address.

And the first of these is

there were those who were what we call self-righteous.

They saw themselves as good people.

They were upright people.

They were law-abiding citizens.

They were self-righteous.

But the problem with the self-righteous people in Rome,

as it is with the self-righteous people in Stornoway,

the problem is that they don't appreciate

the passion and work of Christ.

And Paul, in his writing,

he is addressing these good people

who saw themselves as good

and saw themselves as good enough

and he wants them to understand the gospel.

The other group that we focus upon

is a group that were Christians

but they didn't understand that they were

and they lacked the assurance of their faith.

And as surely as it is important for Paul

to address those who think they're so good,

they're okay,

Paul wants to address those who are Christians

and yet don't realize it.

He wants to give them the assurance of their faith.

And it's important for ourselves

to have that kind of lens

when we come to think of ourselves.

Where are we as we use these two lenses?

Are we good enough

and so good that we don't need the Lord Jesus?

Are we Christians

but perhaps we don't realize that we are

and we struggle with anxiety and concern

and we never come to a place

where we are sure.

and we know that

in the world in which we live

there is such an emphasis

on personal identity.

Who we are and who we think we are.

And there's a fluidity in that same

personal identity

so that we can move from being identified

as one thing to being identified as another.

There's a crisis of identity in society

and there is a crisis of identity

in the church

in the sense that

where the gospel is preached

there is a transition in our identity.

We are either those sinners

who are lost with our grace and salvation

or we are those sinners

who are saved and who are in Christ.

And the nature of the gospel is

that God takes us from this place

to that place.

From being lost sinners

to being sinners saved by grace.

And I want us to bear these things in mind

and as we look at these verses

to consider our Christian identity

and our status as

the sons, the children of God.

First of all, I want us to notice

that there is confusion

facing us in these verses.

And the confusion is with regard

to the characteristic

that makes us the children of God.

There is only one way this evening

that we are Christians.

There is only one way this evening

that we are the children of God.

And through these verses

Paul lays his finger on that.

It's those who have

the Spirit of God.

And it's important for us

to always remember

that in our thinking

that we think the Holy Spirit

is so much lesser

than God the Father

and the Lord Jesus.

When we read about the Spirit of God

anywhere in the Bible

there's an equality

at the level at which

the Holy Spirit

is held in honour

and respected

and he has the same level

of honour and respect

as God does

and as the Son of God does.

And what marks us out this evening

and in any other time in life

as the children of God

is what we see referred to

for example

in verse number 9

where he speaks about

the Spirit of God

dwelling in you.

And remarkably

for you and I this evening

if your life is going to be changed

it's God coming home to you.

It's a wonderful thought

that the eternal God

in all of his power

and in all of his glory

that for us to become

the children of God

he is coming to dwell

in our hearts.

Our hearts are to be

his home.

God is in that sense

coming home to us

to dwell with us

forever.

He's not coming

as a visitor

who's going to speak to us

through his word

this evening

in the church

in Kenner Street.

He is

the Holy Spirit of God

who will be with us

forever.

And we should

never be so confused

in our thinking

that we think

we can be Christians

and we can be

the children of God

without this

God coming home

to you.

And in all of your

thinking this evening

as we enter into

looking at these words

we remind ourselves

of that important fact

if you're a child of God

it is because

of what the Spirit

of God has done

and not because

of what you have done.

And when we think

of that characteristic

that makes us

the children of God

let us notice also

that God does not

make a forced entry

into our hearts

to make us

the children of God.

In this moment

at which we become

the children of God

he comes to dwell

with us

and as we read

in version number 15

you have received

the Spirit.

And the whole picture

that we have

in receiving everything

is welcoming.

It's going to my door

and seeing who's

at the door

and welcoming

this person

with open arms

because we have

longed to see them.

It's that welcome

of faith

that self-prompted

action

that movement

of our hearts

that receives

and welcomes

the Spirit of God.

And however much

we understand

what it means

to be the children

of God

if we are

children of God

tonight

we will know

something of that

welcome

something of God

coming home to us

as if he comes

to knock on the door

of our hearts

which by grace

he opens himself

and we

welcome

the Spirit

of God

into our hearts.

No one ever

had salvation

pushed down

their throats

by God.

It is

the point

at which

two parties

who were estranged

from each other

suddenly come

together

embrace each other

and God

comes to dwell

in the

person's

heart.

And Paul

Paul says

in version

number 9

of this

chapter

that

the person

who does

not have

the Spirit

of Christ

does not

belong

to Christ.

And as we

look further

into the confusion

it is

important

for you

and for me

to recognize

that

critical fact.

Could you

be confused

into thinking

that you are

the child

of God

and this

has not

happened

to you.

It is

the work

of God

that opens

the hearts

of the sinner

like you

and like me

so that

he himself

comes into

our hearts

and brings

about

that change.

And perhaps

one of the

signs of that

already taking

place

is what

Jesus

promises

in John

John 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16

when the Holy

Spirit comes

to dwell

in our

hearts

he will

do many

things

but one

of the

things

he will

do

is

he will

take

what

belongs

to Jesus

and he

will show

it to you.

And here

is the

clear indication

that God

has changed

my heart

and God

has changed

your heart

if suddenly

you see

Jesus Christ

in a way

that you

have never

seen before

and in a way

that makes

you leave

everything else

behind

and realize

that Jesus

Christ

is my

savior

I am

saved by

grace

alone

on the

basis

of what

Christ

alone

has done

that's

the defining

characteristic

and it is

with regard

to that

characteristic

that we

find

confusion

in this

passage

and we

see that

confusion

in verse

number

15

for you

did not

receive

the spirit

of slavery

to fall

back

into

fear

the spirit

is not

the one

who produces

slavery

and whether

they're Jews

or Gentiles

whoever they

are

the history

is such

that

they were

slaves

ask a Jew

what slavery

means

and the Jew

will tell you

the children

of Israel

were slaves

in the land

of Egypt

they were

pushed into

serving the

Egyptians

they knew

what slavery

was

they knew

what a hard

taskmaster

was

they knew

what it was

to fear

the taskmaster

and the

confusion

here

in Rome

is such

that

those who

have the

spirit of

God

in their

hearts

the spirit

that we

see at the

beginning

of this

chapter

bringing

about

freedom

are actually

falling back

again

returning

to

the

sense

of

slavery

they were

rescued

from the

fear

of the

taskmaster

who expected

them to

give perfect

obedience

to his

most holy

law

they had

that fear

of God

it was a

slavish fear

and God

has rescued

them from

that

but now

they're

reverting

to that

default

position

where they

see

themselves

having

to

keep

the

law

of

God

perfectly

and

because

they

see

that

they're

not

able

to

do

that

instead

of

enjoying

their

freedom

they're

going

about

with

anxiety

with

no

assurance

and

doubtless

doubting

their

very

conversion

to

Christ

and

their

being

the

children

of

God

confusion

that

arises

between

the

freedom

that

God

gives

by

a

spirit

in

Christ

and

the

inclination

that we

have to

always

look at

fulfilling

God's

law

to be

accepted

by

him

and

I'm

fairly

confident

that in

this

gathering

tonight

there

are

those

who

have

faith

there

are

those

who

are

the

children

of

God

and

yet

spend

their

lives

feeling

themselves

as a

complete

failure

because

they don't

understand

what

God

has

done

and

because

of what

God

has

done

they

are

striving

earnestly

!

To

keep

the

law

of

God

perfectly

trying

to

achieve

what

cannot

be

achieved

and

failing

to

understand

that

they

have

been

set

free

from

the

law

as

their

taskmaster

or as

the

means

to

which

they

are

to

be

saved

that

Jesus

Christ

is

what

Paul

calls

later

on

this

letter

!

to

God

is

the

end

!

I

need

no

longer

to

look

at

achieving

or

looking

at

my

own

performance

in

order

to

know

that

I'm

the

child

of

God

I

simply

need

to

understand

what

God

has

done

and

I

think

it's

it's

a

question

that

we

can

all

ask

ourselves

how

much

will

our

lives

be

governed

by

our

own

performance

instead

of

by

the

promises

of

God

and

the

power

of

the

Spirit

of

God

in

our

lives

let's

ask

ourselves

that

question

are

we

confused

are

we

dependent

on

our

own

performance

or

do

we

have

the

freedom

that

we

depend

on

the

performance

of the

Lord

Jesus

who

lived

the

perfect

life

who

died

the

death

of

the

cross

who

was

raised

again

and

to

his

glory

do

we

trust

in

his

finished

work

the

confusion

secondly

there is

a

correction

and we

see the

correction

in that

same

verse

you did

not

receive

the

spirit

of

slavery

to

fall

back

into

fear

but

you

have

received

the

spirit

of

adoption

as

sons

what

does

this

God

coming

home

to

me

mean

what

does

the

spirit

of

God

in my

heart

mean

for me

and what

does it

mean

for you

it's

not

the

spirit

that

produces

the

sense

of being

a

slave

it

is

the

spirit

that

produces

the

sense

of being

a

son

of

God

and

Paul

is

using

the

sense

of

being

placed

as a

son

in a

family

which

was

understood

in the

days

in which

Paul

was

writing

where

there

would

be

a

family

where

there

was

no

obvious

heir

where

there

was

no

male

son

to

whom

the

family

lineage

would

belong

and

to

have

that

responsibility

as

the

head

of

the

family

and

in

that

kind

of

situation

it

was

the

legal

thing

to

do

the

obvious

thing

to

do

was

to

adopt

a

son

to

take

a

son

who

belonged

to

another

family

and

to

place

it

in

that

person's

own

family

to

give

that

new

son

the

same

rights

the

same

privileges

the

same

obligations

the

same

responsibilities

to

be

in

that

family

as

a

real

living

active

son

with

all

of

the

rights

and

that

son

that

was

now

adopted

into

that

family

would

conform

to

all

of

the

family

life

and

all

that

was

involved

in

the

family

home

he

is

taking

what

they

understood

from

what

happened

around

them

but

he

is

also

going

back

to

the

Old

Testament

sense

of

God

saying

in

Exodus

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

Israel

my

covenant

people

those

whom

I have

come

to

rescue

from

Egypt

they

are

my

firstborn

son

when

I read

sonship

in the

Bible

with

regard

to

the

people

of

God

it

reminds

me

of

God's

covenant

commitment

to

save

a

people

for

himself

and

down

through

the

Old

Testament

into

the

new

the

people

that

he

saves

they

become

his

sons

we

saw

in

Psalm

2

the

way

in

which

there's

that

conversation

between

the

father

and

the

son

you

are

my

son

today

I've

begotten

you

there is

that

sense

of

sonship

that

belongs

to

Jesus

Christ

as

God's

son

and

now

there

is

the

sense

of

sonship

that

belongs

to

the

children

of

God

and

Paul

wants

them

to

understand

that

when

God

came

into

their

lives

and

God

changed

their

hearts

that

this

is

what

the

spirit

of

God

produces

he

does

nothing

different

whoever

they are

whether

they were

self

righteous

before

whether

there

were

Gentiles

before

whether

Jews

before

it

does

not

matter

God

does

not

have

a

different

way

of

dealing

with

different

people

and

different

cultures

there

is

one

way

it's

the

new

birth

and

it's

the

spirit

of

God

coming

to

dwell

in

our

hearts

it

is

the

spirit

that

produces

sonship

and that

of course

brings us

to

our

identity

if

God

has

come

home

to

your

heart

if

you

are

welcomed

to

the

Lord

Jesus

into

your

life

who

tonight

do

you

think

you

are

do

you

understand

who

you

are

do

you

understand

that

there

has

been

the

transition

where

God

has

taken

you

from

being

a

sinner

under

his

judgment

and

lost

to

being

a

sinner

saved

by

grace

who

is

now

the

son

of

God

the

child

of

God

who

do

you

think

you

are

who

do

you

believe

you

are

our

identity

is

defined

by

external

things

and in

this

case

defined

by

who

God

is

and

what

God

has

done

and

what

he

has

done

in

our

hearts

and

our

lives

and

we

need

to

ask

ourselves

that

simple

question

who

do

we

think

we

are

God

knows

who

we

are

God

doesn't

want

us

tonight

to

be

lost

in

the

sense

of

anxiety

and

of

fearing

and

the

absence

of

freedom

God

wants

you

and

me

as

the

children

of

God

to

know

to

understand

his

love

the

prophecy

of

Jeremiah

there's

a

great

passage

in

chapter

31

where

God

is

speaking

about

Ephraim

as

his

own

people

and

he's

raising

the

question

himself

is

Ephraim

not

my

dear

son

in

whom

I

delight

as

if

would

anyone

dare

suggest

that

even

although

the

children

of

God

are

in

exile

would

anyone

dare

to

suggest

that

they

are

not

the

children

of

God

I

still

remember

him

says

God

my

heart

yearns

for

him

that's

the

love

that's

the

care

that's

the

correction

that

you

and I

need

tonight

to

let

the

light

of

the

sonship

that

the

spirit

of

God

produces

in

our

hearts

to

let

that

shine

in

our

hearts

to

bring

about

the

sense

of

freedom

that

is

so

often

so

far

from

us

and

that

very

spirit

that

produces

sonship

it is

evidenced

also by

the way

in which

that

spirit

produces

a family

conversation

there's

something

wrong

in any

family

there's

a

breakdown

in

any

family

if

people

aren't

talking

to

each

other

there's

a

serious

breakdown

if

children

aren't

talking

to

their

parents

the

family

unit

works

and

operates

on the

basis

that

relationships

are

working

as

they

should

and

here

in the

sense

of

the

family

of

God

and

the

sonship

and

the

children

of

God

we

have

received

the

spirit

of

adoption

of

sons

by

whom

we

cry

Abba

Father

the

newborn

child

cries

the

person

who

is

a

newborn

child

of

God

cries

to

God

cry

in the

Old

Testament

is

a

cry

that's

expressed

by the

person

who's

crying

in a

case

of

emergency

crying

out to

God

in the

day

of

trouble

it's

a

come and

rescue

me

cry

it's

a

come and

help

me

cry

it's

a

cry

that

sometimes

may not

have

words

but

there's

that

sense

of

groaning

and

of

reaching

out

to

God

for

the

help

that

only

God

can

give

and

in a

sense

our

relationship

with

God

always

leads

us

and

brings

us

to

places

where

we

are

in

an

emergency

and

the

emergency

means

that

we

need

always

to

trust

in

God

and

to

depend

upon

him

I

may

go

out

from

the

service

this

evening

and

something

may

happen

something

may

trigger

something

in my

mind

in my

life

something

that I

did not

expect

it is

an

emergency

what does

the child

of God

do

with the

emergency

the child

of God

cries

Abba

Father

that

double

cry

that

speaks

of

warmth

of

intimacy

of

love

and

of

care

my

father

and

it

is

a

cry

that

remarkably

we

share

with

the

Lord

Jesus

himself

in

the

garden

of

Gethsemane

in

the

emergency

in

the

crisis

of

going

to

the

cross

and

the

darkness

of

that

moment

Abba

Father

all

things

are

possible

with

you

there's

a

closeness

there's

a sense

of a

bond

there's

a sense

of an

unbreakable

relationship

the

situation

is