Romans 8 Part 2 - Sons and Daughters of God - Josh Wojtas

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Now, last week Luke started with the first sermon in a series on the book of Romans 8. Um, now this is a very pivotal book. It was a letter written to the church in Rome, and it essentially shows what living in the Spirit looks like. So last week Luke spoke on this topic of no condemnation. It was an amazing message. If you didn't get a chance to listen to it, you can actually jump onto Spotify if you Google future church and you can actually listen to that message. So I'd highly recommend going and giving that a listen. This week we're exploring what it means to embrace our new identity as sons and daughters of God. So we're going to be exploring what this actually means and how it should shape our lives. So we're going to get into Romans 8, verses 14 to 17. But before we do that, I guess the little kind of preface is that this is a very densely packed book. Paul is very intentional with the words that he chose. And so sometimes because we're not in the day and age that it was written, we can kind of lose a little bit of the true meaning as to what he's saying by some of the um the messages here. So what we'll do is we'll read the passage and then we'll kind of unpack it, we'll pull out some keywords and we'll go from there. Sound good? Excellent, cool. So let's dive in. So Romans 8, 14 to 17, it says, For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you didn't 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's uh 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. That's a lot. All right. What is what does that mean? Well, the first thing that we can see in the first verse is that sons of God are led by the Spirit. Now, this isn't what makes you a child, but it's more a sign of sonship. The question then becomes what does it mean to be led by the Spirit? Now, this is a massive topic, and spoiler alert, this is what Luke is going to be talking about next week. But basically, what Paul is communicating here is saying that sons of God, they don't live lives guided by their own will, their own desires and leading. They learn to listen to the spirit, to the voice of God. They obey his nudges and they let him shape their choices. The other question that I have here is why does he use the word sons? Why not something like children or daughters or something that seems a little bit more inclusive? And the reason for that is because in Roman cultures, the son played a very important role. It was the son who received the father's inheritance. If you were a daughter, you didn't receive the inheritance from your father, you would get married and you would benefit from the inheritance of your husband. And so the son was the one who, because he would family the he would continue the family name, they would become the heirs. They would be the ones to receive the father's wealth, the father's status, the property to ensure that the family name and the family legacy was continued. Basically, the key point here is that all who enter the family of God, whether you're male or female, you all are heirs. We're all entitled to receiving an inheritance, not just the males. And this would have been revolutionary in the day and age where Paul wrote this letter. So the next question is how then do we enter his family? Well, we enter God's family through adoption. Verse 15 says, You have received the spirit of adoption. So let's put ourselves in Paul's day for a moment here. All right. Roman adoption, it was less about compassion and it was more about choosing an heir. It was done by a wealthy, influential father who didn't have a son. This word adoption is the Greek word hoya thesia, or at least that's my working pronunciation of the word. And essentially what it means is to place as son. So a father would have a wealthy, they'd have a property, they'd have an estate, and they had no one to take over that because they didn't have a son. That might be because they just never had a son born to them, or their son died, or maybe they had a son who, for some reason or another, wasn't capable of taking over and taking on the family name. He would then choose someone to be his legal heir through the process of adoption. He would adopt someone that he deems as being worthy. So imagine we are the father. We don't have anyone to take on our inheritance and to carry on our name. And we're trying to choose someone to do that. You'd want to make sure that you choose well, right? You're choosing someone who's got key traits, key abilities. You want someone that stands out that when you look at them, you think, yes, that's the person that I want to carry on my name. Now, the stunning truth here is that God chooses us, and it's not because we were worthy, but because of his love and his grace. Ephesians 1, verse 5 says, He predestined us for adoption. So before the foundations of the earth were ever set, he chose you to be adopted into his family. So imagine being chosen by a powerful father, right? How would that feel? It'd feel pretty great, right? Because you've gone from being someone with not a whole lot to now being someone with a whole lot. Now multiply that feeling by infinity, and that's how we should feel when we fully realize what we are receiving as heirs of God our Father. So we become adopted, we enter into God's family. What changes? Well, similar to adoption in Paul's day, four powerful changes would take place when you became a child of your newly adopted father. Number one, our old identity is erased. Back in Paul's day, when you adopted someone, that person's debts, their obligation, any ties to their family were completely cancelled. They were literally seen as a new person with a new identity. Paul is saying that this is what happens when we enter into God's family. Our sin, our guilt, our shame, our old nature, they're all completely wiped clean. The Bible says that we are made new in Christ. We're forgiven and we're free with nothing left to condemn us. The second thing that would happen is we would receive a new identity as children of God. I really love this quote that Mark uh John Mark Comer wrote. It kind of paints the picture lovely. He says, When you follow Jesus, you take on his name, Christian. You become, uh you represent him with every word you speak, every action you take, every relationship you invest in. This reminds me of my first job. My first job was at Maccas, all right? When I was working at Maccas, there was this one manager who he loved his job. He was passionate about Maccas. And I was having a chat with me one day about what it meant to be wearing the uniform. He went into detail explaining that when you put on this uniform, you're representing McDonald's. The way that you act, the who you know, how you speak, how you carry yourself, it all reflects the company. Right? When we're carrying the name, people would associate their whole experience of the brand with the way that you treated them. Now, while McDonald's is nothing in comparison to our status of children of God, it kind of paints that picture, or at least it does in my mind, in the very same way. When we step into God's family, we take on his name, child of God. It's so much more than a title. We represent him in how we live, how we love, how we speak. The world is watching. What they see through us reflects back to him. The third thing that would happen with adoption is it was permanent. So Roman adoption was literally irreversible. Once a child was adopted, they could never be disowned by their father. This is what happens to us when we enter Jesus' family. The fourth thing is that we are under the control or the authority of the father. So in Roman culture, the father had complete authority over his family. He would take full responsibility for his son's growth, his son's action. He would be training them in the ways of what it meant to take on the family name. Just like as a father, I've got two boys, Leo and Micah, and it's my job, my role, to share with them, to teach them, to train them what it means to be a voic. If we think of it, think of, I like to think of it like a story, right? So if I were to take Leo to the park, okay, the first thing that Leo's gonna go to is the slide. It's his favorite thing on the on the on the park, right? If he goes to the slide and he wants to go down, but there's someone at the top not letting him go down the slide, and he gets frustrated and he slaps the kid in the face, all right? This this hasn't happened, by the way. This is let's just play with me, all right? Um he slaps the kid in the face. When that kid goes running to his parents, who do you think his parents are gonna go looking for? Like they might find Leo because he was the one who committed the offense, but they're gonna come running to me. Why? Well, because Leo carries my name. I'm responsible for him, how he acts response, uh sorry, represents my family name. When we enter into God's family, this is what happens to us. We are placed under the loving authority and guidance of our heavenly father. We receive a completely new identity. And what's beautiful is that as children of God, we now have intimate access to him. Verse 15 says, where it concludes by saying, by whom we cry, Abba Father. Now, when I said this word abba, how many of you thought of the Swedish 1970s pop band?

unknown 11:30

All right.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

This is not what Paul is referring to here. When Paul used this word abba, it's an Aramaic word that a child would use in reference to his father. It's the equivalent of Leo saying daddy, or if he was Italian, he'd say papa. All right. As a father, when Leo cries out daddy, he gets my attention. It reminds me of if Leo were to fall over, knock his head, and he cries out daddy, he gets my full attention. And he cries that out. When he does that, it communicates a couple of things. It communicates he needs me. I'm his safe place. Abba can also communicate love or trust. This is the word that Jesus himself used in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the kind of intimate access and relationship that we have with God as his children. He's not a distant ruler, but he's a loving father who welcomes us close, he comforts us, and he claims us as his own. Exodus 34, 6 goes on to share a little bit more about God's nature, saying that he is compassionate. Now, this word compassionate, it's actually the root word of womb, a female womb. Now, essentially the idea here is that this word compassion, this is the feeling that a mother has towards her infant when she hears her infants cry. So, as I said, I've got two boys, okay, they're in the very next room. And if one of them is crying, all right, crying, whining, sometimes literally, if Micah moves in bed, Claudia is up and she's there. She's by his side, she's comforting him, she's caring to his needs. Usually this takes place while I'm still passed out. I didn't even hear it, but she's there, she's comforting him. That's that's what we get when we cry, Abba Father. God's there, he's comforting us, he's protecting us, and he's guiding us. He cares for us so, so deeply. And he's always wanted this type of relationship with us. But the truth is the choice to fully accept this and to live out this new identity, it's ours because God has given us free will. We can choose whether or not we want to embrace this identity or cling to the old. Paul reminds us in verse 13 that accepting this identity means putting to death our old self. And this can be hard, especially in a world that tells us the opposite. Today's identity feels like something that we have to create. It's based on who I want to be, on what others think of me. It's the title or role that I think will define me. Now, the problem with this is that, well, before I get into the problem, this can lead to things like identifying as a high achiever at work. That's the identity that we take on. You can identify as a creative. You might identify as a runner. Fun fact some friends and I recently signed up for a half marathon. And in preparation for this, I've been running more than I ever have in my life. Running, there's a lot to it. I've been learning about pre-nutrition, post-nutrition, all these sorts of things. And so because I'm now running, I can identify and take on this identity of a runner. Someone might look at me running and they might think, yeah, that guy's a runner. But the problem is that this identity is very fragile. When we give ourselves an identity, it's fragile. Because if I start talking to people who, let's say like Eric, right, someone who runs marathons for breakfast, all right, it can make me doubt this identity that I've given myself. I start to question, huh, maybe if that's what a runner is, then am I really a runner? Right? The problem is that when we come up with an identity, it's built on performance, comparison, and feelings. But our identity as children of Christ, it's solid because it's founded on his unchanging nature. It's more about who he says that we are, less about what we think we should be. We don't have to look inside of ourselves to find the worth. We just have to look up to who he defines us. Now, all throughout scripture, there's so many promises and um of what this looks like for us, what our new identity is. Ephesians 1.4 says we are chosen. Colossians 1.14, you are forgiven. Ephesians 1 3, you are blessed. Matthew 28, 20, you are never alone. Romans 5.8, you are deeply loved. I like what Tim Keller says when he says the Christian identity is not achieved, it's received. We have to receive it.

unknown 16:27

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SPEAKER_00 16:28

T. Wright talks about this analogy of living as an angled mirror, as which, when we're children of God, we are an angled mirror. He says, the living God made humans to reflect his glory into the world and the praises of creation back to him. Humans are like angled mirrors set at 45 degrees in the center of the world, so that God's love, wisdom, justice, and beauty can be reflected into creation, and so that the praises of all creation can be reflected back to God. Basically, what this means is that we're not just passive recipients of love, but we're active reflections of it. This is our new identity, it's our vocation. We, if we're an angled mirror, we reflect God into the world, his love, his justice, his mercy, and we reflect creation's worship back to God. That's our identity. This is the identity that we can stand firm on because it's secure and it's forever ours. To help us with this, God has given us a helper, the Spirit. John 14, 26 says, But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring your remembrance, bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. So the Spirit confirms our identity. Romans 8 16 says, the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit. Now, this term, it's a legal term, it means to co-witness. So if you're in a courtroom and two witnesses arrive, uh arise and they both say the same testimony, one voice could be questioned, but two voices strengthens the case. And as children of God, that's what happens in our hearts. The spirit testifies alongside our spirit, standing with us, declaring, This is who you are. Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel like I'm not good enough? All right, the spirit speaks louder in that moment. When guilt and shame whisper, you're not enough, the spirit declares, you are his. When old temptations call, this is still who you are. The spirit reminds us, no, you're a child of God. When fear creeps in, you're alone. The spirit gently whispers, you have a loving father. You're not in this alone. The Holy Spirit is your daily advocate, reminding you of your true identity. Now, as children, we are also heirs. Romans 8 17 says, 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. What this means is everything that Jesus is entitled to as the Son of God, we now get to share as heirs. As heirs, we share eternal life, the Spirit's presence, access to God, this intimate access to God, hope of resurrection, and a future glory. But if we share in this glory, we must also share in his suffering. Notice that Paul says, provided we suffer with him. It's expected. For us today, suffering, it might look like this choosing to follow Christ, even when it costs us socially, financially, relationally. It's saying no to sin and the desires of the flesh, and yes to obedience, a daily dying to self, facing trials, grief, and hardship, but doing so anchored in Christ, knowing that suffering, it's not the end of the story. The very next verse, verse 18, says, For I consider the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. Bearing his name means we will face resistance, but it also means that we get to walk in his power and confidence of what is to come. So being a son and a daughter of God, it's so much more than just a title. It should change everything. The Spirit leading us, confirming and testifying for us, receiving a new unshakable identity, having intimate access to the Father. We are co-heirs with Christ. Everything that he deserves, we receive, and we represent his name on earth. So let me let me ask you this. Are you living in this identity as a son or a daughter of Christ? Or are you still trying to prove yourself? Have you let other voices, the world, your own doubts, or your past shape how you see yourself instead of what the Father says about you? Maybe today's the moment to stop striving and to start receiving again. Will you let the Spirit remind you of this today? You are a beloved child of God. Let's pray. Lord, I just want to thank you. Thank you that you chose us. There's nothing we could do to be worthy of this inheritance, this status that you've given us in your You've chosen us, you've chosen us, you've predestined us to be your sons and your daughters. Holy Spirit, would you speak into our hearts? Would you silence the voice of shame? Lord, the voice of striving within our hearts. Would you testify to us and with us that we are children of God? Would you show us what that means, Lord? Speak against any doubt that anyone might be feeling. Lord, we receive today that we are chosen, we are forgiven. Loved, we're no longer condemned, secure children of God. Lord, would you help us live this week, not to chase identity, but to risk but resting in the one that you've already given us. In your name, amen.