How You Can Know You Really Belong to God – Romans 8:13-17

Have you ever had the quiet fear that you don’t really belong to God, that you’re still on the outside looking in? We open Romans 8:13–17 and get painfully practical about what assurance of salvation is and isn’t. The answer isn’t chasing a feeling or pretending you never struggle. Paul points to a deeper “family mark”: a life led by the Holy Spirit, where sin is fought seriously and grace is trusted daily.

We talk about sanctification in real terms: God’s part and our part. “By the Spirit” we put sin to death, not with self-powered willpower, but with surrender, prayer, Scripture, and a steady focus on Jesus. We also explore what it means to be led by the Spirit, not as a vague concept, but as personal guidance through hard choices, confusion, and pain, learning to follow rather than negotiate.

Then the passage turns breathtakingly personal: adoption. Under Roman adoption, the past is legally wiped out and full rights are granted to the adopted child. That gives fresh weight to the words “Abba, Father” and explains why fear no longer gets the final word. We also unpack the Spirit’s witness when doubt creeps in and growth feels slow, and why our identity doesn’t rise and fall with our performance.

Finally, we face the promise and the cost of being heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Glory is real, but so is suffering, and we’re invited to carry the cross with Jesus as we wait for what’s coming. If you’re ready to live from sonship instead of striving, press play, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the hope of Romans 8.

Transcript

Do You Really Belong To God

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Have you ever wondered whether you really belong to God? On the very morning Jesus rose from the dead, he referred to his disciples as my brethren for the very first time. Until then he had called them servants and friends. In Romans 8 13 to 17, the apostle Paul explains what this new relationship with Jesus actually means. First, those who are led by the Spirit are God's children. Second, receiving the Spirit leads to our adoption and sonship with Jesus. Third, as ears of God and joint ears with Christ, we share in Jesus' suffering so that we may share in his glory.

Killing Sin By The Spirit

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Stare with me as we discover what it really means to be sons and daughters of God and why that changes everything, both now and for eternity. When I was born, my great grandmother exulted that I had the same birthmark as my father and that it ran in the family. Recently I discovered I had a brother and he also carries a birthmark. That birthmark indicates that we belong to the same earthly family. For Christians, it is being led by the Spirit that indicates that we belong to God's family. The assurance that we believers are part of God's family and are being led by the Spirit is evidenced by our Christian lifestyle. In Romans 8 13, the Apostle Paul states that if we live according to the flesh, we will die. However, when we through the power of the Holy Spirit kill the misdeeds of the body, we live. If a professing Christian lives in sin and shows no concern for forgiveness, worship, repentance, or fellowship with other believers, he is not a Christian. That person will die as he lived in his sins. Here in Romans 8 13, the death Paul describes does not refer to physical death but to spiritual death. Paul is not saying believers will never sin or fall back into patterns of sin. As long as believers are in an earthly body, there will be the need to keep putting sins to death. Only in heaven will our need for practical sanctification end. In Romans 8 13, there is God's part, if by the Spirit, and there is our part you put to death. It is not within the power of man to overcome in his own strength. However, it is within our power to submit to the Holy Spirit for his leading and guidance. Puritan John Owen states that we must be killing sin or it will be killing us. We do so by fixing our hearts on Jesus, meditating on God's word, and praying incessantly. The Apostle Paul practiced this discipline. In 1 Corinthians 9 27, he said he struck a blow to his body, so he would not be disqualified after preaching to others. Paul wasn't afraid of losing salvation. He feared being set on the shelf. He did not wish to miss out on internal rewards, like the crown of righteousness and the crown of rejoicing for soul winners. Paul affirms in Romans 8 13 that once we kill sin, we will live. It is not enough for us to have the Spirit. Paul is teaching that it is mandatory that the Spirit has us. Only then can the Spirit share with us the abundant, victorious life that is possible in Christ. In John 10 10, Jesus declares that he came that we might have life and might have it abundantly. Believers have passed from death and into life, and are living the life of eternity within the confines of time. In Psalms 23, 1 to 2, David declared, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. No sheep eats while lying down. When the Lord is our shepherd, makes us lie down in green pastures, that means that we have eaten so much we just can't take any more. Furthermore, when we are beside the still waters, that indicates that we have quenched our thirst with the contentment that only comes from Jesus.

Learning To Follow The Spirit’s Lead

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Have we allowed the spirit to have its way in our lives? In Romans 8 14, Paul unequivocally declares that when we are led by the Spirit, that indicates that we are God's children. To be led by the Spirit is the same as walking by Him. However, we do not walk along with Him as an equal, but follow His leading. To be led by the Spirit is a very personal term. The Holy Spirit takes our hand and leads us through the difficulties of life. When we are perplexed as God's children, we have the right to say, Holy Spirit, please show me what to do. He will do it. When asked how to find the will of God, Augustine said it's real simple. Love the Lord and do whatever you want. Psalms 37 says, if we love the Lord, the Spirit will change the desires of our hearts to conform to His will. If we place a bar of steel in the magnetic meridian with the north end downward and strike it with a wooden mallet, the bar will be magnetized. No outward difference is perceptible, yet the particles have acquired new properties. Similarly, the spirit imparts a new nature to believers. At the close of World War II, a picture appeared in a magazine showing a tremendously huge army tank bearing down on the tiny figure of a soldier. The next picture showed that same soldier standing with a bazooka, a rocket launcher in his hands. The tank was now shrunken in size, with the soldier at least equal in size, if not a little larger. Similarly, without the spirit, we are helpless in the presence of sin. However, when armed with the bazooka of the Spirit, we can kill sin. May we learn to lean on the Spirit's guidance in every decision we make. We have become God's children as we are led by the Spirit.

Adoption And Calling God Father

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In Romans 8 15, Paul speaks of adoption. Under Roman law, a person passed from one father's authority patria potestas to another. Through a legal ceremony involving copper sales and a magistrate, the old family ties were broken, all former debts cancelled, and the adopted son or daughter received full rights as a legitimate heir. The past was legally wiped out. They became a new person, a new family. Emperor Nero's father died when he was about three years old. His mother, Agrippina, married her uncle, the Emperor Claudius. That marriage was a catalyst for Nero's rise to power. Agrippina persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero and make him the heir to the throne in front of Claudius' actual sons. In Romans 8 15, Paul explains that believers are moved from a state of slavery directly into the legal position of full sons and daughters. The family three of Adam had nothing but sinners, and the destiny of each of them was eternal separation from God. However, we as believers in Christ have a brand new family tree, and it begins at the cross with Christ died. There was a time when God brought his chosen people out of Egypt and put them into bondage under the law. That spirit of bondage brought great fear to their hearts. However, believers have received the life of Christ and live in freedom from such fear. Entering into salvation brings the rights and privileges of free sonship. As sons and daughters of God, the Spirit enables us to call God our Father. No slave or servant was ever permitted to address the mass of the family as Abba Father, my father. It is a privilege that belongs only to the child. Believers are spoken of as children of God and also as sons of God. In our relationship, we are children, born into the family of God. In our position and future glory, we are sons and daughters. When we trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were immediately adopted. The meaning of the Greek word used here for adoption is son placing, which is the taking of a minor and making him or her the rightful heir. This is not so much a word of relationship as of position. In regeneration, a Christian receives the nature of a child of God. In adoption, he receives the position of a son of God. As God's adopted children, like Jesus, we too are the apple of God's eyes. We now have the Father we always needed and wanted. The Apostle Paul declares that whether Jew or Gentile, we cry, Abba Father. The Apostle employs in the original letter two different languages, the Jewish Aramic Abba and the Gentile Greek cry. Paul may have been indicating that both the Christian Jew and the believing Gentile were now children of one family. As such, they are both privileged to approach God as Father. Christ or peace has broken down the middle wall of petition that was between us. Now at the same mercy seat, the Christian Jew and the believing Gentile, both one in Christ Jesus, meet. These two words both point to a deep personal experience of God's fatherly love. Abba comes from the first word that a little child ever says, similar to English Dada. As sons and daughters of God, our spirit can cry out, Abba Father, I need help. Daddy, I'm going through a difficult time. Only a person who is really a child of God and has received the adoption can truly say, Abba Father. After Jesus' resurrection, Jesus said to Mary Magdalene in John 20, 17, I ascend unto my father and to your father, to my God and to your God. We are no longer servants and friends, but sons and daughters. Let this fill our hearts with confidence the next time we pray.

Assurance When Doubt Creeps In

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In Romans 8 16, Paul emphatically declares that the Spirit testifies with our Spirit that we are God's children. The Roman adoption ceremony was carried out in the presence of seven witnesses. If the adoption were ever to be brought into question, one or more of the seven witnesses would immediately step forward and attest that the adoption was genuine. It frequently occurs that believers begin to doubt their salvation, as growth in holiness may appear to be progressing slowly. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are part of God's family. The Holy Spirit does not base his testimony on our progress or the lack thereof in our Christian walk. Furthermore, the assurance of our salvation does not depend entirely upon the external testimony of the Holy Spirit. There is also an inward conviction which belongs to us. The Spirit witnesses with our Spirit by leading us to call upon God as Father and to look away from ourselves to Jesus. The Spirit witnesses with our spirit by comforting us, stirring us to prayer, reproving our sins, and leading us to the works of love. Mildred Cable, who served as a missionary in China in the early 1900s, showed God's love by adopting a child. The little girl, Guagua, was a deaf mute and had only known abuse from those around her. Oftentimes she had welts from being beaten. During the winter, she only had cotton rags to wear, which were no protection from the cold. Mildred made a new set of warm padded clothes for the little girl. These were promptly pawned by the girls' caretakers for money to buy opium. Mildred came to the conclusion that the only way she could protect the child would be by adopting her. And Mildred went to the Mandarin, the city official. She was told she would have to buy the little girl. After several days of negotiating, Guagua was purchased. On Christmas Eve, the Mandarin delivered the little girl to the mission compound, along with a large official paper which bore the impressive red wax seal of the Mandarin. The missionaries changed the little girl's name from Guagua to Aileen, which means love born. That night, Aileen slept on a warm can for the first time and awoke to a new life on Christmas morning 1928. Aileen was adopted into a new family and experienced the love of God. As God's children, are we touching others with the love that God has shed abroad in our hearts? In Paul's day, the Jews reserved the inheritance for their children. In accordance with Jewish law, the inheritance of the sons was unequal and the daughters were excluded, except where there were no male heirs. However, according to Roman

Heirs With Christ Through Suffering

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law, all the children, sons and daughters, inherited alike. As a result, the Roman law provides a more truthful illustration of the privileges of Christians. Paul states in Romans 8 17 that we believers are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. In those days a Roman father, if he had male children, never referred to them as his sons until they were of age. When they became of age, which was about fourteen in the Roman system, the father took these sons down to the public forum. There they were publicly adopted by their own father and thereafter regarded as his heirs. The sons were then able to participate in their father's business and had a share in his inheritance. Similarly, as believers, there are conditions that have to be met to qualify as an heir. In prior verses, Paul has conclusively shown that believers are children of God because they are led by the Spirit. As children of God, we know the Father, we are in the family of God. However, until we begin to live in the fullness of the Spirit of God, we are like minor children who have not yet entered into our inheritance. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus declared that he did nothing of himself, everything was done through the Father. In John 20, 21, Jesus declared to his disciples and all believers today that as the Father has sent me, even so sent I you. In the same way that the Father was present in Jesus during his time here on earth. So Jesus is available to be present in the everyday life of every believer. The famed English poet Edward Lear was asked to give Queen Victoria drawing lessons. After one of the lessons, the Queen showed Lear several of the family heirlooms that were on display in the palace. Lear was so taken with the magnificence of the items that he cried out, Oh, where did you get all these beautiful things? Queen Victoria replied, I inherited them, Mr. Lear. Likewise, believers have inherited phenomenal indwelling power as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Let's live today in the strength of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. God appointed his Son to be heir of all things. Every adopted child of God receives by divine grace the full inheritance that Christ receives by divine right. Paul states that as joint heirs with Christ, believers share in the sufferings of Jesus, so that they may also share in his glory. As joint heirs with Christ, we do not split the inheritance in pieces. We will take the cross as well as the crown, the reproach as well as the honor. We will suffer, but we will not suffer alone, but with Jesus, the lover of our souls, the one who will stick closer than a brother. Suffering is the lot of all mankind, but suffering with him is the birthmark of a genuine child of God. A true believer will suffer, and that includes mockery, ridicule, physical persecution, or even martyrdom. When Paul states that we will share in Jesus' glory, he means that believers will be exalted to the same glory to which Christ has been raised. John described this blessed hope of all believers, writing in 1 John 3:2, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. While Mildred Cable was serving as a missionary in Such China in 1925, the Chinese Christians in that area started encountering persecution. Mildred wrote a long letter home about it. Twenty-one Christian men were put in prison. They were incarcerated in a rat-infested hole. And as a result of this and the beatings, one man died. Meanwhile, many of the village Christians were hung up by their thumbs in the temple and beaten. They were told that only the signing of a ticket of recantation could save them and their homes of destruction. No Chinese Christian recanted. As a result of these suffering men, fifty-two men had recently asked to be baptized and were welcome into the growing Christian community. Are we willing to suffer with Christ so that we may share in his glory?

Invitation Prayer And Next Steps

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We started by asking if we have ever wondered whether we really belong to God. As we analyze Romans 8 13 to 17, we discover the true nature of the believer's relationship with Jesus. First, those who are led by the Spirit are God's children. Second, receiving the Spirit leads to our adoption and sonship with Jesus. Third, as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus, we share in Jesus' suffering so that we may share in his glory. If we belong to Christ, we never have to wonder whether we face life alone. The Spirit lives in the world. Within us. The Father has adopted us. Jesus calls us his brother or sister. Our inheritance is secure. Whatever tomorrow brings, we belong to God's family now and forever. Before you go, if this message spoke to you, like this podcast and subscribe so you don't miss what God is doing here at Catch on Fire Podcasts. If you're ready for real change, take a moment right now to pray with me. Jesus, I give you my life. Lead me, forgive me, and make me new. If you pray that, welcome to the family. Follow along, stay connected, and let's walk this walk together. Growing scripture, discipleship, and Christian leadership through the online course found at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen dot io. Discover the covenant story and learn to see the Bible as one unified story. Go deeper with until Christ is formed in you and grow as a disciple of Jesus. Explore leadership is discipleship and learn why true Christian leadership begins with following Jesus. Start studying, start learning, start growing. Join us at Biblical Discipleship Academy.uscreen dot io.

Declarations Psalm 23 And Blessing

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Please join me as we confess words of life over all of our lives. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are still holding on to God's unchanging hand. We are still in God's holy plan. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living holy lives as God requires. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, giving clothes to those in need, ministering to the sick and visiting those in prison, and we are doing so to the least of those among us, as when we do so we are ministering to Jesus. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we have received healing, as by his stripes we are healed. From the crown of our head to the soles of our feet, all of our bodily organs are working correctly. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that God is ordering our steps, that all weapons that are formed against us have been utterly and completely destroyed, and every tongue that is rising against us in judgment is condemned. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that all generational curses are cancelled. Anything that runs in our ancestral bloodline that is not of God has no power over us, our children and our grandchildren, and is eliminated forever right now. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that angels are watching over and keeping our family, our children, our grandchildren, our loved ones safe. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that every negative word that has been and is being spoken over our lives and that of our family, children, grandchildren, and loved ones is cancelled and sent back to the pit from whence it came. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are the head and not the tail. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are not and will never be ashamed. Our enemies have not and never will triumph over us. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that anything that is not of God that has been dispatched to hinder our blessings, our progress, and our well-being is immediately destroyed. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are financially in line with God's word, and as such we are lenders and not borrowers. As a result, all of our debts have been paid and are forgiven. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that the enemy of our souls has no authority over our finances and our funds, and that we are good stewards of the money that God has placed in our keeping. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus in the area of business and our carriers, that just as Isaac reaped a hundredfold, the blessings of Abraham are falling on us, and we are reaping a hundredfold from whatever we put our hands to. We declare and decree in the name of Jesus that we are living under an open heaven in every area of our lives. Blessings are falling on us, our family and our loved ones. These blessings are being manifested in our lives, in the spiritual and in the physical. Let's repeat the 23rd Psalm together. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restored my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.