Elliott Baptist Church - July 29, 2001 Sermon

Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons Sunday, July 29, 2001

Children and Heirs of God
Romans 8:14-17

INTRODUCTION: Before us we have:

A great proclamation,
About a great Savior, Jesus,
Who has made a great provision, salvation,
Who has given us a great position- children of God seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Who has guaranteed a great possession to every believer, eternal life.

In Romans 8:14-17, we have:

Romans 8:14- guidance-4ed by the Spirit of God,
Romans 8:15, 17- adoption into God's family
Romans 8:16 - blessed assurance of our eternal relationship with God.

VERSE 14, GUIDANCE BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD
1. The children of God are led by the Spirit of God.
  1. Being led by the Spirit of God does not make us or keep us children of God.
  2. Being led by the Spirit proves that we are God's children.
2. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are described in Romans 8 as:
  1. Being in Christ Jesus (verse 1).
  2. Walking according to the Spirit (verse 4).
  3. Being in dwelt by the Spirit (verse 9, 11).
3. The leadership of the Spirit enables God's children to grow in grace and by doing so they believer is able more and more to have victory over sin and to walk with the Lord.
4. The Holy Spirit constantly influences the believer.
  1. Even when the believer is struggling with evil, the Holy Spirit is working, caring, desiring to make us more like Jesus.
  2. James 4:5, The Holy Spirit who dwells in the believer enviously yearns over him.
    1. The Holy Spirit has but one desire, one longing- the complete surrender and devotion of every believer to Christ.
    2. Galatians 5:17.
5. According to the Greek tense of Romans 8:14, believers "are being led by the Spirit."
  1. The Holy Spirit is our guide (John 16:13-14).
  2. He leads us by helping and encouraging us (John 14:26).
6. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
  1. "The tree of grace, watered by the Spirit of life, bears every variety of spiritual fruit. And apart from the Holy Spirit, no spiritual fruit has ever been produced" (Hendriksen 258).
  2. Are you led by the Spirit of God?
VERSE 15, AN ABSENCE OF FEAR
1. This verse speaks of freedom from fear. Fear of what? Fear of condemnation and hell!
  1. The person who is afraid that if he sins he is going to hell is not free from fear.
  2. The Bible teaches us that the believer is not condemned (Romans 8:1).
    1. He is not condemned for one simple reason- he believes the Gospel (John 3:18, 36).
    2. "Fear of hell and condemnation is the spirit of bondage, and we have been delivered from it" (Taylor 54).
  3. The believer desires to and prefers to do what God would have him to (Romans 8:5b). This does not mean we are perfect or infallible, but it does mean that our habit is to live for God not the evil one.
    1. When we do sin, we have an advocate to plead our cause (I John 2:1). Note that it does not say we lose our salvation when we sin. It says we have one to plead our case.
    2. I John 1:9 is not written to unbelievers. It is written to believers.
2. "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption...."
  1. No longer slaves to sin; we are now children of God.
  2. What adoption does for the believer:
    1. We get a new Father.
    2. We lose all rights in the old family and gain all the rights of a legitimate son in our new family.
    3. We become heirs to our Father's estate.
    4. Our old life is canceled, wiped out. We are regarded as and are now creatures in Christ.
3. "Whereby we cry Abba, Father."
  1. "Abba" meaning father was originally used by small children, later it became used more generally.
  2. It is the very word that Jesus used when in the garden of Gethsemane suffering deep agony. He lifted the burden of His soul to the Father (Mark 14:36).
  3. This word, "Abba" is a tender word, a word of trust and of love.
  4. It is personal word expressing the personal relationship of the child of God with the Father
  5. Look at Galatians 4:3-7 to get a picture of the word Abba, and how it relates to our position as children.
VERSE 16, THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT OUR ASSURANCE
1. This verse tells us that salvation is a work of grace; it is not of works. It is not merely intellectual (Titus 3:5).
2. The believer knows he is saved because he has the witness of the Spirit (I John 5:10-13).
3. I have assurance not because of what I have done, but because of what Christ has done for me (II Timothy 1: 1 2).
VERSE 17, CHILDREN AND HEIRS
1. Being a child implies being an heir and if an heir there is an inheritance laid up for us.
2. We are heirs of God.
  1. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10).
  2. God is rich- rich in mercy, rich in grace (Ephesians 1:5-7; 2:4).
3. "Joint heirs with Christ...." Our inheritance is bound up in Christ and with Christ. We can no more lose our inheritance than He can lose His.
  1. What is His is ours.
  2. We inherit because of Christ and along with Christ.
  3. Taylor says: "The construction of verses 16-17 indicates that the Spirit witnesses to all three- sonship, heirship, joint heirship" (54).
  4. There are three that bear witness of our salvation and inheritance (I John 5:7).
4. Suffering
  1. We can add nothing to the sufferings of the Savior, nothing to his redemptive work. But our willingness to suffer for Him indicates our salvation and our desire to be close to Christ.
  2. "They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

CONCLUSION: "If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ..."

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Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 SermonsSunday, July 29, 2001

Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons
Sunday, July 29, 2001