ROMANS 8, 14-17
Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 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 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.
There was a TV advertisement a while back that really struck me. It had a boxer named Sugar Ray Leonard, the professional light weight boxing champion of the world. In this AD, the hero is sitting in a chair next to the boxing ring with his six-year-old son sitting on his lap. Then some young boys walked past and when they saw Sugar Ray, they stop, their eyes become as big as saucers, their jaws dropped, they point to their hero, and they say, “Look! That’s the Champ! That’s our hero! Best boxer ever!” And then they show the 6-year-old, who says, “Naw! That’s my dad!”
To the world this man was a hero, a legend, an icon, a star the best boxer ever! But to this six-year-old, this man is his dad! The one who holds his hand when we cross the street. The one who checks under the bed before he goes to sleep at night, to make sure there are no monsters. The one who when he has a bad dream, will hold him in his strong arms, and say, “Everything’s OK! I’ve got you! No one is going to hurt you.”
I liked that advertisement because it was a constant reminder for me as a father, of how I should treat my children. But it was also a fantastic reminder of the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father!
When people in our world see even the slightest glimpse of God’s glory and power, they react just like Isaiah did. Terror! We are doomed! We are sinful people and God hates sin! And I’m sure we’d be right there with those people, cowering in fear. How can sinful man NOT be terrified of God!
And yet, for us who belong to our God, for us who are sitting in our God’s lap, safe and sound, for us to whom God has said, “You are my child, I love you more than anything, and you don’t have to fear, because I’ve got you and no one’s going to hurt you,” just like Sugar Ray Leonard’s son, so can we point to that awesome powerful God, and say, “THAT’S MY DAD!”
I
So, how do we get the privilege of sitting in God’s lap safe and sound with nothing to fear? Paul says, “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Paul doesn’t say, “Those who follow Jesus!” He says, “those who are led by the Spirit of God!” It’s not that we are following! It’s that the Holy Spirit is leading us! And that is a huge difference.
We didn’t suddenly one day just decide we need to follow God and do right. Because before God make us His children, we were nothing but dead and decaying corpses, who couldn’t do anything to come to God. It was God who reached down into the cesspool of sin and depravity, and dragged us out. It was the Holy Spirit who breathed spiritual life into our dried-up old bones, and created faith in our hearts. We didn’t go rushing toward God, the Holy Spirit led us to God. And even now that we are Children of God, there are probably many times that we run away from Jesus, to enjoy all the pleasures of this world. Paul doesn’t turn our attention to our own abilities, and say as long as you faithfully follow Jesus, you are a child of God. He turns us to the Holy Spirit’s work. Since the Holy Spirit is leading us down God’s path, we are God’s children.
And since we are “children of God,” we have a loving relationship with God as our Father. We are God’s precious children whom He adores. And God is happy to call us “My child.”
That’s why Paul says, “for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” We are not slaves who live in constant fear that if their master is not pleased with them, the master can just get rid of them. The Holy Spirit brought us to faith, and made us God’s children. We have the spirit of “Sonship,” or adoption. We are precious children of God. We don’t have to worry that God will kick us out of His family the first time we mess up, and the first time God is disappointed with us. He won’t kick us out because we don’t measure up, or because we embarrass Him. You might do that with slaves. But you don’t do that with your children. And that is who we are! God’s children!
When you were a child, did you always make your parents proud? Did you always follow the rules? Were your parents always happy to read the notes your teacher and your principal sent home with you? When your parents looked at you, were they always able to say, “Yep, that’s my child, and I am sure proud of him”?
If your childhood was anything like mine, probably not! Oh, I’m sure most of the time you made your parents proud. But there were times! Times our parents shook their head, and wondered about us. Times when they wanted to pretend that they didn’t know us. But even at those times, I wasn’t kicked out of the family! I wasn’t disowned! Maybe there were times when they wanted to! But they couldn’t! There was a birth certificate that said, I am their child! And they were stuck with us!
So, it is with God’s family. The Holy Spirit made us children of God. Whether we always make our God proud, or whether we make Him wish He’d never seen us, we are still God’s children. Washed by the blood of Jesus! Filled with the Holy Spirit.
That’s why Paul continues, “And by him we cry, ‘Abba! Father.” “Abba” is the Jewish for “Daddy.” Then Paul translates that word into Greek for those who don’t understand Hebrew! When we go through rough times, we don’t have to cry out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” When our conscience plagues us because of the sins we’ve committed, we don’t have to cower in fear as to what God will do with us! Like that six-year-old, we can sit safely in our Father’s lap, knowing He has forgiven us, knowing that He is watching out for us, knowing that He is protecting us. And sitting in our Father’s lap, we can point to that almighty creator of the Universe, and say, “THAT’S MY DAD!” And He will keep me safe!
II
Our God doesn’t want us to ever forget this truth. So, Paul says, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Through His Word and through the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit is constantly reminding us that the Almighty God of the Universe, is our Dad! Each time we share the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made to make us God’s children. Each time we witness a baptism, we see the powerful hand of God reaching out through the water to claim this precious soul as His own. Each time you read the Scriptures; you see the Almighty God of the Universe who sacrificed Himself to bring wretched sinners into His family. On every page of the Bible, you hear your God telling you, “You are my child! I have redeemed you! I have you in my hands! And I will never let go of you! And I will never let anything bad happen to you. Oh, you may go through tough things, but I am still in control, and I am using these things to allow you, My precious child, to help me bring others to faith. But I am protecting you.
God wants us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are “God’s children.” And, “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.” Because my name is written on that birth certificate, I am an heir of everything God has! I am a co-heir with Christ, of all the things that Jesus has won for Himself by the sacrifice He made. I have a home in Heaven! I have perfection with God! I have peace and joy for the rest of eternity.
Of course, while I am waiting for my full inheritance in Heaven, I am still living in this world as a legitimate child of God. And so, as I bear the name of God, I live like a child of God, and sometimes, that means that I “share in his sufferings.” I may be mocked and ridiculed for being a Christian. But then so was my brother, Jesus! I may have to say No to my friends’ invitations to join them in doing something those fun things. Because my Father says, “That’s not right!” I may even be persecuted because I claim to be a Christian, just like my brother Jesus. And I realize that is also part of the joy and the obligation of having my name on that birth certificate that puts me in God’s family.
Many people mock and ridicule God! They claim that God is dead, or God doesn’t exist! They may blame God for all the bad stuff in the world. They claim they don’t have the time or the energy to worship or praise God. They have more important things to do!
But one day, either during their earthly life, or as they see Jesus on the day they die, they will see the power and glory of God, and they will be in shock, and cower in fear, and be so terrified they can’t say a word. They will fall on the ground and beg for the God’s glory and power to be gone. And they will be terrified.
And as all that is happening to them, we will sit safely in our God’s lap, just like that six-year-old, and we won’t have a worry. He will have His arms around us and tell us, “Don’t worry! I’ve got you! Nothing bad is going to happen to us.” And even as the entire world is terrified at the sight of our God, we can relax and say, “Naw! THAT’S MY DAD!”
