Sermon Tone Analysis

Romans 8:14-17

As we are going verse by verse through Romans, Chapter eight tells us of the life we live through the Holy Spirit.

When we live yielded to the Holy spirit we see our deliverance from the Sentence of Sin, the Slavery of Sin and the Susceptibility of Sin.

When We yield to the Holy Spirit we see the Difference this new life makes in us.

There is a difference in the mind of the believer, the method the believer uses and the actions of the believers members.

Today we are looking at verses 14-17, and we want to look at the Delights of the Spirit life.

I have known a number of people who were adopted as children.

Some were removed from very bad homes.

Homes where they were not cared for, sometimes homes that just could not take care of them.

Sometimes from a foreign country where compared to the families in America their birth family was extremely poor.

Imagine being in a family where you were abused, mistreated, had no hope for a future.

Then imagine what it would be like if a family came and adopted you and moved you into (comparatively) a mansion, and gave you all the food you could eat, all the toys you could desire, and set you up with a college fund, and a prospect for a good future.

We as Christians, have much more.

We have been adopted by God, we have every thing we could need available to us, we have the promise of the best future.

As Paul goes further into the eighth chapter he is illustrating how much better the Spirit life is from the Old life.

We have been brought into the family of God.

What are the delights of the Spirit Life?

I.

The Delight of Our Adoption

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

A. We Have a New Family

Verse 14 says, we are “the sons of God.”

We have been removed from the family of Adam, and have been placed into the family of God.

We are His children.

One day we will be like our new Father, Pure even as He is pure!

verse 14 tells us if we are led by the Spirit of God, we are the sons of God.

This isn’t a condition, it is just saying when you are in the family you begin to act like the family.

Many children grow up to look and sound just like their parents.

They word things similarly, they develop some of the same traits.

Throughout my life I have known quite a few large families.

It’s amazing to me how you can spot one of those family members and tell they are one of that family by their physical characteristics and mannerisms.

The same is true for us Christians.

When we are led by the Spirit, we begin to act like the Father.

The Holy Spirit does a work in our lives, the work of Sanctification.

He works on our character and our mannerisms and changes them to be more like Christ.

So we have a new family, which of course means...

B. We Have a New Father

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

We have been delivered from bondage and we have been adopted by our Father.

We are not second class children, although the only begotten of the Father is high and lifted up.

But the Father does not love us any less.

My brother tried to convince me that I was adopted at times, as a way of saying I wasn’t as important.

I think most older siblings try this.

Adopted reminds us in our society that they were not born into the family.

But things were very different in ancient Rome.

To be adopted was a great privilege.

In the ancient world the family was based on a Roman law called “patria postestas” or the father’s power.

The law gave the father of the family absolute authority over his children so long as the father lived.

He could work them, enslave them, sell them, and even pronounce the death penalty over them.

It didn’t matter how old the child was, the father held all power over the child’s person and property.

So adoption was a serious matter.

But it was very important to make sure that a family name would not go extinct, in case no heir could be made in the family.

When a child was adopted, three legal steps were taken:

1.

The adopted son was adopted permanently.

He could never be disinherited.

He became a son of the father forever.

He was eternally secure as a son.

2. The adopted Son immediately had all the rights of a legitimate son in the new family.

3. The adopted son completely lost all rights in his old family.

The adopted son was looked upon as a new person.

This even meant old debts or obligations connected to his old family were made as though they never existed.

We have been taken out of the family of Adam and adopted into Jesus.

We now have a new family, which means we have a new Father, Then also...

C. We Have a New Freedom

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

As the children of God we have been delivered from the bondage and influence of the flesh.

We no longer have to be driven by Satan or this World.

We are to be led by the Spirit of God.

We have been delivered from the authority of our previous family, to the authority of our new.

With this comes new freedom, and a new relationship

We are so close that we can address our Father as Abba, Daddy.

The name implies and intimacy and dependence and a complete lack of fear.

It is the delight of our Adoption.

II.

The Delight of Our Assurance

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Not only has He given us a new family, but we have been given the assurance that we are His by the Work of the Holy Spirit.

We see this through...

A. Our Communion with the Spirit

The child of God has the wonder and privilege to commune with the very Spirit of God.

What a privilege and delight to be able to commune with the Holy Spirit daily.

The Spirit of God leads us, guides us teaches us helps us to live our life to the glory of the Father.

But not only is our Communion with the Spirit, but also we see

B. Our Confidence In the Spirit

When we commune with the Spirit of God, it gives us the confidence and the assurance that we are the Sons of God.

We have been genuinely saved.

He speaks to your heart.

He tells you of the things of God

He guides you in the way of life.

He warns you when we stray

He convicts us when we sin

He feeds us through His Word.

He comforts us when we hurt

He teaches us the truth, and applies it to our needs.

If you do not see any of this in your life…you need to examine your salvation.

What a Delight it is to know, that we know, that we know that we are the Child of God!

We see the Delight of Our Adoption

We see the Delight of Our Assurance