if you would open your Bibles
to the 8th chapter of Romans. Romans chapter 8. to be obedient to what the Lord
commanded us there in our reading in Isaiah
40. And that is to comfort His people. You can't comfort everybody.
You can't speak peace to those outside of Christ. But we are
to comfort His people to speak comfortably to that heavenly
Jerusalem. I've entitled this message this
morning, Fear Not, Dear Children. Fear Not, Dear Children. When Paul first wrote this epistle,
It was directed first of all to believers that were in Rome. They were just like we are. They
were believers gathered together in a particular place. And he tells us that if the Spirit
of God dwells in us, that He will no doubt quicken our mortal
bodies." That is, He will give us strength and grace so that
sin, though it yet be in us, shall not have dominion over
us. That is His pledge. But that being said, we are at
no time to look at any improvement of the flesh or any obedience
to the law as any part of our standing and relationship to
God. Furthermore, he tells us, as
he does everywhere, Any reliance, no matter how small it might
be, any reliance in any way upon what we do or what we are at
any point will only bring us into bondage. That's the word he uses. Bondage
or slavery. Bondage to the law. Bondage to the foolish superstitions
of men. Bondage to religious lies. And he says this because many
who profess to be believers are yet in this bondage of fear and
guilt. Because they are not free, they
are not free from the principle that is natural to us and that
is reinforced oftentimes in families and also taught by false religion,
they're not free from this principle of being favored or rejected
by God because of something they do or don't do. And so they are forever, it seems,
slipping back into this bondage of fear and guilt. There is a verse of Scripture
that we would do well to remember. I've used it oftentimes as a
measure of things, things that are taught, things that are practiced. And that is where this same apostle
writes in 2 Corinthians 3 and says, now the Lord is that Spirit,
And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is liberty. And so if I hear something, if
the Spirit of God dwells in me, if I hear something, or see something
or have something taught to me or forced upon me, and I do not
feel that spirit of liberty, I know something's wrong. I know it cannot be the Holy
Spirit. And if you look here in Romans
chapter 8, listen to what Paul says here, especially with what
he begins with. He says, "...there is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." And most
translations agree that that statement ends right there. We'll find the rest of it again
later, but that first statement begins and ends with that statement. There is therefore now. Not something that's to be waited
on in the future. not something that is to be gained
by our doing or our abstaining from doing. There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." What a
wonderful statement of divine truth. That is not Paul saying
that. First of all, that is the Spirit
of God. There is no condemnation to them
that are in Christ. He says, "...for the law of the
Spirit of life, which is the gospel, For the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death." That's all that the law of Moses could ever do. Condemn me, pronounce upon me
nothing but sinnerhood, and condemn me to eternal death. For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, our flesh, God sending
His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, Now it says, "...who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh. But they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit." Those that are after the flesh, seeking
to stand before God or please God through something that they
do in this flesh. He says, they mine the things
of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit, the things
of the Spirit. What are the things of the Spirit?
The things of Christ. the things of the gospel of Christ,
who He is and what He has done. He says, for to be carnally minded,
fleshly minded, is death. But to be spiritually minded
is what? Life and peace. By following after your own works
of the flesh, you'll never find anything but death." But he says,
following the things of Christ. That's life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, Neither indeed
can be. Neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh. You know now that he has to be
talking to those who are alive bodily. The meaning of flesh
here is such that he says, but you are not in the flesh. These believers at Rome, he says,
you are not those who seek to stand and be accepted by God
on this basis. You are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He talks about a liberty. And he talks about a life. And this liberty, and this life,
and this peace, is not only what is necessary to live in this
sense, and to do in this sense, but it is a liberty to serve
God. It is a liberty to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ. And it is a liberty to worship
Him in spirit and in truth. And here's the reason. Those
who are born of the Spirit of God, in whom the Spirit of Christ
dwells, they are in a completely different relationship to God
now. The righteousness of the law,
he says, has been fulfilled in us by Christ, whose Spirit now
dwells in us. We trust Him. We look to Him. We rest in what He has accomplished. So that we know, we believe,
that there is, as it says in verse 1, Now, no condemnation
to us, toward us, since we are in Christ Jesus. And the presence of God's Spirit
now indwelling us. John tells us in another place,
he tells us that this is the evidence or witness of our sonship. That is, the witness of God's
Spirit, that we are the children of God. And therefore, we are
not subjects under a law. But we are sons, we are children
under a gracious heavenly Father. He is our Father and we are His
children. Look down in verse 14. He says, for as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. How many? As many as are led by the Spirit
of God. And we could try to complicate
that in about a million different ways. But I believe that what
we find in the Bible is those that are led by the Spirit of
God, they are always led to the Lord Jesus Christ. They are always led to that salvation
that is in Him alone. They are always led to believe
what He says about what He has done for them. They are always
led to seek to obey Him and seek to give glory and honor to His
name. They are led by the Spirit of
God. But notice what he says further.
He says, "...for you have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby
we cry, Abba, Father." The Spirit itself, or the Spirit Himself,
bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. The Spirit of God bears witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. But if you notice, there is a
comparison here, not only as to what we are, and what those
who do not believe are, but there is a comparison here between
these spirits. And in verse 15, he says, you have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear." The spirit of bondage. But contrary to that, the exact
opposite of that, he says, by grace, you have received the
spirit of adoption. Now I thought about it and I
thought I remembered something in that archive that I have in
my mind that I find these days is harder and harder to get to
and remember. But I thought I remembered something
that brought me back to think about what these people would
think in that day. being Romans as most of them
were, when he said that they had received the spirit of adoption. What came to their mind? Well, I didn't receive it, but
I saw where a dear lady that I know in the north of England,
Not been married so many years, but I saw where her and her husband,
they were going to adopt a child. And I was happy for them, and
I thought also, I thought, well, is the same thing thought about
and considered when we use that term adoption in our day as it
was in the day when Paul wrote these words? And I remembered
that under the Roman law, According to what I was able
to find out, adoption was the legal action by which a person
took into his family a child, not his own, with the purpose
of treating him and giving him all the privileges of his own
natural child. Under that law, an adopted child,
was legally entitled to all the rights and all the privileges
of the natural-born child. And under the Roman law that
they would have immediately thought about when the word adoption
was mentioned by Paul, according to that legal system, the person
who was adopted into a family gained all the legal rights of
a legitimate son in the new family, but he lost all the rights and
privileges and responsibilities in his old family. Now, would
that be good or bad? Well, in the light that Paul
is talking about here, he's talking about those who by nature who
by their state of birth were in that family of Adam. The whole race fell into condemnation
in Adam. So this Roman view of adoption
in light of what we are brought to in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and not therefore responsible For all that we were in our old
family, what a glorious thing that is. What a wonderful thing
it is to be separated from the first Adam. What a wonderful
thing it is to be found now only in the last Adam, the Lord Jesus
Christ. But it said, by becoming a member
of the new family, he gained all the rights of his new father's
estate, and he was now equal with the other sons and daughters
in his new family. I like that. By virtue of being
a child or a son, an adopted son in his new family, he was
therefore eligible and had a right to all the privileges of every
other family member, no matter who they were. That's the way
it is being saved by the grace of God in Christ. That's the
way it is being in the family of God, in Him. That's the way
it is in being one of His adopted children. We are all the same
in Him. There's none greater. There's
none lesser. There's none more important.
There's none less important. There's none saved in any other
different way. There's none getting any bigger
reward. Why? Because everything is in Christ
Jesus. And He was a co-heir with them
according to the law, and He was regarded as a new person
who had a new life in a new family. And the old life of the adopted
son was completely wiped out, all his debts were canceled,
his past now had nothing to do with him, and he was in a new
relationship with his new family. You see, that's what had to have
come to their mind. when Paul speaks of us now not
having received again the spirit of bondage to fear. But he said,
you received the spirit of adoption. An old writer said this meant
to fear, as under the law which worketh wrath, that is, such
was your condition before you believed, living in legal bondage,
haunted with incessant forebodings under a sense of unpardoned sin. But it was not to perpetuate
that wretched state that you received the Holy Spirit." The
Father did not put us in this family. The Son did not die on
the cross in our room instead, in order for us to stay in a
state of bondage. And therefore, Paul says, you
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear or to
be afraid But you've received the spirit of adoption. Adoption. The Holy Spirit reveals
to us and assures to us through the precious promises of the
gospel that are yea and amen in Christ that we are the children
of God. And we do not fear. When do we
fear? When do we fear? We become afraid
immediately when we begin to look away from the one that the
gospel says that is our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
when we become afraid. But he said, you've not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear, you've received the spirit
of adoption. And any time we find ourselves
looking in any way to anything especially in us or by us other
than Christ, we're immediately into a kind
of bondage. It's like we take a step out
of the place of sonship and inheritance back into a state of slavery. And that's our struggle. But
you see, this is what God has purposed for His people from
old eternity. That's right. Look down in this
same chapter. In verse 29, Paul says, "...for whom He did
foreknow," for love, for ordain, "...He also did predestinate."
That's a wonderful word. Did he predestinate all things? Absolutely he did. But what is
right at the center of it? What is the best thing about
it? For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, those
two words next are added, he did also predestinate conformed, to the image of his
Son," capital letters, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Not just people in a general
sense. Not just king over a kingdom,
which he surely is. But he's the firstborn among
many brethren. This has to do with this family.
This is in order to bring many sinners to be conformed to Christ,
and as Him in the sight of God, be His brethren. This is no accident
with God. This is no afterthought with
God. As a matter of fact, in Ephesians
1, this is what Paul says again. Having predestinated us, And
I always hear people, when you mention that word, they say,
God can't do that. But I believe it says He already
has done it, doesn't it? Having predestinated us, having
marked out beforehand, having determined beforehand, having
chosen us beforehand, having predestinated us unto the adoption
of children. by Jesus Christ to Himself according
to the good pleasure of His will and to the praise of the glory
of His grace. It's all of God, an act of God,
It's all of God's love. It's all of God's everlasting
covenant. It's all in Christ. And it's
all to the praise of the glory of His grace. Now hold your place and turn
over to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. And look what it says in verse
4. Galatians 4, 4. But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. That we might receive
it. And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts crying,
Abba, Father." Now, there's a little six-year-old girl. She's
sick this morning. But I love it when I hear her
say, Papa, Papa, Now, I've heard other kids use that same name,
that title. But it didn't mean to me what
it means to me when she says it, Abba. And actually, as I understand
it, that word Abba has really, as the heart of its meaning,
this term, this endearing, loving term We call God our Father. You ever stop and think about
that? Sometimes that little girl gets
afraid of things that if she only knew what I'd do to keep
her from it, she'd be easy. She'd be restful about it. But
how much more true must that be if God is our Father? His Spirit. He not only purposed
it and determined it, He not only sent Christ to die in our
place in order to accomplish it, but He sends His Spirit to
bear witness in our heart that we are His children. What would
you do for your children? What have you done for your children? You think we need to fear? If
we are in Christ Jesus, He says He has redeemed us, He
sent His Son to redeem us, and He sends forth the Spirit
of His Son into our hearts that brings us to cry out in the revelation
of all God and grace has done for us in Christ, Abba, Father. If you look over in what he says
here, following, he says, "...wherefore thou art no more a servant, but
a son. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ." So don't be turned again to those weak
and beggarly elements. Don't be turned back again into
bondage. That's what he says in verse
9. But now, after ye have known God, or rather, are known of
God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto
ye desire again to be in bondage? Don't turn away from Christ.
Because all that's there is bondage. Don't turn away from grace. Don't
add any mixture, as was tried here to these Galatian people,
a mixture of law and grace, or works and grace. Don't be turned
away to these weak and beggarly elements unless you desire to
be in bondage. And look how he begins in that
fifth chapter. He says, "...stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Paul says, "...you
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear." Now,
he's not talking about that good, reverential fear of the Lord. That fear is reverence. The fear
of the Lord, that's the beginning of wisdom. But he's talking about
a slavish fear that is born out of guilt. And that is guilt which
comes from our not being convinced in the heart that Christ has
fully justified us before God through His blood and His righteousness. That word adopt literally means
to place as an adult son. We grow in grace. We're commanded
to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But
our position and our sonship in Christ is such a completed
thing that before God we stand as adult sons. What does that mean? It means
we have the full privileges. You think if you were The king's
son under another age and time, a wealthy, prosperous king in
a prosperous kingdom. Do you think you'd have any more
privileges than you have in your presence today? I would imagine
you might have a little bit more. But in Christ we have the full
privileges as His adult children. And we'll receive the full inheritance. In Romans 8 he said, if children,
then heirs. Heirs of God. Heirs, and join
heirs with Christ. And if we be sons, we have the
full family relationship with all the Lord's people. And we
have the full responsibility. There's a responsibility. The children of the King are
held to a higher standard. And so are we, if we be His. John said, Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear
in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment,
And he that feareth is not made perfect in love." We love Him
because He first loved us. There's one thing that all are
described as having been in bondage to all the days of our lives. Do you know what that is? That is the fear of death. So when Paul writes in Hebrews
chapter 2, and he quotes the Messiah, he quotes Christ, he
links it all to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ talks about
the children that the Father had given Him. And so in Hebrews 2.14 he says,
"...for as much then as the children." or partakers of flesh and blood,
He also Himself took part of the same, that through death
He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage." He said, don't fear. Because
in a bondage to this fear of death all your days, he says,
those in Christ shall never die. Never die. If they have life
in Him, they'll never die. Oh, you say, well, lots of the
Lord's people have died. They just died a physical death,
which is really a time of transition. They're not going to stay dead.
Not even their bodies. He says, fear not. Fear not. No, the Spirit of God in the
believer is the Spirit of adoption. And by Him we now look to God
in a relationship as a child to His Father. We're the children
of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And He sends His Spirit
into our hearts, and by Him, by what He reveals and teaches
and assures us through the gospel of Christ's work and love for
us, we cry, Abba, Father. Look back over to Psalm 103. You know, when I was growing
up, I know I displeased my parents
a lot. I know that there were times
that they had to chastise me, but they never disowned me. And here in Psalm 103, beginning
in verse 8, He says, the Lord is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will
not always chide, neither will He keep His anger forever. He
has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according
to our iniquities. That's a good verse, isn't it? For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions
from us. And like as a father pitieth
his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." Somebody
said, fear the Lord, and you have nothing else to fear. For
he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are just dust. As for
man, his days are as grass as the flower of the flesh, so he
flourisheth where the wind passeth over it and is gone. The place
thereof shall know it no more but the mercy of the Lord. is from everlasting to everlasting
upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's
children." And he said, if they disobey
me, I'll have to take the rod to
them. I'll have to chasten them. And it'll hurt. But he said, I'll never forsake
them. Why? Because they're my children.
Because they're my children. And as children, we have a reverence
for our Father. We have a kind of fear to face
His chastening hand. But we do not fear that our Father
will cast us off or disown us or abandon us or treat us like
an enemy. We know we displease and disobey
Him. And we're so unlike His children
by nature, that in all our failures, in all our sins, and in spite
of all our inward wickedness, we do not fear being lost, but
rather cry unto Him as a child, Abba, Father. Now let me ask you this. that
the Father is going to cast off His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It can't happen. Therefore, neither will He cast
off those that are in Christ. And that's why our prayers, our real prayers, They're not rituals and forms. That's not to say we don't have
those. But our real prayers are when we cry out from our heart.
Often times not even being able to vocalize what we think we
need to say, ask, beg. But we cry, Abba, Father. And that's why our Lord said,
when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you shut the
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. When I was growing up, I was
taught to pray the Lord's Prayer, so they called it. That's not
the Lord's prayer. That's His children's prayer.
And it begins on the basis and in the relationship that we can
pray. He said, when you pray, this
is how you pray. Our Father who is in heaven. Our Father. He's not given us
the spirit of bondage." Again, to fear. But He's given us the
spirit of adoption. The Spirit of God reveals to
us how sinners like we are have been made the children of
God. That's what John says. He calls it a bestowal. 1 John
3 verse 1, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we might be called the children of God. Look to Christ, believe God,
and fear not, dear children, fear not. You say, well, I'm
afraid of what I might do. Well, I'm always afraid of that. But never am I commanded to trust
in that or find hope in that. We're commanded to look to Him
and rest in His finished work. Father, this day we bow and we
praise You for the grace bestowed upon us Help us to enter in more
fully, completely, clearly into this relationship you've brought
us into through the doing and dying of your Son. Made us joint
heirs with Him. Loved us, predestined that we
be conformed to Him. And sent your Spirit into our
hearts as the Spirit of adoption. Therefore, we cry. We cry to
you to praise you and thank you. We cry to you to beg and plead. We cry to give glory to you. And we're amazed that Christ
could say when He departed, I go to my Father and your Father,
that you who are the one described as Holy Father, Righteous Father,
could be in Christ to us, our Father. We thank you and we pray
in Him. Amen.