Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
ROMANS
Sermon 21
Heirs of God
Romans 8:12-17
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 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. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
Several very important things about both God and man stand out in what we have studied thus far in Romans. But, in my mind, there are three things that lead the way.
The first is the grace of God by which He has not only provided the way of salvation for ungodly sinners, but by which He actually saves them. Some would suppose that God provided the way of salvation by sending His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a sacrifice for sins, and then stepped back into His heavenly house to sit and wait for sinners to do some good work that would make them worthy of receiving that salvation. But, that is not so. According to the Scriptures, there is nothing good about any person until and unless that person has received the Lord Jesus Christ. Even then, it is the righteousness of Christ, righteousness that is placed on their eternal account through faith, that God recognizes. Never do any good works, even those a believer does as a result of being saved, have anything to do with a person being in a right standing with God. An ungodly sinner, by the grace of God, is justified in the sight of God, not by works, but through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And forevermore, he is accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).
The second important thing among those we have studied thus far in Romans is the fact that those who are justified by faith are placed in Christ. The fact they are in Christ is the reason they are acceptable to God. He sees them, from the standpoint of their eternal position and His eternal plan, as perfected, because He sees them in His beloved Son, washed absolutely clean from their sins by His precious blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
Having been justified by faith and accepted by the Living, Holy God as perfect in Christ, believers nevertheless remain in a mortal body that is still inhabited by sin. But, by the grace of God, He has given everyone of them the Holy Spirit, also called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, to enable them to overcome indwelling sin and live a life of righteousness. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they are able to do the good works God has planned for them to do. That is the third important thing about our study thus far. Our present text helps us to understand that even more.
Our text also gives us a glimpse of the fullness of God's plan and purpose for those who are justified by faith. It is expressed by the word heir. It includes all of what God is and of what God has.
It is a wonderful and exciting thing to be an heir of God. It is also a position that carries with it some very grave responsibility. Back in Romans 3, Paul revealed he had been falsely accused of saying believers should continue to sin in order to magnify the grace of God. Ever since then, what he wrote teaches just exactly the opposite. In our text, he says that believers are debtors. In other words, they have an obligation. Just to make sure there can be no mistake about it, Paul speaks of the obligation in both negative and positive terms.
First, he says that believers do not owe anything to the flesh; i.e., the sin nature. It is true they were once under its rule. But, through the death of Christ, sin's power to rule has been broken. No longer is it able to have control over those who are in Christ. Therefore, they are not obligated to do what sin tells them to do. As a matter of fact, those who live under the rule of sin will die. For it is still true that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death reigns in the lives of those who continue to be ruled by sin. Even though one may profess to be a Christian, if that one is ruled by sin, his profession is not real.
Rather than being obligated to sin, those whose profession is real, who are truly in Christ, are obligated to live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit Who lives in them. By Him they are able to put to death the deeds of the body, those things which the sin principle living in their members continuously tries to get them to do. A list of those things is found in Galatians 5:19-21, where Paul writes, Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like... All of these things, true believers are able to overcome. Not only are they able, but, as we have already learned in Romans 7, they want to overcome them. Often they do not because they are not aware of, or are not surrendered to, the Holy Spirit who lives in them. Those who do not want to overcome these things are those who continue to practice them. And those who continue to practice them are those of whom Paul speaks in the last part of Galatians 5:21, when he writes, which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Overcoming the deeds of the flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit is certain proof that a person is a son of God. For, as our text says, the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. They know the experience described by Paul in Romans 7 of wanting to do what is right but not being able to do it in their own strength. Therefore, they rejoice to yield their members as weapons of righteousness and allow the Holy Spirit to lead them.
Someone might object that yielding control to the Holy Spirit means there is really no freedom in Christ; that it is just being transferred from one slave master to another. But that is not true. The Holy Spirit is not One who enslaves those in whom He lives, putting them in fearful bondage. Rather, He is the Spirit of adoption, who places believers in Christ with all the privileges and responsibilities of adult sons of God. When they were slaves to sin, they had nothing to look forward to but death. Their relationship to God was only as their Creator and their Judge. But now, in Christ through the Spirit of adoption, they can call God their Father.
The very wonderful, awe inspiring truth of the close personal relationship believers have with God in Christ is indicated by the word, Abba, in our text. That is an Aramaic word which is not easily translated into English. But, it is a very personal word, a word similar to daddy, which is only properly used by a child of its father. Now, I am not suggesting that we address God as daddy. Rather, I simply want us to understand what the Scripture is teaching us - that the Almighty, Holy, Eternal, Creator God, Ruler of the universe, is the loving, caring, blessed Father of all who, by His grace through faith, are in Christ.
Sometimes, a last will and testament will include someone as an heir who was not part of the will- maker's family. But that is not so with God. Only those who are His children are His heirs. People become His children by means of the new birth. As it is written in John 1:12-13, But as many as received (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. To them He gives the Spirit of adoption, who not only makes it possible for believers to overcome indwelling sin. He also provides them with a clear and unmistakable internal witness that they are, in fact, God's children.
Being God's children automatically makes believers God's heirs. All that He is, all that He has is theirs in Christ. The Scripture says they are joint-heirs with Christ. As best we can understand from a human standpoint, that means, whatever God the Father gives to His eternal, only-begotten Son, He also gives to those who are His spiritual children by grace through faith in Jesus. Though that does not include becoming divine, it does include being a partaker of the divine nature; i.e., being made, in attitude and deed, into the image of Jesus. And, as Romans 8:32 says, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Being a joint heir with Jesus involves not only what we might consider the good things. It also means sharing in His sufferings. That is done first of all when we repent of our sins, believe He died for us, and are willing to be crucified with Him, to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him. That may not, at first, seem like suffering because of the joy of being delivered from the burden of sin. I remember it to be so when I was saved more than 57 years ago. But, as we enter into and walk the narrow way that leads to life, we are given more and more opportunities to see what it means to follow Christ in this wicked world. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But, there is reason to rejoice, for those who share the sufferings of the Lord will also share His glory. Hear the words of the Apostle Peter written in 1 Peter 4:12-13: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. The Lord Himself said in Matthew 5:10-12: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice , and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven...
In summary, then, we may say the following things about heirs of God. They are justified in His sight by grace through faith in Jesus. They are no longer slaves to sin. They are obligated and able to obey Him. They are indwelt and led by the Holy Spirit. They prove their position by putting to death the sinful deeds of the body. They may call God their Father because they are His children by spiritual birth, and are His adult sons by adoption. They are assured of their position by the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. They suffer with Christ. And, they will be glorified with Christ.
Are you an heir of God? You are if you have been born again. If that is so, then whatever your circumstance, rejoice because your name is written in heaven.
Perhaps you cannot say you are an heir of God because you have never confessed to God you are a sinner, repented of your sin, and called upon the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. But, perhaps God is speaking to you at this moment, calling you to repentance and faith. If so, humble yourself, confess your sinfulness and call upon the Lord NOW!