Led By The Spirit of God
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Romans 8:12–17
St. Paul says: 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Here is an important question: what does it mean to be led by the Spirit of God? This is important because we may wonder…
…and then the devil will come up and whisper in our ears that we aren’t doing this…
Have you ever wondered? I know I have…
Well, if we look at our lives…and what we think should be there…by now…
If we hear and take to heart our Gospel lesson…that was just read to us…and wonder if the fruit we bear…is good or not…
And we do…look…and wonder…and we should—and we have to… really say NO…it is NOT…
But … you know… that does not mean it is not.
It is not our affair to judge…as we could never tell anyway…there is just too much bias in the way…too many critics and devils…
So, the simple way to handle this… is as Luther says…that when we are asked… when we make our confession of sin… if we cannot think of what commandments we broke…
Well, more than likely, we have broken them all… since the last time we… looked…
So, we confess that we have broken them all.
AND… we tell the devil that he may have seen a few of them… but… he cannot see everything—he is not all seeing… he is not all knowing…
Only God is… knows…
Even we cannot see them all… and wouldn’t want to…
And thank God we don’t need too…
The ones we do know…sure…be honest…be humble…be contrite…
But those…and all the rest…are not our business at this point. Jesus has already paid for them all. His blood and righteousness has them covered.
The forgiveness—has already been given…to us…
Which can only be done by the Holy Spirit…by that faith He brings in this very message of forgiveness…
And notice who brings it…yes…the Spirit…
15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
And as we have been baptized into Christ…
What did the Spirit do when Jesus came up out of the water? He remained…just like in the beginning…the Spirit hovered over the deeps…
And let me tell you how deep those baptismal waters are: They can drown every living sinner there ever is, was or will be.
An endless flood…
In which new life arises. That life in Christ. Where the Spirit has come…where the Spirit has remained. Did you know the Spirit came down and remained on Jesus until He said, “IT IS FINISHED”?
Then what? Then Jesus sent the Spirit back to The Father to once again be sent—to come and remain on us—the baptized. To remain on us and be in us.
We can only approach the thrown of Grace this way. And we are told to do so boldly. We cannot say Christ is Lord without the Spirit.
So how is it that are here… being this and doing this with THIS… HIM… The Holy Spirit of Christ Himself?
We…
Well, no—no one is a Christian unless the Holy Spirit dwells within them.
And He has come. He was sent, and is sent to us, Word in Water…
…and then there, to remain with us.
16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and …
You know this because it was done to you. You have His Word on that.
So…
17 …if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
How does He bear witness? Not the way people may think. It is not some inner voice or feeling. It is an outer fact! Words on a page. Words heard. Words placed into water…
And then MORE! Yes, The Word Himself in, with and under bread and wine…
That actually then and there does what they say—forgives sins…and not just one or two…not just a few here and there…but once again ALL SINS are forgiven.
You see…there is no such thing as almost having faith…or almost being a Christian…or being partially forgiven…
You either are or you are not. You either stay, listen…and keep doing so…or you stop, leave…and block your ears, mind and hearts to this message.
You either walk by the Spirit or you don’t. Anyone who is a Christian does…does this…and he or she then is and does walk by the Spirit.
You see, just before our Epistle text, Paul tells us this very thing–this is in Romans 8:1–11:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. [ESV]
So, it is either or. A Christian who has the Spirit, walks according to Him. Or not—is not a Christian—and is without the Spirit. There is no in between.
And what about what Paul says for us to be doing this “putting to death the deeds of the body”?
Simple. Being here. Hearing His Word of Law condemning your sin. Repenting of all that—being contrite. Pledging with the help of God to amend our lives, because of the Grace extended to us—to you for Christ’s sake—for what He did and does for each one of us.
Yes, hearing that we…that you are forgiven…and remaining in this, our baptismal life…
It is all here—found here…received here…for you and for me…
In receiving the very pure and new creation flesh….and the life cleansing blood…that of Christ on your lips, into your sin ridden bodies and out into your new lives in Christ.
The Spirit Himself is in the Word…that is in the water…that brings us Jesus in the bread and wine…
It is He who comes and remains…
Testifying by His Word–those words…these very Words that you have just heard.
Those Words of Faith…those faith bringing and faith creating Words… That faith…that which St. John in his first letter tells us “overcomes the world“…in and with the Spirit in which we walk through this valley of the shadow of death…to emerge into life…life everlasting…a new creation to stand upon a new earth… surrounded by a new heaven… glorified with and in Jesus.
Amen.
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