Pastor Thanael Certa-Werner
ROMANS 8:12-17 (NIV)
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 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.
Today we continue the story we celebrated on Pentecost Sunday last week. On Pentecost, the disciples were gathered in a room together because of their fear over what has happened to Jesus. He has been crucified and now it seems that His followers’ heads are on the chopping block. In the midst of this confusion and fear, the Holy Spirit is outpoured upon them – just as Jesus had promised – baptizing them in the Spirit of the Most High and everlasting God.
Last week, we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit those thousands of years ago which gave birth to the Church which we are a part of today. By the waters of baptism and the baptism of the Spirit, we are incorporated – or made to be a part of – the Body of Christ on earth. This covenant we enter into as believers in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has many mandates, and the one we focused on last week was raising up the “little ones” as Jesus calls them, in the faith. As we looked to the history of the Church and remember how we are incorporated into that same story, so too do we look to the future as we help to prepare the future generations to take the responsibility of carrying the Good News of Jesus Christ forward into the world.
But the question so becomes, what does it actually mean to follow Christ? Clearly, it means doing something different, but what exactly? If we are to teach our children how to live, we should ourselves parse out exactly what Jesus is really calling us to do in following Him. This is the same dilemma which faced the early church. They had to ask, does following Christ mean becoming Jewish? Should following Christ mean being against Judaism? What really changes? What is expected of us? This is the reasoning behind the Epistle to the Romans.
Paul, who is one of the leaders of the early church, spent much of his time educating people on what exactly was the Good News of Jesus Christ and what it meant for them. He went throughout the Mediterranean world setting up communities of people who came to believe in the story and Gospel of Jesus Christ and were sold on living out life as Christians. As a part of helping these young believers, or these “little ones” as Jesus calls them, realize not only the story of Christ but Christ’s call to living a different life, Paul wrote letters called Epistles to help guide these followers.
Many of these letters have been preserved and passed down for generations as the living Word of God which continues to accomplish its original goal of guiding those called Christians. Wow. Romans is one of those Epistles, written by Paul, for the Christians living in the capital of the Roman Empire, Rome. Throughout the Epistle, Paul lays out the story of Christ and what this story means for us. This is how he begins the Epistle, in chapter one, verse one Paul says,
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, Who as to His earthly life was a descendant of David, and Who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for His Name’s sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be His holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:1-7 NIV)
In this first paragraph, Paul does what he will again do throughout the entire Epistle: relay the story of Jesus and what it means for us. Paul says that this Good News is the result of God’s promises – that God has been letting the people of the world in on His actions through His prophets. In accordance with those prophets, Jesus was born a descendant of King David. This Man, to Whom the prophets point, and Who is filled with the Spirit of God, has power even over death.
What does this mean for us? We are enveloped in the grace of God through the actions of Christ which calls us to the obedience of faith that we are to share to the ends of the earth and beyond. Again. Wow. Talk about packing a punch in just a paragraph. Throughout the rest of the Epistle, Paul elaborates on Jesus’ life and what it means for us. What we find as we turn to the 8th chapter is the importance of the Spirit in us. Paul says that what it means to follow Christ is to live a life like Christ’s. What that means is dwelling in the Spirit of God as Jesus did.
This is what Paul says in 8:12-13:
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
What Jesus taught and what Paul explains here is that we are called to live a life in the Spirit. But more than that we are called to live a life led by the Spirit.
There are ways in which we can live our lives which feel right Things that our bodies tell us are good to do, that will make us happy, or give us pleasure. But following that way of living is not living at all. Chasing after things like food, sex, drugs, entertainment, alcohol, adrenaline rushes – all manufactured joy – as I would call it. This all leads to a life of discontentment and self-loathing.
In our world today, depression is on the rise. Never before have we encountered a time when more people hate the life they are living than now, and to them the only answer is to end it. And there are still those of us who hate an aspect of our lives – something which gnaws at our bones and makes us wish we could finally break free from it. There might be something in your life which keeps you up at night – that gives you nightmares and makes your life feel like a bad dream that you can’t wake up from. This is the way of the flesh – the way of following wherever our bodies want to go.
Our culture almost worships our bodies saying that we need to listen to our bodies to know when we should do something: When we need to sleep, when we need to eat, etc. But this is the thing – there are times when my body is saying it wants sleep and the Spirit of God calls me beyond sleep. There are times when I crave anything sweet to eat and the Spirit of God calls me to fast. There are times when our bodies demand to be bowed to and the Spirit of God says, follow me. Because our obligation is to taking care of our bodies – but to do so as the Spirit of God leads – to do so in a Godly way.
So instead of following after the whims of our hearts and bodies, what should we be listening to? My friends, this is the Good News of Jesus Christ – we have been giving an Almighty Counselor, a guiding friend in the Holy Spirit. This Spirit gives us the power to leave the trap of living for ourselves and our bodies, and to truly live. If you’re someone who feels so trapped and hates their life so much that you have no alternative but to end it – the Spirit of God has the power to set you free. Death holds no power of release, but the Spirit of God – the Spirit of wisdom, of guidance, of love, and mercy – has the power to unshackle you and give you real life.
If you’re someone living the constant nightmare of that aspect of your life which you hate – that one thing which takes over your thoughts and holds you captive, I’m here to proclaim to you that there is freedom in living in the Spirit. God, through Paul says,
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to 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.
Living in the Spirit of God – choosing to accept the gift of God in our lives – means full adoption. When Paul says that we are adopted into sonship – he means the Roman custom of someone being adopted into being the heir of their new father. It is as if they are biologically bound together and can never be separated. By the adoption of the Holy Spirit, we are made joint heirs with Christ. His life is our life. His Father in heaven, who raised Him from the dead, is ours Who is raising us from the death of self to life in the Spirit.
For those of us who choose to live in this Spirit – the Spirit of Pentecost who poured out over the disciples and sent them into the world with the wisdom and faithfulness of God – we choose to live a life free from the bondage to ourselves. Free from the constant chasing after of what the world wants for us. Free from the constant servitude to our own lives. So that we may freely live. And for that, thanks be to God. Amen? Amen.