Sermon – “Heirs of God” – Romans 8:13-17

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – “Heirs of God” – Romans 8:13-17
Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Presbyterian Churches
May 23, 2010

Listen to this sermon.

Today is Pentecost Sunday. This is the birthday of the church. We remember the morning, just fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when the Holy Spirit entered the world and empowered the church. Since that moment we have never been alone and God has never been distant because in the Holy Spirit God is with us to empower and comfort us. So this is a glorious day as we celebrate the Holy Spirit with us here in this church. That’s why we are decorated in red to symbolize the Holy Spirit coming as tongues of fire. But before the fireworks start let us pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
Romans 8:13-17 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of 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.

If you search for the keyword “spiritual” on Google you will find 93,500,000 websites. There are over 85,000 books on the topic of spirituality on Amazon. TV and movies are filled with stories about the spirit world. By any measure Americans are looking for a genuine spirituality. But they don’t seem to be particularly successful in finding what they are looking for. So they keep searching for new churches or reading new books trying to find the spirituality they need.

Some say that they are “spiritual but not religious”. This indicates a failure on the part of churches to provide the genuine spirituality people are looking for. Churches are divided in controversy, held back by tradition, and consumed with ethical enforcement. People seeking genuine spirituality have been overworked, criticized and sometimes abused by churches. So people search for answers in bookstores and on the internet, hoping that they will find what we all need, a genuine spirituality.

The Church of Rome was searching for a genuine spirituality in the middle of the first century. This church had been founded shortly after the Day of Pentecost when a few pilgrims who had heard Peter speak that day in Jerusalem went back to Rome and started a church. This church was primarily Jewish in nature, but had a significant outreach to gentiles. In 49AD the Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. People like Priscilla and Aquila were forced to leave Rome leaving the gentiles behind in the church. The gentiles then took leadership of the Roman Church until the death of Claudius when the Jews returned. As Jews returned to the church they tried to retake their former leadership positions but were rejected by the gentiles who now held those positions. As a result the church was divided by conflict. And this conflict prevented its members from finding the genuine spirituality they were looking for. So when Paul heard about the conflict in Rome he wrote a letter, the Book of Romans, to the church telling them that genuine spirituality can only be found in Jesus Christ.

According to Paul we are all spiritual people. But the spirits we inherit from our ancestors are spirits of sin. These spirits so warp us that even though we may want to do what pleases God, we cannot. The spirit of sin is like a disability that affects everyone. It causes us to always pursue our own wills and desires, completely ignoring what our creator wants. We satisfy the cravings of self-love rather than the needs of our neighbors whom we are supposed to love. Even though we were created in the image of God the spirit of sin so distorts us that God’s image can just barely be seen. When people search for spirituality outside of a spirit filled church they find this spirit of sin. The spirit of sin causes us to fear. And fear is what the devil uses to get us to give up our freedom and become slaves. We become slaves to adultery, or slaves to lying, or slaves to stealing, or slaves to killing, or slaves to money and power, or slaves to false gods. We are all enslaved by our fears by the spirit of sin.

According to Paul there is only one way to find a genuine spirituality. You can’t find by chanting for hours until your mind goes numb. You can’t find it in loud music mesmerized by its strong beat. You can’t even find it in the beauty of a mountaintop or seashore. Genuine spirituality can only be found in Jesus Christ because Jesus sends his Spirit to kick out the spirit of sin that has enslaved us. Only Jesus’ Spirit frees us to be what God created us to be. Jesus’ Spirit does this by making us children of God. As children of God, we no longer inherit the spirit of sin from our ancestors. Now we inherit the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The reason God sent his Spirit into the world was to prepare us for the coming age. It prepares us for the eventual transformation of this world. The Holy Spirit which transforms us in the church will one day transform all of creation. To prepare for this day we must first be adopted as children of God and heirs to his kingdom. But as heirs to his kingdom we also have responsibilities. Paul talks about the responsibilities in chapter 12 of Romans.
Romans 12:9-18 Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Nothing in this list would be remotely possible for someone with the spirit of sin. But with Spirit of Christ in us all these things are doable and must be done. Christ has redeemed our past and now Christ’s Spirit is leading us into an exciting future.

I once heard a story about a man who went to a hardware store looking for a new saw. The salesperson showed him the most current model and said that with it a person could cut ten cords of wood a day. The next day the man returned. He was exhausted and could barely drag himself and the saw into the store. He told the salesperson that after working all day with the saw he was only able to cut one cord of wood. “There must be something wrong with the saw”, he said. So the salesperson took the saw and his exhausted customer and went outside behind the store. There he started the saw. “What’s that sound?” the man asked. “I have never that before.” Without power it is very hard to cut wood with a chain saw. The same is true with us. Without the power of the Holy Spirit it is very difficult to please God. But if Christ’s Spirit is within us we inherit the power we need to please God as God’s children.

So how do we know if we have Christ’s Spirit within us and that we are heirs of the kingdom and children of God? This is a vital question because if we do not have Christ’s Spirit within us we are still infected with the spirit of sin which leads to death. If we want eternal life then we must receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So how do we know for certain that we have received this gift?

According to scripture we know that we have received the gift of the Spirit of Jesus Christ when our behavior begins to change. Without the Holy Spirit we are sinners who do what displeases God. So if we displease God with our behaviors we know for certain that the Holy Spirit is not in us. But when we see our behaviors begin to change and we start doing things not motivated by our own selfish desires but by a desire to please God then we know for certain that the Holy Spirit is with us, empowering us, and that we are heirs of the kingdom of God. So when you experience a desire to sing in the choir, or help a Sunday school class, or volunteer at Samaritan Shelter or come to Sunrise Prayers then you will know that the Holy Spirit is in you transforming you into what God created you to be.

Holy Spirit, come into our lives this day. Empower us to live as obedient children of God. Prepare us for the day when all of creation will be transformed. Give us a genuine spirituality. And bless us with willing spirit to live in ways pleasing to God. Amen.

Share