You Gotta Pay Somebody
Romans 8:12-17

Paul is talking about life in the spirit in (Romans 8:1-11) and also contrasting of how if differs from living in the flesh.

Today I want to focus on verses: 12-17

Could Someone Read

Why do I need to listen?

As believers we are either going to live, like we are in debt to the spirit or debtors to the flesh. But I want to tell you today if you live day to day like you have been adopted by an almighty GOD…

THEN…You will live in true life.

Let’s Pray

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

• Brothers=Paul is talking to the Christians at the Church in Rome.

• “We are Debtors”

• we live every moment of our lives, as debters to something, either the spirit or the flesh

• somebody’s going to get paid. Think about this past week, matter of fact this morning.

• Were you walking by the spirit or were you walking by the flesh?

• Because the scripture reads that were NOT supposed to live according to the flesh.

• Flesh = Romans 7. Paul describes the flesh as a prison that he wants to be delivered from —a prison of evil desires.

• Desires that will keep you from experiencing life.

• the flesh—it is the “bad influence on us” It promises us life if we live according to it but, only brings forth death.

• to live = what is your life made up of?

  • actions (speaking, thinking, and doing).
  • Thinking?
    • in Matt:5 Jesus talks about this.
    • Jesus said, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.
    • He also said harboring anger in your heart is murder.
      (earlier in that same chapter)

• So yes even thoughts can be counted as actions.

–Lets get back to the text

“Not to live according to the flesh”

• According = lined up with ( Ex. parents and their rules the desires)

• So the scripture is telling us not to live in line, with what the flesh wants us to do.

• Why = Death! Paul is trying to keep the church from dying.

“But Kam I thought we couldnt die as Christians?”
- Death moments- explain: Christian life/Christian death

• 1 Corin. 3:13-15
  Talks about all of our works being put to the test of fire when Jesus returns.

• Either it is going to be burnt up and the beliver will suffer loss or it will withstand the test of fire and be a reward.

• did you see the contrast in verse 13?

  • Look at the “BUT”

“but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live”

• lined up with Spirit…the Spirit’s rules, the Spirit’s desires.

• We are in a War! Each one of us are in an individul war. Between our Spirit and our flesh.

  • Mortal enemies (Galations 5:17)

ILL:

Native-American Tale:  of the two wolves.

• Chief and grandson.

Two wolves. Always fighting.

1=evil, greed, anger, pride, etc.
2= love, patience, truth, kindness.

Who wins-the one you feed

• NOW WE KNOW AS CHRISTIONS WE ALREADY HAVE VICTORY IN CHRIST.
  • But the day to day battles who are you feeding? Who are you living in debt to?

APPL:

• We have a war to fight.

  AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE SPIRIT IS WINNING!

  • How do we make sure that the spirit is winning?
    • We listen to the spirit.
    • We crucify our flesh daily…
      • As Jesus calls us to in Luke (9:23)

• When we’re loving, when we’re patient, when were kind, when we have peace and fullness of joy, this is…

• Evidence of victory
  (Fruits of the Spirit)

TRANS: Now that weve talked about living according to the flesh and living according to the spirit.

Also what it looks like when the spirit is victorious in our lives.

Lets Have a funeral for our Flesh

Would you look back at verse 14 with me.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

• Led = Son PERIOD (flip)
• One can’t be led by the spirit as a non believer.

How can you tell who is a son of GOD?

• First off by the fruits of the spirit being present in their lives also…

• The word says that you can tell, by their love for one another.

So if youre not loving your brothers and sister in Christ, how does the world know you belong to Christ?

– Lets go to verse 15

15 For 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!”

look at the contrast in that:

Slavery from Fear~Adoption of as Sons

No longer Slaves to fear but are Sons of GOD.

• Right here is says sons. But if you look up what this word is in the Greek, it is talking about anyone who reveres GOD as their father.

Paul here is giving us assurance that we dont need to fear! Because we have this spirit of adoption and are adopted as Children of an ALMIGHTY GOD.

• Everyone is fearing something right now. Look at the US. Biden or Trump getting into office, pandemics, food shortages, war, etc.
  • Some people make their livelyhoods off of peoples fear and fear mongering.

When we live in fear, were paying a debt to the spirit of slavery that Christ has already delivered us from.

• The Spirit that we recieved when we were saved was the Holy Spirit.
  • Living in you RIGHT NOW is the spirit of an almighty powerful GOD…

Jesus also talks about this in the gospel of John.

Turn with me: John 8:34-36

context

Jesus was talking to the Jews who had believed in him. And they were asking him.

“How will you set us free if we have never been slaves”

• Jesus replied,

“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

• So here jesus is elaborating on the idea of Slavery vs Sonship.

And the end of verse 15 says

"you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!

Abba is a reverent term for father in aramaic.

Alpha male: leader

Not Daddy GOD as a lot of you might have heard before. It would be our modern equivalent to Sir. It was a word regarding social fatherhood instead of biological.

• SO IN LIGHT OF VERSE 15… Lets ask ourselves.

Appl:

-When we watching the news are we fearing?

-Are we dictating our actions out of fear?

-What is governing our thoughts and actions today?

• We need to leave this building with a new understanding as believers, that we can not be in more of a relational position with GOD then we are right now. YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR.

LETS THINK ABOUT WHAT DAVID SAID IN PSALM 23 AT THE BEGINNING OF VERSE 5:

“YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES”

-THIS IS THE SAME GOD THAT PREPARES A TABLE FOR YOU IN THE MIDST OF YOUR ENEMIES.

ARE YOU FEASTING? OR ARE YOU SITTING THERE NERVOUSLY?

ILL:
PICTURE THIS: HAVE ANY OF YOU SEEN SAVING PRIVATE RYAN?

• Probably the best war movie ever!!

NORMANDY SCENE

IT WAS CHAOTIC, EXPLOSIONS, MACHINE GUNS FIRING, PEOPLE DYING LEFT TO RIGHT.

• NOW IMAGINE YOURE SITTING ON THE BEACH OF NORMANDY. WITH THE BATTLE RAGING,

• AND YOURE SITTING AT A TABLE WITH A NICE DINNER. ARE PHASED OR WORRIED WHATS HAPPENING AROUND YOU, OR ARE EATING A DINNER THAT THE LORD HAS PREPARED FOR YOU WITHOUT FEAR?

• You should! And those who are around you who dont have that peace. Should be confused.

It SHOULDN’T make sense to them… to see you can be struggling financially and not be worried

It SHOULDN’T make sense to them… to see you be loving and restoring relationships with people who’ve hurt you in the past

It SHOULDN’T make sense to them… to see you not being stress and worried about potential wars and pandemics.

It SHOULDN’T make sense to them… to see you giving your life, time, and resources away to the kingdom.

It SHOULDN’T make sense to them… to see you having awkward gospel conversations in the work place when you could’ve avoided them.

BUT it MAKES SENSE to you…

• Because you know the GOD that you serve.

• YOU KNOW THAT THE ALMIGHTY GOD OF THE UNIVERSE IS FOR YOU.

• We dont do this enough but…

-REMEMBER WHO YOU BELONG TO!

And the way that we remember is through the word, this passage, this sermon. We need to realign our thinking this morning, and daily with this scripture.

Preach

DON’T FEAR!!

• And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.(Matt 10:28)

• There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18 )

• WE should have no fear of man! Only a reverent fear of GOD

LETS LOOK AT VERSE 16

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

-“Our spirit”= Is Describing our individual spirits as believers!

We have competing voices,

…everything in this world is competing for your attention and constantly telling us what to fear.

But we have the Holy Spirit that is telling us that…

• “we are children of God,”

Lets look at verse 17

17 and 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.

Define:
Children = (Defined earlier) Those who are led by the spirit. Those who live in reverence to GOD.
Heirs = One who has recieved their allotted possesion by the right of sonship

“Provided we suffer with him. in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

• We are going to suffer as Christians. (PROMISE)

  • In (2 Tim 3:12) it says, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”

• But were not called to fear this suffering… But embrace it

  • because it’s promised that we will be glorified with Christ from it.

ILLUSTRATION:

Lets just think about what this looked like for 1st century Christians. There was a ruler named…

Nero- Was the 5th Emperor of Rome, who was in power for about 2 years before Paul wrote Romans. And he hated Christians

• He would kill Christians by methods of mockery; some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and then torn apart by dogs, some were crucified, some were burned as torches to give light at night.

Paul is writing those Christians facing that kind of persecution to not live in fear of suffering.

• Today’s Christians (U.S.): Suffer akward conversations, being unfriended or unfollowed on Social Media; being talked about behind their backs.

We havent even had to experience what our brothers and sisters experienced last year in Nigeria.

A wise man once told me: That if I think the American churches are empty now. Let Christians start being killed or arrested for their faith…

But even if this happens-

• Brothers and Sisters we are called to not even fear that suffering because there is Glory on the other side of it.

Application:

We should not fear a person who can only kill us. And we DEFINETLY should not fear a person who is just going to talk bad about us behind our backs. Because we know the glory that is promised to us will come from our suffering.

In Conclusion:

1. We are called to be debtors to the spirit and not to the flesh.

   • The Flesh is going to promise life but give death. The Spirit will promise life and give Life.

2. If you are Led by the Spirit you are a child of GOD.

   • we are not called to live as Slaves to fear, but walk in confidence as Children of an Almighty GOD… (Who is also our Father)

3. We are fellow heirs with Christ.

   • We are called to suffer for his sake with the assurance of of glory that our suffering will produce.

Charge the Audience:

• WE ARE NO LONGER SLAVES!!!
  • WALK IN CONFIDENCE(IN THE WORK PLACE, IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ENEMIES) AS CHILDREN OF GOD. EVEN THROUGH SUFFERING REMEMBER THAT I AM SUFFERING FOR CHRIST IN ORDER THAT I MAY BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM.

LETS PRAY

Bibliography

“Abba Meaning.” Abarim Publication, https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Abba.html.

Blue Letter Bible. Lexicon :: Strong’s G3306 - menō
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3306/kjv/tr/0-1/

Nero Definition:
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. “Entry for ‘NERO’”. “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia”. 1915.