P121-040125 Rom. 8:16 Do You Really Know Who You Are? Here’s How

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

So we’re in this beautiful passage, Romans chapter 8, life in the Spirit, life in the resurrection of Jesus. Don’t make the mistake, though, of thinking that Romans 7, where it describes our carnal humanity and our being in a condition where we don’t do the very things we want to do and the very things we don’t want to do, we do. Don’t think that that is… pre-Christian life, and Romans 8, life in the Spirit, is post-Christian life, that is, Christian life now. Many make that mistake, but that is not the tenor of Romans at all. Paul is not describing the dark side of humanity where we’re unconverted in chapter 7, and then the light side of humanity where we’re converted in chapter 8. On the contrary, Paul is describing life in the kingdom of grace. Both in Romans chapter 7, where we are frustrated with our humanity that still exists until Christ comes and changes this mortal into immortality, yet it is not counted against us. We are dead to the law and dead to the accusations of our humanity. and also describing that same life which we now recognize is in the Spirit in chapter 8. So try not to make that mistake. It is a very, very common one. Let me remind you that Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8 are descriptions of life in the kingdom of grace. We are freed from the judgment of God and brought into reconciliation with Him in chapter 5, freedom from wrath. We are freed from the identity of sin and its judgment and condemnation because Christ has taken our life upon himself at the cross. That’s chapter 6, freedom from sin. And we are freed from the judgment of the law and the condemnation of the law in chapter 7. And then chapter 8 comes, we are freed from the power of death because we now live in the resurrected life of Jesus by faith. So freedom from wrath, sin, law, and death because we are reconciled to the heart of the Father, chapter 5. We have the new identity in Christ, chapter 6. We have the righteousness of Jesus, chapter 7. And we have the resurrection of Jesus, chapter 8. So I just need to keep reminding you of the background of these verses, otherwise you will get bogged down, possibly, in a verse or two that you misinterpret. So here we are now in this beautiful passage where it says, This is Romans 8, verse 15. Now, what I have just previously said by review is important here, because when we receive the spirit of adoption, by which we cry out, we are receiving that Spirit completely contrary to what our natural mind says, because our natural mind says, you are no good. You don’t measure up. You don’t amount to anything. What’s wrong with you? You can never do anything right. All of these accusations come because that’s the description that Paul, not because, but and that is the description that Paul has given us in chapter 7 about our condition, right? You remember that. where he says, “…I know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing I do not understand. For what I will to do that I do not practice. For what I hate that is what I do.” This is the natural state of our humanity. And yet, our spirit is telling us that we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father. Now, do you see the contradiction here? The paradox. We are in a broken, fallen humanity that accuses us, but we are also by faith in the Spirit that affirms that we are children of God, adopted. Now, are you ready and are you prepared to accept that contradiction in your mind? There are many millions of Christians who do not accept that contradiction, and they say, what’s wrong with me? I don’t get it. I’m supposed to be converted, and yet I have these failings and foibles and inadequacies all the time and accusations in my mind. And if God is going to get through to us, he will have to assure us that we’re growing up in His Spirit, and that in faith in Him, we are prepared to affirm realities that would shock us if it were not for the fact that it is the Holy Spirit that is building our faith. You know, it sounds to many non-Christians as they hear Christians talk that we are real pompous people, that we are so arrogant and proud, and that we think we’re special as Christians. Well, we’re not special, of course, because it is God’s love that makes us special. But once we know God’s love and the grace that Christ has given to us, we are bold. We’re bold Christians. You remember the book of Hebrews talks so much about boldness. We come boldly before the throne of grace. Why? Is it because we’re proud and pompous and think we’ve got something to offer God? No, we are bold because we have learned that Jesus Christ… has taken our identity and judgment and enters the throne room of the Father on our behalf. That’s why we’re bold, you see. So when Paul says we have received the Spirit of adoption, you and I must be willing, listen, really willing to be bold in regard to our faith. You can say to God, You see how this faith counters the accusations of the mind. And you understand how important that is in regard to your, if you’re struggling with addictions like drugs or alcohol or food issues or sexual temptations or pornography or something. You need the boldness of faith to know. that Christ is counted as your righteousness. Christ’s life is counted as yours. Christ’s victory is counted as yours. Even though you sit in defeat, you say, Father, I have failed you, and yet I thank you that Christ is my victory. This is the boldness of faith. It is the wrestle of faith. And if you don’t know the wrestle of faith, I’m sorry, but you haven’t yet grasped the truth of the gospel. The gospel sets up an island of resistance to the accusations of your mind. It’s wonderful. And then verse 16 then, the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Now notice this. Your spirit does not bear witness to your spirit that you are a child of God. Your spirit says you’re not good enough. Who are you fooling? You think you’re a Christian? You’re not a Christian. You’re a hypocrite. You just pretend all the time. You present the best side of yourself on Sunday morning, and then the rest of the week goes by and you hardly think about God. These are the accusations of your mind, you see. And they are the witness of your natural mind to your mind. But that is not the witness of the Spirit. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Now, why do you think this is so? Because the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead, before creation ever began, and when the world was still not in existence, God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit must have said among themselves, How shall we support the human race when it falls, when it falls into sin, when it is overcome by its own guilt and shame and fear? How shall we enable them to keep hanging on to us? I’m speaking in human terms, of course, but the Holy Spirit must have said in some way, I will go down to them and I will help their minds to believe so that they are not overwhelmed by their own self-accusations. Isn’t that wonderful when you think about it? The Spirit of God has been sent down to the earth to encourage people to trust in him. to witness to their spirits, you are a child of God. Yes, your life is messed up. Yes, you don’t really know who the Savior is yet, but I am here to support you. I am here to give you faith. I am here to help you to believe. I am here to point you to Jesus Christ, who is your righteousness and salvation and victory. This is how the Spirit of God works. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit know that there is no innate power in our minds to believe in God. Faith is a gift from God, and it is given by the Holy Spirit. And this is where it says it so clearly. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. This is a verse that demonstrates conclusively that faith is a gift from God. Because what does the Spirit do when he bears witness that we are children of God? Why, he gives us faith, of course. Faith that Christ is our righteousness. And that’s how we have the courage to keep going in this world. Everything hits us. Finances, health issues, relationships broken down, loss of a job, struggles with our own human nature, all kinds of wrongs go on in this world. Suffering, death, grief, sorrow, and yet the Spirit himself comes to us and bears witness to us that we are children of God. Our spirit would say, God must have forsaken me. Our spirit says, I haven’t been obedient to him and this is why all this is happening to me. Our spirit will only accuse. You have to make a distinction between your spirit bearing witness to yourself and the Holy Spirit bearing witness to your spirit as to who you are. The issue in this verse is, who am I? Who am I? In yourself, you cannot identify yourself. In yourself, you feel adrift. You feel separated from yourself. You feel a defeated foe. Rather, you feel defeated. You feel lost. You feel you cannot place yourself in the universe. You ask yourself questions like, why is this happening to me? What’s wrong with me? And so you cannot identify yourself by your own spirit. But when you look to Jesus Christ, and you don’t look to the Spirit, by the way, for the Spirit does not testify of Himself. He testifies of Jesus Christ. You look to Jesus Christ and you say, there, that’s who I am. I am counted as in him as if I were his brother, as if I were in his righteousness, as if I were whole in his wholeness. That’s who I am. It is the Spirit himself bearing witness to my spirit that I am a child of God, not I myself. Well, thank you very much for joining me today. Colin Cook here with a bit of a cold still and excuse my voice. And you’ve been listening to my broadcast, How It Happens. You can hear this broadcast any time of the day or night on your smartphone. Simply download a free app, soundcloud.com or podbean.com and key in How It Happens with Colin Cook when you get there. If you would kindly consider a donation, it would be so helpful. This is listener-supported radio in its 27th year now. Send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Or you can make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thanks so much for all your support. See you next time. Cheerio and God bless.