Romans 8:12-17

• 12 Therefore, brothers, 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 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.

• I. We have obligations.
• II. We have the Spirit of God.
• III. We have sonship and inheritance in God's family.
• IV. We have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings and glory.

I. We have obligations!

"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it."
(Romans 8:12)

You are NOT obligated to give your body what it craves.

• You are not obligated to many things/people who want things of you.
• You are not obligated to give the most expensive cat food to your cat on your cat's schedule.
• You are not obligated to give your children everything they want, even if they throw a fit.
• You are not obligated to say "yes" to every request people make of you.
• You are not obligated to obey the demands of criminals.
• You are not obligated to always obey the government, if their demands are wrong.
• You are not obligated to say "yes" to your body when it craves harmful drugs, too much alcohol, too much chocolate, too much rest, etc...

You ARE obligated to do what is right.

You are obligated to care for your family.

8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
(I Timothy 5:8)

You are obligated to be faithful to your spouse.

• 18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
• 19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
• 20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
• 21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
  (Prov 5:18-21)

You are obligated to give a days work for a days pay.

• 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
• 11 We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
• 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
  (2 Thess 3:10-12)

You are obligated to be a good citizen and pay taxes.

• 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
• 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.
• 7 ¶ Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.
  (Romans 13:5-7)

You are obligated to obey God's Ten Commandments.

You are obligated to love your neighbor as yourself.

• 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?"
• 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead.
• 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
• 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
• 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
• 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
• 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
• 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
• 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
  (Luke 10:29-37)

You are obligated to live for the Lord Jesus.

You are obligated to give to the Lord's work.

• 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings.
• 9 You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me.
• 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
  (Malachi 3:8-10)

You are obligated to pray for those in need.

You are obligated to spread the Gospel.

• 14 I am bound (obligated in Greek) both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
• 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
  (Romans 1:14-15)

II. We have the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the flesh but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

The moment you became a Christian, the Holy Spirit came into your body, spirit and life. "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit," Paul told the Corinthians. The Holy Spirit baptized you into Christ's Body, the Church. Christ has baptized you WITH the Holy Spirit, and you are filled with the Holy Spirit, so you can serve the Lord.

Do not think you can lose the Spirit. He is always there. But you must consciously choose to listen to Him, to NOT grieve Him, and to stop quenching Him.

Ephesians 4:30 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

I Thess 5:18-19 "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit."

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who makes us FEEL that God is our Father, and that we are His children.

III. We have sonship and an inheritance in God's family.

• 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.
  (Romans 8:14-16)

In our culture and time "sonship" speaks to us only of gender. A boy child is a son. A girl child is a daughter. Both sons and daughters share equally if there is an inheritance. Up until fairly recent times in Western culture, girls and even wives did not inherit the stuff of the man of the family. Daughters did not inherit. Even wives did not inherit. It all revolved around males. This was true in English and American common law until recent times.

For example: If you have ever seen the movie, or read the book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. A family in England in the 19th century has five daughters, and no sons. Because there are no sons, when the father/husband head of the family dies (Mr. Bennet), his wife (Mrs. Bennet) and daughters will be turned out of the house and off the estate, and his land and money will go to his nearest male relative, who happens to be a spineless, good for nothing clergyman named Mr. Collins. All of the action of the book/movie revolves around how important it is for the daughters to marry wealthy husbands, who can take care of them, and also who can care for their mother, if Mr. Bennet should die.

But In the New Testament, all believers, both men and women, are referred to as "sons of God." Paul uses "sonship" to speak particularly about PRIVILEGE more so than gender. Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians:

• 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
• 27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
• 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
  (Galatians 3:26-29)

• 3 ¶ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
• 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade— kept in heaven for you,
  (I Peter 1:3-4)

IV. We have the privilege of sharing life with Jesus Christ, both in His sufferings and his glorification.

Sufferings are hard for us to understand and harder to bear. We have grown up in the USA in the 20th century, and we don't really experience much suffering. We have not been hungry. We have not been homeless. We have not been beaten up by the authorities. And so on. So when we experience our small sufferings, we think we are really put upon!

Paul and the Apostles and the Christians of the First Century really knew what it meant to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

Mr 8:31 "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again."

• 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
• 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
  (Acts 9:15-16)

• 27 ¶ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel
• 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved-and that by God.
• 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,
• 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
  (Philippians 1:27-30)

• 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
• 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
• 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
• 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
• 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
  (I Peter 4:15-19)

Jesus was rejected, mocked, whipped, crucified and killed. Nearly all the Apostles were executed by the authorities because they preached the Gospel and planted churches. Paul was beheaded. Peter was crucified upside down. Hundreds of thousands, and even millions of Christians have been imprisoned, tortured and killed down through the centuries. Not for any crimes, but for their faithfulness to Jesus.

Sometimes also, we suffer for the glory of God unknowlingly, as Job did. Job lost his children, his wealth and his health. He hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't see that he was suffereing for his testimony, but he was. God was allowing Satan to test Job, for the glory of God. Omar and Mervat Nuwayid, our missionaries, are now suffering precisely as Job did thousands of years ago. God is allowing Satan to bring great suffering into their lives. Why? For the glory of God. They are suffering for their love of Jesus Christ, and the angels of Heaven are glorifying God because of them, and so are we.

You and I have suffered very little for the name of Jesus. But if you do, don't regret it. Rather rejoice that God has found you worthy to share in the sufferings of Jesus our Savior.

Conclusion: What then do we see in this little passage in Romans chapter eight? Four things:

• I. We have obligations.
• II. We have the Spirit of God living in us.
• III. We have sonship and inheritance in God's family.
• IV. We have we have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings and glory.