Several people approached me before preaching on Sunday to let me know that Romans 8:12-25 was one of their favorite passages in the Bible. So, I sure hope that I did that passage justice for those of you who love it, and I hope that the wonder of that passage still resonates in your hearts. What a text!
Here are just a couple of things that I think might help.
Seeing the forest…
One of the things we’ve tried to do in the Romans 5-8 series was to take on larger chunks of this passage to hit the major overall thought of these chapters. We were jealous to get a 30,000-foot view of these mountainous texts. This is why we covered Romans so quickly throughout the summer.
I know from talking with many of you that you wish we could take more time on every element of these chapters. But, if you think about it, that’s not how the original readers would’ve heard it. They would’ve listened to the letter of Romans in one sitting. That’s created some of our reasoning. We wanted to get a little feel for what they might’ve heard.
Another reason for taking bigger chunks is that it helps us see the more prominent themes. You know, often, in our Bible studies, we “can’t see the forest for the trees.” We get so far down into the “weeds” or the small, tiny details, and we miss the overall thought of what the passage is saying.
This is why we’ve taken larger chunks to study on Sundays. Now, that won’t be the case for the next two Sundays.
Heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ:
This is a good indication of what I just mentioned. We could’ve spent a lot of time on this phrase in vs. 17. But the overall theme of Romans 8:1-27 is about God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to us, who resides within us. However, I want to mention something about this verse that I had cut out of the message.
The children of Israel were always aware of their inheritance as God’s people. They were going to inherit a particular land and a specific place. But what got lost in this was the fact that more than their inheritance of material things, God was their inheritance. And for the Levites, in particular, God made this very clear: “Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him.).”
So, when you get into Romans 8:17, the idea of God being our inheritance is in the background of this promise. John Stott put it like this: “It is possible, however, that the inheritance Paul has in mind is not something God intends to bestow on us but God himself. Indeed, it is difficult to suppress the richer and deeper thought that God himself is the inheritance of his children.”
What makes this remarkable is that with the Holy Spirit residing within us, it is a foretaste of this inheritance. And as we saw on Sunday, according to Ephesians 1:13-14, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. This guarantee is because He is God, and if our inheritance is God, He is the downpayment until we make it home.
If you’re a child of God, the Holy Spirit resides within you. And if He is, you are guaranteed that He will carry you home. He is a foretaste of the inheritance to come. What a joy!
As summer winds down:
I do love summer. I look forward to the rest, doing outdoor stuff, etc. But man, this summer was a whirlwind for us. I’ve heard from some of you who’ve said the same thing. Our kids return to school on August 28th, which is hard to believe.
But one thing I do look forward to is being back in a bit of a routine. I like habits and routines. I like schedules and being on task. So, I’m looking forward to the fall and things calming down a bit.
Looking ahead:
This coming Sunday, we will study Romans 8:26-30, and then we’ll finish this series on August 28th at One Champion Field.
From the Cheap Seats:
- Well, Man U is in a complete meltdown. So fun to watch…
- This coming week College Football Season begins. And I love football.
- It has been a crazy week for my Texas Rangers. They fired their manager on Monday, then on Wednesday fired their President of Baseball Operations. And no, they have not asked for my opinion, but I do think both moves will turn out for the best. It was time to move on from Chris Woodward, even though he’s a really good guy. And I feel the same thing about Jon Daniels.
Have a great week, living under the freedom from condemnation that your Savior has delivered to you.
To watch or listen to the sermon described in this post, please click here.
In Christ,
Dave York
