[Sunday, September. 29, 2024] Those Who Are Led by the Spirit of God | Romans 8:12-17

 

[English Sermon 영어 설교]

Sunday, September 29, 2024 - Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn

Those Who Are Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:12-17) 

 

2024. 9. 25. 주일예배 설교- 로마서 강해 17
본문: 로마서 8:12-17

제목: 하나님의 영으로 인도함을 받는 사람

설교자: 손진국 목사

 

What is the greatest joy that a believer in Jesus can experience? Is it making a lot of money? Achieving a high position? Enjoying the blessing of health? Receiving the blessing of long life? Of course, all these things are precious blessings given by God. But the greatest blessing above all these is the blessing of having God with us.

God being with us is revealed in one of God's names. What does this mean? It is Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us.

Matthew 1:23 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).

This verse speaks of how God came to dwell among people as Immanuel when Jesus came to this earth. However, Jesus told His disciples that it would be better for them if He went away, because He would send another Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would always be with them.

Why was it better for the disciples that Jesus would go away? Because Jesus, being fully human, was limited by time and space. But the Spirit of Christ, who is the Holy Spirit, can transcend time and space and dwell among all believers.

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Have you received the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit dwelling in you? Are you someone who is led by the Spirit? Is there anyone who is unsure whether the Holy Spirit is within them? Let me ask again: Do you believe in and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and have you been saved as a child of God? If so, the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

If you have received the Spirit of God and are a child of God, there are some clear characteristics that will be evident in your life. Today, we will discuss two of these characteristics.

 

1. [Passive] Putting to death the deeds of the body.

Romans 8:12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.

In verse 12, we see the idea of debt. Someone who is in debt is compelled to follow their creditor. Even if they don’t want to, they must do it. This is the reality of being in debt.

However, the Bible says that believers are also debtors. But to whom do we owe a debt? We owe a debt to God. God paid the debt of our sins by having Christ pay it for us. As a result, believers are indebted to love. Paul explains that we are not indebted to the flesh. Here, "the flesh" refers to sin, which is the opposite of love. Since Jesus Christ has paid off the debt of sin, we are no longer debtors to the flesh, and we do not have to live according to it.

But we often forget this truth and live according to the flesh, even though we should not.
Romans 8:13 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.

Those who are indebted to the flesh must live according to it. In other words, this means following the sinful desires within our bodies and living in sin.

The phrase "put to death the deeds of the body" refers to resisting the sinful nature within us that, even after we are justified in Christ, still tries to lead us into sin.

The Greek word for "put to death" is "thanatoute" (θανατοῦτε), which means to kill completely and fiercely. When we recognize something as wrong, we must fight against it fiercely and totally. In other words, we must declare war against sin and fight it.

We must utterly reject sin and declare war against wrong attitudes and actions in our lives.

Some people have a wrong attitude toward sin. One might say, "Since I believe in Jesus, since I am saved, since I have been declared righteous, and since there is no condemnation, it’s okay if I sin." This is a wrong thought. Another might think, "I can control sin on my own," which is also incorrect. Remember, this is a war.

Evil spirits take hold of our weaknesses to tempt us into sin.

Let’s consider some common sins we face. Next week, we will begin a Bible study called "Journey of Faith," and in the next level, called "Serving in the Journey of Faith," we will study spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare can be understood on three levels: personal, occultic, and territorial. Territorial spiritual warfare refers to the influence of evil spirits in a specific region. For example, in places like Thailand and Southeast Asia, spirits of immorality are active, while in Korea and many other countries, the spirit of Mammon (materialism) has a strong influence. What kind of spirit is most active in New Zealand?

Many say it is the "spirit of laziness," and I think they are right. But this laziness doesn't only affect Kiwis—it has also had a significant influence on the Korean community here.

Some might not consider laziness a sin, but it is. Laziness is something God dislikes. In the parable of the talents, we see three servants—one given five talents, another two talents, and the last one talent. The servants with five and two talents each doubled what they were given through business, and their master called them "good and faithful servants." But the servant who buried his one talent and blamed his master for it was rebuked and called "wicked and lazy." The opposite of faithfulness is laziness. Laziness keeps us from being faithful, and we must remember that it is a sin. Especially for believers living in New Zealand, we must declare war on laziness, particularly spiritual laziness.

The command to "put to death the deeds of the body" begs the question: how do we do that? To answer simply, it is not something we do by our own power, but something the Holy Spirit does. How? The Holy Spirit does not focus on changing our sinful actions; He changes our motivations. What does this mean? Rather than cutting off sin legalistically, the Holy Spirit leads us to remember the grace of Christ’s forgiveness, filling us with gratitude and love, which weakens the power of sin. When we are overflowing with gratitude and love for God, we begin to hate sin itself, and the power of sin loses its grip on us.

To explain this practically: imagine you're playing a violent video game, watching inappropriate content, choosing to watch dramas at home instead of going to church, sleeping instead of praying, or feeling hatred toward someone. The Holy Spirit will make you feel uncomfortable about these things. It’s a sign to stop. How do we respond? We might say, "If I keep doing this, God will not be pleased." "If I stop, God will be happy." "This is something a Christian shouldn’t do." "If I continue, it will hurt those around me." "If I do this, people will see me as faithless." "This is something a believer should not be doing."
Reacting this way to the Holy Spirit’s conviction only uses fear of the law to suppress temptation, which isn’t a good approach. Why? Because we’re still focusing on sin.

Meditating on sin in the face of the law leads us to think, "I shouldn’t do this... but I’m doing it anyway." Inside, the temptation only grows.

We need a different approach. The gospel provides the better response. Preach the gospel to yourself: "Look at what God has done for me. Think about the love of Jesus, who was crucified for me. He shed His blood and had His flesh torn to save me, and what am I doing in return?" When faced with temptation, we must turn to the gospel, meditate on how God has loved us, and stop focusing on sin. Don’t dwell on sin, but on the love of the cross. God hates sin so much that He nailed His Son to the cross, but He also loves us so much that He did it for our sake. This is why He sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts, to show us the ugliness of sin, and to replace the desire to follow the flesh with a heart that loves our Savior. This is how the Spirit puts to death the deeds of the body, as described in verse 13.

Rather than approaching the temptation of sin legalistically, may we all become believers who, as debtors of love, deeply reflect on God’s love through the gospel, hate sin from the heart, and put to death the deeds of the body.

[Application] Have you ever tried hard to put to death the deeds of the body but failed and felt guilt? How often do you preach or proclaim the gospel to yourself?

 

2. [Active] Living According to the Spirit

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

The Spirit of God is the Spirit who leads. To be led by the Spirit of God means to live according to the Spirit.

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

The Spirit of truth is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, and the Holy Spirit. When He comes, He leads the believers, the children of God.

How does the Holy Spirit guide us, and how do we live according to the Spirit? The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

But what does it mean to be guided into all truth? In John 16:13, it says that when the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide us into all truth, and then it says He will not speak on His own but will only tell us what He hears. Why does it suddenly say this? From whom does the Holy Spirit hear? It is Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is the truth. So being led into all truth means being led to Jesus.

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit teaches us the words of Jesus, the teachings, thoughts, and will of Jesus.
Therefore, living according to the Spirit means being led to Jesus, who is the Word of God, and following Jesus’ thoughts, words, actions, values, and priorities, becoming more like Him.

Those who are led by the Spirit and live according to the Spirit have thoughts that arise in their hearts when they are about to make decisions: “What would Jesus do?” “What would Jesus think?” “What would Jesus say?”

I hope you will actively live according to the Spirit, thoroughly imitating our Lord Jesus Christ, and live as little Christs.

The word “Christian” means “little Christ.” When we live according to the Spirit and become like Jesus in every way, we live as little Christs.

[Summary] I hope that everyone here becomes someone who is led by the Spirit of God. Rather than focusing on the temptations of sin that arise within us, may we deeply meditate on the great love of God through the cross as debtors of love, hating sin at its core and putting to death the deeds of the body.

And may you all live according to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, thoroughly becoming like Jesus, who is the truth, so that your thoughts, words, and actions all resemble Jesus. I bless you in the name of the Lord.

[Application] Have you recently experienced resisting the temptations of the flesh by being led by the Holy Spirit? How often do you think, “What would Jesus do?” in your daily life?

 

[Romans 8:12-17]

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, 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 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to 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.

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.