Okay, thanks so much, Sarah.
So this is just truly a remarkable passage.
And please, whoever you are here today,
tune into what God says is true.
It's one of these passages that you think,
I wouldn't believe this if it weren't for the fact
that God tells me it's true in his word.
And so whoever you are here today,
whatever's going on in your life,
whoever you come here today,
this is something really worth tuning into.
So let me just try and get this to the heart of it.
I lived one of my worst nightmares recently.
So it was the middle of the night
and I'm just hitting the greatly sought after
deep sleep phase of the night.
And I happen to look up and I see at the end of the bed,
I see a silhouette of a person.
And what I do is I inwardly give myself that pep talk.
I think, come on, you've done this so many times before.
You're almost 40.
Never has there really been a person at the end of your bed.
It's just a light hitting the gap in the window
and it appears like that.
It's just time to go back to sleep.
Everything's fine.
But then the silhouette moved
and I discovered it was a person.
It was a little person.
And because I went on a sleepover when I was young
and we watched horror films for that one evening
and I cannot get the images out of my head,
the fact that it was a little child
added to the sense of fear
and I could feel the adrenaline beginning to pump
through my body
and this whole fight or flight thing
kicks into my system.
And I think to myself,
who dares waltz into my bedroom
uninvited in the middle of the night?
And then the answer came to my head,
actually there's three,
technically there's four
when she can learn to walk
that can do that.
And the silhouette spoke
and the silhouette said,
not Mr. Shanks.
Okay, that's how my bank relates to me.
The silhouette said,
not Graham.
That's how you relate to me.
The silhouette said,
Daddy.
Because that's how my children relate to me.
Dear friends,
if you take one thing from this today,
let it be this,
that as earth shattering as this passage is,
it really is simple.
The one thing to take from this passage today
is that this is exactly how
a Christian believer
can relate to the God of the universe.
And if you take one word from this sermon today,
and I hope you take a lot of words,
but if you take one word from it today,
maybe the one that appears at verse 15,
it is the word Father.
Father.
That is what the God of all creation
has done to write that identity
all over our lives.
It's what the God of the Bible does.
His is the light that can transform
the messiest and the darkest
and the bleakest of situations.
Let me just do a little bit of work
on that word Father,
because I don't know how it lands
on many of us today.
It's a deeply relational claim.
It's a deeply intimate word.
And it's one that differentiates Christianity
from every other religious faith system
in the world.
In fact, if you're looking for a little example of that,
here's Muslim scholar Shabir Akhtar,
who died not so long ago,
taught in Oxford for a while.
And he's letting us see how our Muslim friends,
and we love them,
how they understand this.
He says,
Muslims do not see God as their father.
Men are servants of a just master.
They cannot,
in Orthodox Islam,
typically attain any greater degree of intimacy
with their creator.
And so how different, then,
the God of the Bible?
This is a God who has made himself known.
He's made himself known in creation,
generally.
He's made himself known in his word,
specifically.
And he's made himself known in his son,
perfectly.
And those three things come together
and tell you that this God longs to be known.
He is a God who has revealed himself.
And he's a God,
if you turn to the opening pages of the Bible,
who has made human beings in his image.
It means whoever you are here today,
whatever is going on in your life,
you are somebody who has been wonderfully made
in the image of God.
Dignity is not something you earn.
Dignity is something that is pronounced on you
from the outside.
And because we have been made in his image,
dear friends,
it explains why,
as human beings,
we are hardwired for relationship.
Because he is a father, son, spirit.
He is the relational God.
So to be made in his image
helps us understand
why we long for relationships.
And that's why we found COVID so difficult,
wasn't it?
Because for so long,
those relationships,
we can't have them with a screen.
And that's what the word father is telling us.
And I recognize it for many of us here today,
that word doesn't conjure up happy thoughts.
Because I imagine it for many of us,
we know what it is to be deeply hurt
by an earthly father.
And so maybe you hear that word
and you're suspicious.
You're wondering what this father in heaven is like,
whether he's trustworthy,
whether he'll be any good.
If you want to know what he is like,
look at Jesus.
Because there is no God in heaven
who is unlike Jesus.
And maybe for us,
maybe you hear that word father
and actually it's really painful
because you've lost your father.
All of those things
that you most loved about him,
the way that he just knew you,
the way that he could make you laugh,
the way that he could pick you up,
the way that he was there for you
in the hardest of times.
This is the perfect father
who you were created to know.
And I always wonder whether God,
that's the reason why he weaves
these longings and experiences
into the tapestry of human life
so that we'll understand
a little bit more
what he is like.
Those famous words of Augustine
that are a bit cliche,
but one of the things about cliches
is that they're truthful, right?
So you made us for yourself, O Lord,
and our heart is restless
until it rests in you.
This is the father
who we were made to know.
Now last week we thought
as we began this chapter,
as we entered this chapter,
all about Christian assurance,
how the Christian
is united to Jesus.
If you didn't listen to that last week,
go back and listen to it.
It's what it says.
It is to be a Christian,
that declaration
that God makes over us,
remember it?
Those 10 words
that will transform our lives.
There,
now for,
no,
there's,
therefore,
now,
no condemnation
for those in Christ Jesus.
And the word,
so then,
at verse 12,
is Paul's way,
if you see it in the text here,
verse 12,
it's his way of saying,
this is what that now means for you
in your life,
dear Roman Christians.
And here's the earth-shattering truth
that this is telling us,
that this God
isn't simply after us
being declared
innocent rather than guilty,
as wonderful as that is.
the intention of this God's heart
is way bigger than that.
It's way bigger than that.
It's way more glorious than that.
This God
wants us to be
declared
family.
And so we move
downstream
from the declaration
to the invitation.
So in light of that
no condemnation,
how does God invite us,
draw us in
to live?
Two points for us this morning.
Here's number one.
As people who bear
the family likeness.
Now there's a famous story told
of the late
Queen Mum
who turned up
to a royal visit
in her limo
and in the back of the limo
were her children.
Before getting out of the car,
she turns to the back
and she says this line.
She says,
remember children,
royal children,
royal manners.
Now you could be forgiven
for thinking
that's exactly what God
is saying to us here.
Don't let the side down.
Don't slip.
Keep your chin up.
Keep up appearances.
And yet the problem is,
see when I try and live
a God-honoring,
moral life on my own,
I'm not very good at it.
I fall,
I make mistakes,
I hurt people,
I get it wrong.
And God here says,
I know.
Friends, without the Spirit,
you and I are like
a mobile phone
that has run
out of battery.
You can try
all you like
to rub the battery,
try and get the thing started,
speak life over it,
but it doesn't work.
And this is what the Bible
says we were
before Jesus
got involved
in our lives.
We were slaves
like we were singing
in the second song
this morning,
slaves to our sin.
We were slaves
to our flesh.
Everything we were doing
was out of
this
me first
mentality.
But see the hope
for failures
like me
at verse 13.
How do we live
a God-glorifying life?
Just see it
in verse 13.
How do we please
this God?
What do we need?
We need to be connected
to a new power
that will bring us
inwardly
to life.
And feel
those words
by the Spirit.
And that's what
the Spirit living
in us does.
He is the animating
presence of the
Christian life.
He helps us
and just follow
the logic of the
passage.
He helps us
to put to death
the deeds
of the body.
Feel the strength
of that phrase
put to death.
I'm always amazed
when you watch
those programs,
those animal programs.
And you get
the animal
hunter saying
I kind of grew up
with this lion.
I kind of played
with this lion.
I stroked this lion.
I put the bottle
in this lion.
and we're surprised
when we learn
that the lion
grew up
and tried to
eat the person.
Right?
And it's this idea
of recognize
what is going on.
Put to death
the deeds of the body.
Don't stroke.
Don't negotiate.
Don't try and bargain
with.
Sever ties
is what he's saying.
Sever ties
with the old us.
The old us
with the old way
of thinking
and live out
the new us
that God has created
in Christ Jesus.
We've got to see
that this is deeper
than behavior modification.
Right?
This is not fake it
till you make it
with a religious
veneer on top.
Because let me tell you
church is the easiest
place to hide
from God.
The spirit
he transforms
our inner tastes.
The spirit
puts new desires
in us.
And whereas before
we reveled
in our sin
now we come
to find
a greater delight
in the God
who has saved us.
The sin
that pleased us
before
now becomes
odious.
The God
that we flinched
from on the other hand
becomes
entrancing.
And what does
that look like
you see?
A better question
to ask is
who does
that look like?
The spirit
is working
in us
and forming us
so that we would
increasingly come
to bear the image
of Jesus.
Now there's a myth
that's often peddled
in our culture
that God
is a kind of
life stealer.
And I imagine
that's how many
of our dear
non-Christian friends
who we love
might look at us
and think
why would you
sign up for
something like that?
Do you remember
there was this
famous slogan
that was on the
side of buses
in London
a number of years
ago
promoted by
Richard Dawkins.
There probably
is no God
so stop worrying
and enjoy
your life.
Is God
some kind of
killjoy in the sky?
Is he the referee
in the sky
who always
gets it wrong?
The person
who we love
to hate
who's just out
to spoil
the fun?
Friends,
if holiness
is being transformed
into the image
of Jesus
then you look
at Jesus
in the scriptures
and you have
to say
here is a man
who is truly
alive.
The first time
I read about him
thinking that
here is a man
who does not
seem to be
missing out
on life.
So to be
transformed
into his
image
is to become
more human
not less.
Jesus as it were
he shows us
what life
was always
meant to
look like.
And so with
that framework
in mind
if that is
where the
spirit is
pulling us
friends I wonder
here's some
hot questions
for you.
What new
step of obedience
is God the
Holy Spirit
calling you
to make
today?
You know
is there a
sin that you
are making
peace with
in your heart?
That you're
allowing a
foot in
the door?
What is it
that God
is calling you
out of his
grace,
out of his
mercy to
see and
to kill?
Have you
ever prayed
and this is
a scary
prayer
Lord show
me the
hidden bits
of my
heart
and expose
them
even the
bits that
I'm not
even aware
exist.
And if that
battle rages
in your
heart
be encouraged
that the
presence of
the spirit
creates the
conflict.
You know I
used to think
of it like
this, I
used to play
a lot of
football when
I was
younger.
I'm growing
up in the
west of
Scotland.
we didn't
play on
grass pitches,
we didn't
play on
4G pitches,
we didn't
play on
3G pitches,
we didn't
play in
concrete,
but we
played on
something much
worse.
If you
remember this,
if you're
certain vintage,
we played
on this
thing called
ash.
Ash is
just gravel,
red gravel.
And the
thing about
ash is it
completely
wrecked my
knees.
Right?
Every time
you'd fall
on this
ash, it
would just
cut your
knees open.
And so what
I would do
is I would
go home
after every
game and
mum would
get out
the scrubbing
brush and
she would
just scrub
away until
getting most
of the dirt
out.
And then
finally when
she called
it quit,
she whacked
on top of
this cut
pseudocreme.
And boy
did it
sting.
Every time
it stung.
But what
I soon found
out was
true that
the sting
was a sign
in my head
that the
good stuff
was trying
to attack
the bad
stuff.
Yeah?
So the
sting
was a sign
that the
good stuff
was trying
to go
at the
bad
stuff.
And so
here's what
that means.
Friends,
if you feel
yourself in
a fight,
if you feel
like the
Christian life
is tough,
if you feel
like there's
a tug of
war going
on,
that is not
a sign of
failure.
that is a
sign of
faith.
Or if you
want to
quote verse
14 there,
that you
feel the
battle is
proof that
you are a
son and
daughter of
God.
Because if
you weren't,
if the
spirit wasn't
present,
you wouldn't
care.
Let me try
and put this
another way,
friends.
What is going
to transform
Rome?
There's a big
question.
What's going
to transform
Rome?
this letter
written to
Roman believers
living in the
heart, the
motherland of
the empire.
What is going
to transform
Rome?
Where you
are encouraged
to let your
passions run
wild?
Where might
is right?
Where people
are disposable
according to
human wants?
Where society
is based on
where you
were born and
exist in the
ranking system?
What is going
to transform
society?
I take it
it is individual
people coming
to know Jesus
and putting to
death the deeds
of the body.
In other words,
it is only dead
fish who go with
the flow.
How do you
spot a living
fish?
It is going
against the
current.
Students,
if you are here
today, you want
to be revolutionary
amongst your
peers.
You want to
stand out.
I take it that
is a wonderful
thing.
Can I encourage
you from this
passage not to
think protests
and marches
primarily?
Think putting
to death the
deeds of the
body.
Think the
fruit of the
Spirit.
How much are
you going to
stand out if
people look at
your life and
they see growing
inside of you,
and this is what
the Spirit produces
in our lives,
love, joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
and self-control.
Nine words.
I cannot think of
nine words that
are more different
from the social
media age in
which we live.
You want to
stand out at
uni,
you want those
around you to
sit up and
take notice,
live lives
where people can
see that you are
putting to death
the deeds of the
body.
Can I just say
as well,
this is what I
found in five
years when I
was at Aberdeen
University.
There is never
a better week to
do it to nail
your colours to
the mast than
in the first
week.
Yeah, we'll be
praying for you
the first chance
that you get to
be different from
the world around
about you,
take it.
It means saying
no to drink,
it means saying
no to sex,
it means saying
no to drugs.
Take the
opportunity to be
different from
Jesus.
We always say
here at the
church we want
to be walking
question marks in
this world in
which we live.
What is it that
makes those
people tick?
Paul wants
these Christians
to be people
who bear the
family likeness.
And secondly,
he wants them
to be people
who know the
Father's nearness.
And this will
be a lot quicker,
but it is
incredible.
Do you see
verse 15?
What does Paul
not want the
believer to fall
back into?
The word
beginning with
death?
It's fear.
Now, I've
been asking
myself all
week, why
would you
fear?
The word
fall back
there, I
think, is
the clue.
I think it's
falling back
into an old
way of thinking
about God.
Because sometimes,
and I know this
is true in my
life, we're
tempted to think
when we get it
wrong, when we
stumble, when we
doubt, when we're
weary, that God
somehow changed
his mind on
us.
Like he saved
us, and like
you would in
your work, any
job you can go
into, he saved
us and he's put
us on probationary
period.
We'll give it six
months and we'll
see how this
salvation thing
turns out.
For the Spirit
leads us to
relate to God
as a Father
who we can
trust, rather
than a God
that we are
fearful of.
And this is so
important why we
don't base our
faith on our
feelings.
Because our
feelings go up
and down all
the time.
And this is
true on your
best day, this
is true on your
worst day.
That this is how
God wants to
relate to us.
Formally, before
we came to know
this God, because
of our sin, we
were in fear of
judgment.
And we want to
be clear that there
is coming a day
of judgment for
every single human
being who's lived.
We'll have to give
an account for our
lives before the
holy God who made
us.
But if you're a
Christian here today,
what this is telling
you is that your
judgment day happened
2,000 years ago on
an old wooden cross
outside Jerusalem.
And Jesus knew
exactly what he was
doing when he died
for your sin on the
cross.
Jesus doesn't offer
us there a matching
grant.
You know those
things?
People say, I'll put
up the first 50% of
the funds and I
kind of leave it to
you to find the
rest.
It's not how
salvation works.
The number is not
50.
The number is 100.
He took all of our
sin on the cross.
And what that means
is that God the
Father loves Jesus
with fatherly love
because Jesus is his
son by nature.
It means that God
the Father loves you
and I with the same
fatherly love because
we are his sons and
daughters by adoption.
God loves us exactly
how he loves his son
because our lives are
united to his son.
Right?
And I know that's
stretching us a little
bit but it's so
profound.
It transformed my
Christian life when I
understood that.
I'm not right before
this God because of
how I act and how I
am.
I'm loved by this God
way more than I could
possibly imagine
because Jesus has
died and brought me
to himself.
And he'll never change
his mind on us.
You know there's a
woman called Faith
Chang.
She wrote a book
called Peace Over
Perfection and I hope
you can see that with
the contrast.
If not, come and I'll
let, I can give you
the book and you can
read it yourself.
But she says this,
okay.
If drawing near to God
is the goal, maybe we
can aim to return to
him a little quicker
when we fall instead of
staying away because we're
not yet perfect.
Do you feel that?
I often assume that God
is just as impatient with
me as I am with myself.
But he is not like me
and I greatly need his
lengthening perspective.
It's incredible.
I loved that quote when I
read it.
God is not like me.
His patience is so much
greater.
His knowledge is so much
greater.
His love is so much
deeper.
Let me just really quick
and the time we have
left pick out two words
that Paul uses here.
Verse 15.
What does that mean?
How can we come before
this God?
Do you see the word Paul
uses there is not say
or declare?
It is the word cry.
Now that is a really
painful word when you
look at the original.
And when Paul quotes there
Abba Father, he's picked
that phrase deliberately
because that is the phrase
that Jesus cried on his
darkest hour.
On the eve of his death
on the cross as the sheer
terror of what is ahead
of him overwhelms his
soul.
He says Abba Father
in that cry of pain.
And so this means as it
were that we can pray
through the lips of Jesus
when we find ourselves
particularly in those
dark times.
When we are in the depths
of despair.
When the only words that we
can possibly muster up are
the cry of a child
screaming for help
with nowhere else to go
but to dad.
Even then and maybe
especially then
we can pray through the
lips of Jesus and say
Father.
And so next time you pray
we pray let's remember
that through Jesus we have
the Father's undivided
attention.
Remember when I was
grappling with this when
I was young I used to
picture God with a
massive ear bending
down.
He listens, he cares, he
knows, he loves.
As we see next week he's
working all things
together for the good.
And that means that we
can pray with rock solid
confidence when we come
before this God and we
can do it every time.
Second word real quick
see that word air right
at the end of verse 17.
If we're thinking more
about this next week we
just want to try and set
us up.
Do the spike before the
dig.
Can't remember what it
is.
Anyway.
Everything that Jesus
stands to inherit will be
ours by right.
A child inherits not based
on their performance.
A child inherits because of
their family name.
God's life.
And the shape of the
life of Jesus.
Trust in God and the
hardships and the
roller coaster of life
now leading to glory with
God then.
That is to be the shape of
our lives too.
Everything that the son
stands to inherit will be
ours.
We'll think more about that
next week.
But this is the identity
that this God has so
graciously and kindly
written all over our lives.
It's what he does.
He brings newness of life.
He brings forgiveness.
He transforms people who
were spiritual orphans and
makes them spiritual sons.
Now just as we close and I
thought of this dear friend
of mine recently.
I think this is a wonderful
application of this.
I've got a good friend who's
got a tattoo on the top of
his left arm.
And this is his story.
They say every tattoo's got
a story, right?
This is his story.
He grows up in a Christian
family.
He goes to university when
he leaves home.
And in his own words he
drifts from the things of
Jesus.
And part of this phase of
his life he goes on this
rugby tour to a place called
Loret de Mar near Barcelona
if you've ever been there.
It's a nice place.
He gets caught up in the
spirit of the tour to the
extent that he goes to a
tattoo parlor and he gets a
tattoo of the rugby club on
his arm.
And one of those things
that's good in the moment
and then when you wake up
the next day you think I'm
living with that for the
rest of my life.
And years later with this
tattoo still on his arm,
years later he comes back to
Jesus.
And in response he goes to
another tattoo artist and he
says I want another tattoo
but I don't want a tattoo on a
different place on my body.
What I want you to do is I
want you to, the tattoo that
I've got, I want you to
transform it into a collage of
Psalm 23.
So they plan it together and
they come up with this image
and so on top of these
initials of the rugby club is
transformed into a collage of
Psalm 23.
That verse, even through the
darkest valley you will be with
me.
The Lord is my shepherd.
And it was his way of saying
that what God has done for me
has covered all my shame and
regrets, all my foolishness,
all my mistakes.
This God has transformed my
story.
This God has written his story
of grace over all of my life.
And instead of thinking I was
the head honcho of my life, I
now see that he is my loving
shepherd and I want to follow
him.
And that's what this God does.
It's what he does.
He takes the messy lives of
sinful people living in a broken
world like us.
And because of the death and
the resurrection of his son, he
forgives us.
He accepts us.
He welcomes us into his family.
He makes us sons and daughters.
And he promises us to bring us
into his heavenly home and
shower that fatherly kindness
upon us for all eternity.
Friends, if you do not know this
God for yourself, may today be the
day when you put your trust in his
son and come to have life in him.
Why don't we just be quiet for a
minute and then I'll pray.
Just use this opportunity before
everything gets noisy and busy
again.
Bring your cries and your mistakes
and everything that's going on in
your life to this God.
And know the forgiveness and the
newness of life that's found in
Jesus.
And so Father, as your word has gone
forth today, I pray that your spirit
would take these truths and apply
them deep into our hearts.
Like the master farmer, just doing the
work that's needed in the soil.
Lord, I pray that you would be in our
own individual circumstances.
Lord, if there is stuff that we need to
realize today, would you bring a fresh
realization of who we are?
Lord, if there's stuff that we need to
sever today to put to death, Lord, I
pray that you would be bringing a
convicting knowledge of that.
But Father, most of all, I pray that you
would help us to grasp something more
today.
In all of our different generations, in
all of our different life circumstances,
that together we have been declared sons
and daughters of you, the living God.
Father, thank you that you are the God who
is bigger than our mistakes.
Thank you that Christ on the cross, he
absorbed the judgment that was deserved
for us.
And thank you now that we are the
beneficiaries of fatherly love and
perfect care.
So Lord, be with us now as we close our
time as we sing.
May these truths just resonate in our
hearts and in our minds.
Father, be with us as we close.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.