Holy Trinity Sunday –
Romans 8:14-17—Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For
you did not receive a spirit that makes you slaves again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of sonship, and by him we cry,
“Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are the children of God. If we are children, then we are also
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.
The rich just keep getting richer. The power hungry have their way. The greedy get what they want. The guilty get off free while the innocent
come out on the short end of the stick. Doesn’t
it seem like the good guys always finish last?
Is it any surprise then, that many of the children of this world adopt a
philosophy which says “the end justifies the means?” But where does that put the Christian, the
child of God, who attempts to live a life of loving response to God’s goodness? Needless to say, it puts us in a difficult position!
We want to live our life for Christ – but would Jesus
always be proud of us for what goes on behind the closed doors in our homes? We want to respond to God’s goodness with
willing obedience to his will – but would Jesus always be proud of us for what
we do at work? We want our lives to be
living sacrifices to the Lord – but would Jesus always be proud of us for the
thoughts and attitudes that roll around in our heads? You know the answer to those questions! So what are we to do? Well, we’re not going to give up! We’re not going to give in! We’re not going to live however we want! We’re not going to join the world in adopting
the philosophy that the end justifies the means! Instead, what we are going to do is go back
to the power for holy living – our Triune God.
There we see that the Father adopted us; the Son suffered for us; and the
Spirit leads us.
Recently, one of my sisters adopted a little girl from
She
has made a total break from her former way of life. She once had to share a bed, now she has her
own. She once had no real home, now she
has one with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
She once had nothing to call her own, now she has toys, shoes, and a
closet of clothes. She once had no
family, now she’s got a mom, grandma and grandpa, uncles and aunts,
nieces and nephews. Now she has been
baptized. Now she’s learning God’s
Word. Now she has privileges and rights
and an inheritance that she never had before.
The same can be said for us. Our Triune God has adopted us. Just look at the words used in our lesson
this morning: “Sons of God…Sonship…Abba, Father…Children of God.” And it is our Triune God who has done all the
work. You see, God the Father created
all things. He gave Adam and Eve life,
but not just any life, he created them in the image of
God. That meant they were perfect: they
perfectly understood the will of God, were in perfect harmony with it, and were
able to perfectly carry it out. But then
sin entered the world. And what did sin
do to that relationship? Listen, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound
of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and
they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where
are you?” He answered, “I heard you in
the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid”
(Genesis 3:8-10). Does that sound
like a person who has a perfect love and devotion for their God with whom they
are in perfect harmony with? No. That is because what they had was gone. The relationship God created between him and
man had been ruined by sin. This would
have terrible consequences. “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a
son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth” (Genesis
5:3). Now, children would be born in
their parent’s image – sin. There is no
way to escape it. And so it is true of
us, “Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). “Flesh
gives birth to flesh” (John 3:6). “Like the rest, we were by nature objects
of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Thus, we
were born outside of God’s family, slaves to Satan, and heirs of hell.
So, if something was to change, something had to be done. And as slaves to Satan and heirs to hell we
were powerless to do anything. So our
Triune God chose to adopt us. He decided
to take action. He would do that which
would be difficult and painful and heart wrenching only to him. So, God the Son was sent to be our Redeemer
to win for us the robe of righteousness.
He would make the investment in blood, sweat, and tears. He would walk the lonely, difficult road to
the cross. He would be tempted but never
sin. He would suffer unimaginable and
excruciating pain. He would be forsaken
by the Father. He would carry all of our
sins. He would be punished for all of
our sins. He would die. Think of the well known words of our gospel
this morning, “Just as Moses lifted up
the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned”
(John
Then,
it was the work of God the Holy Spirit who planted, cultivated and created
faith in our hearts to believe that the Son’s work counts as our own. In baptism he led each of our lost souls back
to God. Working through water and the
Word he took us out of the realm of the devil and transported us into the
household of our heavenly Father. Now we
are children of God. We have made a
total break from our former way of life.
Once we were children of the devil, now we hear God say to us, “You are
my child.” Once our future home was
hell, now our future home is heaven.
Once we had nothing to call our own, now we call forgiveness and
salvation our own; we call God our Father and Christ our brother. Now we have privileges and rights and an
inheritance that we never had before.
Now we
have the power for holy living. “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are
the sons of God. For you did not receive
a spirit that makes you slaves again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, and by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Now there is no reason for us to think that
we need to try and earn our own salvation.
And that is what being a slave to fear is. When a person tries to “get in good” with God
on the basis of their own works, they are filled with the fear of never knowing
if they have done enough. If a person
tries to convince themselves that they can earn heaven by leading a life
“better than the next guy,” they are filled with the fear of failure, because
they will always have to fear the wrath of God.
But we don’t have to think that way!
We are sons and daughters of God by means of adoption! We are heirs of heaven! Brothers and sisters of Christ! And we are all these things because it has
all been done for us. Our Triune God has
released us from the prison of sin. Now
we are free…free to talk to him as a dear friend. Every day, in every circumstance, we can
place our hand in his through prayer and lay on him our perplexities, problems,
sorrows, woe and worry. And this IS
part of our living holy lives to him. We
honor him by relying on him instead of ourselves. We honor him by boldly and confidently
turning to him just as dear children turn to their dear father.
Our
Triune God has freed us from the bondage of guilt. Now we are free…free to be filled with
peaceful confidence. We can trust that
our Father will not give us a stone when what we really need is bread. We can have the calmness that comes from
knowing that all things work for the good of those who love God. We can be filled with the peace of his
abiding presence, knowing that we are never out of his care or concern and never
at a loss for someone stronger or wiser.
And this IS part of our living holy lives to him. Trusting him in everything!
Indeed
we are free! But, this does not mean that
we now have permission to do anything we please. It is not freedom to sin more and more. As children in God’s spiritual family, we
recognize that God is still God. He is
not just a spiritual friend, he is still in control and his will is still the
last word. He is deserving of honor and
respect…to the utmost degree…and in everything.
The power he gives us to live holy lives is to be used in freedom for
service, for love, for thanksgiving and thanksliving. Now, with his power we are to say no to
living like the world does with its selfishness and “end justifies the means”
motto. We are to live for him whether
we’re behind the closed doors of our house or out in public; whether inside of
the church or at work; whether sitting in the classroom or on summer
vacation. Think about what God’s Word
says, remember who and whose you are, contemplate God’s love for you when you
are out on a date, watching TV, or logging on to the internet. You are an adopted, redeemed child of
God! You are an heir of the everlasting
joys of heaven! You are a brother or
sister of Jesus! Now live like one! Not because you hope they help in your
relationship to God and earn heaven, but because your
Triune God who has adopted you asks you to.
And we need no more reason than that.
In a
number of languages adoption is spoken of as making a
child a son or daughter. To formerly and
legally declare that someone who is not one’s own child is to be treated and
cared for as one’s own child, including complete rights and inheritance. Thanks to our Triune God this is what has
happened to us – we belong to his family and are treated as his son’s and
daughters with all its rights and privileges and responsibilities. Thank him by using his power to live holy
lives. Amen.