I’m a Christian—Now What? - Part A

You and I were at enmity with God, the Bible or in the words of last week's text.

We were by nature children of wrath, even as others but now things have changed yes to Jesus Christ we are saved, the relation ship chain when you make the choice to surrender to Jesus position relationally with God.

Find out more today on connect with Skip Skip shares about the new family reported when you give your life to Jesus right now want to tell you about a resource that will encourage you to live boldly for Jesus in a culture in need of truth and life people find comfort in the status quo. Others just can't wait to challenge it. If this were a recovery meeting, I would begin by saying my name is Skip and I'm a nonconformist. You go with the flow swim against the current truth is going against the status quo can be difficult. Following Jesus requires that Daniel shows how God can transport one person's willingness to defy what's normal. I like to think of it this way when the ways of life came crashing down. Daniel decided to go surfing, to write these waves if these waves are the will of God for my life to learn how to master these things and I want to get propelled forward to soar above the status quo. I think the defined normal way of saying thanks for your gift of $35 and more to help connect more for the God part and when you get will also include the booklet 100 and I hear for Rick Warren.

These two resources will help you stand out from the crowd for God's glory connectwithskip.com/offer to get online securely today or call 892 1888 Romans chapter as we join Skip Heitzig for today's message of the most exciting things you can ever see. Ever witness ever be a part of is a live birth.

Now I say that as a spectator. Obviously an onlooker, those women who have had babies who are viewing this and have been in labor.

They have a very different perspective but nonetheless it is very very excited and I will say not only as a parent, but especially as a grandparent because grandparents get all of the joy but none of the responsibility really. Somebody once said that the job of a grandparent is to fill their grandkids with sugar and give them back to their parents, which I have done on many occasions. There is some Astoria legend of God having a conversation with our first parents with Adam and Eve and it's like the first parents are talking to his first two children Adam and Eve. So after creating the heavens and the earth.

God created Adam and Eve and the first thing he said to them was don't don't what Adam replied.

Don't eat the forbidden fruit. God said forbidden fruit.

We got forbidden fruit. We got forbidden fruit no way yes way don't eat that fruit. God said while why Adam replied because I'm your creator and I said so God told, wondering why he hadn't stopped after making elephants. A few minutes later, God saw them taking an apple break in the garden and he was angry. Didn't I tell you not to eat that fruit.

Adam said then why did you do it. I don't know Eve said she started it.

Adam insisted did not did so did not did so, having had with the two of them God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own that we expect children to grow up and have a life, but until they do that we give them lots of leeway is a lot of things that they do that, we let them get away with. Let's face it, babies can do some things that are not attractive, but we excuse them.

We humor them because their babies is a list their demanding their unable to feed themselves. They love to be the center of attention. There driven by impulses like hunger pain and sleep there irritated when they're dirty, even though they made the mess and you gotta clean it up. They have no manners. Somebody once had a baby is simply a digestive apparatus with a loud noise at one end and no responsibility at the other.

But that's natural.

That's what babies do and that's okay but when you see an adult acting with those mannerisms.

It's not so cute it's not funny fact. It's tragic. Simply stated, a birth should lead to a walk.

When you are born again, you should see spiritual growth.

You see it in the physical world you expected.

You should see an expected in the spiritual world as well. That brings us to Romans chapter 8. This brings us to a section of Scripture that could be called the crown jewel of the New Testament. Somebody once said that if the Bible is like a rain than Romans chapter 8 is the diamond on the ring and or the book of Romans is the diamond in the ring in the eighth chapter of the book of Romans is the sparkle on the diamond last time we got together we look at salvation out of Ephesians chapter 2 we called and wants dead now alive and we looked at the stages that every saved person goes through affect every human goes through some of those phases, but a saved person goes through all of but once you're saved now.

What or as I call this message. I'm a Christian now what, and the now what is that that birth that salvation should lead to some distinct experiences and we have outlined said that are available online and I've outlined this for you in in your online you can pull that down and see it.

But before experiences are positioned.

Progress.

Proof and promise. We can look at all four of those beginning in Romans chapter 8 the 12th verse, we begin with position.

We have a new position. God adopted us into his family and we are now children of God. Verse 12 says. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh, that is the fallen nature, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, father the Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children than heirs.

Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him that we also be glorified together. There some words in that six verse paragraph that I want you to notice couple of little phrases first in verse 14 is the term sons of God.

We are sons of God. In verse 15 uses the word adoption. That is the analogy that he's drawing off so we are sons of God. We have an adoption or we are adopted in verse 16 were children or the phrase children of God. Now adoption is an act of God whereby he places you into his family. He makes you members of this family.

It is a relational term before you are a saved person are your relationship with God was not an intimate one. It was a distant relation. It was a separated relation like it says in Isaiah 59 God said, my hand is not short that it cannot save my here is not happy that I cannot hear. But your sins have separated you and your God. So yes we had a relationship with God, but not close, not intimate, not like the one described here. In fact, you could say it was like this God human that was a relationship or better yet holy God fallen human. You and I were at enmity with God, the Bible says or in the words of last week's text. We were by nature the children of wrath, even as others but now things have changed.

Now we said yes to Jesus Christ and we are saving the relationship has changed now is not God in human it's father in heaven, and child of God. That's a brand-new position of relationship that this adoption is what John had in mind. At the very beginning of the gospel of John when he said as many who received him, to them he gave the right or the power or the privilege to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. Now I hear from time to time leaders or activists say things like what were all God's children. Everybody in the world were all children of God. That's wrong, it's right. Only in one sense, creatively we are children of God we are children of God by the fact that he made us all in his image, but that's where it ends. Redemptive Lee. We are either children of God or children of the devil you know in the New Testament book of John. John chapter 8 the enemies of Jesus Christ. Those who rejected him. The Jews who wanted nothing to do with them claimed that God was their father and that her relationship with God, and they had an argument with Jesus over this and they said to Jesus, we have one father, even God to which Jesus replied, if God were your father you would love me but you are of your father the devil, so the relationship was God in fallen human holy God involving humanity. Now the relationship is changed because of Jesus Christ. Now it's heavenly father and child of God.

We have been adopted into his family.

Paul like that term. In fact, he uses it five times in the New Testament. Adoption. It literally means to place as an adult son to place in a family. Someone who is considered an adult son is not a natural birth. Once again we were by nature the children of wrath. The Bible says, even as others, but we have been adopted into his family. So when Paul uses the term Paul has in mind. Roman adoption is writing to the Romans. He's using the background of their culture and the apostle has in mind the process of a Roman adoption ceremony now in a Roman adoption, the son, who is being adopted loses all of his rights from his previous family, but gains all of the rights of the new family. He's being adopted into so that even if in that family.

There are natural born children. The adopted child is considered equal co-heirs of the estate. One of the New Testament scholars that I read FF Bruce said in the Roman world of the first century and adopted son was deliberately chosen by adoptive father to perpetuate his name and to inherit his estate. He was in no way, that is the child inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature and might enjoy the father's affection more fully and reproduce the father's character more worthily. So to be adopted in a Roman culture was a high status symbol. It meant that you have equal footing with natural born children in that family. There was a teacher talking to her first grade class about adoption wanted them to understand that they could be kids in the class who are adopted and what that means in society so that they would accept one another, and one little girl said I think I know something about adoption. I've been adopted and she said this is how my mother explained adoption to me.

She said when a child grows in your heart instead of your tummy. I think that's beautiful. Actually I think that's a good description biblically of adoption God had you growing in his heart for a long long time.

In fact, the Bible says in Ephesians chapter 1 that God shows us in him before the foundation of the world, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. There is you are growing in God's heart God predetermined that he would bring you into his family and that's adoption in the New Testament he chose you before the foundation of the world of always love what Spurgeon said about this.

He said it's a good thing God chose me before I was born, he probably never would've take me after I was born that you know a lot of famous people have been adopted a for example, John Lennon was adopted by his aunt Mimi after his mother died, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple adopted Nelson Mandela the first black president of South Africa adopted Marilyn Monroe.

Babe Ruth, Faith Hill, Jamie Foxx, Eleanor Roosevelt. All were adopted children. We are adopted into God's family that gives us a certain privilege of access. Notice verse 15 for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, father Abba is in Aramaic and a Hebrew word that literally means daddy is not just father. It's something much more intimate you still see in Israel today little Hebrew, a Boys and Girls Club running around the streets when their parents are closing by IMA daddy mommy so we now have a right to approach God as our heavenly daddy something that Jesus allowed when he said, when you pray, say, our father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Jewish people never did this at the time of Jesus.

They never referred to God as my father, our father, he was to distant. He was too powerful he was to sovereign so they would simply use the words hush M, which means the name whenever they were referred to God they would never say my God or my father.

But Jesus in the Gospels, 70 times referred to God as father.

The father our father. My father, but also gave us permission to use it. So that's the first experience position. We been adopted into the family. The second experience after salvation after position is progress and what I mean by progress as we get victory steadily as time goes on over the flesh in verse 12 pulses.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, that is, we don't know the old nature. Anything to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to this fallen nature, the flesh, you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Now I'm referring in particular to a process that takes place after regeneration after salvation after adoption called sanctification for theologians: it's a million-dollar word sanctification. I've had people come up to me if you've been sanctified, yes, and I am being sanctified. It's an ongoing process. What it means is what Paul means here in these verses is we don't have to live like we used to, we can conquer old patterns and we can grow continuously and spiritual.

So sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes me more free from sin and more like Jesus Christ want to give that to you again is a very important definition.

Sanctification is a progressive work of both God and man that makes me more free from sin and more like Jesus Christ.

Now don't misunderstand, that doesn't mean we become sinless. It does mean we send less as we go on more and more were like Jesus Christ less and less we are gripped by sins Dominion in one of the first things I heard is a young man before I gave my life to Christ is that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That was good news to me but then I found out something else. The devil hates you and has a miserable plan for your life and they are often fighting over souls course, God gives us the choice to say yes to one or the other but the devil hates you and he wants you to be miserable. You want to be stuck in the mire and the mark of your pass and unfortunately a lot of Christians are the kind grow a little bit. Then they stop.

There's no really continual progression. Somebody once said a Christian is a man who feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do again on Monday. We tell you that's not a definition of a Christian. That's the definition of a defeated Christian now after regeneration.

We give those words again the after regeneration. Forgot awakens life in us and we see our need for Jesus and then you come to Jesus and we go from regeneration to justification, which mean God's God declares you righteous then we go to adoption.

He places you and the family then then there is this there is sanctification we become mature, we grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now want to clear this up or make it clearer for you. Justification is instantaneous.

God declares you righteous you say yes to Jesus, child of God put into the family of God.

Justification is instantaneous. Sanctification is not sanctification is continuous. Justification is entirely God's work, you can earn it, you can add to it. It's something he does.

But sanctification is with human cooperation. So this is where we are working together with God to grow holier. That is, we are not passive when it comes to our sanctification. We don't just kick back let go and let God. We have to act have to actively cooperate with the Holy Spirit for victory. Now the question is how do we do that what we do will. Here's a nice little summary for us. Paul says also in the book of Romans, this time in chapter 6, verse 11 and 14. He says likewise you also racking your selves to be dead indeed to sin was at me and reckon yourself.

It means consider or count on this as a fact. This is an established fact. Reckon yourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts for sin shall not have dominion over you, not the way that is worded shows me that there is an element of human control. Don't let sin reign reckon yourselves to be dead. Reckon yourselves alive to be God. This stalks of coal operation. God wants to do it.

God gives us power to do it power to grow power to mature. We have to cooperate with too many Christians live on the right side of Easter, but the wrong side of Pentecost. Too many Christians live on the right side of pardon, but the wrong side of power too many Christians are out of Egypt, but they never make it to the promised land. They wander in the wilderness continually wander in the desert. Martin Luther said you can't stop birds from flying around her head, but you can certainly stop them from building a nest in your hair so we must cooperate with what the Spirit wants to do and make progress, not sinless. We sin less. That's the message from his series 22 Skip to share. You can help keep this broadcast going strong connecting you and others around the world with the gospel. Our desire is to see listeners like you connected God's word on a deeper level and be transformed by its truths but there are expenses associated with running a radio ministry like this one. Any gift you give whether a one timer monthly means that you continue to receive these Bible-based teachings and were so grateful for that. Here's how you can give right now to get today simply call 800-922-1888 that number again is 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/donate your generosity helps keep this biblical encouragement coming your way and going out around the world to help change more lives come back tomorrow as Skip Heitzigs it shares how the Holy Spirit works to grow you in your faith. We are to have a spirit directed life spirit not of flesh dominated life. That's the negative, positive, a spirit directed life that's possible.

We have the best helper in the world.

The Holy Spirit said when the helper comes, will be with you being you die into a