Adopted Debtors & Heirs

July 2, 2024

Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, June 30, 2024.

Sermon text: Romans 8:12-17


God cares how you think. He cares about the content and aim of your thoughts. He has designed us to think, and tells us that we can and should be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This assumes that you need to change... and that you can change. Holy living is preceded by holy thinking. When the Philippian jailer asks Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, their answer was, "Believe". In John 6, the crowd asks Jesus,"What must we DO, to be DOING the works of God" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you BELIEVE in Him who he has sent." Pastors stand in pulpits week after week throughout the entire world because your thoughts matter. We have community groups that meet every week to discuss what we heard in the sermon, because your thoughts matter. In the previous verses we saw that, as those who live by the Spirit, we are supposed to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. Why? Because setting the mind on the flesh is death. The mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. Where do you set your mind? What is the content of your thoughts? What do you believe?


Paul has gone to great lengths to help us think and believe rightly about our lives, to help us understand how the law relates to us, how life should look in Christ, how we can tell if we are moving in the flesh or according to the Spirit. And in the verse before our focus this morning, we see Paul say this, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through his Spirit who dwells in you."


In light of that, Paul focuses in on our identity... who we are... or perhaps more specifically, whose we are... "so then, brothers, we are debtors"


1.) We are debtors.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

- NOT to the flesh, to live according to the flesh... You don't owe the flesh anything. Part of your new identity in Christ is that when your flesh makes demands, you do not have to pay that demand. [ESAU] You are not a debtor to the flesh. In fact, the grave warning is that, if your life is lived as a debtor to the flesh, you will die. Some of the most graphic and violent language in the Bible is used to describe our response to sin and temptation.Kill it. Murder it.

- TO the Spirit… We are debtors to the Spirit. That is our identity now. If someone was to ask you about your identity in Christ, it would be perfectly fitting to say, “I am a debtor. I am in debt to God. That is who I am.” Now, in this Dave Ramsey world we live in, some of you may hear, “We are debtors” and say “Oh no. Not debtors! We gotta pay that back. We gotta eliminate that debt! What we’ll do is make a list of all of our debts to God and we will start with the smallest ones to get the snowball rolling and then we will move on to paying off our bigger debts to God.” No! No! No!

- The Debtor’s Ethic: “God has done so much for you; now what will you do for Him? He gave you His life, how much will you give to Him?” We are debtors to God. But we are never ever paying God back for anything.

- John Piper: “Every good deed we do in dependence on God does just the opposite of paying Him back; it puts us ever deeper in debt to His grace. And that is exactly where God wants us to be through all eternity… Good deeds do not pay back grace; they borrow more grace.”

Embrace your identity as a debtor. We will be in the most beautiful debt to the most benevolent God for all of eternity. We are debtors. God changes us and calls us to a life of good works in the Spirit, and he gives us His Spirit and all that we need to live a beautiful life that shines brightly for His glory, but it is all for just that… HIS GLORY. We will all one day pass from this world and into the joy or our Master, beautifully saddled with outrageously gracious debt. Now and forever, we are debtors.

Kiddos: You will always need God. God will always meet your needs.


2.) We are adopted.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of

slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we

cry, “Abba! Father!”

- We become sons and daughters of God through adoption. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance and beauty of this adoption, but I would like to try. In Roman culture, adoption was a common practice, and usually occurred when a wealthy adult had no heir for their estate. Keller describes, “The moment adoption occurred, several things were immediately true of the new son. First, his old debts and legal obligations were paid; second, he got a new name and was instantly heir of all the father had; third, his new father became instantly liable for all of his actions; but fourth, the new son also had new obligations to honor and please his father.” In fact, Augustus, one of Rome’s most notable leaders, was actually adopted by Julius Caesar. Augustus was a sickly child whose father died when he was only 4 years old. Julius Caesar needed an heir to continue his reign and rule into the next generation. Augustus didn’t actually find out about the adoption until he was 19 years old and it was already complete. One day someone said, “Augustus, this is your father now. This is your family now. Your life is completely changed. You have no debts. You have these riches. This is your role now…you have these responsibilities.”

- A few things to consider…

o The only way in is through adoption.

o God initiates our adoption. We simply receive it.

o You can’t lose your adoption.

o We did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear

o We are sons and daughters who cry “Abba, Father.”


In a sense, we are born as spiritual orphans in need of a spiritual father to save us from an inevitable life of hardship caused by our condition. The only way into the family of God is through adoption. Not through works. Not through affiliation… meaning you can’t say that you are a Christian simply because your parents are Christians or you have some friends who are Christians.

What does it mean to CRY, “Abba! Father!”

2 Stories:

- Ruthie barging into my office during sermon prep

- Haddie’s morning greeting while eating cereal

Kiddos: You can always cry out to God. In Jesus, we all have a good Father.


3.) We are heirs.

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 

- While I have 4 biological children and 1 adopted child, God only had one biological Son, and the rest of us are all adopted. We are heirs through adoption. Next week we will consider the glory that awaits the heirs of God. But this morning we will close with this question…

- Why is suffering mentioned here? I think it is because many people believe that if we are suffering, God must not be there for us.

- Romans 5:3-5 “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

- John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

o Christ suffered and we are united to Him through suffering.

o Sometimes we sin to avoid suffering.

- The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. So rather than sinning to avoid suffering, we suffer in anticipation of eternal glory that has been secured for us by Christ.


Parents: Some of you have the mentality that you are ok if suffering comes upon you, as long as your children don’t have to suffer. But if you are leading them in faith, you are leading them to suffer.


Kiddos: Jesus suffered for you. Suffering is real, but very short compared to eternity. Remember, you will always need God. And you can always cry out to God.


Discipleship Questions:


1.) In what ways are we in debt to God?

2.) What are some ways we might try to wrongly "pay back" God for his grace?

3.) What are some ways that we can rightly celebrate and embrace our identity as debtors?

4.) Why do we need to be reminded that we are not debtors to the flesh?

5.) What are some demands that our flesh makes? How can we use the truth about our identity to fight against those temptations? 

6.) Why is it important to understand that we only enter the family of God through adoption?

7.) How would you explain to your children, friends, neighbors, and co-workers what it means to be adopted into the family of God? 

8.) What are the blessings and benefits of being adopted by God?

9.) What happens if we are not adopted by God? 

10.) How are we united to Christ through suffering?

11.) What are some ways that we try to escape suffering through sinning? 

12.) In those moments, how should we cry out, "Abba! Father!"

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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