Led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14-15)
Hey, everyone. My name is Kendrick Diaz, and this is verse by verse, a short podcast all about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of god. What is a true Christian? Have you ever asked yourself that? In today's age, it seems like you can be anything you want just by virtue of saying you are that thing.
Kendrick Diaz:Well, that's not how it works, especially when it comes to being a Christian. So keep that question in mind, and let's go ahead and read something the apostle Paul wrote, because he actually gives us a very succinct answer. Over in Romans chapter 8 verse 14, he says this, for as many as are led by the spirit of god, these are the sons of god. So there it is in plain language. Is someone a Christian just because they say they're 1?
Kendrick Diaz:No. Is someone a Christian because they go to church? No. Is someone a Christian because they pray? Again, no.
Kendrick Diaz:True Christians will do all of those things. Yes. But as far as what makes them a Christian, it's the spirit of god dwelling in them and leading them. Doesn't matter how sincere someone may be. Paul says earlier in this chapter, as a matter of fact, that whoever doesn't have the spirit of Christ, he's none of his.
Kendrick Diaz:And, of course, you can only get that spirit once you repent of your sins and get baptized. It's not my purpose today to get into all of that right now, but we have plenty of content on lifeopentruth.com for you to check out later. What I wanna do is take a magnifying glass to this concept of god's spirit dwelling in you because when we understand it, we can grasp why Paul used the term sons of god. In first John 39, the apostle tells us that Christians have the seed of god in them. He was referring to the holy spirit, but he used the word seed to communicate a spiritual reality.
Kendrick Diaz:See, the English word seed is translated from the Greek word sperma. So when we talk about god giving his spirit to someone, recognize that it means God begins a conception process. He gives his very essence. It goes right from god into the individual producing a child, a Christian. So god literally sires you.
Kendrick Diaz:He brings you into his family. And as long as that seed is there, you're connected to god in a very profound and intimate way. You become distinguished from the rest of humanity. You become his child, and he becomes your father. What a profound reality.
Kendrick Diaz:So how should this truth affect us? Well, it drives on the point that being a Christian is much deeper than professing a certain belief. As we've seen, it's the result of god's personal intervention in someone's life to bring them into his family. That's the first thing. But more important than just helping us to identify what makes a Christian, it helps us to understand something about god's expectations.
Kendrick Diaz:See, there's a huge responsibility in being a child of god. If I can summarize what that is, god wants his sons and daughters to represent him well. He wants his kids to bring honor to his name. So how do we do that? Well, the book of Proverbs says in a couple of different ways that disobedient children bring shame to their father.
Kendrick Diaz:Well, the same is true spiritually. So for us, we need to be the opposite of disobedient children. God wants us to obey him, to follow all his instructions. And if we want an example of what that looks like, all we need to do is read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, because Jesus Christ was the perfect son of god. Through his life, he modeled just how to please the father in every single way.
Kendrick Diaz:The way he obeyed the commandments, the way he talked, the way he treated others, the way he served, the way he encouraged, the way he told the truth, the way he handled his emotions, those are all the footsteps to follow. See, in Romans chapter 8 verse 14, Paul was reminding his audience that they had the seed of the father within them and that was proof that god had accepted each and every one of them as his very own. That designation comes with several privileges, many of which sound too good to be true at times, and Paul explains what some of them are. But, as we've seen, it's also not something to be treated lightly. See, god is truly a father, and those who have his spirit are truly his children.
Kevin Scarborough:Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.
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