DAY 9.
The promise in the last study was the gift of eternal life to those who believe in the Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we look at the promise that our sin is forgiven or 'blotted out' never to be held against us again.
The promise is clear 'there is therefore no condemnation' Romans 8 v 1 a terrific promise for the repentant sinner whose life is being transformed by the power of the Living God.
We notice here the conditions of the promise 'who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit', the transformed life in Christ is a new life with new aims and goals.
We start the walk in the Spirit of God by recognising that the punishment and sentence that we deserved has been taken away once and for all by the Lord Jesus Christ.
It was His substitutionary death, that is the actions of the Lord Jesus on Calvary has replaced the death that we deserved.
He has taken the punishment that we deserved by our rebellion against God and has now covered us with the blood of His sacrifice to make us clean and fit for Gods presence.
It brings us back into a living relationship with the Creator God so that we walk in the light of the revealed word of God and that is righteously.
The old desires and habits should go as we come into the new life that the Lord Jesus has brought to us.
One major reason why so many Christians are defeated is that we do not take the word of God literally and we carry on striving to keep the Christian life.
We continue to keep the flesh life prominent, our thoughts, desires, ambitions and activities are still governed by the flesh life.
What we need to come to terms with is that in Christ Jesus all things have become new, the old has passed away and the new is being revealed in us day by day.
We should be living a life of freedom and not of slavery, there is a freedom in Christ to apply the word of God in every day experience that so few are actually doing today.
The acid test comes as we evaluate our life v 5 to examine the things that dominate our life, the fleshly instincts or does the Holy Spirit motivate our thinking?
What 'we think' usually dominates our thinking when in truth we should be seeking to know experimentally the things that our heavenly Father would have us do or say.
The conditions of access to God are clearly stated that no sinner, that is a life that is habitual living in rebellion with God but the repentant sinner can come boldly to the Throne of Grace.
It is the repentant sinner who yields daily to the Lord who finds that they are actually being 'led by the Spirit' v 14 'led' points to being guarded, guided along the right way.
Not only leading us away from temptation but actively directing us along the path of righteousness that brings regularly closer to the Lord.
The Holy Spirit does not force us activity to obey the truth but He gently persuades us to follow truth and righteousness for our own sake and benefits as well as for Gods glory.
So we come to a wonderful truth that we are not in bondage but we are 'sons of God' v 14 the transformation becomes clear as we look at our status now.
Once rebels before God but now accepted into His eternal family we can actually call the Creator God 'Father' because that is who He is.
Not a God who is remote, cut of and judgemental but the Holy Father who in His love, grace and mercy has brought us to Him self.
We are not slaves any more, in bible times a slave could never call his master 'father' he would be killed for showing familiarity.
We need to look at the two terms used here in Romans 8 v 15 'Abba' is the speech of a child speaking of unreasoned trust.
'Father' brings us to the heart of the Christian faith, it reveals to us the restored relationship and to the fact that we have been adopted by the Creator God.
We have been brought into His eternal family and we can approach Him calling Him Father and He calls us His sons and daughters.
It is the relationship that is all important because as we recognise the privilege that is opened to us we then walk in it with responsibility.
It is not our thinking that brings the relationship about but it is the Holy Spirit witnessing with our spirit that brings us this enlightenment.
I am not struggling to be a family member I am a child of God through the new birth and I should do all within my power to walk obey my Father.
What a promise to accept to ourself and what a privilege to assess all that this relationship involves and brings us into.
I am a child of God through the new birth and as a result I am an 'heir of God and a 'joint heirs with Christ' v 17 that is overwhelming.
That is the truth of the promise of Gods word to all and every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
An 'heir' points to one who is an inheritor of a lot or possession assigned by our heavenly Father.
A 'joint-heir' is one who shares all that the Lord Jesus has brought us into: as if it were personally equal with Him.
He has brought us into the new life that has all the things that we need top see us safely through our life on earth as it will through eternity.
Our inheritance involves involves much more than meeting our needs materially because we are now living with eternity in view.
The truth is He has promised to meets 'ALL' of our needs as Philippians 4 v 19 reveals and that will cover another study on its own.
Suffice to say here are we drawing from the heavenly Bank during our walk down here or are we relying on our own mundane supplies?
Now there are so many promises in the scriptures included in this session that we can fill the coming year with them.
Promises from our heavenly Father that we have missed out on over the past years of our life
We should be seeking to read and study the word of God ass it brings home to us all the many blessings an heir should be receiving during our earthly walk.
We rejoice in the God of our salvation who has promised to blot our sins as if they had never existed in the first place, well may we sing 'who is a pardoning God like Thee'.
We standing on Gods promises and not sitting on the church premises.
