I’m a Christian—Now What? - Part B

We are to have a Spirit-directed life. A Spirit, not a flesh-dominated life, that's the negative, the positive, a Spirit-directed life.

That's possible. We have the best Helper in the world, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, when the Helper comes, He will be with you, He will be in you, and He will guide you into all truth.

When we give our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins dwelling in us. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip shares how the Holy Spirit works to mature you in your faith. But first, we want to invite you to follow Skip on social media to get important updates and biblical encouragement. Just follow Skip on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest from Skip and from this ministry.

That's at Skip Heitzig, at Skip, H-E-I-T-Z-I-G. Now, we're in Romans Chapter 8 as we dive into the teaching with Skip Heitzig. You know, one of the first things I heard as 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. Of 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.

He wants you to be stuck in the mire and the muck of your past. And unfortunately, a lot of Christians are. They kind of 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. Let me tell you, that's not a definition of a Christian.

That's the definition of a defeated Christian. Now, after regeneration, let me give those words again to you. After regeneration, after God 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 means God declares you righteous. Then we go to adoption.

He places you in 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, I 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't earn it.

You can't 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 do we do? Well, 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 reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. What does that mean, reckon yourselves? 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. Now, 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 talks of cooperation. God wants to do it. God gives us power to do it, power to grow, power to mature.

We have to cooperate with that. 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 your 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, but we sin less. So we have two distinct experiences post-salvation. We have position, adopted into God's family. We have progress, victory over the flesh.

Let me give you a third. Proof. Proof. This now is the positive, not the negative. The negative is saying no to certain things, but now the positive is the proof, what we display that others can see. This is the increase of spiritual fruit. So verse 14, let me take you to that. Paul puts it this way, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

Just let that soak into you for a moment. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, here's the idea. We are to have a Spirit-directed life. A Spirit, not a flesh-dominated life, that's the negative, the positive, a Spirit-directed life.

That's possible. We have the best helper in the world, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, when the helper comes, he will be with you, he will be in you, and he will guide you into all truth. He's going to direct you. He will lead you. Even Jesus himself, it says in the gospels, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman, I hope you know that. He doesn't force you, he doesn't cajole you, he doesn't drive you, he doesn't bully you, he leads you. Some people talk about being driven. I'm a driven person. I'm driven by the Spirit.

No, you're not. Well, it's a purpose-driven life. No, it's a Spirit-led life. The Holy Spirit leads people, and that's the idea. He is leading you directing your life. Now, as you are led, as you are directed by the Holy Spirit, instead of your old nature, the fallen nature, the result of that Spirit-directed life is fruitfulness.

That's the proof I'm talking about. Now, I'm going to take you down to verse 16 and put all these thoughts together. Verse 16 continues, the Spirit himself bears witness, or brings testimony, testifies. The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God.

Let me tell you what Paul is talking about. Paul is referring, once again, to a Roman adoption ceremony. That's the overall genre of this paragraph, Roman adoption. In a Roman adoption ceremony, there were always several witnesses, people who would be there to watch what happened and testify what happened. Now, why was that necessary? Because let's suppose that the new father, the one adopting the son into the family, dies later on, and a dispute arises over inheritance rights, land rights.

Who owns what? Well, this isn't a child of the family. There's going to be a witness, or several, who will step forward and go, I was there when it happened.

I saw the whole ceremony. That is an adopted child. That child has all the same rights. I testify to the validity of that position.

I testify to the validity of that position. So that if even other sons, natural born sons, who were born in part of the family before him, that would not affect the adopted child's right as a co-heir, or a joint heir in the family. With that in mind, look at verse 17. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we also may be glorified together.

Now, let me just kind of tie up a couple loose ends. In Judaism, this was different. If you know the Old Testament, you know that in Judaism, if you had a couple sons born in the family, the oldest son got a double portion, double the inheritance, much more than the second-born son. Not in a Roman adoption.

In a Roman adoption, all the children were equal, natural born, and adopted. So, God adopts us into his family. The Holy Spirit was present when it happened. I've had people say, how do you know you're saved?

Easy, I was there when it happened. But not only that, the Holy Spirit was there when it happened. And he brings testimony. He is a witness. He validates my adoption.

He validates our sonship, or daughtership. So, when he says the Spirit of God, verse 16, bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, listen, that doesn't mean, Paul doesn't have in mind some mystical voice whispering to us from the Holy Spirit going, you're really saved, really, you are. This is the Holy Spirit. You're saved. It didn't mean that because I know a lot of people who've heard that voice and think they're saved who are not.

The idea is much simpler than that. I think it is referring plainly and simply and obviously to what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit. That's the proof.

I want to show you that. Go to Galatians, chapter 5, for just a moment, where Paul the apostle speaks of spiritual fruit. It's a classic section of New Testament scripture. Galatians, chapter 5, verse 16.

Listen to how Paul puts it. I say then, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh, lust or wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now, the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contention, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I told you beforehand, just as I have told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I want you to inherit the kingdom of God. Now, this is very similar to what we just read in Romans. If you live according to the flesh, you will die. If you live according to the Spirit, you will live. Verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.

Against such, there is no law, and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. He's speaking about Spirit-dominated life, a Spirit-controlled life, and these are the character traits. This is what the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, and when He produces that in our lives, those things give us assurance. They are benchmarks that we belong to Him. Jesus put it this way, every tree is known by its fruit.

Every tree is known by what it produces. It's not by what a person claims, I said some words 10 years ago, I prayed this little prayer. It's not by the bumper sticker they have on their car, it's by the fruit that is being produced by the Holy Spirit. This is the proof, the increase of spiritual fruit. John Stott, one of the best commentators I've ever read, a man who is now in heaven, said the Christian should resemble a fruit tree, not a Christmas tree, for the gaudy decorations of a Christmas tree are only tied on, whereas fruit grows on a fruit tree. You know when it comes to spiritual fruit, it's really a matter of just sticking close to Jesus, being led by the Spirit. You can look at it this way, I'm just going to stay close to Jesus. Jesus put it this way, if you abide in me, you will bear much fruit.

So just abide in Him, just stay close to Him. Have you ever watched a fruit tree give fruit? They don't sweat. Fruit trees don't go, oh man, this is going to be a hard, hard day. They don't go out there and go, apple. All they do, the branches just hang in there. The ends of the branches just hang in there.

The little apple is just growing, just hangs in there, just stays close, stays connected, and you bear forth fruit. So this brings up this issue. When it comes to being led by the Spirit, you have to want to be led. Again, He will not drive you, He will not force you, He will not bully you.

You have to have an act of your own will and submit to Him. Think of it this way, it's like a conductor with an orchestra. The conductor knows all the right moves, the right beat, the right cadence, knows when there's a break, when there's a turnaround, when there's a key change, and gives that direction to the orchestra. But if somebody playing an instrument in the orchestra doesn't want to follow the conductor, there's going to be a train wreck, there's not going to be harmony, there's going to be disharmony and disarray. Imagine, for instance, in the orchestra, the tuba player wanting to just sort of break away from the pack and give a tuba solo. There's nothing good about a tuba solo, just saying.

Here's a guy wanting to blow his own horn. So the issue is, are you watching the conductor? Are you looking to the Holy Spirit?

Is your life, do you allow it to be led by the Spirit of God? When you do, proof will be there, fruit will be there. So position, progress, proof. Adopted in the family, victory over the flesh, the increase of fruit. Brings us to the fourth experience, and that is promise, promise. We have glory in the future. In verse 17, he says, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God. Here's that great phrase, joint heirs with Christ.

I'll touch on that in a minute. If indeed we suffer with Him, here it is, that we may also be glorified together. Verse 18, let's just Skip ahead. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Now, back to that phrase, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. It's really an amazing turn of phrase that we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, meaning everything that Jesus received by divine right, we receive by divine grace. That's part of the adoption process, including glory. So though we may suffer now on this earth, one day it will be eclipsed, not just by incomparable glory, but the same kind of glory that Jesus has right now with the Father.

John Stott, once again, said, suffering and glory belong together. One characterizes this age, the other characterizes the age to come. This age, suffering. A lot of us know about that.

The last eight, nine months, the world knows about that. But for those of us who are adopted children of God, glory. Glory. That's the perspective. That is the compensation.

And Paul always makes reference to something coming ahead. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 17, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Suffering now, glory later.

You go, why suffering now? Not just because we live in the world, but principally because we follow Jesus Christ in this world. And we have no right to expect better treatment from this world than Jesus got from this world. They misunderstood him. They're going to misunderstand you. They mocked him. They're going to mock you.

They said bad things and did bad things to him. They're going to do it also to you. That's why Peter said, 1 Peter, chapter 4, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when the glory is revealed. Suffering present age, glory future age. In fact, it is an honor to suffer for the right reason. It's even an indicator that we belong to him, right? Didn't Paul say to Timothy, all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

That's part of the promise. The promise referred to here is glory, but part of the promise is we'll suffer persecution, which just makes the glory all the more appealing. So to sum it all up, God has saved you.

He has adopted you. He has given you the Holy Spirit to lead you, to direct you, to restrain you in your sinful passions and to produce fruit in your life. He has even made you heirs with Christ, even promising you the same glory that Jesus Christ now has. So once again, you're on your way to heaven. But, but will you do something until you get there? Yes, you're going to heaven, but will you do something for the kingdom of God? Will you make it your aim to seek first the kingdom of God to be a fruitful believer? Until you get to heaven, will you be committed to growing in Christ? In fact, ask yourself over the last six months, over the last eight months with all this pandemic, have I progressed in my Christian life? Because I've discovered if you haven't progressed, you're regressing. I love to ride bicycles, but you know, when I come to a hill, I have to really engage in that gear system because I've discovered if I'm going up a hill and I decide to just do nothing, I'm going to go backwards. I have to press ahead.

So you're going to heaven, be fruitful till you get there, be committed to Christ in His case and His cause and His glory until you get there. I read a story years ago and I've read it since, and I've actually talked to different people at the aquarium about this. It could be just a certain species of shark, but an interesting thing about a shark in some cases is that if you catch it small enough and you confine it, it will stay the size proportionate to its environment. So that it's possible to have a shark that is only six inches long and yet fully mature. It's only a tiny little shark. If you release it to a large environment like the ocean, it will then grow to its normal length of about average eight feet. I've met the cutest little six-inch Christians. Oh, they're Christians, but they don't grow very large.

They swim in the shallow and they swim in puddles. Go deeper. Be committed. Go deeper. Position, progress, proof, promise. Go deeper.

How? Live for Jesus and live for others. That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from the series 2020. Now we want to share about a resource that will help you live with purpose and hold fast to your faith so you can make an eternal impact on the world. The desire to fit in to be thought of as normal is a basic human instinct, but would you believe that children as young as three years old already want to follow the crowd and fit in with the group? That's what researchers found in a Duke University study. Yet in the Bible, we learn that some of the people who've made the most impact have done so by defying normal.

Here's Skip Heitzig. I think the Bible calls us to a holy defiance of the status quo. Paul the apostle said, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

So what does it take to go from conformed to transformed? Find out in Pastor Skip's book, Defying Normal. Our thanks to you when you give $35 or more to help expand this Bible teaching ministry. And when you give today, we'll also include the booklet, What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren.

Get your copies of these two bold resources when you call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzig gives you the rundown on God's angels and why they're significant to his plan and to you. 34 books in the Bible talk about angels, 17 in the Old Testament, 17 in the New Testament. If you were to add up all the times that angels are mentioned, you would have almost 300 specific places where angels are mentioned in the Bible. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.