Led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:12-17)

The phrase ‘led by the Spirit’ is a very common one in Christian conversation. Usually it is used to describe some unusual activity or unexpected consequence in which someone suspects that the Spirit has led them to experience it. For example, a person may say that they were led by the Spirit to say something to a person. Does this mean that he was not leading them when they spoke to another person or persons that day? And when someone says that they were led by God to do so, who can question them? Actually, anyone can do so, and they should ask them how they know that.

 

Paul uses the phrase in verse 14. But he does not use it of any surprising event or impulse. Instead he uses it to describe everyday Christian experiences and I would like us to consider them together. The experiences are mortification, prayer and confirmation. Of course, the phrase itself suggests that the Spirit guides us to experience those things, so we can therefore deduce that they are what the Spirit wants us to experience. The items that the apostle mentions are all connected to life from the Spirit.

 

The imagery

What ideas come to mind because of this description of being led by the Spirit? It is a word picture, after all. One idea is that we are on a journey to somewhere and the Spirit is leading us there, and along the way he leads us to experience certain things. The place we are being led to is our inheritance, which Paul mentions in verse 17. It is not so much a place, although it is a place. But it is primarily a state or condition, that of glorification. If I wander round a palace on earth, it does not mean that I belong to the royalty of earth. But when I wander round the palace of heaven in the world to come, it will mean that I belong to the royalty of heaven because no other kind of human will be there. And the Spirit knows that is the destination he is leading us to. 

 

A second idea that comes from the illustration is nearness and closeness. If I went on holiday and arranged to go on a guided tour of somewhere, where would I expect the guide to be? It would not be much use if he or she was a mile ahead of me. In order to be a guide, the guide has to be within hearing distance of me so that I will appreciate what I am being told to do. And the Holy Spirit is close to his people. Indeed, he is so close that he is in them.

 

 A third idea connected to the illustration is the idea of patience. After all, not everyone follows a leader with the same enthusiasm or degree of energy. Christians, too, are found at different levels of sanctification and commitment, and as already mentioned Paul mentions three of them in connection with the leading of the Spirit.

 

Before we look at the ones mentioned by Paul, I would remind you that the reason we are Christians is because the Holy Spirit led us to Jesus in order to be forgiven our sins. That journey involved being led to see our hearts as sinful and as a consequence our need of salvation. He led us to Calvary, which is an interesting journey because it took place two thousand years ago. But he takes us there through the Bible, the best map in the world.

 

We can also remind ourselves that Jesus was led by the Spirit. Perhaps the best known example is what happened to him after his baptism when he was led by the Spirit into the desert in order to engage in conflict with the devil and obtain a great victory over him and his temptations. That experience is a reminder to us that sometimes the Spirit will lead his people into difficult circumstances.

 

Mortification

Earlier, we thought about the different levels of sanctification. What does the Spirit lead us to do with regard to that essential feature of our Christian walk? The answer is that he leads his people to mortify their sins or put them to death. How do they do this? 

 

First, they have to realise that this is an ongoing requirement of the Christian life. We can see that is the case from the present tense that Paul uses in verse 13 – believers mortify their sins. Nowhere in this life can they say about mortification, ‘I don’t have to do that again.’ Sin will always be present even while we are being led by the Spirit, spoiling our commitment to follow his leading. There is one thing we can say about sin – it never sleeps. 

 

Second, they have to realise their responsibility to engage in this activity. The Spirit does not do it instead of them, but he does it with them, enabling them to do it. They cannot sit back and wait for the Spirit to do it. Sin may not show itself by the same action every time. But it is there waiting for an opportunity to attack. It is always an enemy.

 

Third, they will discover that mortification of sin can be difficult because inevitably they will need to put to death sins that they like and enjoy practicing. One biblical verse that highlights this aspect is Galatians 5:24 where Paul writes that ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires’. It is important to note who is the executioner in this verse – it is the Christian. The Christian has to take each of his sins, drag it to the cross and prevent it escaping, nail it to the tree despite its cries for toleration, and make sure its stays there until it dies, which could take a lifetime. After all, crucifixion was not a form of instantaneous death. 

 

So what does mortification require? It requires searching our hearts, starving our sins, and replacing them with holy actions. We will not know what our sins are unless we engage in self-examination; when we find them we repent of them and take all steps necessary to prevent them having an influence; one of those necessary responses is to think of Jesus and his kingdom. The outcome, says Paul, is that we will have life, by which he means spiritual life in our souls.

 

Adoption

Adoption is a very important biblical topic. Yet many Christians seldom think about it. One reason may be that we link adoption to what occurs with very young children when they join a family. They become its members and share its life. Of course, that is a wonderful experience. Yet the biblical concept of adoption contains two particular aspects. First, in Bible times, it was slaves who were adopted by wealthy patrons. Second, it was adoption with a specific purpose of being given the patron’s inheritance. Paul has both those ideas in mind when he speaks of adoption in verses 15 and 16.

Before believers were adopted, they were slaves. What were they slaves to? Whatever was controlling their lives, which would be sins in one form or another. They could be slaves to good things as well as to bad things. The Israelites had been given great blessings by God, yet they failed to profit from them. They had God’s law to guide their lives, but they misused it and it became a source of bondage. They knew about God, but they did not serve him from their hearts or worship him. Gentiles were enslaved to other things connected to whatever interested them. The implication of Paul’s words is that believers know freedom.

 

Paul points out that the one thing that marked such slavery was fear. As we look out on society, we see fear as well. It is everywhere. Fear that they will not be accepted by others; fear that they will lose what they have; fear that something will happen, and their hopes will be dashed; fear that their health will decline, and they will not be well; fear of death and what will happen afterwards. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of reasons for fear.

 

Paul could have mentioned several positive aspects of adoption, but he chose to focus on one – access to God in order to speak with him. This is where the Spirit leads his people all the time. Such a privilege is not only the destiny at the end of their lives; it is also their delight as they proceed along the path to glory. The Spirit leads them to think of their relationship with the Father and to speak to him. They do so with great confidence – the word translated as cry indicates a loud cry, a cry of joy and celebration. It is a great privilege to be able to speak with God as our Father. After all, it is wonderful to belong to his family.

 

Confirmation

The third blessing connected to the leading of the Spirit that Paul mentions in this passage is something that the Spirit does – he witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. He comes alongside us and engages in what Paul calls witnessing or testifying. He is in agreement with what we are doing as the children of God and he is there to support us.

 

In the upper room, on the evening of his arrest, Jesus promised the disciples that the Spirit would come as the Comforter or the Helper. We know that the word translated by those terms means to come alongside. That is what the Spirit is doing when he witnesses with us. He expresses in some way his agreement that we are genuine children of God. 

 

This activity of the Holy Spirit is connected to the activities already mentioned by Paul in this passage – the activity of mortification of sin and the activity of prayer. Obviously, the Holy Spirit approves of both activities. But how does he show his approval? That he enables us to do them is one way of approval. But why should we need this particular activity of the Spirit? Because we have a discourager, an enemy who is determined to hinder us in the activities of mortification and of prayer. Even after we have engaged in them, the devil will try and get us to think that they were pointless. The Spirit becomes our defender and strengthens us in our hearts with the assurance that we are God’s children. In a secret way, he puts power into our souls.

 

The Holy Spirit wants his people to have assurance that they are converted. But he does not want them to have false assurance. An assurance that comes without mortification of sin and without prayer is a false assurance. It does not come from the Holy Spirit. A person who is content to tolerate sin and not pray to the Father cannot have real assurance from the Holy Spirit. If a true Christian descends to that outlook, the Comforter will convict them of their sins and will make them very uncomfortable because they will have grieved him. If he does not do that, we are deceiving ourselves about what being a Christian is. A Christian is a new creation, focussed on holiness and fellowship with God.

 

It is amazing to make a way through life being led by the Spirit as our guide to glory. But how will we know that we are following him? Paul gives us three clear evidences; and each of them indicates his nearness and his patience. Because he is near and patient, we through his power can put our sins to death again and again. Because he is near and patient, he enables us to pray with confidence to the heavenly Father. Because he is near and patient, he is delighted to convey assurance into our souls.