“You believers are the light of the world.” Then, in Matthew 5:16, He (Jesus) says, “Let your light shine that the world may see your good works, your love for your enemies, your blessing of those who curse you, praying for those who hate you. Let them see this, and glorify your Father that is in heaven.”

But, please remember, only those who are led by the Spirit can do this. You can’t do it by pumping up your willpower and making resolutions. The Jews tried that. “We will do everything the Lord has said” [Exodus 19:8]. Did they do it? No. But, as you are led of the Spirit, it will be revealed because it is possible for the Holy Spirit who raised Christ up from the dead to mortify your mortal bodies and produce righteousness. We, human flesh, can not do this. Then, in Romans 8:15, Paul goes on to say:

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again....”

All through Paul’s writings, slavery or bondage is linked with legalism. In Galatians 5:1 he says, “You have been set free, don’t go back to the yoke of bondage.”

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

There is no peace, there is no assurance, there is no hope in legalism. Outwardly it may appear wonderful, but you are constantly living in fear. And that is a TRAGEDY, that Christians should live in fear. I want to give you a text that is very important for us who are living in the hour of judgment which is found in 1 John 4:16-18. I want you to notice what the Apostle John has to say to those who believe in God. Verse 16:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

Two things. The question I am going to ask you is, “Do you know and do you believe?” What are we to know and what are we to believe as Christians? The love that God has for us. The unconditional, the self-giving love that God has for us; we can see this love when we read Romans 5:6-10. We know and we believe [or rely on] that love God has for us. And the reason that God loves us is not because we are good or because we deserve it, it is because God IS love. The natural thing for God to do is to love us, because His love is unconditional.

What is the result of this? 1 John 4:17:

“In this way, love is made complete among us [i.e., our knowledge and our belief of love is perfected among us in this] so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.”

If you are still afraid of God’s judgment while you are a Christian, you have not understood God’s love, you have not been made perfect, you are still a victim of fear, and he will bring this out in 1 John 4:18. And the reason we have boldness in the day of judgment is not because we are satisfied with our performance, but because:

“...in this world we are like him.”

That’s good news. Verse 18:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

All works produced out of fear are unacceptable to God. “Such religion,” says my favorite Christian author, “is worth nothing.”

So let’s go back to Romans 8. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying that we who are led by the Spirit will give evidence by our behavior that we shall live like children of God. Romans 8:15:

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

That’s very interesting, two words, “Abba, Father.” Abba is an Aramaic word, the language of the Jews in Christ’s day, in Paul’s day. The word means, simply, “Father.” The second word that Paul used is “Pater” which is “Father” in Greek. So if you really translate those two words, it means, “Father, Father.”

Whether you are a Jew or whether you’re a Gentile, it doesn’t matter, if you’re a Christian, you can refer to God as “Father.” Paul is saying He is our Father, not our Judge, not our Executer, but our Father, Who loves His children, and He wants to bestow all kinds of blessings. Then he goes into verse 16:

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, but when you read his account of it, he says, “I was there forever.” That’s how he felt. So keep your eyes on the future.

But now I want to say something about the word “hope.” Because in English, the word “hope” can have more than one meaning. Sometimes we use the word hope in a doubtful connotation:

“Have you passed your finals this semesterp?” “I hope so.”

“Will you make it to heaven?” “I hope so.”

That is not the word that Paul uses. Paul is not doubting his salvation. He is sure. But he’s using the word “hope” in terms of something that he knows he will get but he doesn’t have at the moment. But he’s sure of it.

So he says, “Because I’m sure of what I’m going to get...” (that’s why he uses the word hope: “We were saved, but we were saved in hope...”), “because I’m sure, I’m eagerly waiting with perseverance. And while I’m waiting, the Holy Spirit helps me. He helps me to endure the suffering, He helps me, guides me, comforts me, He intercedes for me.” And so Paul says in [Romans 8:26]:

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

The Spirit, besides giving me strength to suffer, the same Spirit, the Paraclaytos, also helps in our weaknesses. He understands when we groan, He understands when we complain, “Why, Lord, are you allowing this?” He understands. He understands our groaning and He makes our prayers meaningful.

“We do not know what we ought to pray for...”

Because we are plagued with this flesh. Often our prayers are egocentric. I know my prayers sure are!

“...but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

God doesn’t need words. He knows the groaning of your heart. Romans 8:27:

“And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

The Bible teaches that God saved us unconditionally, that all men were redeemed in Christ. Only those will be lost who deliberately, willfully, persistently say, “God, we don’t want You!” Those who push Him away and say, “We don’t want You; we don’t want your gift!”

Then God will not force that upon you. But please remember that the Holy Spirit is there. Do you know why? Because when Jesus went up to heaven, He said, “Father, I have redeemed the world. But these people who have accepted Me, who follow Me, need help. They cannot manage on their own. Can I send them the Holy Spirit?” Jesus said [John 14:16]:

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever....”

The Third Person of the Godhead, Who will be by your side NOT for a mere seven hours or ten hours a day. He doesn’t have office hours. He has 24 hours a day, He’s by your side until you die or until Christ comes. That is the kind of God that I worship, Who leaves me not helpless, but He has sent me a Paraclaytos to be by my side. The question we must answer is, “Do we know this?” For Paul says in [Romans 8:28]:

“And we know...”

If you don’t know this, then you have not understood the gospel. The unbeliever doesn’t know this, even though what is true of the text may apply to Him, but he doesn’t know this. The key words here are, “and we know.” What do we know?

“...that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to this purpose.”

Now, some of the best manuscripts do not say it exactly like this. Some read, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God.” So I’m going to read to you from the Revised Standard Version. Because the RSV and the New International Version are really the more accurate texts. This is what it says:

We know that in everything God works for good with those who love God.

In other words, not everything that happens to us is from God. But God will use anything that happens to us, the bad and the good, He will use it for our good. Because that’s all God has in mind.

Sometimes, when you are in the dumps, when you have lost your job and everything goes wrong and the world is collapsing, please remember the Paraclaytos is by your side. You can’t see Him, you can’t feel Him, but “do you know, do you believe” that He is by your side? He’s there to help you, to guide you, to lead you because that is what good Father’s do. We have been adopted by a good, kind, and merciful Father.

I want to leave you with a promise. The promise if found in 1 Thessalonians 5:24. And verse 23 also but verse 24 is the one that I want you to keep in mind:

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

He will do it! The work of justification, the work of sanctification, the work of glorification is not our job, it’s the work of God. Through the Spirit, God is going to fulfill what He has already accomplished in Jesus Christ. Our job is faith. Our job is to walk in the Spirit. Our job is to say, “Not I, but Christ.”

It is my prayer that we learn, daily, to walk in the Spirit, that we learn to say daily, “Not I, but Christ,” that we will daily allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, so that He may produce in us the character of His Son that we may behave and act like children of God.

While we may have to suffer in this world in many ways — physically, socially, mentally, economically — please remember, the suffering in this world, while we are waiting for the actual adoption to be a tangible reality, remember it is only for a season. And remember that this suffering is not worth mentioning when you compare it to the eternal glory we will have in Christ.