Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1220
“As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14.
CHILDREN are expected to bear some likeness to their parents. Children of God, born of the grandest of all parents, regenerated by the almighty energy of the Divine Spirit, are sure to bear a high degree of likeness to their heavenly Father. We cannot be like God in many of His Divine attributes, for they are unique and incommunicable—it is not possible for us to wield His power, or to possess His infinite knowledge—neither can we be independent and self-existent, or possessors of sovereignty or worshipfulness. Man can never be so expressly the image of the Father as Jesus is, for He is, in a mysterious sense, the only-begotten Son of God. We can imitate God, however, in many of His attributes, mainly those of a moral and spiritual kind. We must, in these qualities be “imitators of God as dear children,” or our heavenly pedigree cannot be made out.
The point mentioned in the text must never be a matter of question, for if that is doubtful, our filial relationship to God is unproved. We must be, “led by the Spirit of God.” That Divine Spirit who is ever with the Father and the Son must be always with us so that we are guided, instructed, impelled, quickened, actuated and influenced by Him, or else we must not dare to think ourselves the sons of God. The idea of a Divine Fatherhood extending over all mankind does not appear to have been recognized by the Apostle Paul, in this text, at any rate. Here the fatherhood is for some, not for all, and the text discriminates between the, “as many as are led by the Spirit of God,” and the rest of mankind who are under no such influence.
In men who are devoid of the Holy Spirit there is another spirit—and that other spirit marks them out as sons of another father—“they are of their father the devil, for his works they do.” There have been two seeds from the beginning—the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent—and it is both untrue and immoral to believe God stands in the same relation to the two opposing families. No, my Brothers and Sisters, our Father who is in Heaven is not to be claimed as father by the unbeliever, for to them Jesus expressly says, “If God were your Father, you would love Me.” The text furnishes us with a very simple, but sharp and decisive test which we shall do well to use upon ourselves. It should be employed to try every one of us.
If it had said, “As many as have been baptized are the sons of God,” we might have been content to sit very easily in our places. If it had said, “As many as eat and drink at the holy feast of Christian fellowship are the children of God,” we might have remembered how short a time ago we were sitting with the saints around the communion table. If the doing of certain external acts, or the utterance of certain prayers, or the avowal of orthodox principles, or abstinence from the grosser vices had been made the royal mark and heavenly seal of the children of God we might have taken our ease after ascertaining that we are correct as to these things. If being united with an earnest Church and being members of a faithful community had been Divinely ordained to be an unquestionable certificate of sonship with the Lord Most High, we might have rested perfectly satisfied without putting ourselves into the crucible.
But, since these things are not so arranged, I trust that none of us will be so unwise as to neglect the examination which the text suggests to every prudent mind. Come, my Brethren, take nothing for granted on so weighty a business as your soul’s eternal interests, but search for evidence and see to the matter as wise householders would do if their whole substance were at stake. Those who are “led by the Spirit of God” are the sons of God. Those who are not led by the Spirit of God are not His sons. Therefore search and see what spirit is in you, that you may know whose children you are.
To help you in this matter I purpose that we should consider, first, where it is that the Spirit of God leads men, that we may see whether He has ever led us there.
I. WHERE DOES THE SPIRIT OF GOD LEAD THE SONS OF GOD? First of all, He leads them to repentance. One of the first acts of the Holy Spirit is to guide the sons of God to the Mercy Seat with tears in their eyes. He leads us into the abominable chambers of imagery concealed within our fallen nature, unfastens door after door and sets open before our enlightened eyes the secret places polluted with idols and loathsome images portrayed upon the wall. He points out with His hands of Light the idol gods, the images of jealousy, the unclean and abominable things within our nature and thus He astonishes us into humility.
We could not have believed that such evil things haunted our souls, but His discoveries undeceive us and correct our boastful estimates of ourselves. Then, with that same finger, He points to our past life and shows us the blots, the errors, the willful sins, the sins of ignorance, the aggravated transgressions, the offenses against Light and knowledge which have marred our career from our youth up. And whereas, previously, we looked upon the pages of our life and thought them fair, when the Spirit has led us into Light we see how black our history has been and, being filled with shame and terror, we cry out to God that we may confess our sin and acknowledge that if He should throw us into Hell, it would be no more than we deserve!