"You haven't received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God's adopted children by which we call out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:15 GW)
When God was inspiring the writing of His divine letter to "all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be His saints" (Romans 1:7), He chose someone familiar with Roman culture to hold the pen. The Apostle Paul, an educated Roman citizen familiar with the Roman legal system, understood what it would mean to his audience if he described their role in God's family within the context of adoption—a legal act in which all old debts and obligations were cancelled.
They would have understood the spirit of slaves and the fear of a cruel master. They would have understood the contrast of receiving instead the spirit of adoption by which, with all the rights of children, they could call out, "Abba! Father!"
You and I come to God as spiritual orphans and slaves, held captive by a debt of sin we cannot pay.
But God does not settle our debt and then take us on as hired help so that we can repay Him. He does not bring us onto His property and give us a room in the back shed where we can live while we work off what we owe Him.
No, He adopts us as His children. He blots out our debt of sin with the red of His Son's blood. He moves us directly into the big house on His estate, calls us His children, and invites us to call Him, "Daddy."
Then He asks us to work not for Him but with Him. Not as slaves but as sons and daughters. Not for the family but in the family. Not to earn our freedom but to exemplify it. Not as slaves to fear, but as children of freedom.
"I am surrounded
By the arms of the father.I am surrounded
By songs of deliverance.
We've been liberated
From our bondage.
We're the sons and the daughters,
Let us sing our freedom.I'm no longer a slave to fear,
I am a child of God."
(From "No Longer Slaves;" songwriters Jonathan David Helser, Brian Joel Case, Mark Johnson; Bethel Music Publishing.)
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!