For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”

                                                                                                                       Romans 8:15 

Being a Christian means that we are in a relationship with God. And this relationship is an intimate one. Just as we have people in our lives in which we are very close, knowing God in a saving way means being in a close, intimate, and loving relationship with Him. Today’s passage gives us three major behavioral characteristics of someone who knows God in this way.

1. When we know God, we do not have a spirit of slavery

Being a Christian means that we now live in spiritual freedom. Consider the words of Paul:

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

                                                                                                            Galatians 5:1

Paul is speaking of the spirit of slavery that is so prevalent in religious circles both then and today. The religious of Paul’s day were attempting to drag the early Christians back into a ritualistic, works-based approach to being right with God. Paul sternly admonished them to resist these efforts by standing firm and not allowing themselves to be “subject again to this yoke of slavery.” The same is true today. There are those who will revile the spiritual freedom that true believers enjoy. Love, joy, and peace are obvious attributes of true believers yet there are still environments in which these characteristics are simply not tolerated. But Paul was just echoing the declaration made by Jesus Himself. Consider His words:

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 

                                                                           John 8:32

When we are close to God, we will not live by a spirit of religious slavery.

2. When we know God, we do not live in fear

Consider the words of John:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

                                                                                                                        1 John 4:18 

When we come face to face with the love of God, all fear is driven out. Why? The answer is simply because there is no fear in the perfect love of God. But removing fear requires us to move beyond doctrine about God and move into a relationship with Him. When we continue to fear regarding punishment, we prove that we have come short of really moving into a love relationship with Christ.

On the flip side, fear is a dominant force in the religious setting and is usually accompanied by an unhealthy focus on sin, guilt, shame, and failure. The spirit of fear and the spirit of slavery work hand-in-hand in prohibiting a born again believer from experiencing the abundant life that Christ died for them to receive. Knowing God means being set free from a spirit of slavery and a spirit of fear.

3. When we know God, we can refer to Him in the most intimate of terms

Consider the words of the writer of Hebrews: 

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

                                                                                                            Hebrews 4:15-16 

Jesus understands us. We have a high priest in heaven who can sympathize with our weaknesses. That means that Christ knows we are subject to fail and can love and restore us even in the midst of that failure. Contrast that with the religious suggestion that believers should not fail. That idea suggests that we do not have the weakness that this passage so clearly demonstrates. But the reality is that we do sin and sometime have moral failures but even in the midst of that failure, we can receive mercy and grace from God.

All of this is obtained as we approach God with confidence. This confidence is not in ourselves rather it is assurance that God is exactly who He says that He is. This is what Paul is declaring when he says the following:

…but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 

“Abba Father” is our modern equivalent of calling God “Dad.” It is the most intimate of terms. But again, confidence toward God in Christ and referring to Him in these intimate terms requires moving beyond religious, doctrinal, and works-based discussions and entering into an actual relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Are you enjoying your Christian life? Are you living apart from a spirit of slavery and fear? Do you draw near to God with confidence? This is possible but it is only obtained when we come to Christ by faith, experience salvation, and ask for God’s Spirit to bring us spiritual freedom.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

                                                                                                           2 Corinthians 3:4-6