SPB Sermons | Sunday 19 July 2026
Living by the Spirit, Not by Fear
Romans 8:12–25 gives us one of the greatest passages in all of Scripture about who the Spirit is and what he gives to those who are in Christ. We have an obligation — not to the flesh and its fears, but to the life-giving Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and now lives in us.
What Is This Life For?
There come moments in ministry — at the bedside, at the graveside, in the ordinary conversations of ordinary people — when the question rises without warning: what is this life actually for? Not as a philosophical puzzle, but from a place of vulnerability and real need. Paul has been helping the young church in Rome wrestle with exactly that question. They are living in a despot city, facing chaos and corruption and persecution. And his answer is not survival. It is not merely getting through the day. It is life in the Spirit — a radically different kind of existence, because its source is not from this world.
You Have an Obligation — But Not to Fear
"The Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you."
The Spirit who emptied the tomb lives in you. That is Paul's foundation before he issues any challenge. And because of that, says Paul, you have an obligation — not to live according to the flesh, but to put its misdeeds to death and live. The life of the flesh curves inward on itself, what CS Lewis called the prison of self. Fear is its warden. But the life of the Spirit is orientated outward — given to others in love, mercy, compassion, and creation. We are not slaves to fear. We are children of God.
The flesh curves inward: a dead life of self-focus, driven by fear and the instinct to survive.
The Spirit opens outward: a living reality that transcends circumstances and cannot be contained by them.
Children, Not Slaves
Abba, Father
We have not received a spirit that makes us slaves again to fear, but the Spirit of sonship. By him we cry Abba — Dad. It was a scandalous word in Jesus' day, an intimate name for God. And it is ours by faith. Our position before the holiness of God has changed. When we stand as children, fear no longer has its place. Our Father is greater than all we face.
Heirs with Christ
Co-heirs of the Glory
If we share in his sufferings, we will also share in his glory. Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. This does not minimise the pain — Paul is deeply real about the weight of this world. But it does put it in an eternal frame. The tomb is empty. Death could not hold him. Nothing this world throws at us can stop him.
The Heart of the Sermon
Groaning — But Not the Groans of a Dying World
The whole of creation has been groaning, says Paul — and so have we. But these are not the groans of a last breath. They are the pains of childbirth. Something new is coming. Our hope is not a shallow cross-your-fingers optimism that things will probably turn out alright. It is a deep hope, rooted in what God has done. For in this hope we are saved. And hope that is not yet seen is still hope — it keeps us from the prison of self, from survival as our highest aim, and from allowing fear to close the doors and wait out the world.
We are called instead to swing those doors open and go — in the life-giving Spirit, into the normal places, to make known a hope that the world cannot manufacture and the flesh cannot find. Learning to live by promise rather than by proof. Because the promise of God is greater than any proof this world can offer.
What Do We Live By?
The question is not simply what we live for — it is what we live by. And Paul's answer is clear: not by fear, not by sight, not by the instinct to survive. We live by the Spirit who has made us children of God by the cross of Christ. The same Spirit who meets us in our groaning, who leads us forward in the sure hope that the glory still to come will be greater than anything we face now.
So today — do not merely cling to life. By faith, receive it. Live it. Give it away. So that others might find their way home to him and delight in calling him Abba. This is our call, and this is what life is for.
Listen to the Sermon
The full sermon is available to listen to now. We hope it helps you live this week not by fear, but by the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead and now lives in you.
Join Us
You Would Be Very Welcome
St Paul's & St Barnabas is an Anglican evangelical parish in the heart of North Belfast, seeking to make Christ known and to love our city in his name. We are a church family learning to follow Jesus, love one another, and serve our community — not by fear, but in the freedom of the Spirit.
Join us in person on Sundays at 208 York Street, Belfast.
Abba, Father
The Spirit who emptied the tomb lives in you. You are not a slave to fear. You are a child of God, a co-heir with Christ, groaning toward a glory that will make all of this worth it. So do not merely cling to life — receive it, live it, and give it away. For in this hope we are saved.
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