The Leading of the Spirit, The Secret Token of the Sons of God

DELIVERED BY

C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"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!

Dear Friend, did the Holy Spirit ever lead you to the stool of
repentance? Did He ever cause you to see how basely you have treated
your God and how shamefully you have neglected your Savior? Did He ever
make you bemoan yourself for your iniquities? There is no way to Heaven
but by the weeping-cross. He who never felt the burden of his sin will
yet be crushed beneath its enormous weight when, like some tottering
cliff in Judgment's dreadful hour, it will fall upon him and grind him
to powder! No man ever goes to the chamber of true repentance till the
Holy Spirit leads him there, but every child of God knows what it is to
look on Him whom he has pierced and mourn for his sin. Holy sorrow for
sin is as indispensable as faith in the atoning blood, and the same
Spirit who gives us peace through the great Sacrifice also works in us
a hearty grief for having grieved the Lord.

If you have, from your youth up, never felt any special mourning for
sin, then may God begin the gracious work in your heart, for salvation
is certainly not worked in you. You must have repentance, for
repentance is absolutely necessary to the Divine Life. "Except you
repent you shall all likewise perish." The prodigal must cry, "Father,
I have sinned!" The publican must smite his breast and pray, "God be
merciful to me a sinner." As well destroy one of the valves of the
heart and yet hope to live as take away repentance which is the
inseparable life-companion of faith. A dry-eyed faith is no faith at
all. When a man has his face towards Jesus, his back is necessarily
turned on his sins. As well look for spring in the garden without the
snowdrop as look for Grace in the heart without penitence.

That faith which is not accompanied by repentance is a spurious faith,
and not the faith of God's elect, for no man ever trusts Christ till he
feels he needs a Savior. And he cannot have felt that he needs a Savior
unless he has been wearied with the burden of his sin. The Holy Spirit
leads men, first, to repentance. He leads them at the same time, while
they think little of themselves, to think much of Jesus. Were you ever
led to the Cross, Beloved? Did you ever stand there and feel the burden
fall off your shoulders and roll into the Redeemer's sepulcher?

When Dr. Neale, the eminent Ritualist, took John Bunyan's, "Pilgrim's
Progress," and Romanized it, he represented the Pilgrim as coming to a
certain bath into which he was plunged and washed–and then his burden
was washed away! He explains this to be the bath of "baptism," though I
have never yet seen in any Ritualistic church a baptistery large enough
to wash a pilgrim! However, according to this doctored edition of the
allegory, Christian was washed in the laver of "baptism" and all his
sins were thus removed. That is the High Church mode of getting rid of
sin! John Bun-yan's way–the true way–is to lose it at the Cross!

Now, mark what happened. According to Dr. Neale's, "Pilgrim's
Progress," that burden grew again on the pilgrim's back, and I do not
wonder that it did, for a burden which "baptism" can remove is sure to
come again! But the burden which is lost at the Cross never appears
again, forever! There is no effectual cleansing for sin except by faith
in that matchless Atonement offered once and for all on the bloody
tree! And as many as are led there by the Spirit of God are the sons of
God! The Spirit of God never led a man to think little of Christ and
much of priests. The Spirit of God never led a man to think little of
the atoning blood and of simple faith in it, and much of outward forms
and ceremonies! The Spirit of God sinks the man and lifts up the
Savior! He lowers flesh and blood into the grave and gives to man new
life in the risen Lord who also has ascended up on high! "He shall
glorify Me," said Christ of the Comforter, and that, indeed, is the
Comforter's office.

Now, my dear Friends, has the Spirit ever made the Lord Jesus glorious
in your eyes? Brothers and Sisters, this is the one point above all
others. If the Holy Spirit has never made Christ precious to you, you
know nothing about Him! If He has not lifted Jesus up and sunk your own
confidences. If He has not made you feel that Christ is all you need
and that you find more than all in Him, then He has never worked a
Divine change in your heart. Repentance and Faith must stand gazing
upon the bleeding Savior or else Hope will never join them and bring
Peace as his companion.

When the Spirit has glorified Jesus, He leads us to know other Truths.
The Holy Spirit leads the sons of God into all Truth. Others go astray
after this falsehood or that, but the sheep of God will not hear the
voice of strange leaders– their ears are closed to their
flatteries–"A stranger will they not follow, for they know not the
voice of strangers." Beloved, no lie is of the Truth of God, and no man
who receives a lie has been led by the Spirit of God into it, let him
say what he may.

On the other hand, Truth is like a closed chamber to the unregenerate
man. He may read the table of contents of the precious storehouse, but
into that secret room he cannot enter–there is One that has the key of
David, who opens and no man shuts–and the key with which He opens is
the power of the Holy Spirit! When He opens up a doctrine to a man, the
man learns it aright, but he never can know it otherwise. You may go to
college and sit at the feet of the most learned Gamaliel of the day,
but you can never know the Truth of God in the heart unless the Holy
Spirit shall teach you. We never know a Truth in the power of it till
it is burned into our soul, as with a hot iron, by an experience of its
power, or engraved as upon brass by the mystic Revelation of the
Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can interweave the Truth with the heart
and make it part and parcel of ourselves, so that it is in us and we
are in it. Have you thus been led into the Truth of God? If so, give
God the glory, for thus the Spirit of God certifies your adoption!

The children of God are led not only into knowledge, but into love.
They are brought to feel the warmth of love as well as to see the light
of Truth. The Spirit of God causes every true-born son of God to burn
with love to the rest of the family. He who is a stranger to Christian
love is a stranger to Divine Grace. Brothers and Sisters, we have our
disputes, for we dwell where it must be that offenses come. But we
should be slow to take offense and slower, still, to give it, for we
are one in Christ Jesus and our hearts are knit together by His Spirit.

I take it that no honest man ought to hold his tongue concerning any of
the errors of the day–it is a dishonest way of cultivating ease for
yourself and gaining a popularity not worth the having! We must speak
the Truth of God whether we offend or please, but this is to be done in
love and because of love. God save us from that suggestion of Satan
which advises us to speak only those soft things which please men's
ears, for he who gives way to this persuasion is a traitor to Truth and
to the souls of men. The true man of God must speak against every evil
and false way–but there beats in his heart a strong affection to every
child of God–whatever his errors and his faults may be.

The knife of the surgeon is mercifully cruel to the cancer, not out of
ill-will to his patient, but out of an honest desire to benefit him.
Such affectionate faithfulness we have need to cultivate. Love to the
saints is the token of the saints. There is an inner Church of God's
own elect within every one of the Christian denominations–and this
Church is made up of men spiritually enlightened–who know the marrow
and mystery of the Gospel. Whenever they meet, however diversified may
be their views, they recognize one another by a sort of sacred
code–the one Spirit which quickens them all alike leaps within them as
it recognizes the one life in the bosoms of others.

Despite their mental divergences, ecclesiastical associations and
doctrinal differences, spiritual men no sooner hear the password and
catch the mystic sign, than they cry, "Give me your hand, my Brother,
for my heart is even as your heart. The Spirit of God has led me and he
has led you. And in our way we tread step by step together. Therefore
let us have fellowship with each other." The outsiders of the camp, the
mixed multitude that come up out of Egypt with our Israel, fall both
into fighting and lusting–but the children of the living God, who make
the central bodyguard of the ark of the Lord, are one in heart with
each other and must be so. "We know that we have passed from death unto
life, because we love the Brethren."

The Holy Spirit leads us into intense love for the souls of sinners. If
any man shall say, "It is no business of mine whether men are lost or
saved," the Spirit of God never led him into such inhumanity. Hearts of
iron have never felt the touch of the Spirit of Love. If ever a
preacher's spirit and teaching legitimately lead you to the conclusion
that you may view the damnation of your fellow men with complacency or
indifference, you may be sure that the Spirit of God never led him or
you in that direction! The devil has more to do with some men's
pitiless theology than they imagine. Christ's

eyes wept over the sinner's doom–may the Lord save us from thinking of
it in any other spirit! He who does not love his fellow man whom he has
seen–how can he love God whom he has not seen? Does God look with
complacency upon the ruin of our race? Did He not love men so well that
He gave His only-begotten Son for them? And will He have His own
children cold, stoical and indifferent to the loss of human souls?
Beloved, if we dwell with Cain and cry, "Am I my brother's keeper?" the
Spirit of God never led us there! He leads us into tenderness,
sympathy, compassion and tearful effort, if by any means we may save
some.

The Spirit of God leads the sons of God into holiness. I shall not
attempt to define what holiness is. That is best seen in the lives of
holy men. Can it be seen in your lives? Beloved, if you are of a
fierce, unforgiving spirit, the Holy Spirit never led you there. If you
are proud and hectoring, the Holy Spirit never led you. If you are
covetous and lustful after worldly gain, the Holy Spirit never led you
there. If you are false in your statements and unjust in your actions,
the Holy Spirit never led you there. If I hear of a professor of
religion in the ballroom or the theater, I know that the Holy Spirit
never led him there. If I find a child of God mixing with the ungodly,
using their speech and doing their actions, I am persuaded the Holy
Spirit never led him there.

But if I see a man living as Christ would have lived, loving and
tender, fearless, brave, honest and in all things minding to keep a
good conscience before God and men, I hope that the Spirit of God has
led him. If I see that man devout before his God and full of integrity
before his fellow men, then I hope and believe that the Spirit of God
is His leader and influences his character. "The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." I do not wish
to speak sharply, but I feel that I must speak plainly–and I feel
bound to say that there is far too much hypocrisy among professing
Christian people.

Many wear the name of Christian and have nothing else that is Christian
about them. It is sorrowful that it should be so, but so it is–false
professors have lowered the standard of Christian character and made
the Church so like the world that it is hard to say where one begins
and the other ends. We exercise Church discipline as best we can, but,
for all that, there is a seed of mischief which does not develop into
open and overt sin which we cannot remove by discipline, for we are
forbidden to root up the tares lest we root up the wheat with them. Men
and Brethren, we must be holy! It is of no use our talking about being
orthodox in belief–we must be orthodox in life–and if we are not, the
most sound creed will only increase our damnation!

I hear men boast that they are Nonconformists to the backbone, as if
that were the essential matter! Better far be Christians to the heart!
What is the use of ecclesiastical Nonconformity if the heart is still
conformed to the world? Another man will glory that he is a Conformist,
but what is the good of that unless he is conformed to the image of
Christ? Holiness is the main consideration and if we are not led into
it by the Spirit of Holiness neither are we the sons of God!
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit leads those who are the children of God
into vital godliness–the mystic essence of spiritual life. For
instance, the Holy Spirit leads the saints to prayer, which is the
vital breath of their souls. Whenever they get true access to the Mercy
Seat it is by His power.

The Holy Spirit leads them to search the Word and opens their
understandings to receive it. He leads them into meditation and the
chewing of the cud of the Truth of God. He leads them into fellowship
with Himself and with the Son of God. He lifts them right away from
worldly cares into heavenly contemplations. He leads them away to the
heavenly places, where Christ sits at the right hand of God and where
His saints reign with Him. Beloved, have you ever felt these leadings?
I am talking of them, but do you understand them? Are these things
matters of constant experience with you? It is easy to say, "Yes, I
know what you mean." Have you felt them? Are these everyday things with
you? As the Lord lives, if you have not been led into prayer and into
communion with God, the Spirit of God is not in you, and you are none
of

His!

The Spirit of God, moreover, leads the sons of God into
usefulness–some in one path and some in another–while a few are
conducted into very eminent service and into self-consecration of the
highest order. We bless God for Missionaries who have been led of the
Spirit of God among the wildest tribes to preach Jesus Christ. We thank
God for holy women who, at home, have been led into the darkest parts
of this city to labor among the most fallen and depraved, to lift up
Christ before them that He might lift them up to Himself. Blessed are
those men and women who are led by the Spirit of God into labors more
abundant, for the more abundant shall be their joy.

I think I ought to remind you all that if you are doing nothing for
Jesus, the Spirit of God has never led you into this idleness. If you
eat the fat and drink the sweet in the House of God, but never do a
hand's turn for the household, the Spirit of God cannot have taught you
this abominable sloth! There is a something for every one of us to
do–a talent committed to the charge of every Believer–and if we have
the Spirit of God dwelling in us, He will tell us what the Lord has
appointed us to perform. He will strengthen us for the doing of it and
set His seal and blessing upon it when it is done. Those dead branches
of the vine which yield no clusters for the Lord, either by patience in
suffering or activity in working, have no evidence that they are of the
household of faith! Those who take no part in labors for Jesus can
hardly hope that they will ultimately be partakers in His Glory with
Him.

Thus have I, in a plain manner, without diving too deeply into the
matter, given you an answer to the question, "Where does the Spirit of
God lead the sons of God?"

II. I shall now answer another question with still greater brevity–How
DOES THE SPIRIT LEAD THE SONS OF GOD? The reply would be this–the
Spirit of God operates upon our spirits mysteriously. We cannot explain
His mode of operation, except that we shall probably be right if we
conclude that He operates upon our spirits somewhat in the same way in
which our spirits operate upon other men's spirits, only after a nobler
sort. Now, how do I influence the spirit of my friend? I do it,
usually, by imparting to him something which I know, which I hope will
have power over his mind by suggesting motives to him and so
influencing his acts. I cannot operate upon my neighbor's mind
mechanically. No tool can touch the heart, no hand can shape the mind.
We act upon matter by machinery, but upon mind by argument, by reason,
by instruction and so we endeavor to fashion men as we desire.

One great instrument which the Holy Spirit uses upon the mind is the
Word of God. The Word, as we have it printed in the Bible, is the great
instrument in the hand of the Spirit for leading the children of God in
the right way. If you want to know what you ought to do, say as the old
Scotchman used to say to his wife, "Reach down yon Bible." That is the
map of the way–the heavenly pilgrim's knapsack guide–and if you are
led by the Word of God, the Spirit of God is with the Word and works
through it, and you are led by the Spirit of God. Quote chapter and
verse for an action and, unless you have twisted the passage, you may
rest assured you have acted rightly. Be sure that such-and-such a thing
is a command of God written in the Book, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and you do not need a voice of thunder from Heaven or an angelic
whisper–you have a more sure Word of prophecy, unto which you will do
well if you take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark place.

The Spirit of God also speaks through His ministers. The Word preached
is often blessed, as well as the Word written, but this can only be the
case when the Word preached is in conformity with the Word written. At
times God's ministers seem to give the written Word its own voice, so
that it sounds forth as if just spoken by the seer who originally
received it. As they speak, it drops into the ears like honey from the
comb. It leaps forth like water from the wellhead! And at such times it
goes into the heart fresh and warm, with even a greater energy than
when we read it alone in our chamber. How often do we feel, when we
read a Truth of God in the Bible, (even though that Book is God's
Word), our sluggish condition prevents its having such power over us as
it has when a man of God who has experienced it and tasted it, and
handled it, speaks of it as the outpouring of his own soul?

May God grant that the ministry which you usually attend may be to you
the voice of God. May it be guidance to your feet, comfort to your
heart, invigoration to your faith and refreshment to your soul! And
while you are sitting in the House of Prayer may you feel, "That Word
is for me. I came here not knowing what to do, but I have received
direction. I was faint and weary, but I have obtained consolation and
strength. The voice of the pastor has been as the oracle of God to my
soul and now I go my way comforted as Hannah did when the Lord's
servant had spoken peace to her

soul."

Upon another point I would speak with great caution and would have you
think of it with more caution, still, for it is a matter which has been
sadly abused and turned to fanatical purposes. The Spirit of God does,
I believe, directly, even apart from the Word, speak in the hearts of
the saints. There are inward monitions which are to be devoutly obeyed.
There are suggestions, mysterious and secret, which must be implicitly
followed. It is not a subject for common talk, but is meant for the ear
of the intelligent Believer who will not misunderstand us. There will
come to you, sometimes, you know not why, certain inward checks, such
as Paul received when he essayed to go into Mysia, but the Spirit
suffered him not.

There is a certain act which you might do or might not do, but an
impulse comes upon you which seems to say, "Not that, or not now." Do
not violate that inward restraint! "Quench not the Spirit." At another
time a proper thing, a fit thing, will have been forgotten by you for a
time, but it comes upon you strongly that it is to be done at once–and
for some reason you cannot shake off the impression. Do no violence to
that impulse! It is not to every man that the Holy Spirit speaks in
such a way, but He has His favored ones, and these must jealously guard
the privilege, for perhaps if they are deaf when He speaks, He may
never again speak to them in that way. If we render reverent obedience
to Divine monitions they will become far more common with us.

"Why," says one, "you run into Quakerism." I cannot help that! If this
is Quakerism I am so far a Quaker! Names do not concern me one way or
another. You, each one, know whether your personal experience gives
confirmation to what I have advanced, or otherwise. There let the
question end, for, mark you, I advance this with caution and do not set
up such monitions as indispensable signs of a son of God. There is a
story told, (and many such some of us could tell almost as striking),
of a certain friend who one night was influenced to take his horse from
the stable and ride some six or seven miles to a certain house where
lived a person whom he had never seen.

He arrived at dead of night, knocked at the door and was answered by
the master of the house, who seemed to be in great confusion of mind.
The midnight visitor said, "Friend, I have been sent to you. I know not
why, but surely the Lord has some reason for having sent me to you. Is
there anything peculiar about your circumstances?" The man, struck with
amazement, asked him to come upstairs and there showed him a halter
tied to a beam. He was putting the rope about his neck to commit
suicide when a knock sounded at the door. He resolved that he would go
down and answer the call and then return and destroy himself. But the
friend whom God had sent talked to him, brought him to a cooler mind
and helped him in the pecuniary difficulty which embarrassed him, and
the man lived to be an honorable Christian man.

I solemnly declare that monitions equally powerful have guided me and
their results have been remarkable to me, at any rate. For the most
part these are secrets between God and my own soul. Neither am I eager
to break the seal and tell them to others. There are too many swine
about for us to be very lavish with our pearls. If we were obedient to
such impulses, if we did not save suicides, we might save souls and
might often be, in the hands of God, as angels sent from Heaven! But we
are like the horse and the mule which have no understanding, whose
mouth must be held in with bit and bridle–we are not tender enough to
be sensitive to the Divine Influence when it comes, and so the Lord
does not please to speak to many of us in this way so frequently as we
would desire. Still, it is true that "as many as are led by the Spirit
of God," however He may lead them, "they are the sons of God."

Let me here remark that being, "led by the Spirit of God," is a
remarkable expression. It does not say, "As many as are driven by the
Spirit of God." No, the devil is a driver, and when he enters either
into men or into hogs, he drives them furiously. Remember how the whole
herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. Whenever you see a
man fanatical and wild, whatever spirit is in him, it is not the Spirit
of Christ! The Spirit of Christ is forcible. It works mightily, but it
is a quiet Spirit. It is not an eagle, but a dove. He comes as a
rushing wind and fills the house where the disciples are sitting, but
at the same time He comes not as a whirlwind from the wilderness to
smite the four corners of the habitation, or it would become a ruin.

He comes as a flame of fire sitting upon each of the favored ones, but
it is not a flame of fire that burns the house and destroys Jerusalem.
No, the Spirit of God is gentle! He does not drive, but leads. "As many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." The Spirit
treats us honorably in thus working. He does not deal with us as with
dumb, driven cattle, or soulless waves of the sea. He treats us as
intelligent beings, made for thought and reflection. He leads us as a
man guides his child, or as one leads his fellow–and we are honored by
subjecting our minds and wills to so Divine a Spirit. Whatever it is,
the will is truly free until the Holy Spirit sweetly subdues it to
willing obedience.

Thus the Spirit of God works, though we cannot explain the method, for
that is a thing too wonderful for us, and sooner may we know the path
of an eagle in the air, or the way of a serpent upon a rock. As we
cannot walk in search of the springs of the sea, so is this, also,
hidden from all living. We have said somewhat upon the subject, and, as
far as we can, have answered the question, "How does the Spirit of God
lead the children of God?" But we are of yesterday and know nothing.
And, therefore, confessing our ignorance, we pass on.

III. The last question is, WHEN DOES THE SPIRIT LEAD THE SONS OF GOD?
Ah, Brothers and Sisters, that

question needs anxious answering. The Spirit of God would always lead
the sons of God, but, alas, there are times when

even children of God will not be led! They are willful and headstrong,
and start aside. The healthy condition of a child of God is to be
always led by the Spirit of God. Mark this–led by the Spirit
everyday–not on Sundays only! Nor alone at periods set apart for
prayer–but during every minute of every hour of everyday.

We ought to be led by the Spirit in little things as well as in great
matters, for, observe, if we were led by the Spirit all our lives in
all matters, yet, if only one action apart from the Spirit were
suffered to run to its full results, it would ruin us! The mercy is
that the Lord restores our souls, but there is never a single hour when
a Christian can afford to wander from the way of the Spirit. If you
have a guide along an intricate pathway and you allow him to conduct
you for half an hour, and then say, "Now, I shall direct myself for the
next five minutes," in that short space you will lose the benefit of
having a guide at all!

It is clear that a pilot who only occasionally directs the ship is very
little better than none. If you were traversing an unknown and
difficult pathway it would render all directions useless if you were to
say, "They told me to turn to the right at this tower, but I mean to
try the left." That one turning will affect the whole of your later
journey. If we err, and are really sons of God, our Divine Leader will
make us retrace our steps with bitter tears and feel what an evil and
bitter thing it is to have chosen our own delusions. If we use our
Divine Leader wisely we shall always follow Him. Child of God, the
Spirit must lead you in everything!

"Well, but," you say, "will He?" Ah, "Will He?" Yes, to your
astonishment! When you are in difficulties, consult the Holy Spirit in
the Word. Hear what God speaks in the Inspired Volume and if no light
comes from there, kneel down and pray. When you see a signpost in a
country road, and it tells you which way to go, you are glad to follow
its directions. But, if in your perplexities you see no signpost, what
are you to do? Pray. Cast yourself upon the Divine Guide and you shall
make no mistake, for even if you happen to pick the roughest road it
will be the right one if you have selected it with holy caution and in
the fear of God.

Beloved, the Lord will never let a vessel be dashed upon the rocks
whose tiller has been given into His hands. Give up the helm to God and
your boat will thread the narrow winding channel of life, avoid every
sandbank and sunken rock and arrive safely at the fair havens of
eternal bliss! The question–when are the sons of God led by the
Spirit? is to be answered thus–when they are as they should be they
are always distinctly led by Him and though, owing to sin in them, they
are not always obedient to the same degree, yet the power which usually
influences their lives is the Spirit of God.

Now I close, using the text thus. First as a test. Am I a child of God?
If so, I am led by the Spirit. Am I led by the Spirit? I am afraid some
of you never think of that matter. By whom are you led? Hundreds of
religious people are led by their minister or by a Christian friend and
so far, so good, for them. But their religion will be a failure unless
they are led by the Spirit. Let me put the question again that you may
not shirk it–Are you led by the Spirit? If you are, you are a child of
God–if not, you are none of His.

That gives me a second use of the text, namely, the use of consolation.
If you are a child of God you will be led by the Spirit. Now, are you
in doubt tonight? Are you embarrassed? Are you in difficulties? Then
the sons of God are led by the Spirit and you will be led. Perhaps you
are looking a long way ahead and you are afraid of difficulties in your
old age, or at the death of a relative. Now, God has not given us eyes
to pry into the future–so what is the use of our peering where we
cannot see? Leave it all to your heavenly Father and you will be
unerringly led by the Holy Spirit! When you come to the place where you
thought there would be a difficulty, very likely there will be none.

"Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?" said
the holy women. But when they came to the sepulcher, lo, the stone was
rolled away already! Go on as a child of God, walking by faith, with
the full assurance that the path of faith, if not an easy one, will
always be a safe one–and all will be well and you will be led in a
right way to a city of habitations.

The last word of all is, the text is an assurance. If you are led by
the Spirit of God, then you are most certainly a son of God. Can you
say, tonight, "I do yield myself up to the Lord's will. I am not
perfect, I wish I were. I am burdened with a thousand infirmities, but
yet if the Lord will teach me I am willing to learn. If He will have
patience with me I will strive to follow Him. Oh, what would I give to
be perfectly holy! I long to be pure within. I wish above all things
else in this world that I may never grieve my God, but walk with Him in
the Light as He is in the Light, and have fellowship with Him, while
the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses me from all sin"?

My Brother, my Sister, be well assured that none ever longed like that
but a child of God! Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you. No
soul, except an heir of Heaven, ever had such wishes, aspirations and
groaning after holiness, and such sorrow over failures and mistakes.
The text does not say, "He who runs in the Spirit is a son of God," but
he that is led by the Spirit of God. Now, we may stumble while we are
being led. A man may go very slowly while he is being led. He may go on
crutches as he is being led. He may even crawl on his hands and knees
while he is being led. But none of these absolutely prevent his being
truly led!

With all your weaknesses and infirmities, the question still is–Are
you led by the Spirit of God? If you are, all your infirmities and
failures are forgiven you for Christ's sake, and your being led is the
mark of your being born from above! Go home and rejoice in your
sonship, and ask God, if you have been weak, to make you strong. If you
have been lame ask Him to heal you. And, if you have crept along on
your hands and knees, ask Him to help you to walk uprightly. But, after
all that, bless Him that His Spirit does lead you! If you can only
walk, ask Him to make you run. And if you can run, ask Him to make you
mount on wings as eagles! Do not be satisfied with anything short of
the highest attainments and, at the same time, if you have not reached
them, do not despair!

Remember that in most families there are babes as well as men and
women–the little child in long clothes carried in the arms, and laid
on the breast, is just as dear to the parent as the son who in the
fullness of his manhood marches by his father's side and takes of his
share in the battle of life. You are sons of God if you are led by the
Spirit, however small your stature and feeble your Grace. The age,
strength, or education of the man are not essential to his sonship–the
trueness of his birth is the all-important matter. See to it that you
are led by the Spirit, or your parentage is not from above!

If you have been condemned by this sermon, then fly away to Jesus and
penitently and trustfully rest in Him! May the Spirit of God lead you
to do that and you are, then, a child of God. May He bless you now.
Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Romans 8:1-17. HYMNS FROM "OUR
OWN HYMN BOOK"–722, 448, 456.