Romans 8:18-30
By way of review, let’s
look at a quick synopsis of Romans. The
first 5 chapters are really about the Gospel.
Chapters 1 through 3:20 show the sinfulness of all man and the need for the
Gospel. From 3:21 until the end of
chapter 5, Paul explains the Gospel: salvation through Christ alone. Then in chapters 6 through 8, he’s been
talking about the benefits of that gospel.
Chapters 6 through 7 gave the “negative” benefits. Not that they are bad, but they are given in
a negative light. We are no longer under
the law, slaves to sin, under the curse, dead in trespasses and sin, nor
victims of sin. Chapter 8 shows us the
positive benefits of salvation. We are
no longer under condemnation. We are
free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). We live according to the Spirit (8:5). We are in the Spirit; we belong to
Christ. Then in verses 15-17, Paul says
we are adopted children of God. If we
are the children of God, we are the heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus
Christ.
This week we continue
in chapter 8. These are familiar passages, but are some of the most encouraging
passages in Scripture for the child of God. As we’ll see, we have
something better to look forward to than anything we encounter in this life. If you’re struggling today, stay with
me. I think you’ll be refreshed in our
great Father.
But, let’s go back to
verse 15 for some context.
The Spirit you received
does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit
you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry,
"Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we
are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and
co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may
also share in his glory. –Romans 8:15-17
We are no longer slaves
to fear, but children of God. Unbelievers are terrified. What if global warming is real and the polar ice
caps melt? What if so-and-so is elected
as the next leader? What if Iran and the
US go to war? What if Russia is
tampering with our elections? They are
terrified of the unknown. But we are
children of the sovereign God. We know
who holds the future and have nothing to fear.
Because we are children
of God, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are not slaves,
but children! Think about those implications. In Roman society, if
a man wanted his family name carried on, he could adopt a son. It did not
matter from what status he was adopted from under Roman law, the adoptee was
then entitled to everything his adopted father had. He would inherit his
adopted father’s wealth, land, position in society, and sometimes even his
position in local government. As children of our Heavenly Father, we are
heirs to the same things as Christ; we are co-heirs. We will reign with Him. We will be with Him eternally.
Peter also speaks about
our inheritance:
Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This
inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's
power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the
last time. –1 Peter 1:3-5
In His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living
hope! Nothing we have done but because of
His mercy, He has given us a birth into a living hope made possible by the
resurrection of Jesus. We will talk more
about this hope later. But this
inheritance never perishes, spoils, or fades.
And He keeps in heaven for us.
It’s in safe keeping for now, and will be given to us at the last
time. But, let’s get back to Romans 8. Verse 18:
I consider that our
present sufferings…
“Our present
sufferings.” Are you suffering? Wait a minute! I thought when I got
saved it was all health, wealth, and prosperity? Sorry, that’s not what
the Bible teaches. If, as Matthew 8:20 tells us, the Son of Man had
nowhere to lay His head, why should we expect to? Jesus promised His
disciples that there would be tribulation.
“I have told you these
things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world." –John 16:33
The wording in Romans
8:18 appears to indicate that Paul assumes everyone is suffering. Another
way to translate this phrase would be “For I consider the sufferings of this
present time.” Paul didn’t seem to
expect that the Christian life would be all cakes and roses.
As we are more vocal
about our faith, we should expect even more suffering. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew that they
would be delivered up to tribulation, put to death, and hated by all nations
(24:9-11 ESV). James said to count it
all joy when we meet trials of various kinds (1:2 ESV). Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of the
gospel, but to “share in suffering for the gospel” (I Timothy 1:8 ESV). Then in his second letter he made a stronger
statement. He told Timothy that “all who
desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil people
and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”
(3:12-13 ESV).
Paul himself endured
some of the worst sufferings aside from Christ.
He was stoned, betrayed, imprisoned, abandoned, and beaten; yet he always
looked beyond his present suffering. Back
to Romans 8:18 again:
I consider that our
present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed
in us. –Romans 8:18)
It doesn’t matter sufferings
we are presently dealing with. It doesn’t matter how bad we think they
are. It doesn’t matter the hurt we have endured at the hands of
others. NONE of it is worth
comparing with the glory to be revealed to us. (The word translated “in”
in the NIV is most often translated “into,” “to,” or “unto.”) Our coming glory
makes all of this seem trivial. Paul explains more about our sufferings
in light of eternity to the Corinthians:
For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them
all.—2 Corinthians 4:17
How was Paul able to
say that our troubles are light and momentary?
Didn’t he pray asking God to remove a thorn three times and was told
no? I for one wouldn’t have referred to
a stoning as “light!” That first stone
was usually a pretty good sized rock.
They weren’t using pea gravel when they stoned someone. Paul is looking forward to that eternal
glory. He’s looking forward to seeing
his Savior face to face.
Paul says that our
troubles are “achieving” or “producing” an eternal glory. Our struggles
here actually help to magnify the glory of our eternity. What are your
present sufferings? Compare them to the glory that will be
revealed. Don’t let yourself mope about them. Don’t be depressed over
what you are struggling with. In the light of eternity, this is
nothing. We need to learn to look at life in light of eternity.
Paul continues:
For the creation waits
in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation
was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one
who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
–Romans 8:19-21
Creation is longing for
the day when believers are revealed as the sons of God. When Adam sinned,
the earth was also cursed (Genesis 3:17-19). It has been subjected to
frustration, or frailty, because of sin. When God created the earth, at
the end of every day He pronounced creation as “Good.” At the end of day 6, He pronounced it “Very
good.” But because of Adam’s sin, God
cursed the earth and all creation. Now,
it longs for the day when it will be restored to the intended glory that God
originally intended it. We see this idea of a restored creation in Isaiah
11.
The wolf will live with
the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and
the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed
with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw
like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra's den, and the young child
will put its hand into the viper's nest. –Isaiah 11:6-8
In our fallen world,
what we know as predators (the wolf, leopard, lion, and bear) would have killed
the other creatures (the lamb, goat, calf, yearling, cow, and children).
The concept of children playing with cobras and vipers is foreign to every
parent. But a day is coming when a new heaven and a new earth will be
created. Creation will be as it should be, and a small child will be able
to lead a lion about like a house cat.
We know that the whole
creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen
is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for
what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. –Romans 8:22-25
Creation is groaning in
desperation and longing for the day when we will be glorified. But so are believers. The
older I get, the more I groan at the wickedness of this world. When I was working in law enforcement for 8.5
years, I let myself get callused to death, but deaths and shootings like the
ones in El Paso and Dayton grieve me. I
think about the victims and wonder if any were believers. But for believers, we hope for what we have
not yet seen. Like a child at the window
when their parent comes home, they are looking into the distance longing for
when their car will pull into the driveway.
“Hope” has the connotation of standing on tip-toes, craning your neck
looking into the distance for something expected.
For the first time in several months, I was able to meet Janet for
lunch one day this week. Working in Fair
Play, which is 25 minutes away, makes that a little tricky. But we made it work this week. We decided to try a restaurant that came
highly recommended since Elise was happily playing with my nephews at my mom’s
house. I actually made it to Seneca
before Janet did. So I found a place inside the restaurant (in the A/C) where I
could see as far down the road as possible.
And with eager anticipation, I hoped she was the next car around the
bend. If she had been in the car with
me, I wouldn’t be hoping for her to come.
We don’t yet see or understand the glory that is to come. We long for that day when we shall see
Him. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians:
So we fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but
what is unseen is eternal. –2 Corinthians 4:18
In
his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul gave us a little glimpse into this
mystery.
Listen, I tell you a
mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead
will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must
clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the
perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has
been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let
nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. –1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Creation
is longing for that day of glorification; believers long for it; and the Holy
Spirit longs for it and even prays for it.
In the same way, the
Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who
searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes
for God's people in accordance with the will of God. –Romans 8:26-27
The
Holy Spirit is also longing for the day of redemption. Doubtless we’ve all heard someone teach that this
verse is how the Holy Spirit prays for us when we’re going through trials, and we
have no idea how to pray; the Holy Spirit utters some unknown-to-us form of
communication for us to the Father on our behalf. I thought that myself, up until I studied
this passage for the sermon. However,
that idea doesn’t fit the context of the passage. Yes, we are weak. Yes, we know that Jesus intercedes for
us. And we know that the Holy Spirit is
a helper. But, I think these two verses
have a different meaning. Believers are
still weak, frail humans. Our minds
cannot fully grasp what is coming. Paul
called it a mystery. We think we
understand it, but we really don’t. We
have no idea what Heaven will be like or what it will be to see God the Father,
or Jesus and His wounds, or the Holy Spirit who helped and lead us through this
life. Because of our weak, finite
nature, I believe the Holy Spirit prays more specifically for us than we know
how to by using “wordless groans” begging for the Day of the Lord when our
adoption to sonship is finalized by the redemption of our bodies as Paul put it
back in verse 23.
But,
regardless, we do still endure sufferings in life. In this passage, Paul told us to compare our
sufferings to the coming glory. But he
has more encouragement for us. He goes
on:
And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called
according to his purpose. –Romans 8:28
“And
we know.” We have absolute certainty; we
know beyond all shadow of a doubt that every facet of our lives is used for the
good of those who love Him, for those who are called according to His
purpose. God causes all things to work
for our good. Everything for our good. “But I thought you said the prosperity gospel was
unbiblical?” I agree that some try to
use this verse that way. But you can’t
stop with 28. Keep reading through verse
29 and 30.
For those God foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he
also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also
glorified. –Romans 8:29-30
The
“good” of verse 28 has to do with our spiritual good. All things that God allows in our life is for
purpose. It is to conform us to the
image of his Son. Like Carl mentioned
last week, there are times God has to cut things from our lives. It hurts, but ultimately it is for our
greater good. Sometimes he is trying to
teach us something. Those trials are
equally hard. But remember, He is the
Potter. We should fully submit to His
working, knowing that he has a purpose.
At Elise’s age, and for several more years I’m sure, she often doesn’t
understand what Janet and I are trying to teach her. But we are much like that with God. He is trying to teach us something to grow us
in spiritual maturity, but we are too naïve to see it.
I’m
not going to delve into the predestination vs free-will (Calvinism vs
Arminianism) discussion today. The term
“elect” is used at least about 15 times in the Bible, depending on the
translation that you’re using. But man’s
free-will to choose is also seen throughout Scripture. Personally, I have issues with both camps. There are certain doctrinal hills that I will
plant my flag on die there. This is not
one of those particular topics. I
personally believe that this is a gray area in Scripture and the truth falls
somewhere in between these two. Unfortunately,
denominations and theological theories are man-made “boxes.” Man has devised these as a way to try to
better explain God. God, however,
doesn’t fit in man’s box. I had a systematic
theology professor in grad school that used to say that topics like these were
like trying to carry three watermelons.
You can pick up two by yourself.
But trying to pick up that third watermelon alone is nearly
impossible. As another pastor once told
me, the moment we fully understand God, He ceases to be God. Regardless, we can all agree that God has
called believers to be justified and someday glorified.
I
read a story about Corrie Ten Boom this week.
As she would make presentations, she would often hold up a piece of
embroidery. She would only show the back
with hundreds of tangled threads hanging from it. While showing the audience this messy piece
of fabric she would ask a question:
“Does
God always grant us what we ask for in prayer? Not always. Sometimes He says “No.” That is because God knows what we do not
know. God knows all. Look at this piece of embroidery. The wrong side is chaos. But look at the beautiful picture on the
other side – the right side.”
“We
see now the wrong side; God sees His side all the time. One day we shall see the embroidery from His
side and thank Him for every answered and unanswered prayer.”
So,
Believer, rest in the coming glory you will one day enjoy with our good, good
Father. Look beyond our present light
and momentary afflictions and fix your eyes on eternity. Realize that what He has called you to walk
through is for your greater good – your conformity into the image of His Son
Jesus Christ.
There
is another side to this coin of our eternal focus that I want us to consider
this morning. Believers have heaven to
look forward to in order to make our troubles on earth more bearable. For unbelievers, however, this present suffering
is nothing as well – nothing in light of the eternal suffering coming as a
result of their sin.
God
has been convicting me lately about my lack of sharing my faith. When I selected the book to pass out for
Father’s Day titled Unashamed of the
Gospel, I had no idea how the first chapter would kick me in the
teeth. Then men’s meeting this week was
about personal evangelism. I have the
hope of glory. Why am I not sharing it
with others who are walking in the dark searching for more out of life? I want to challenge us this morning to be
seeking people to share the gospel with.
It could be as simple as handing a cashier a tract and asking them to
read it when they get a minute. It could
be offering to pray with someone and seeing if that leads to spiritual
conversation. There are a million
tactics. But the moral of the story is
“Just Do It.” (Sorry, Nike.)
The
president of the university I attended had a saying that he would share with us
several times a semester during chapel.
He’d say the first half, then the student body and faculty would respond
in unison with the second half. It went
like this:
The most sobering reality in the
world today…
Is that people are dying and going
to hell today.
Let
that sink in just a minute. On average,
two people die each second. In the hour
that passed during our service, approximately 6,316 people have died. What are we doing to share the hope of glory
with others like them?
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