Well, please turn your bibles now to Romans
chapter 8.
We'll be reading verses 18 to 25. The
text is also printed in your bulletin. Again,
Romans chapter 8
verses 18 to 25. We looked at verse
18
or is, last week, but I'm including it,
for context. And, of course, it's very much
related to everything that we'll be preaching today.
Again, Romans chapter 8 verses 18 to 25.
Please listen to the reading of god's word.
For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time
are not worth comparing with the glory that
is to be revealed
to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the sons of god.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not
willingly,
but because of him who subjected it, in
hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to
corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory
of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has
been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now.
And not only the creation,
but we ourselves
who have the first fruits of the spirit
grown inwardly
as we wait
eagerly
for adoption as sons, the redemption of our
bodies.
For in this hope, we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do
not see,
we wait for it with patience.
This is the word of the lord.
Thanks be to god. Please be seated.
Well, I've never enjoyed being away from home
for too long,
and this is not just a new thing.
This is something that has always been true
for me,
even when I was a kid and even
when I was when I left to college.
In fact, when I left to college,
I remember in that first semester,
being
far away from home,
being far away from my parents
and from my sisters
and from my extended family and from my
friends,
being far away from the girl that I
was already crazy about and that I still
very much love,
And from all the familiar surroundings that I
had grown up with,
I I remember that, and I dreaded it.
I dreaded the distance that existed between me
and,
the things that I loved.
And consequently,
I longed for the end of the semester,
for the day when I would hop on
a plane
and return home.
And it wasn't simply the distance that caused
me to yearn for home. It was the
fact that a return flight existed,
that I owned a ticket to a seat
on that plane,
that a date and a time
had been marked on my calendar.
That
is what intensified the groaning
in my heart. In a sense, it was
hope
that made me hurt.
Today, we're looking at Romans chapter 8 verses
18 to 25.
In this text, Paul teaches us
that all who belong to Christ, indeed
that all the created order
have within them
this kind of longing
for their true home.
It is a longing that though painful
evidences
the certainty and inevitability
of the invisible hope
that is written within them.
In fact,
this is the main point I want you
to remember from this morning sermon.
Though things are not what they should be,
your heartache
heralds
heaven's hope.
Though things are not what they should be,
your heartache
heralds heaven's hope.
And we're going to consider this message under
2 headings today.
1st of all, pain and purpose,
and secondly,
promise and patience.
So let's look at the first heading,
pain and purpose.
Last week, we saw Paul make the point
in verse 18
that if one were to take a balance
and place on one side,
on one side the all the sufferings
that Christians experience
in this life,
and then on the other side of the
balance,
place the glory
that is going to be revealed to us
and that we will receive on the last
day,
it would be
no contest.
The glory that is ours in Jesus Christ
far outweighs
any burden
that we are called to carry
during this life.
To be sure, the whole creation bears witness
in a very positive way to the glory
of God.
In Psalm 19,
David writes in majestic language,
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech, and night
to night reveals knowledge. There are no words
nor is there speech whose, I'm sorry. There
there is no I'm sorry. There is no
speech nor other words whose voice is not
heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the
world.
The beauty,
the majesty,
the harmonious inner workings
of creation all bear witness to the glory
of god. Whether
one beholds the beauty of an untarnished and
unadulterated
landscape,
or gazes at the majesty of a night
sky that is illuminated
by countless stars and galaxies,
or even looks inward
and considers the amazing complexity
of the human body, one inevitably
stands in awe
of the power of God and of the
wisdom of God.
The woodlands,
for example,
is a great place to live among other
things because even though it is surrounded by
a concrete jungle,
it
tries to be a garden of Eden.
It tries to or it attempts to preserve
or at least to reproduce
a natural beauty,
and people appreciate that about it.
To be sure, the created order is a
compelling sermon
that
declares
the glory of God to us.
In fact, it is only our sinfully deaf
ears that prevent us from joining our voices
with a celestial choir to proclaim God's praises.
And this spiritual deficiency in us is due
to the tragic and devastating effects of sin.
At the very outset of this letter, in
chapter 1 of Romans, verses 18 to 23,
listen to what Paul writes.
He writes, For the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men,
who by their unrighteousness
suppress the truth.
For what can be known about god is
plain to them
because god has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes,
namely his eternal power
and divine nature, have been clearly perceived
ever since the creation of the world in
the things that have been made.
So
they are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they did not
honor him as God
or give thanks to him, but they were
futile. They became futile in their thinking,
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Claiming to be wise,
they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal god
for images resembling mortal man and birds
and animals
and creeping things.
In other words, god manifests his glory to
us in creation,
but because of our sin, we turn a
blind eye to it.
Claiming to be wise,
we become fools,
and we exchange the glory of God
for all sorts of idols.
We ignore the positive and spectacular witness to
God's glory that creation itself declares,
and that it proclaims to us, and we
are all the poorer for it.
And yet Paul tells us now
in Romans
chapter 8 verses 19 to 25,
that through nature,
god also provides another kind of another
unlikely witness,
an unlikely witness to his glory,
and that is
the glory I'm sorry, the groaning
of creation.
The groaning of creation is an unlikely witness
that God gives us
in the very things
that He has made.
In verse 19, Paul writes that, the creation
waits with eager longing
for the revealing
of the sons
of God.
Think about what a fascinating statement this is.
In the midst of pain and suffering,
creation itself, writes Paul, has within it an
anticipation
of glory.
A glory that is here described as the
revealing of the sons of God.
In other words, if we could properly perceive,
if we could duly discern,
if we could rightly reason,
we would realize that the tragedy of the
fallen world
causes creation to groan
because it knows something better is coming.
In the midst of suffering,
creation's cry clamors
for the coming cure.
That is to say,
the tragedy of the fallen estate of the
natural world itself
cries out to us
and preaches a fiery sermon that at once
both reveals the catastrophic
disintegration
of the created order
and yet manifest
the coming glory of god.
The devastation brought about by so called natural
disasters,
the ravages and suffering caused by disease,
the savagery and violence
that permeates the animal kingdom,
not to mention the ubiquity of injustice and
the utter disregard for life
that is present among human beings,
all live their groaning to have been crying
out,
how long, oh lord?
The storm that swept through the Houston metro
area on Thursday,
uprooting majestic trees,
and bringing down power lines,
and damaging houses
through the chaotic and destructive force of wind
and rain,
reinjected a sense of insecurity
and anxiety into many people's lives.
Now the constant of the generators in the
neighborhoods
eerily echo creation's message
that things are not what they should be
because they're not what they could be. Indeed,
they're not even what they used to be.
And this
is a great tragedy.
But the groaning of creation itself,
the expectation
that something better, not merely ought to be,
but one day shall be,
is actually a hopeful sermon that is preached
daily and is heard by all even if
it's not always heeded.
Through the cycle of day
turning into night,
or spring
turning into winter,
or plants wilting,
or food rotting,
or life
dying,
creation groans.
And yet,
that same cycle
turns night into morning,
and winter into spring,
and seeds into plants,
and food into energy,
and even death
into life.
And this tells us that creation's grown has
a built in hope.
Now notice that in verse 21,
Paul compares the suffering in creation
to the bondage of slavery.
With all the impotence and hopelessness and futility
that that entails.
Then in verse 22, he goes on to
compare it to the excruciating
pains
of childbirth.
In other words,
Paul is not offering platitudes to us.
He neither ignores nor minimizes the devastating effects
of suffering.
He recognizes that all suffering,
pain,
and tragedy experienced in this life is real
and it is weighty.
And yet, somehow,
Paul affirms that it all pales in comparison
with the glory
that Christians and indeed all the created order
shall one day enjoy.
Yes, there is pain,
but if one listens closely,
the cries are not the cries of death,
but the cries of childbirth,
of new life.
Creation is pregnant
with hope.
Now what does Paul mean
by creation?
What makes up that group?
Creation.
Is he saying that everything in creation is
anticipating glory, even groaning for it?
Sure doesn't seem so, does it?
There are plenty of people who seem to
have no interest,
in in the certain and certainly no desire
for the glory of God.
So then what does Paul mean by creation?
Again, who's included in that group?
Well, in verse 20, we read that creation
was subjected to futility.
In other words, its factory settings were tempered
so that it could not function as it
should,
so that it could not fulfill the intent
of its original design.
That's what the Greek word translated here as
futility means.
When referring to a person, it describes an
aimless existence
where one wakes up without a purpose,
walks with empty aspirations,
and loiters life away,
wasting each and every breath
in idle impotence.
Such futility
describes the state into which creation was subjected,
not willingly,
but by force.
It was acted upon and coerced into this
deviation
from the original design.
This means that in this text,
when Paul mentions creation, he excludes mankind.
Since mankind was corrupted
not by coercion,
but when Adam willingly
sinned.
This is why the creation groans for God's
glory to be revealed, but unbelievers, for example,
do not.
Furthermore, in verse 21,
Paul writes that one day creation will be
set free
from its bondage to corruption.
This excludes angels since they did not fall
into bondage when Adam sinned,
and therefore are not looking to obtain the
freedom of the glory
of the children
of God.
In other words,
Paul is here affirming that excluding men and
angels,
the rest of creation,
the animals,
the land,
the sky,
the sea,
every created thing without a reasonable soul
was unwillingly subjected to futility in the bondage
of sin,
and is now groaning for God's glory to
be revealed.
So who subjected
creation to futility
and why?
In verses 20 and 21, Paul writes,
For the creation was subjected to futility not
willingly,
but because of Him who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to
corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory of
the children
of God.
Because of him who subjected it in hope,
Paul writes.
The one who subjected creation in hope
is none other than God himself.
He did this after Adam sinned.
When in Genesis 3:17, God told Adam, cursed
is the ground because of you.
The prophet Isaiah describes the devastating effect of
man's sin upon the rest of creation
when he writes in Isaiah 24
verses 5 and 6.
The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants,
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and its
inhabitants
suffer
for their guilt.
God gave man authority over all creation.
We were supposed to steward this great gift,
exercising dominion over the creatures with wisdom,
righteousness, and holiness.
Instead,
we sinned.
We turned away from God, we turned away
from his mandate, and became self serving.
So God put a curse on creation, so
that it would no longer serve under man's
wicked rule,
lest it advance man's evil intentions.
Yet harmony,
peace,
and blessing remain in creation's DNA,
waiting to be unlocked and unleashed
at the revelation of the sons of God,
where the redeemed humanity
is fully restored and rules in righteousness
over a renewed
heavens
and earth.
That's why creation groans
Because it knows it is in bondage
and it knows its liberation is at hand.
The sons of God are starting to be
seen.
This means that history,
even in this fallen world is neither random
nor pointless.
Creation groans
according to its design.
The events of this life are on a
trajectory.
They are moving
according to plan.
Creation itself anticipates
change
and is not just any change,
it anticipates improvement.
It is a change for the better that
lies ahead.
Creation foresees progress.
God's glory
will be revealed one day.
Creation groans in anticipation of it.
And this has an immediate
implication
for you.
There is a hopeful purpose for your life.
You are part of a story that is
moving toward a glorious end.
And if the mountains,
and the sky,
and the sea,
and the animals
with all their limitations
know this to be true, even to the
point of groaning in anticipation
for it,
then you need to be aware of it.
And you need to ask yourself,
what am I doing to help usher in
such a glorious change?
Let me ask you this,
don't you long for such a change?
Don't you know in your heart of hearts
that things are not as they should be?
That a better version of reality must be
within the realm of possibilities?
Don't you groan inwardly
that all the pain
and all the suffering
and all the injustice in this world would
go away, never to return?
In verses 23 and 24, Paul writes that,
not only the creation,
but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the spirit,
groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies, for in this
hope
we were saved.
In other words, if you're a Christian,
you like the created order
should groan within you.
You should not be satisfied with the status
quo.
You should not settle
for the vain treasures of materialism.
Creation is locked down.
And only the the only face ID that
can unlock
the creation
is Christ's image in you.
Therein lies your purpose.
You must glorify God by reflecting the image
of Christ in the way that you live,
in the things that you value,
in the things you prioritize.
Think about how you spend your time.
Think about where you spend your treasure.
Think about how you stored your talents.
Think about where you cultivate your thoughts.
Think about how you use your tongue.
What is investing in you and what are
you investing in?
All these things
are the palette
with which the story of your life is
being painted.
What kind of painting is it?
Is it a vain self portrait?
Is it a meaningless
abstract piece of art?
What purpose
is behind each brush stroke?
Because your purpose is to glorify
and to enjoy
God. That's your purpose.
God calls you to be agents of transformation,
to bring light into dark places,
to bring salt into an insipid culture.
To fulfill your purpose, you need to be
disciplined
in learning God's word.
So you think god's thoughts after him.
So your speech is saturated
in god's wisdom.
So your actions advance god's kingdom.
You need to heed the command to make
disciples because only then
will the knowledge of the glory of god
cover the earth as the waters cover the
sea.
And though we are committed
to make disciples of all nations,
disciple making
starts in the home
and in the local church.
Disciple making starts right here.
The nuclear family is the most basic molecule
of the kingdom of God.
It is embedded
with the structures of authority,
service,
discipleship,
and love.
It is equipped
with everything it needs to enable a family
to thrive,
to glorify god, and to enjoy him.
This is why your first priority,
your main purpose,
if you're a parent, is to disciple your
children.
This requires parents to submit to God's law,
to love one another well,
to be patient with each other,
to be quick to repent,
and to ask for forgiveness
of God and of those whom you hurt.
To lead by example by pursuing holy living
in your own lives.
To prioritize worship on the Lord's day.
To pray for your children.
To develop and cultivate the habit
of daily family worship.
It's hard work, but it is good work.
There is fruit that comes from it.
For the church, that is to say for
all of us,
this means that we need to know the
kids in our church family.
We need to talk to
them. We need to pray for them.
We need to
lead them with our own example
in the way that we love the Lord,
in the way that we prioritize
fellowship with the saints.
We need to demonstrate God's love in our
own lives.
Creation is groaning
because there is a battle between good and
evil, and you need to be in the
fight.
How you vote matters.
What your schools teach
matters.
What media you consume
matters.
There are battles being fought on those fields.
But what matters most
is making disciples of Jesus Christ,
beginning in your own home,
and in your church home.
Yes,
in this world there is pain,
but the pain proclaims God's plan,
and propels you to pursue your purpose,
to glorify God
by making disciples of Jesus Christ
through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
That is your mission.
Those are your marching orders.
That is your purpose
in the pain.
Now having considered the first heading, pain and
purpose,
let's look at the final heading,
promise and patience.
Remember that in verse 20, Paul wrote that
creation was subjected to futility
in hope.
In Greek, it doesn't read in hope. It
literally reads on hope.
That is to say creation, even after the
fall, is built on hope as its foundation.
And what is this hope upon which creation
is built?
In verse 21, we read that the hope
is the coming redemption
upon which
the upon which the renewed creation will obtain
the freedom of the glory of the children
of God.
In other words,
the hope that creation grunts for
is redemptive in nature
and will be characterized
by the way it manifests the glory of
God's children.
Furthermore, look at verses 23 and 24 again
where we read,
and not only the creation,
but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the spirit,
groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies, for in this
hope we were saved.
Here we learned that the hope is indeed
redemptive.
We were saved in it,
and that it is related to our adoption
as sons, which is called here the redemption
of our bodies.
Now earlier
in chapter 8,
we learned that Christians have already received the
spirit of adoption,
that we already
call God, Abba, Father,
that we already
are sons of God and therefore heirs
with Christ.
That is not a future expectation.
That is our spiritual reality right now if
we are in Jesus Christ.
So why does Paul here write
that Christians wait eagerly
for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies?
Paul doesn't intend to call into question
the reality or the certainty of your adoption.
Rather, Paul here reminds you that since you
have the first fruits of the spirit,
that is to say, you have the earnest
money or the down payment that makes your
redemption sure,
you are now eagerly awaiting to appropriate the
full reality of your inheritance
which you will do when your body is
redeemed and renewed at the resurrection.
The calculus goes like this,
you have already been purchased by Christ.
As a seal of that glorious transaction,
you have received the Holy Spirit
who has redeemed and renewed your inner being
by giving you a new heart.
You, therefore,
are a new creation
if you are in Christ Jesus.
Now,
naturally,
the outer person is decaying.
And after that natural process is complete,
at death,
the supernatural process of the renewal and redemption
of your body will take place.
Your heavenly father has already chosen to adopt
you.
He has already sent his only begotten son
to pay all the pertinent fees.
The legal transaction
has already been certified and sealed by the
Holy Spirit.
There's no going back now
for God's promise to be your father
is entirely sure.
All that remains
is the public celebration
when you come of age as it were
and legally take possession of your inheritance,
and set out to steward your new estate,
ruling it with wisdom,
righteousness, and holiness
that is worthy of your new pedigree, that
is worthy of your new name.
In this life,
good leaders are uniquely positioned
to bless so many with so much.
And this is why the whole creation groans
with eager longing
for the revelation of the sons of God.
That is what glory is all about.
The renewal
and the flourishing of all things.
God's promise
is written into the DNA of creation.
So in the dead of winter,
creation groans for the vigor of spring.
And in the darkness of night, creation groans
for the rising of the morning star.
And when we bury our dead,
we groan
for the harvest of the resurrection
and for the glorious feast that shall follow.
Paul writes
that in this hope we were saved.
In Greek, the word hope doesn't mean wish.
Like one might wish that the Texans might
win the Super Bowl this year even if
we know better.
Now, the word hope
means to expect with confidence.
To expect with confidence.
This is why Paul writes the following in
verses 24 and 25. For in this hope,
we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope.
For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do
not see, we wait for it with patience.
If you already possess something,
you no longer you are no longer hoping
for it or expecting it with confidence.
You already possess it. You're enjoying it.
No. Paul rightly states that one hopes for
what he does not see,
not because it isn't his,
but precisely because it is rightly his, and
he shall one day possess it. That's why
you hope.
And because he holds the deed,
he can afford to be patient.
Dear Christian,
you are the betrothed
of the heavenly Prince.
He has given you a ring that he
has purchased at an impossibly
high price. And it was his joy
to pay the price in full.
It is a seal of his promise
that he belongs to you.
The engagement is official.
It has been for a very long time.
The date of the wedding has been set,
and the invitations have been sent out.
Your wedding gown is spotless
and sewn with the finest
white linen, and it fits you perfectly, and
you are radiant in it.
The guests have longed with eager expectation for
the wedding day to arrive.
They have grown within themselves
and you with them.
And now
the leaves of God's word whisper in hush
voices that the groom has been spotted riding
in royal attire on a white horse.
So the groaning of creation
takes on the ring and rhythm of church
bells
announcing that the great hour is at hand.
The bells
toll for you.
Won't you answer?
They herald hope and happiness.
Your heartache shall be healed.
Your redeemer rides.
The bridegroom
beckons.
Let's pray.
Heavenly father,
we indeed long for our bridegroom to return.
Oh, how we long to see him in
his royal robes
as he comes and rescues us,
his bride that longs for the renewal of
all things,
who longs for that ceremony when we will
be united to him forever,
never to return to this life of pain
and suffering and sadness,
never to experience death again.
Oh, father, would you send your son to
return quickly?
But until then, father, may this hope,
this certain expectation of what is ours already,
may it move within us,
bringing life not only in us but in
everything that we touch.
That we might indeed,
both in this church and in our homes,
grow to be a majestic oak tree that
gives the shade
and the blessing
of your kingdom
to everyone who comes into contact with us.
Father, if there's anybody here who doesn't know
the bridegroom, I pray that today might be
the day.
May they hear the bells
tolling for them.
May they answer those bells.
May they turn to the bridegroom.
And may they never be the same.
For we pray these things in the name
of Jesus.
Amen.
Would you please stand now
and let's sing
our closing hymn,
which is hymn number
358,
for all the saints. Hymn number
358.
Again,
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The gift that he gives us is not
just new hearts. He gives us the church,
and all his gifts
are for all the saints. Let's sing together.
Hymn 358.