This morning, we begin to look at what is one of the most beautiful passages in the book of Romans. From Rom. 8:18 thru the end of the chapter, Paul turns his attention to a single focus: how is the Christian to live with strength and perseverance in this present age? Remember, one of the issues that Paul has addressed is the fact that we live in this daily wrestling match between our flesh and Spirit. Our flesh is still anchored to this present age, under the corruption of sin and the old habits that we’ve developed. But, the Holy Spirit has given us new life which changes our desires and the direction of our lives. That struggle between flesh and Spirit is one that ends only in death, and along the way, we will wrestle with temptations, pains, ailments, persecution, and relational strife. Paul knows this, so he says, in verse 17, that we are “fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
This statement begs the question: how are we to suffer with Christ in this present age? For the next three weeks, we are going to explore the answers to that question, starting with Rom. 8:18-25. From this passage I want you to see that suffering with Christ involves an honest understanding of the world and hopeful grief.
So first, let’s consider how we are to have an honest understanding of the world, from verses 18-22. Paul starts in verse 18 by reminding us that the sufferings we face now will pale in comparison to the glories that we will see when Christ returns. What we know in this life doesn’t even begin to compare to what God has for us, and that truth extends to every aspect of creation. In verses 19-22 he says that the creation waits and suffers and groans with anticipation of what God is going to do when he brings about the fulfillment of all things. You see, the creation around us, as beautiful and awe inspiring as it is, is actually corrupted just like our bodies are corrupted. Remember, in Genesis 3:17-18, when God pronounces curses on Adam, he curses the ground because of Adam. Everything about the creation has been brought under bondage because of the sin of Adam. Weeds grow in our gardens. Food does not come without difficulty. We have to be mindful of what we eat, because pretty much everything can and will kill you. And, death reigns in creation, just like it reigns in humanity.
This truth about creation should call us to have an honest view of the world around us. But, up until recently, we have lived in a significant stretch of prosperity and decadence in our country. Since the 80s, we have had relative economic stability, major advancements in technology and medicine, and a fairly stagnant political climate. Now, certainly, that has all changed lately with the pandemic, inflation, and constant political bickering. We’ve been reminded that we aren’t invincible, that medicine can’t fix everything, and our political leaders don’t have the answers. Even still, it’s common for Americans to adopt an idealistic view of our circumstances. Because we live in such decadence and don’t struggle as much as people in other parts of the world, we can get the idea that we are living in heaven right now, or that with just a little bit of effort, we can be. We see this in the way people treat their leisure. Many people just live for the weekend. They put all of their extra resources into that nice boat or lake house, expecting that they will find heaven there. Others put all their resources into their retirement, thinking that they will relax, travel, and enjoy heaven then.
We also see it in the way people treat their health. We have this terrible overconfidence in the power of medicine to heal. Some live in the luxury of high-calorie foods and leisurely activity, and then they assume when they are diagnosed with a disease as a result of that lifestyle, they can just get a prescription to fix it. On the flip side, there are others who think that the key to heaven on earth is an ultra-commitment to fitness. Many believe that eating right and exercising is the key to the fountain of youth.
Still others don’t look to leisure or health to find heaven on earth. Instead, they look to the political arena, thinking that this next election will deliver us from the evils of the current administration and usher in utopia. Many believe that we are just one law or one president away from a righteous country that will be heaven on earth. Yet, pandemics happen whether we have a great president or a foolish one. Wars rage in spite of the right foreign policy. School shootings and violence on the street don’t seem to be affected by the color of the president’s tie.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s good to save and plan for retirement. Medicine, fitness, and healthy eating can all increase your chances of living longer. We should be politically engaged if we care about the common good of all people in our country. But none of those things can change the fact that we live in a fallen, corrupt creation that is groaning to be made new. And, in the grand scheme of things, we are powerless to affect change and restore creation. So, we should hold loosely to this present age. We should enjoy times of leisure, but we should more so commit ourselves to glorifying God in our worship, work, and witness. We should be mindful of our health, but we should never think that our salvation is wrapped up in it. We should care about the direction of our country and be wise in how we vote, but we shouldn’t replace our hope of the return of Christ with a politician’s promises.
Second, let’s consider how we can suffer with hopeful grief in verses 23-25. Paul says that the creation isn’t the only thing groaning. We, as believers, are groaning as well as we wait. I want you to catch what Paul is saying here. First, the Greek word for “groan” is “stenazo”, which can also mean to grieve or sigh. In other words, as we wait on the Lord in this sinful age, we grief and sigh for our final deliverance. We don’t hold tightly to this life. We don’t live like the nihilist who thinks that everything is meaningless and therefore we should just live however we want. No, we grieve. We grieve sin both personally and globally. We grieve the way sin affects our families, our churches, our communities. We also grieve the corruption of this world because we know that it isn’t the way it should be. When someone dies, we don’t make light of it or think those who have lost should just get over it. We mourn with those who mourn because life is precious and death isn’t the way things should be. When someone gets a serious diagnosis, we pray for deliverance and healing because we know that disease is a mark of the fall, and we grieve it with those who suffer.
But, our grief isn’t meaningless or aimless. No, we grieve with hope. We grieve while we wait for adoption and redemption. There will be a day when Christ will return, and on that day he will call us forth from the ground to be made new. On that day our bodies will no longer be corrupted by sin and the curse. On that day, the world will be made new and God will dwell with mankind. Until that day, we wait with hope.
So, you might be thinking, “that platitude of hope is great preacher, but how do I actually hope when the way is hard? How can I hope when I struggle against sin while others live however they want? How can I hope when at every turn it seems like the world is set against me?” Let me end by giving you three practices of hope from Scripture. First, we can hope by patiently waiting on God. Psalm 37:7 says “be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways. When they carry out their wicked schemes.” The Psalmist teaches us to keep our eyes focused on the Lord, not on what others are doing around us. Yes, people may live in the luxury of their sins, they may enjoy success by going the way of the world. But, their end is destruction, while God has promised eternal life to those who wait on him.
Along with that, secondly, we fix our eyes on eternal things. 2 Cor. 4:18 says “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.” No matter how great this life can be, no matter how fruitful our work can be, we have to remember that the things of this world are temporary. We have to remember that the creation is groaning in longing for the new world to come. And, if the creation is groaning, we should, too.
Lastly, we must be soberminded. 1 Thes. 5:8 says, “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” Now, the idea of “soberness” isn’t just avoiding drunkenness (although we should do that too), but having a right measure of things. We aren’t to abuse substances, whether it be food, drink, drugs, or whatever. But, we aren’t to be overly obsessed about anything. Again, we aren’t to hold tightly to this world, treating the things of this world like idols.
With these practices of hope in mind, may we leave ready to glorify God as we patiently wait on him.
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