From Groaning to Glory : Romans 8:18-30 (Sermon)
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WELCOME
Happy New Year! It has been a while since I was here. With the holidays, sickness, and travel, it is good to be back. This morning, we are unpacking Romans Chapter 8, verses 18 through 30. This chapter is probably my favorite. Others agree. I shared a slide at Sawyer Highlands last week, breaking down some of the great preachers and the number of sermons they preached on Romans:
TEXT
Today, we are only looking at verses 18 through 30. I am going to have L.C. read for us. Please stand with me, if you are able.
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 firstfruits 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. 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.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:18–30, ESV)
PRAYER
Thank you. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, we wait and groan for your help. We struggle and wrestle with life. Life is not easy. Thank you for your promise to bring good out of bad. Thank you for your Spirit and presence. Use your Word and Spirit to strengthen and encourage us. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen. You may be seated.
CONTEXT
The book of Romans is about the power of the gospel to transform the lives of believers for God’s glory. Paul was writing to the Roman church, composed of both Jewish and non-Jewish people. They had issues; everyone does. The gospel message was the good news about God’s one and only Son, Jesus. He came to save humanity from God the Father’s anger. Our sin elicits judgment and a death sentence, but Jesus brought the opposite. He freed people from the penalty of the law by his obedience to the law. We are declared right because he took our wrongs on the cross. The Spirit of Christ resides in us now, by faith, and we are adopted, royalty with a future inheritance. Yet, life is not always peachy keen. Is it? We, believers, have problems and prayer requests. We have afflictions and trials. What do we do with them? Our passage helps.
STRUCTURE & MAIN IDEA
These verses break down into three sections.
18-25 The Creation Groaning
26-27 The Spirit Interceding
28-30 God, the Father, Working
MAIN IDEA
The point Paul was making was that, in all our difficulties, God the Father works for good, the Spirit prays, and the earth groans for a beneficial resolution. We are not alone or without hope in our pain. Our passage describes: a groaning to glory. Last week, we read hints of these groans:
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16–17, ESV).
JESUS
We suffer. I suffer. You suffer.
We can suffer financial setbacks.
We can suffer from house problems.
We can suffer from health ailments
We can suffer grief.
And we can suffer sin.
Trials abound in this life. Jesus was right when he told his friends, “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33, ESV). Suffering is part of life.
SUFFERING WITH
Yet, what does it mean to suffer with Jesus? I believe Paul in Romans 8:17 was pointing to being with Jesus in our suffering. We can bond with him. We can relate to him. The Bible talks about a fellowship in our sufferings. We, who believe, are not alone in this life of woes. God is present with his children through the Spirit of Jesus. He sympathizes with us and understands us better than anyone else on the planet.
THE CREATION GROANING
Let’s go to verse 18 and look at the passage for the morning.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV).
In the midst of suffering two thousand years ago, Paul looked forward to a future glory that was greater, and we can as well.
Friends, you who suffer financial setbacks, the asphalt of heaven is gold.
Friends, you who have house problems, Jesus said he went to heaven to prepare the heavenly home for his people.
You who have ailments, God offers a resurrection body that won’t ever get sick, ever.
You who hurt from sin, sin will never be welcome in heaven.
And you who grieve, there is no sadness there.
The glory of heaven is going to be astounding. No one living has ever seen or heard or experienced the euphoric, rapturous joy that will be ours in perpetuity. There is no going back. We won’t need this contrast between evil and good to enjoy the good. A Yin and a Yang don’t exist in heaven. It will just be unimaginable blissful felicity for eternity. The future hope will become a brilliant reality (1 Corinthians 2:9).
CORINTHIANS
Paul penned a similar thought to the Corinthian church under stress,
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16–18, ESV)
Are you wasting away? Do you groan? I do. I like how Paul calls this wasting a “light and momentary affliction.” It doesn’t generally feel like that at the moment. But looking back at the struggles, they seem shadow-like and washed out. Don’t they? When are the times you felt closest to God or saw him work the most? For me, afterwards, it appears that it is in those horrible seasons, the valleys of the shadow of death, that I notice God more. There is a way that God uses suffering to shape us.
ROMANS 5
Paul had already written about this shaping in Romans 5.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5, ESV)
There is joy in suffering, not for the suffering but for the fruit that God is working, for the glorious by-product: He pours into us himself.
GROANING
The creation longs for the final glorious redemption. Glance at verse 19:
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. (Romans 8:19–22, ESV)
Paul called to mind Genesis 3 with these words. In Genesis 3, God cursed the world because of Adam’s sin. God subjected the land to frustration and decay. But God is going to remodel the earth and remove this curse. The prophet Isaiah, in his book in the Bible, painted a picture of God’s renovation with images of a lion lying down with a lamb, predators and prey at peace. Every pain and problem will one day disappear.
REVELATION
Jesus’s friend John had a vision of this while sitting in prison.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:2–5a, ESV)
Creation longs for that day when all things will be new. A new heaven and a new earth with no sin, sickness, or sadness. This will be better than all the new things in life.
WE AGREE
Verse 23,
“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23, ESV).
Paul said that if we have the Holy Spirit inside us, we are adopted into God’s family in Romans. We are the fruit of God’s redemptive work. We become Jesus’s brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of God, the Father. However, the physical “redemption of our bodies” is yet to be. The Bible tells us that when we die, immediately we will be with him in paradise. That means there is no purgatory, we don’t float around like ghosts after we die, nor do we become angels. We retain our personhood and resemblance and are with God in heaven. But our resurrected body will be ours later.
PATIENT HOPE
Paul comments on the nature of future hope:
“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” (Romans 8:24–25, ESV).
The truth is, we have to wait. We are looking forward to the day when our struggles are over.
THE PROBLEM OF WAITING
How many of you like waiting? I don’t. This week, the storm led to a contractor rescheduling some work I want done on the house. It was Thanksgiving when I asked him to come out. Now, it won’t be until mid-February. I pleaded for an earlier date. Nope. I have to wait. I was a baby about it in my heart. Waiting is hard. The Bible says that patience is a fruit of the Spirit. God gives us what we need. The Spirit gives us what he requires.
SPIRIT
Look at verse 26:
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26–27, ESV)
We might be at a loss for words. We may not know what to pray for. I have been there. The Spirit lifts those prayers on our behalf. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit,
“The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, ESV).
This means God is for us. He is on our side. He has not left us. We have his help. The all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere God is in us to help. He knows our circumstances. He is aware and cares. He is compassionate and merciful. He is not too busy for you and me.
INTERCESSORS
If you are like me, you appreciate having people pray for you. I asked friends for prayers this week. It is encouraging to know people are lifting me. Ask people to pray for you. Let us know your requests so we can email them out or put them in the bulletin. There is a QR code on your seats. You can contact us that way or visit the welcome table to fill out a Connect Card. Stay around after the service and ask for prayer. But if you forget, need more help, or don’t feel like that, don’t miss out on this blessing from God. He tells us that he prays with perfect words for his people. If the creation groans thinking about us, the Spirit himself does that and more. How comforting?
GLORY
Paul was not finished telling us what the Lord has done for us. He went on:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28–30, ESV)
This word about all things is not to be confused with saying that all things are categorically good. Sin is not good. Sickness is not good. But God converts “all things” to good. How?
JOSEPH
I think of Joseph, mentioned in the first book of the Bible, whose brothers sold him to slavetraders. He was later sentenced unjustly to jail. Yet, he was able to reflect on his suffering years later and see that God was able to bring good out of it. What others meant for evil, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20).
CONTRACTOR
That delay in my home project this week is also evidence of this. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I decided I didn’t need to wait to get my room ready. When I did that, I realized that I was not prepared for the installation in the first place. Instead of a four-inch hole in my wall, it was a 7.25-inch hole. This delay gave me time to fix the hole and get it all back together. It was super helpful, albeit annoying.
CALLED
Note that God is working all things together for good, but he doesn’t do so for all people. Who does God do this for? It is those who love God and are called according to purpose. That begs the question, “Are you called?” God knows. Do you? Verse 17 tells us that our spirit and the Holy Spirit validate our call.
LOVE
We can ask a related question, “Do you love God?” What if you say, “Sure?” People can say all the right things, but only give lip service. How do we know we aren’t faking it or fooling ourselves? Jesus basically told his followers that they demonstrate their affection by their actions. If you love Jesus, you respect him enough to listen to and do what he commanded. What did he command? Love. Love God and love people. Do we love God and people as we should? Or, are we treating God and others like third-string quarterbacks? Maybe you are like me, you don’t love God and people perfectly. How do we wrestle with defective love? How do we deal with mixed motives? Remember what Pastor Mike said last week. Basically, the gospel is not about our perfection but our direction. It is not about what we do or have done, but what Jesus did. He came to save us from our failures and shame, even our imperfect affections for him. Our hope is in his effort, not ours. He is what we need and fills us with the love he requires. He gives us faith and changes us. He calls us to himself, and he does the heavy lifting. Let me remind you what Romans 5 taught.
“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5ESV).
God does it. The fruit of the Spirit is love. He gives what he requires. Be encouraged by the evidence of the Spirit at work. He has called you who believe. If you lack evidence, repent. Humble yourself and admit your failings. Turn from your shortcomings and turn to live rightly before God again. Life is to be a life of repentance. Plead for forgiveness, mercy, and grace, and he will give it. Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).
FOREKNOWLEDGE
Do you need reasons to love him? Paul piled on more blessings.
You get to be known,
You get to be chosen,
You get to be called,
You get to be labeled just,
And obtain glory.
All these things are written in the past tense for God’s people. These are yours, Church, right this minute. You don’t have to wait or be patient about them. Just grab hold of them in your heart.
WHY?
Why is God so kind to give us all that? Why is he so generous? Paul wrote why. He predetermined us so we would be like Jesus. Think about that. There are nearly eighty of us here every week. God is shaping us to be like eighty emissaries, going out into Laporte, Michigan City, Grand Beach, Three Oaks, New Carlies, New Buffalo, and more. God is at work in us and worthy of praise.
PETER
A contemporary of Paul was Peter. Peter wrote about this groaning to glory this way,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3–9, ESV)
Friends, be encouraged with the blessings that are yours now and in the future. Wait patiently for its fulfillment. Enjoy the blessings today. And again, if you haven’t loved God or feel called by him to this end, do this for me: say sorry in your heart to God, turn to him now, and seek to follow him by the Spirit. And you can rejoice with us that God won’t go back on his promises. He will finish what he started. This present and future glory will be ours. We have to wait a little longer as we go from groaning to glory.
PRAYER
Let’s pray. Abba Father, help us in our trials to cling to you and love you. You give and take away, blessed be your name. We thank you for interpreting our groans into prayers. We thank you for advocating on our behalf. We thank you for caring for us. Be with us in the good and bad times. Let us know your love that we may love you and others back. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.
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