Alba 2-6-2022
FROM GROANS TO GLORY
Romans 8:18-25
We live in a world with constant trouble, yet the apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Think about it this way...
“There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that sand had got under his shell;
Just one little grain, but it gave him much pain,
For oysters have feelings although they’re so plain.
Now, did he berate the working of Fate
Which had led him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse out the Government, call for an election?
No; as he lay on the shelf, he said to himself,
"If I cannot remove it, I’ll try to improve it."
So the years rolled by as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny -- stew.
And this small grain of sand which had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl, all richly aglow.
Now this tale has a moral -- for isn’t it grand
what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand;
What couldn’t WE DO if we’d only begin
With all of the things that get under our skin.”
Since we live in a world with constant trouble, we can easily get quite discouraged. We groan under the load of problems and concerns. Yet we hope for something better. Romans 8:18-25 leads us through the journey from groans to glory. Lets read...
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Yes there are groans, but there is also glory. But for the present we are more aware of the difficulties and are surrounded by many...
1. Hopeless Groans
When God first created the world, it was perfect, which is to be expected given that God is 100% good. He looked at His creation and called it “good”, and even “very good”. There was no suffering at all in that perfect creation.
There were no natural disasters. In fact, until the flood, it hadn’t even rained on the earth. And there was no disease, no cancer, no murders, no terrorist attacks, no wars.
What has gone wrong with the creation? Why is the creation corrupted? When the weather gives us what we don't want, people will say, “Mother Nature has unleashed something shocking.”
Others say that we are in the lap of the gods. Others say things are of biblical proportions. Is it Mother Nature, or the weather gods that are responsible? Why do these things happen?
Our text answers the question as to why creation is corrupted. Here we learn that the creation was subjected to futility. That means – if it was subjected at a point in time to futility, it also means that there once was a time when it was not subject to futility, a time when it was not corrupted.
And that time was the time before the fall and sin, that is – rebellion against God, entered the human race. But not only did it enter the human race, the effects of that sin were so great that creation was affected also.
So now, the whole creation groans. The verb “groan” describes the utterances of one who is caught in a dreadful situation and has no immediate prospect of deliverance.
Creation originally was not cursed; it was good. It was not subjected to futility; it was perfect. Nevertheless, today, creation is cursed; it is not in its original state.
As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, their sin subjected the entire creation to chaos. Things began to deteriorate and go from order to disorder. Mankind began to engage in conflicts of various kinds.
Earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters began to occur on a regular basis. And because we live in this world, we are all impacted by that chaos, regardless of whether we have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus or not.
In Genesis 3:17 it records that God said to Adam, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake.”
Because of Adam, because of his sin and rebellion against God, the ground and the rest of creation is cursed. And Who subjected the creation to futility? It was God.
But why did He do it? It was because of mankind’s sin and rebellion against Him. The subjection of creation to futility, the corruption of creation, was a by-product of the consequence of our sin. And together we groan.
While we groan with creation because we too endure suffering and hardships because of Adam and Eve’s sin, we may not all have the problems of a man who contacted another preacher asking for help.
That preacher said, “A few months before he called me, he had had his leg amputated. His kidneys were failing and needed dialysis three times a week. His insurance was not enough to pay all his expenses. His pension had run out.
“During the months I spent with him, his electricity was cut off, his wife left him, and he was evicted for not paying his rent.” Whether we can identify with that man or not, we live in a world that can cause us to groan.
I don't know why this man was suffering so. There may have been some poor choices he made, or somehow life was just especially hard for him.
Speaking of choices, many of you are probably familiar with some of those talking dolls where you pull a string on the back of the doll and the doll says, “I love you”.
But when the doll says that, does it really love you? Of course not. The doll does not have the ability to make the choice to love you – it was just programmed to say those words.
But God didn’t make us like that doll where we have no choice of how we’re going to respond to Him. Instead, He created us with the ability to choose to love Him and obey His commands... or to choose not to do that.
Evil often results from man’s ability to make choices. And the evil in this world and in ourselves is another reason why we groan. Gareth Reese in his Romans commentary gives six reasons why we suffer in this world. (footnote 106 p312)
1. All of creation was subjected to futility when Adam sinned. Adam's sin has caused some of the suffering we face. (Things run down)
2. Some suffering is a result of our own sins and faults which necessitate chastisement. (Hebrews 12:4-11)
3. Some suffering is a result of the sin of others. (Murder, robbery, Drunk driver hitting you)
4. Some suffering happens for the glory of God. (John 9:3)
5. Some suffering is for the temporal punishment for sin that by God’s design automatically accompanies or results from the sin. (Romans 1:27) (Waste your money and suffer the consequences)
6. If a person is in Christ, they will face suffering. (Romans 8:17)
Suffering, hurts, pains are part and parcel to life. We are not exempt. It is unrealistic and unhealthy for a person to think everything must go his way with ease and comfort.
Jesus said this in Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”
And in Matthew 10:22 Jesus said, “And you shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.”
Suffering is a fact of the Christian life. You know, all too often we are taught that if we become Christians everything will be peachy, and all our troubles will simply go away.
We sing songs of faith and victory, but if we’re honest about it, sometimes there remains a large gap between the victory song and our reality.
In the suffering, in the trials, in the persecutions, in the dark valleys of life – even if you lose sight of God – He never loses sight of you.
He knows everything that you have suffered. He does not miss a thing. Is there suffering? Yes. Do we live in a damaged world? Yes. Is the groaning so deep we do not have the words? Yes.
But not despair! No, for the Christian there is an “eager expectation” of a re-creation. This is the key to persevering in the midst of our present suffering.
While we are groaning over sin and the problems of this world, we are also to look forward with great anticipation to what God has for us in the future. Because of Jesus, we can go from hopeless groans to...
2. Hopeful Glory
Jesus gives us the ultimate hope. His death on that cross and His resurrection point us to the glory that we will share with Him.
The word "glory" describes the future blessings we’re going to receive. And also glory refers to the state of blessedness into which believers enter through being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Tribulations and trials are promised to the saints. But something far greater is coming. You’ve heard the story of the aged saint who was in the hospital with her final illness.
The doctors had informed her that she did not have much longer to live. So, as the minister visited that day, she spoke of her funeral.
“I want to be buried with a fork in my hand,” she informed the preacher. “A fork? Why ever would you ask that a fork be in your hand?” the minister asked.
“I’ve been to many potlucks,” the elderly woman said. “After the salad and main course, there is always an announcement for us to keep our forks. Dessert will be served after the dishes are cleared away. I want people to know that something sweeter is coming.”
That believing saint was correct, of course; something better is coming for the child of God. We have the hope of glory.
“Hope” is not something that might happen by chance. Like, “I hope the my team will win their game today”, or “I hope that it won't rain tomorrow.”
Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. Just the opposite. Genuine hope is based in genuine trust. It is having experience and knowledge of the One who gives us hope.
Biblical hope is the farmer who plants the seed. He will cultivate, water, weed and expect a harvest. It is based on hope.
As people who live in this hope, we enjoy the blessings and effects of that turning point that happened at Jesus’ cross and resurrection.
We have salvation in Jesus, and are at peace with God now, But unfortunately, we will still have to wait for the completion of that salvation at the last day.
Like a woman giving birth, there is pain. But after the child is born there is joy. We need to have a mindset that there is more than what we are living in now. In fact, it is something much better than this current life.
1 Corinthians 2:9 tell us, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
In the age to come there will be glory in which we will participate. And that glory is so wonderful that the sufferings of this world: floods, volcanos, earthquakes, disease, suffering, will not compare to how wonderful that future is.
Right now we live in a fallen world, and because of that fact we can get so focused on the present that we can forget what lies ahead for us in Christ.
But we live in-between two perfect worlds, the world that was and the world that will be. We are in the world that is: a sinful, fallen world where we face every day the effects of sin. Our hope is not in this world, but in the one that is to come.
So now we know why the creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons, the children of God. The reasons is that when these children of God are revealed, then the creation will be released from its slavery of corruption and be free and no longer corrupted.
Well that answers that question but raises another. Who are these children of God? Who are the sons, the children of God? It is those who have put their trust in Jesus. Those who have repented of their sins.
Those who are born again by His Spirit. Those who live for Him. Those who make Jesus the priority of their life. We are adopted as God’s sons. We are the sons, the children of God.
We receive this part when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, when we confess our sins, when we are baptized into Christ and receive His Spirit and become heirs of the Kingdom of God.
That is when we become the children of God.
That is when we go from groans to glory!
CONCLUSION:
A school district with a hospital program, assigned a teacher to visit a child who had been in an accident. The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain.
Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, “I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.” When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. “No, no,” said the nurse. “You don’t know what I mean.”
“We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He is fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live.”
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy.”
God would not have sent his Son Jesus if there was no hope for you and me today.
