Romans 8:18-30
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
If you have your Bibles go ahead and open up to Romans chapter 8 again.
If you have been here the last couple of weeks you would remember that what we have gotten to in Romans chapter 8 is considered to be one of the best chapters in all of the Bible.
We have said that if Romans was the greatest letter written in our Bible that Romans 8 was its highlight chapter.
And the reason chapter 8 is so highly celebrated is because of how the Good news of the Gospel comes together.
And what we are going to see tonight is how Romans 8 answers some of our toughest theological questions.
And the main question that all of us must wrestle with at some point as we grow in our faith is how do we work out the truths of God being Good. God being creator. God being the all knowing and all loving one.
but how do we balance that with the hard things we see in the world.
How do we address suffering?
Does suffering mean that we dont belong to God?
God if your really so good why has this bad thing happened to me?
God where are you?
and what Paul is going to do in Romans 8:18-30 he is going to answer these questions for us.
And as only Paul can do hes going to provide the lies that we believe and then give us the truth for us to remember.
Alright lets start by just reading the whole thing.
Can I have a volunteer read Romans 8:18-30
READ
The first thing I want you to see is the three lies that we believe about suffering.
Lie 1: If we live well we can avoid suffering.
Lie 1: If we live well we can avoid suffering.
This is a lie.
There are guys who make millions and millions of dollars by selling this lie.
That if you just live right that nothing will ever go wrong for you.
If you think happy thoughts and dream happy dreams you will never have a unhappy day.
Lets be honest that SOUNDS GREAT.
I can remember when I was in middle school and elementary school there used to be this lady on TV in the middle of the day.
Her name was Oprah!
Raise your hand if you know who Oprah is?
Oprah had this huge following. and she had this book club.
And it was a big deal if you were in the Oprah book club and if you wrote a book that was read for the Oprah book club you were done. You could retire and live off your millions forever.
But there was this one book I remember because my parents fell for it.
This was before audible, We still had tape players in the car.
My mom had this book on tape and she would listen to it every day.
and the book was something about the Power of Belief.
and the whole idea was if you just believed good things only good things would happen to you.
As good as this sounds it didnt work.
Just because they wanted to believe good doesnt mean that suffering wouldnt come.
Suffering is a part of creation.
v18 talks about the present sufferings in the world.
Paul says in v 23 that creations groans as we wait to be redeemed in this world.
and in v21 Paul shows us that a consequence of living in this sinful world is the corruption and suffering that we all encounter.
Lie 2: Suffering Comes Because We are In Sin.
Lie 2: Suffering Comes Because We are In Sin.
The way we expose this lie is simple. We just have to play it out.
If suffering comes because we are living in Sin. That means suffering will go away if we stop sinning.
But is that true? of course not.
Now does God sometimes punish us for our sins and can our sins lead to suffering? of course.
If we choose to commit the sin of murder and we go to prison and life in prison feels like suffering. Like hey we dont really have anyone to blame but ourselves.
But sometimes when we sin God doesnt make us suffer.
He shows us grace, mercy and patience.
How do I know that? Well the penalty for sin is death.
So the fact that we havent died because of our sin is proof that God shows us mercy, grace, and patience.
but we can look at Scripture and see that this is a lie. that suffering doesnt always come because of sin.
theres a whole book of our bible dedicated to a suffering man who did nothing wrong.
Job is described as a rightous man. Yet Job suffered. He lost everything.
But it doesnt stop at Job.
Someone else suffered.
Jesus suffered greatly.
Did Jesus ever sin? of course not.
so suffering cant be because of our sin.
Lie 3 We will always be able to find the silver lining behind our dark cloud.
Lie 3 We will always be able to find the silver lining behind our dark cloud.
This lie is where we see scripture twisted and misused.
Because in romans 8:28 Paul gives us a really powerful word. He says
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
But we misuse this verse.
We take this verse and we think. Oh I am suffering now so that means tomorrow is going to be great.
That God is going to give us some big thing we have been wanting now.
But sometimes there isnt a silver lining that comes in our suffering.
but there is some truth in this lie.
God is always pursuing good and we do get to see that but the good that comes from our suffering is really going to be seen on the other side of eternity. Not necessarily in this life.
Romans 8:18 “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
There is something greater for us.
Our suffering in this moment now might not result in a worldly result. But it will result in something better for eternity..
Romans 8:25 “25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
8:25 We wait for this with patience
Three Truths about Suffering
1. God uses all things to make you like Jesus
1. God uses all things to make you like Jesus
Your suffering. It has a purpose. and that purpose is to make you more like Jesus.
In v18 Paul says that our present sufferings are for our future glory.
Then in 19 he says that all of creation is waiting for the moment when the sons of God are revealed.
Creation cant wait for sin to defeated. For eternity to come. And in that moment we will be like Adam and Eve were before sin. We will be in perfect communion with God.
We will be fully in his image without sin distorting us.
Think of us as a mirror.
we were made to be a reflection of the creator.
But sin has cracked our mirror. And though the mirror is cracked and shattered we still catch glimpses of God in his people.
But one day the mirror is going to be made new. Our sins are going to be defeated and we will reflect him perfectly again.
but until then we suffer and as we suffer we become more like him.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 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.
Gods purpose in all things good and bad is to make you more like Jesus.
He wants you to be in the image of His Son.
2. My story is going to end with the redemption of my body.
2. My story is going to end with the redemption of my body.
Now this might sound crazy and weird because we dont talk about this truth as much as we should.
There is a physical redemption coming.
Jesus didnt metaphorically raise from the grave. or metaphorically walk out of the tomb.
It wasnt just jesus soul that lived on.
Jesus physically resserectued and walked out of the grave.
And this is actually the promise for us as believers.
If you jump to revelation and the end of times. Where Jesus returns and he defeats Satan in that final battle.
Like we are going to be there.
And I mean all of us will be there. and you will either be rejoicing in praise, bowing down before King Jesus or you will be suffering in torment.
But whatever it may be you will physically be there. in your physical body.
And we long for this.
The Scripture says our bodies grown for our future redemption.
Again we look back to the garden.
There was no leukemia in the garden.
there was no bad eye sight.
there was no cancer.
There was no depresssion.
there was no anxiety.
There was no back pain.
No bad ankles.
No weak bones.
and if we look forward to eternity. Things will go back to that perfect way.
Every disease and disappointment will be left behind.
Sin will be defeated and we will be redeemed and renewed.
Romans 8:18 “18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Our sufferings dont compare to the GLORY that we are going to get.
Think of your greatest SUFFERING.
HEAVEN and ETERNITY WITH JESUS IS THAT MUCH BETTER!
2 Corinthians 4:17 “17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”
3. In the meantime the spirit sustains me.
3. In the meantime the spirit sustains me.
Romans 8:26 “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.”
the Spirit groans in us.
Feels our pains. Feels our emotions.
4. What God started he is going to Finish
Romans 8:29 “29 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.”
Assurance. that in our suffering God is going to see us through
What God started in you he is going to finish.
