Romans 8:18-21

Good morning, church.

We are looking at Romans chapter 8 again this morning.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

We're going to focus in on verses 18 through 22.

Let me invite you to turn there with me in the Pew Bible, Romans 8, verses 18 through

Romans 8:18–22

22.

The page number is in the bulletin if you need help finding that.

We're going to look closely at these words this morning, so it'll be helpful if you have

it open before you.

Romans chapter 8, verse 18.

Romans 8:18

As we come to God's Word, let me pray for us.

God, as we've just sung, we pray that you would, by your Spirit, give us a posture of humility

now as we come before you in your Word.

Lord, like Isaiah the prophet many years ago, we acknowledge that before you, our holy God,

we are an unclean people.

We are unclean in our lips, unclean in our hearts.

God, only by your grace are we cleansed.

So, as we come to your Word, we thank you for the grace that allows us to have ears that

are open and hearts that are soft before you.

We pray that your Spirit would take these words that you've inspired and that He would

bring them like a gardening tool deep into our hearts to dig up that earth and sow good

seed there, that it might bear much fruit in our life as a church.

Thank you for working, God, in our midst.

Thank you for being faithful to us, your people.

Thank you for not abandoning us.

Thank you for giving us this moment when you, God, speak to us.

Give us ears to hear.

We pray for Christ's sake.

Amen.

Amen.

So, Romans chapter 8, we're going to pick up, we're going to begin in verse 16 to catch

Romans 8 · chapter mention

some of the context for our sermon passage this morning.

Let me begin in verse 16.

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.

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 glory, 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.

A 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.

So, there are some passages in Scripture where you are allowed to step back and take in the

whole view.

There are some moments in the Bible where you get glimpses of the whole story in very short

scope.

And Romans 8 verses 18 and following is actually one of those places.

Romans 8:18

Up until this point in Romans 8, it's as if we've been following Paul on a trail through

a dense forest.

We've been going really slowly through this dense forest this fall, looking at all the

details.

And it's been beautiful in its own right.

The trees have been towering above.

The sunlight has been streaming through the canopy.

But here in verse 18, the trail suddenly comes out of the thick undergrowth.

And we find ourselves standing atop a cliff's edge.

And what bursts into view is a breathtaking sight.

A deep valley stretches out below.

You're up so high now that you can see whole towns scattered into the distance.

You can see smoke rising from chimneys.

You can see the cars driving on the interstate.

You can see for miles and miles into the horizon.

You can see mountains rising up in majesty.

You can see the ocean in the distance.

You can see the ocean stretching even further beyond, farther than your eye can see.

Here we stand in Romans 8, in this moment, taking in the whole scope of redemption and

breathtaking heights.

But this majestic view in Romans 8, 18 and following is here actually for a very practical

pastoral purpose.

Paul has just been describing in verses 14 through 17 how all those who believe in Jesus are made

God's children.

And if we are God's children, Paul says, then we are God's heirs.

Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

But if we are heirs with Christ, Paul says, then we will come into that inheritance in the

same way as Jesus our King did.

In other words, the road to glory will be marked with suffering.

Paul ends verse 17 by saying, provided we suffer with Christ in order that we may also

be glorified with him.

Suffering and glory were inseparable for Jesus, weren't they?

For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, Hebrews says.

And it will be the same for us as followers.

1 Peter 5 says that it's only after we have suffered a little while that we will enter into

eternal glory in Christ.

And this suffering that Paul is talking about here is not just persecution for the name of

Christ, although it certainly includes that.

It also takes within its scope the whole host of hardships and afflictions and diseases and

broken relationships and heartbreaks that we will face in this life, in this age, in this

fallen world.

Being a child of God does not exempt us from these things in this age, you see.

And when that suffering comes, whether it's a chronic bad back from that injury so many

years ago, or whether it's cancer that takes your life, whether it's a friendship that's

strained or whether it's a marriage that's on the verge of meltdown, whether it's a season

of unemployment or a natural disaster that steals everything earthly that you love, your home,

your family, your community, when suffering comes, as verse 17 says, it will, what is it

that will keep us from walking away?

What will keep us from thinking, God, if this is how you treat your children, no thanks.

Paul has a very practical pastoral reason for leading us out of the woods to this high cliff's

edge so we can take in the whole breathtaking view.

Look at verse 18 again.

For I consider, Paul says.

I consider.

This isn't Paul's sort of private opinion.

This isn't sort of his ephemeral emotional response to some fleeting reality.

No, this is Paul using his mind and thinking deeply, reasoning deeply about what he knows to

be true in light of who God is and the gospel.

As if to say we're not to be blown and tossed by sloppy thinking.

No, Paul says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing

with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Suffering and glory may be inseparable for the Christian, but they are not comparable, Paul says.

Put them on a scale.

That's a bit of what considering means.

Weigh them up.

Take the sufferings of this now time, this present age, and put them over here.

And now take the glory that is to be revealed to us and put it on the other side.

And Paul says, watch the scales tip so quickly that those sufferings suddenly seem so light

in comparison.

Now, what's Paul not saying here?

He's not saying that suffering isn't suffering.

He's not saying that evil is not evil.

He's not denying the harsh, awful reality of our existence in a fallen world.

He's not turning a blind eye to Alzheimer's or depression.

He's not saying earthquakes and hurricanes don't matter or aren't really that bad.

No, but he wants us to know.

Paul wants us to know how to face those things when they come.

And he says, put it on the scale.

There's a glory that's going to be revealed.

God is going to unfurl a beauty of such staggering dimensions in the coming age,

a breathtaking majesty of such proportion that the real sufferings of this present time will

not be worth comparison.

And this glory will not just be revealed to us as if we'll sort of see it from afar and that's it.

No, the word there actually means it will be revealed unto us.

We will be participants in the glory to come.

We will be swept up along with it.

What God has in store in his coming glory isn't going to be a sort of mere movie that we get to watch

in comfy stadium seating with a cup holder there and it sort of reclines.

Have you been to those movie theaters?

That's not what God has in store.

It's not going to be like watching a movie.

We know what's coming is going to be a drama for us to enact.

Each of us with a part in hand.

Each of us with a role to play.

God's glory will come and it will sweep us into it as his children.

So what is it?

What is this vision, this practical pastoral vision of glory that Paul lays out for us

so that when suffering comes on the path of discipleship, we won't give up?

Well, it's a vision of glory that has two interlocking parts.

The first part is a vision of God's creation.

The second part is a vision of God's children, of us Christians.

And they're interwoven, they're interlocked in this passage.

And we're actually going to spend two weeks in our morning service

unpacking this interlocking vision.

Today we're going to look at verses 19 through 22

and see what Paul has to say about God's creation, that first element.

And then next week Greg's going to pick up in verse 23

and we're going to consider what God has to say,

what Paul has to say about us Christians, about us as God's children.

So God's creation this week, God's children next week

in this vision of glory to come.

So what does Paul want us to see about God's creation

and the incomparable glory that's in store for us?

Well, first, before Paul actually gets into that,

he wants to teach us a little bit.

He wants us first to see that the present state of this world

is not how it was originally intended to be.

Let's get our thinking right, Paul says.

Look at verse 20.

Verse 20 says,

the creation was subjected to futility.

Now it's easy to look around the world and see futility, isn't it?

That same word futility is used in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes,

Ecclesiastes 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Everything under the sun, the writer of Ecclesiastes observes,

it never seems to go anywhere.

Empires are built, empires fall.

The wise man builds up an inheritance,

but it's left to a fool.

Pleasures come and pleasures go.

Everything seems trapped in a cycle of decay and disrepair.

And as soon as you think you've made your mark,

the tides of history rise and wash it all away.

And those books you've labored long to write

are found in the dusty corners of a used bookshop somewhere

that will eventually go out of business thanks to Amazon.

It's easy to look around and see futility, isn't it?

Frustration, even emptiness.

But that's not how it began.

Creation didn't begin this way.

It's not how it's supposed to be.

You see, look carefully at what Paul says here.

The creation was subjected to futility.

Something happened along the way.

And here Paul's alluding to the opening chapters of Genesis,

where as a result of Adam's rebellion against God,

God didn't just banish Adam and Eve from the garden,

but God also cursed the ground.

God subjected creation to futility.

Now you have to see that God's intention for humanity,

God's intention for us as his unique image bearers,

he intended us to be stewards of creation.

This is why he made us and put us in the created order.

He put us there to joyfully unlock

and discover this created order's potential,

to unwrap its latent potencies and its treasures,

to unwrap them like a gift that we would offer back to God.

We were meant to sort of take our place in this created order

and to tune it like an instrument

so that it would sing the praises of its creator.

But as a result of Adam's sin,

and as a judgment on that sin,

God subjected creation to futility.

No longer would it yield its treasure,

now it would produce thorns and thistles.

And Adam and his descendants would extract the good from it

only by painful toil and sweat

until death claimed them

and they returned to the dust from which they had been taken.

What does all this mean?

Friends, it means that the present futility

futility of the created order

from the worst of natural disasters

to the weeds that choke out

your measly little vegetable garden

are a signpost.

The futility of creation is a signpost

declaring that our relationship with God

has been broken because of sin

and desperately needs to be repaired.

The futility of creation is like a giant hedge

on our self-centered path.

Because as fallen humans,

we want to live life without God, right?

We want to be our own lords

and our own saviors.

We don't want anything to do with God.

Thank you very much.

We want to seek our joy and life and peace

apart from God and apart from God's rule

on our own two feet.

We want to run things our own way.

But in God's severe mercy to us,

He subjects His good creation to futility

against its own will

so that we rebellious humans

will be constantly reminded

that our satisfaction can't be found

in created things,

but only in our Creator.

So that we would be constantly reminded

that we aren't in control

and we can't be the master of our own destiny.

And that if we keep trying,

a much worse fate awaits us,

an eternity without God.

So friends, if you sometimes get the sense

that this world isn't the way it's supposed to be,

that all the evil and suffering and chaos

isn't how it should be,

then there is a sense in which you are utterly right.

But are you listening rightly to the signpost

that creation was subjected to futility?

That's point number one,

that the present state of the world

is not the way it was originally supposed to be.

But here's point number two,

the present state of the world

is not the way it will always be.

Look again at verse 20.

For the creation was subjected to futility,

not willingly,

but because of him who subjected it in hope.

God subjected creation to futility

as a judicial sentence on Adam's sin,

but God did so in hope.

When God struck the ground,

he did so with a plan,

with a purpose,

with a goal in mind.

God subjected creation to futility

in redemptive hope.

What is the future?

This hope that God has in store for creation.

Look at verse 21,

in hope that the creation will be set free.

One day, Paul says,

creation itself will be set free.

It'll be liberated.

Its shackles will come off.

Its chains will be broken.

And what is it going to be set free from?

The creation will be set free from

its bondage to corruption.

That word corruption here means

decay and decline

and disintegration.

Of course, yes,

there is now still amazing beauty in the world.

There is now still life and birth

and growth and joy,

but none of these present graces

escape the cycle of decay

and disease and death now, do they?

Creation is enslaved to futility,

to disintegration,

but not forever.

One day, it will be set free

from the tyranny of decay.

That's what it will be set free from.

What will it be set free for?

Verse 21 again,

the creation will be set free

from its bondage to corruption

and obtain the freedom

of the glory of the children of God.

And it's here.

It's right here in this very moment.

This is the moment

when we step out of the forest trail

and onto the cliff's edge.

This is where we get the breathtaking view.

This is what, as verse 19 says,

creation is waiting for

with eager longing.

Paul says the whole created order

is standing on tiptoe,

stretching its neck,

craning forward.

That's the image of eager longing

in verse 19.

Creation is straining out its neck

to see with eager expectation.

What is it eagerly expecting?

What is it yearning for?

What is it waiting for?

For the revealing of the sons of God.

Or as verse 21 puts it,

for the glory of the children of God.

So friends,

if you've come to put your trust in Christ,

if you've put your faith in Him,

and you are a daughter,

you are a son of God,

and this verse is about you.

In Christ,

you have become one of God's children,

and God's purpose,

God's plan,

God's supreme hope for creation

is bound up with you.

When the children are revealed in glory,

it will bring all creation with them.

When Christ returns in this old age,

finally gives way to the age to come,

when the sun comes up

and drives away the darkness forever,

on that day,

all of God's children will be seen

as they truly are in Christ.

We will be raised imperishable,

incorruptible,

and we will take our place

with Christ as heirs,

as the regents of creation

God originally made us to be.

And then,

as the sons and daughters of God

take their place,

at long last,

creation will be set free.

And you just thought

you were coming to church.

This is how it was meant to be, friends.

You see, Adam,

Adam,

as God's image bearer,

was meant

to lead creation

into glory.

Adam was meant to be

at the head of the train,

leading the procession

of creation

into the never-ending joy

of God.

Creation from the very start

had a direction,

and Adam was the one.

Humanity were the ones

who were supposed

to take it there.

But Adam failed.

And we've all continued

to fail after him.

Yet,

where Adam failed,

Christ has succeeded.

That through his perfect life.

Do you think they were just

magic tricks

that Christ came,

healing creation in his wake

during his earthly ministry?

In his life,

he was showing us

that he'd come

to set creation free

from its bondage to decay.

But how would he ultimately do it?

In death,

he would destroy death.

He would bear the curse

of Adam,

and he would bear the curse

of creation,

and he would go down

and swallow it whole.

And three days later,

he would rise.

And a new creation

would begin.

And friends,

through faith,

by his Spirit,

those who respond

to the call of God

that goes out

with the proclamation

of the gospel,

those who respond

to Christ in faith

and put their trust in him,

are made,

his brothers and sisters,

are made,

co-heirs with him.

And we,

along with Christ,

will lead,

once again,

the procession

of the created world

into the never-ending

joy of God.

And it won't end.

That's what never-ending means.

Because if God is an

infinitely majestic God,

then there must be

infinite ways

in which we,

as his creatures,

can enjoy it

and explore it

and display it.

Do you see the vision here?

God isn't going to

scrap this world,

annihilate it,

and start over.

He's got a much

deeper plan than that.

He's going to liberate it.

He's going to take

this material world

and it's going to be

set free and transformed.

And this is something

that the New Testament

says again and again

and again.

This isn't just Paul

being a weirdo.

This is what the New Testament

says again and again.

Jesus himself spoke

of the new birth

of the world

at his second coming.

Peter talked about

the restoration

of all things.

Paul elsewhere

will talk about

the reconciliation

of all things.

And John will speak

of the new heavens

and the new earth

where God dwells

with his people.

And we don't just see it

in the New Testament,

we see it in the Old Testament.

The Psalms speak

of creation clapping

their hands

and rejoicing

when God comes to judge.

We read it earlier.

Elizabeth read it for us.

Did you get an echo

of creation set free

from its bondage

to decay

in that Psalm

at the end?

Isaiah says

that God will one day

create a new heaven

and a new earth

and out of the desert

will come streams

of water

and ferocious

poisonous animals

will end up laying down

in peace.

Death,

disease,

decay

will be forever cast off.

Isaiah says

it's like a sheet

that's been laid over us,

like a shroud

that's come down,

a veil.

But he says

one day

it will be torn off

and on the mountain

of God

will be a feast

of rich food

and wine

for us to enjoy

forevermore.

God's material creation

will be redeemed

and glorified

because God's children

will be redeemed

and glorified.

Now,

if you're sitting there

speculating

how on earth

that's going to happen,

how these molecules

are going to make

those molecules,

well,

I think it's probably best

to let God

work out all the details

of transforming this world

into the world to come.

There's going to be continuity

and discontinuity.

Clearly,

what God has in store

is beyond our imaginations.

Yet,

what's in store?

This glimpse we're given

is meant

to start engaging

our hearts now.

It's meant

to instill in us

a sense

of the incomparable

glory to come

so that all

of our present suffering

can be considered

in the right perspective.

And our third

and last point

is meant to do

that very thing

to help reframe

our perspective

on present suffering.

If our first point,

if Paul's sort of

first point

looked to the past

when God subjected

creation to futility

and this next point,

the second point

sort of looked ahead

to when creation

will be liberated

from its bondage

to decay,

Paul now brings us

back to the present

in verse 22.

He comes back

to the here and now.

in creation,

he says,

is groaning.

And we hear it,

don't we?

We feel it,

groaning.

But you see,

this groaning

isn't the meaningless

groan

of futility

that it will never end.

And this groan

isn't the groan

of despair

in the face

of disease

and decay.

No,

what does Paul say?

This is the groan

of a mother

in labor.

The whole creation

has been groaning

together

in the pains

of childbirth

until now.

Now,

you can probably guess

that I have not

given birth,

but I have been

present for three.

And I think

it is a safe

assumption

to say that

childbirth

is a painful

process.

Excruciating

and exhausting.

It takes

the whole of you

and it lays

you down

in pain.

But in the end,

it's exhilarating,

is it not?

At the end

of the day,

the pain

of childbirth

is not worth

comparing

to the joy

of holding

a new child

in your arms.

I have never

seen

someone

move

from

excruciating

pain

to limitless

joy

in such

a second

as when

my children

were born.

And Paul

says,

friends,

the world

in which we live

is not a

random,

directionless

mass

of atoms

fluttering

this way

and that.

It's the

good creation

of a good

God

who,

yes,

subjected it

to futility,

but did so

in hope

that one day

it would be

set free

when Christ

and all the

children of God

are revealed

and God

gives birth

to a new

world

that fulfills

the deepest

longings

and intentions

that this one

was always

meant to

fulfill.

I mean,

goodness gracious

friends,

why do we

as human beings

still have an

impulse to

make art

and music?

Why do we

still have an

impulse to

wake up in

the morning

and go to

our jobs?

Why are

any of us

crazy enough

to have

children given

the present

state of

the planet?

it?

Why would

you bring

children into

this world?

Because you

and all,

you and I

know

that God

subjected it

to futility

and hope

and the

suffering

that we

see now

is not

the final

word.

They're the

birth pains

pointing ahead.

They're

excruciating.

They're

exhausting.

But one

day,

they will

give way

to joy.

But here's

where the

rubber hits

the road,

friends.

If you're

going to

be a part

of that

renewed

creation,

and all

of us

are beckoned

in,

if you're

going to

be a part

of that

renewal

of all

things,

then you

yourself

need to

be renewed.

And that

brings us

to the

heart of

the gospel,

that God

wanting to

create

and recreate

His people

so that they

might lead

creation into

glory,

in love,

sent His

one and only

Son into

the world,

who died

in the place

of sinners

to take away

the penalty

of sin

that we

deserve,

and who

rose again

on the third

day to give

us new

life.

You see,

how was it

that God

could subject

creation to

futility and

hope?

How would

God save

creation from

the futility

that He

sentenced it

to?

How would

God rescue

creation from

Himself?

Where did

the hope

spring from?

God save

Him?

It sprang from

the eternal

counsels of

our triune

God,

because God

the Father

and God

the Son

and God

the Holy

Spirit had

planned from

eternity a

work of

redemption,

that where sin

abounded,

grace would

much more

abound,

and where

death reigned,

life would

give way to

final victory.

from the

moment God

struck the

ground,

He already

knew that He

was going to

strike His

Son so that

we could all

be set free,

so that everyone

who comes and

takes hold of

Christ would

have their guilt

of sin

released,

their hearts

made new,

and they might

be adopted into

God's family and

made heirs of

this new creation

hope that God

has always had.

So friends,

if you hear

God's voice,

don't harden

your heart.

Place your

trust in the

One who came

in love for

you.

To all who

received Him,

who believed in

His name,

He gave them

the right to

become the

children of

God,

and if

children,

then heirs,

heirs of

God,

and co-heirs

with Christ.

And here is

the good news

for all of

those who

have trusted

in Christ.

God's going

to renew

all of

creation.

This whole

thing is going

to be transformed,

set free from

decay,

and we will

enjoy it

forever,

and God

will give us

new bodies

and minds

and hearts

to be able

to enjoy it.

But the best

thing of all

is this,

all of the

ways in which

creation was

meant to

display God's

glory will be

repaired.

When creation's

futility gives

way to the

liberty and the

glory of the

children of God,

we will then

taste and see

that the Lord

is good in

ways that you

and I right

now can't

imagine.

Friends,

if a sunset

thrills your

soul,

imagine what

that sunset

will be like

when creation

is set free

from its

bondage to

decay.

If the

massive redwoods

of California

speak of the

majesty of God,

if the stars

and constellations

and galaxies

declare how holy

and powerful

God is,

if the waves

pounding against

the shore echo

God's faithfulness

and greatness

and steadfast

love that just

keep coming

and coming

and coming

and don't

stop.

Imagine what

God will show

us of Himself

in the new

heavens and

the new earth

when we can

enjoy it with

totally new

bodies and

selves.

then we'll

see that the

sufferings of

this present

age really

aren't worth

comparing to

the glory that

is to be

revealed unto

us.

So hold on,

brothers and

sisters.

Hold on.

One day an

incomparable

glory is coming

and you will be

at the front of

the procession

with Christ,

your King.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Father, we need

Your Spirit to

come and

testify to

our hearts

that we are

indeed Your

children.

And we need

Your Spirit to

come and make

this vision of

glory real to

us.

Oh God, we've

lived in the

futility of this

creation for so

long that sometimes

it just seems like

a dream.

And yet,

Holy Spirit,

bring us back to

the resurrection

of Christ, to

the conquest of

death, to the

beginning of the

new creation in

Him.

And Lord, help us

to see and to

trust Your Word that

one day that will

be true of all

things and we in

Christ with it at

its head.

And Lord, help us

apart that, in the

midst of suffering,

to hold these

things tightly, we

pray.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.

So I'll stand.

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing

Oh, praise Him, hallelujah

Thou burning sun with golden dew

Thou silver moon is often lean

Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Now rushing with my heart so strong

Ye clouds that sail in heaven alone

Oh, praise Him, hallelujah

Thou rising moon in praise rejoin

The lights of evening fire roar

Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

And let all things their Creator bless

And worship Him in humbleness

Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son

And praise the Spirit three in one

Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Hallelujah

¡Oh, praise Him, hallelujah!

Hallelujah!

Hallelujah, hallelujah

we

praise praise our father

Oh

Well friends feel free to stick around up here for fellowship.

There's coffee hour downstairs.

Feel free to meet someone new and encourage one another down there.

If you would like to