Romans 8:18-23 Pentecost 5 – July 17, 2011
“We Live in Godly Expectation”
I. Not expecting a life of ease
II. Looking for the reward that is yet to come
18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Dear friends in Christ Jesus and fellow heirs of the eternal blessings ready and waiting for you in heaven,
“Anticipation!” A few years ago, that word was the opening of commercial and the song that went with it promoting a certain kind of catsup. For many events in life we await them with anticipation: a child’s first day at school; a graduation from school; a joyful wedding in a family; the birth of a child or grandchild.
We Christian believers also have anticipation, a great deal of anticipation as we look forward to the joyful blessings that are to come through Christ Jesus our Savior. They are blessings of anticipation and expectation much greater than any blob of catsup.
Today, in these Holy Spirit inspired words of our text from the Apostle Paul, may we together consider how:
“We Live in Godly Expectation”
I. Not expecting a life of ease, but
II. Looking for the reward that is yet to come
Many people across our land today will go to church expecting to come out of the service feeling good about themselves, recharged in their positive outlook on life, and expecting that God is going to make them healthy, happy, and wealthy. Such is the theology proclaimed to the itching ears of many who want to hear something new that really appeals to them and makes them comfortable. Someone has described such religious teachings so prevalent in our country and churches today as being “A mile wide and an inch deep.” Such teaching is indeed broad and appeals to many, but it is shallow, empty, and not in keeping with what the Lord God has told us in His holy Word.
The true teachings of the Bible are not a theology of glory, that is, a teaching of great and wonderful things that believers can expect in this life. The theology, the true teachings of the Bible present rather a theology of the cross, an expectation of suffering, even death, just as Jesus endured. After all, Jesus has invited us to take up His cross and follow Him.
So Paul in these words identified what he called “our present sufferings”. Paul certainly knew what that was all about. He had been involved in creating and experiencing sufferings for believers. Consider what those early believers endured. The apostles were jailed and beaten. Stephen was stoned to death, under the eye of Saul of Tarsus, the man who became the Apostle Paul. Paul was beaten, stoned, imprisoned, persecuted, driven out of city after city. Peter, Paul, and most of the other apostles endured martyr deaths. For more than two centuries, those who called themselves Christians were persecuted, thrown to the lions, burned at the stake, or sold into slavery.
Believers should not have and should never expect anything different. Jesus warned us about what was coming and what we could and should expect. In His Sermon on the Mount He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt 5:11-12).
Why should believers, why should you not expect a life of ease? The answer is because of Christ and His Word. Those who follow Christ Jesus, those who live in Him and through Him, those who hear His voice and follow Him, those who are His true disciples, they can indeed expect a life of the cross, a life of “our present sufferings.”
We understand the cause of this, don’t we? Sin entered the world by one man. Because of sin and the results of sin that have touched all creation, particularly those yet held in its power, believers, Christians, you, can expect sufferings because of your Christian faith and life.
It is a real lesson to learn. Don’t expect the world to love you. In fact, if the world and those who are of the world love you, maybe it is time for you to take a very careful look at your life in the light of God’s Word. The sinful, ungodly world in which we live is not going to love or even like and appreciate those who stand up for the Lord and live for Him. Just have the courage to identify sin for what it is and those of the world will quickly react. Condemn homosexuality as a sin against God’s Word and you, a believer, will be quickly labeled as being narrow minded and bigoted. Say that it is a sin for a man and woman to live together outside of marriage and you will be identified as someone who is out of touch with the world today. Proclaim that Jesus is the one and only way to heaven and you will be known as a religious crackpot. You, teenagers, take a stand against the sex, drugs, and alcohol that are so prevalent in your high school today, yes, even in Peshtigo and Coleman, and you will find out how unpopular you can become.
Sometimes, we may even experience such treatment from those we look upon and expect to be our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Sunday School teacher or the Lutheran school teacher could tell you all about it, how after teaching the lesson of David and Bathsheba and identifying the sin of adultery, she receives a note from the mother of one of the children who has been living with her boyfriend, telling the teacher that her child will not be returning to class. The pastor could tell you about the member who said he doesn’t want to hear anymore about stewardship and biblical giving because the money he has he earned and worked for is his. The elders or church leaders who have made a call on a family of delinquent members encouraging them to return to church could tell you all about it and their being chastised for making that visit by the parents of those delinquent members.
The Lord hasn’t promised you an easy or a popular life as a faithful believer. He hasn’t promised that you are going to be healthy, happy, and wealthy. But He has promised you great blessings, greater than you or I could ever begin to imagine.
(II. Looking for reward that is yet to come) Every believer knows and believes that the best is yet to come. Paul pointed to this when he wrote about “the glory that will be revealed in us.” The Lord’s reward and blessing will be made know to you in you.
Paul wrote in these words that creation itself “waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” Sin destroyed God’s perfect creation, but the day is coming when the Lord will cleanse the world of sin and bring forward a new heaven and a new earth where true righteousness will live forever.
When that day comes, believers, you and all those who are joined in true faith in Christ Jesus your Lord will receive the blessings the Lord has ready and waiting for you. You will be eternally delivered from this world of sin. Those who are dead will be raised in Christ with a glorious body and all will be changed.
Our life, the life we live as believers, is not about this world. If you are tempted by the notion to make your life one of living for this world, then my brother or sister, listen to the Lord as He calls you out of this world to Him. We are not building and planning for the future in this world. We are building and planning for the future in the eternal kingdom our Savior Jesus has planned for us. We are building, planning, and seeking to carry out God’s will for us and for our children so that we might be a part of His eternal kingdom.
We trust those blessings are ours because of the faith the Lord has placed into our hearts. Paul identified us as “we…who have the firstfruits of the Spirit.” That’s what faith is. It is a fruit, a blessing of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives that the Lord has wonderfully put there by the power of His gospel message.
It is in this faith that we look forward to the eternal redemption for our bodies and souls that will come to us because of our Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us by His death and resurrection. Yes, don’t expect your life as a believer to be one of ease or one without suffering for your Savior Jesus. But do expect that your life as a believer is one that will be eternally blessed in Christ Jesus, a life quite literally out of this world.
“Anticipation!” That word is a good one for us. Anticipation, not for a blob of catsup but for the joyful expectation of the eternal life and blessing that awaits us in Christ Jesus our Savior. We do have a reason to leave here today feeling good, feeling good because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come. Amen.
St. John - Peshtigo