God’s Plan for Creation (Romans 8:18-27)
Billy Milton - April 10, 2005
What is the secret to living a successful and fulfilling Christian life? [PAUSE]
A couple of weeks ago I quoted from Simon Guillebaud’s letter where he quoted from this book “Light Force” written by Brother Andrew. In it Brother Andrew is talking to the Ayatollah Fadlallah, the spiritual leader of Hezbollah, who said to Brother Andrew, “You Christians are not following the life of Christ any more…..You must go back to the Book.” I was reading another little section in this book this week (p196-197) where Brother Andrew reflects on the Ayatollah’s injunction to “go back to the Book” and then writes, “But…what kind of people does the book produce? What difference is the Book making in your lives? Are you walking the talk? Are you prepared to allow this Book to mould you into the image of Jesus Christ?”
I want to bring that challenge to us all here in KRC this morning. Is the teaching of the Bible making any difference to your lives? I suppose that’s one of the passions of my life - to see people changed by the preaching of God’s word and then discovering a passion for themselves to be changed by God’s word day-by-day. You see, I know that living as a Christian in 21st century Britain is not easy. Sometimes the personal pressures threaten to overwhelm us. Sometimes you need to have a direct link to another world.
When I was 16 years old I started my working life in United Biscuits in Glasgow. It was an okay job but not the most exciting. For about a year I was the office junior so I had to do all the photocopying; the errand running; the message carrying and so on. Whatever menial tasks required doing, I did it. One day I decided to do something to make my day more interesting. Celtic were playing a European match, which kicked off about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and I brought in a radio to work with the intention of listening to it as I worked. However, I had a problem – radios were completely banned in the office and my boss made it clear that I could not listen to the match. What to do? Well I had fairly long hair at the time so I decided to put the radio in my coat pocket (because it was a bakery we all wore white coats) and feed an earpiece up the inside of my coat, out at my collar, under my hair and into my ear. Nobody would know as long as I kept busy. Well I put my plan into action and began listening to the match. At one point my boss asked me a question and I replied in a far too loud voice (as you do when you’ve got an earpiece in) and he said, “Why are you shouting at me?” Later on Celtic scored and my little ruse was over. In the middle of a quiet office I let out a cheer and then tried to cover it over with a cough but my boss realized what I was up to and took the radio off me. I have to say that he thought it was very funny and had a good laugh about it but nonetheless my radio listening days at work were over.
There is something to be said for being plugged into what is going on elsewhere. [Pause] Sometimes, the things that are going on around you can be extremely boring. Sometimes they can be worse than just boring; they can be painful. So as Paul writes the words we are about to read in Romans 8, he invites us to plug in to another world. He wants to make sure that our faith in God affects the perspective in which we view our present circumstances. That is such an important principle and something we must consciously try to remember. Whatever it is we’re going through, we need to bring a Christian perspective to it. No matter how difficult or even desperate our situation seems, Paul says we can face it with hope. (Read Romans 8:18-27)
Rom 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Do you believe these words? I’m sure Jon asked you this last week but do you really take that promise on board? No condemnation – wonderful. But, where does that lead us? It brings us to a place of hope. Paul doesn’t say that a Christian won’t suffer. He of all people knew that Christians suffered as a normal, and valuable, part of their Christian life. He’s already told us of one of the benefits of suffering in chapter 5 – suffering when endured faithfully will produce a good character in us and that character will lead to hope. And, doesn’t this world need hope? Both at a national level and at a personal level people are struggling with the issue of hopelessness. We have physical problems that afflict our bodies. We endure emotional turmoil in our personal relationships. If we’re honest, we have to admit that we have spiritual struggles as well and sometimes find ourselves disappointed with God.
As Paul talks about life, he doesn’t want to candy-coat, or minimise, the pain and struggles that we go through. But what he does want to do is to put them into perspective. Look again at what he says in 8:18 (Read). Paul uses language that helps us see life as an eternal proposition. We live here on earth for a little while, but we also live forever! What Paul wants to make sure of is that we don’t get so discouraged with the difficulties of this life that we lose sight of the big picture of eternity.
Now look at what Paul says next. (Read vv. 19-21) The truth of the matter is that right now we live in a world that is less than perfect. In fact Paul unwittingly refers to one of the great laws of the universe in v21 when he talks of “its bondage to decay.” This world is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. That law states that everything in this universe is decaying. What seems fresh and new one day will some day be old and broken down. Evolution tells us that everything is getting better – survival of the fittest etc. but Paul tells us that we are in “bondage to decay”. Our own observations back this up. Which of you is not going to cut their grass this summer and expect it to evolve into a perfect lawn by the autumn? None of us, because we know that it naturally tends towards weeds and untidiness.
The reality of the situation is that everything on earth is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. Every living thing will eventually die and decay. That includes me and that includes you. [PASSPORT PHOTO AND THE DIFFERENCE 10 YEARS HAS MADE] The second law of thermodynamics doesn’t offer any hope for anything on this earth. And when you run smack dab into the unyielding wall of that truth, it is sobering.
I worked with a guy who was very successful in business. He owned a number of big houses and by any of this world’s standards was a success. When I spoke to him one day about Christian things he said to me, “D’you want to know my philosophy for life?” I said I would love to. He said, “Life’s a bitch and then your dead!” I have to confess that I was quite shocked at the despair contained in these words. A hard life followed by death – is that really all there is? As a Christian I want to cry out - NO! There’s so much more.
For those of us who are in Christ Jesus there is hope, because we anticipate a time when death and decay will no longer exist. In verse 19 Paul says “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” That phrase “eager expectation” is a translation of the richly evocative Greek word apokaradokia which John Stott says means, “to stretch the neck in anticipation.” Have you ever watched a marathon and sensed the excitement as the first runners approach. The craning of necks; the excitement; the jostling for a good view; the eager expectation. Paul says creation is in that type of existence, longing to see what God is going to do. And as it waits its in a sort of permanent labour. (Read vv. 22-23)
I’ve sat through two labours that lasted for a few hours each. That’s enough for me! As a man the sense of helplessness as my wife groaned, and at times screamed, is awful. There was nothing I could do except hold May’s hand and try to be of some comfort. I didn’t even do that very well… apparently! But I have also been around other people who have groaned inwardly. They carry with them a sense of helplessness and maybe even hopelessness. In Paul’s mind, the groan occurs when we recognize that there is a huge gap between what is and what ought to be.
I’m sure that every one of us has been there. When we experience the fallenness of this world, we let out a groan. Maybe it’s family related and out of frustration we groan. Maybe it’s when circumstances arise that cause us, or someone we love, pain. And out of pity we groan. But strangely enough, Paul says that for Christians groaning is a sign of our hope. We are longing for something better. And, if we are in Christ, we have the promise that there is something better. So as we groan, we remember our hope. Some day things will be better. We have hope! And that hope for the future can and should affect our present disposition. (Pause)
You see, the Biblical worldview points us to a hope that is greater than the world we live in. Just as Paul said earlier in Romans 8 that we need to live in the Spirit rather than the flesh, he reminds us in these verses we need to be in touch with an eternal perspective on life that is greater than this world. If we are in Christ, we have been infused with an eternal sense of hopefulness. For the Christian, there is no such thing as a hopeless situation. (Read vv. 24-25)
Now make sure you understand what God is teaching us here through Paul’s words. He’s not advocating a type of positive thinking that would just deny the reality of pain and trouble in this world because that’s not real. That’s not it at all. This world does hurt, it is frustrated and painful, and we shouldn’t deny the pain. But we cannot let the hopelessness of this creation get us down. For the Christian, who has entrusted God with his/her life, there is always reason for hope, both in this life and in the life to come.
Now, given that eternal perspective - there is more to life than the physical world - let me close by reminding you how the Christian’s hope for the future will change our present.
Our hope keeps us from settling for the things of this world.
(Read V24) “Who hopes for what he already has?” We live in a society that has bought the lie that “things” will provide happiness. In this country today, we live in unprecedented prosperity. There is this idea floating around that if you can just gather enough stuff, you will experience fulfillment. That stuff might be power, or prestige, or possessions, or relationships. But if you are astute enough to look around at the people that have those things you will notice a trend. Fulfillment doesn’t come from that stuff. Never in history have so many had so much for so long and been so depressed about it!
But when we adopt an eternal mindset, ‘things’ lose their significance. I love gadgets as much as anyone in this church but I can assure you they are not the reason that I enjoy life. When we place our hope in God, we don’t try to satisfy our groanings with the things of this world. In hope, we anticipate that God will satisfy us in ways that cannot be understood in this lifetime. One of the great comforts that we can share is from verse 21, “that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”
You see, the good news is that in Christ we live in a constant state of hope that the pain of this world will give way to the painless reality of eternal life. The promise from the Bible is that in that time Christ will dry all our tears. But that hope isn’t just “Pie in the sky when you die.” That hope infuses us now with the ability to turn our eyes away from our pain to God’s glory. And God cares about our pain so much that he gives us his Holy Spirit to intercede for us when we don’t know the words to say. I’ve lost count of the number of times when I’ve been reduced to just groaning in God’s presence. Have you been there? [PAUSE] God hears those groans and understands exactly what they mean… so keep on groaning.
The good news for those who are in Christ Jesus is that YOU ALWAYS HAVE HOPE. That’s God’s plan for His creation.