Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
ROMANS
Sermon 22
Hope
Romans 8:18-25
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
When someone is asked, “Are you saved?”, and they reply, “I hope so,” they mean, “I'm not sure whether I'm saved or not.” But, when the Bible uses the word “hope”, there is no element of doubt in it. It describes a confident assurance that is based on faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It may be defined as “the joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.”
Now, salvation in the Biblical sense is to be understood to occur in three distinct but inseparable phases. First, there is the new birth, described in theological terms as “regeneration”, which takes place when the Spirit of God moves upon the soul of His elect, and results in repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ . Second, there is the new life, described in theological terms as “progressive sanctification”, which takes places over the entire period of the believer's life on earth. And, third, there is the new body, described in theological terms as “glorification”, which takes place when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. That's the hope expressed in our text for this study.
Before we look in detail at our text, let's consider some parallel New Testament scriptures using the word “hope”. Colossians 1:27: “...God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”; 1 Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable”; Colossians 1:5: “...the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel”; 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “...let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation”; Titus 1:2: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began”; Titus 3:7: “...being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life”; and Romans 5:2: “(By Jesus) also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Now, that glory, says our text in Romans 8, will be revealed in us. That is the same glory which, while still in our sins, we fell short of. As the Scripture says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Please note Paul says that glory “shall be revealed in us.” He doesn't say it might be revealed in us, or that it perhaps shall be revealed in us. He says emphatically that it “shall be revealed in us.” That, beloved in the Lord, is the definition of Biblical hope. It is absolutely certain that we who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will have the glory of God revealed in us. That means, we will be, in God's time and place, conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be able, in our glorified bodies to stand in the very presence of Almighty God. That is the certain hope we have.
Because we have such a hope, the sufferings we are required to endure in this life are as nothing in comparison to what we have to look forward to in heaven. That may be compared to what is said about the Lord Jesus in Hebrews 12:2, “...who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Just as surely as Jesus sits now in that place of majesty and authority, so we who believe in Jesus will reign with Him through all eternity in heaven.
Now, the hope we have is not confined to us only. All of God's natural creation shares it. When Satan introduced sin into the world, Adam and Eve and their descendants were not the only ones polluted by it. God especially cursed the ground because of Adam's sin as we are told in Genesis 3:17-18. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee...”
And, from observation, we can plainly see, not only the ground, but everything in the earth, and in the universe, is subject to death and decay. But, a more sure word is given in our Romans 8 text which tells us the creation is in the bondage of corruption. We are quite sure God did not create things in that condition. The account of creation includes this statement in Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” “Very good” can only mean there was no sin, no evil, no death, no corruption. Everything was absolutely perfect. Therefore, we are not wrong, nor do we do harm to the Word of God when we say, the reason for the present corruption of God's creation is sin. And, as a result, all of creation now groans and travails in pain, waiting for the glorification of God's children when it, too, shall be delivered.
The hope that we have concerns the completion of our salvation. We have been born again. That secures our position with God, justified in His sight through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a new life. That provides us and the world with evidence our faith is real, and makes us useful to bring glory to God while we live on this earth. But, we still have the old, earthly, corruptible body, subject to death and decay. Until that is changed, our salvation is incomplete so far as experience is concerned.
We know that. And because we have experienced the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness, faithfulness, and self-control), we groan within ourselves longing for and waiting for the body to be redeemed. Then, our physical being will have experienced what our spiritual being has had ever since, by grace through faith, we were made new creations in Christ Jesus.
Near the beginning of this study, I pointed out that salvation includes three inseparable things - a new birth, a new life, and a new body. The new birth and the new life we already have. Our position with God, justified, is complete. Our conformation into the image of Jesus, sanctification, is in process. But, nothing has yet changed about our bodies. They, i.e., our bodies, have not yet been redeemed. Even those believers who have left their bodies and gone to be with the Lord in heaven, still look forward to receiving new and glorified bodies. And, they will. All true believers will.
Hear the promises of God in His Word. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Philippians 3:20-21: “For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
Now, beloved, that is the hope of which our text speaks. That is the hope of eternal life, the hope of glory, the hope of salvation of which all Scripture speaks. It is the certainty of what we may call “full and final salvation”, when what God has promised is fully experienced. For those of us who truly trust the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no doubt in our hope, for we “are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).
Therefore, though we have not seen these things, we patiently wait, with eager expectation, for the promise of God to be fulfilled. By faith, we have no fear that what God has promised He not only is able to do, He will surely do. For “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Sin is the great destroyer. It turned Lucifer, the chief and most beautiful of God's angelic creations, into Satan, the great and ugly enemy of God and man. It killed mankind spiritually and physically. It caused all creation to be subject to decay and death.
But, God is the Great Savior. By His almighty love and grace, He has redeemed both His elect and all creation from sin through the death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Of Him, it is written in Colossians 1:19-20, “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” The reconciliation (redemption) of creation waits upon the glorification of God's beloved children. Their glorification awaits the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are you one of God's children? If so, it is because you have born again and have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You rely upon Him and Him alone for the forgiveness of your sin. You believe He died in your place and for your benefit. You believe that God raised Him from the dead, and you have confessed with your mouth that He is Lord. Having such a faith and having made such a confession, you have been justified in the sight of God and you are being made to conform to the image of Christ. And, you have the certain hope of the redemption of your body, full and final salvation in glory, forever to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.
To those who are reading this who have never recognized they are sinners, you are not one of God’s children. One of His creation, yes! But not one of His born-again children. However, perhaps God is at this moment speaking to you, convicting you of sin and calling you to repent of your sin and come by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. If that is so, humble yourself, repent of your sin and call upon the Lord Jesus for forgiveness and the gift of eternal life NOW.