Our Goal for Sanctification! - Romans 8:18-27
by Pastor Lee Hemen
January 21, 2007
Most people in our day and age do not like to wait for anything patiently. If we do not get what we want, when we want, and in the way we think we should have gotten it all along, we will fuss, moan, and gripe about it until we do. We live in an age when adults act like children all their lives and are encouraged to. This convoluted thinking has infected the Christian church as well. Gone are the days of self-sacrifice. Gone is the call to placing others first. Gone is the teaching that we are to be working to establish the kingdom of God here on earth, before He returns. Gone is the call to live holy lives for the Lord. Rather, we live in an age where we seek first our kingdom, our way of living, and our a happiness and to heck with anything that gets in our way, even our faith! Christianity has become a self-serving concept, instead of a life-changing revolution. Christians have forgotten what they are to live for. Our goal is to live for Christ. A life of sanctification.
Believers want the good life fast and have accepted any theology that gives it to them the quickest way possible. This includes their future existence and their daily way of life now. Purpose driven drivel and an ABC way of living a holy life in the shortest possible way sells books and seminars. Sadly, this is not what Scripture teaches us. So, few read the Bible because when they do they are faced with the startling truth of what our real goal for sanctification is: Live it! Here in Romans, Paul relates for us our goal for sanctification. Let’s discover what it means for our lives now and for the future.
READ: Romans 8:18-27
When I was a kid I remember the old commercials that promised us, “Relief is just a swallow away!” We live in a day when people think that medicine and doctors should always cure us and never make mistakes. Major pharmaceutical companies ply their goods on national TV asking the consumer to get their doctor to prescribe the latest miracle cure. In fact, we are so afraid of suffering pain or discomfort, whether emotionally or physically, we will do just about anything to make sure we do not have to face it in our lives. So it comes as a shock to our sensitivities when we read the Apostle Paul telling us that our goal for sanctification is…
I. Christians suffer now, to be free later! (vv. 18-21)
1. What we go through in this life is nothing compared to what we will one day enjoy! Can you imagine that you have just suffered a tremendous personal tragedy and the person you want to talk to about it responds by saying, “I consider that your present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in you one day.” Most of us would be personally hurt and indignant. Yet, this is exactly what Paul tells his fellow Christians in Rome! Why does he do this? Is he intentionally being cruel? NO! Paul reminded them that if they were indeed God’s children, then they would also share in His suffering. The same is true for us as well! We do not want to face this fact as believers, but let me remind you of something: We all will experience suffering in our life because we live in a “frustrated” (sin-fallen) world! Expect it! Bad things happen to good people! But what is more, we will “suffer” for our faith if we are actually living it for the Lord! Jesus related to His followers, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:20-21) However, Paul also tells his readers that Christians will one day have liberation along with all of creation from the bondage of suffering and death when we are “brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God!” WOW! Christians suffer now, to be free later!
EXAMPLE: Anyone who has gone through physical therapy knows that you have to suffer pain in order to regain what you have lost. We often forget that the same can be true for our spiritual lives as well. I remember when my little dog Lucky broke his rear leg. After it healed, the Vet told me to take him out everyday, stretch his leg, and play fetch with him. At first he would cry, whimper, and not really want to play. It was kind of like, he did, but he did not like the pain. After a few weeks however, he was running and jumping like before, the accident and pain forgotten. It can be tough for us to go through suffering either physically or spiritually, but when we do we can never forget that we suffer now, to be free later. It is true with all physical or spiritual therapy.
We have been sold to the concept that pain or suffering is bad, but it is not. Remember way back in Romans 5:3-5 when Paul related that we are to “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us”? Was Paul insane or did he like to experience pain on a personal level? No, Paul was sure of his faith! He knew that this life is but a mere moment in time compared to eternity. A day is coming when all creation will be free of all corruption. A day of redemption and restoration awaits the believer. This is why Paul would continue by relating that our goal for sanctification means that…
II. Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience! (vv. 22-25)
1. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. It has because it has been afflicted with an incurable condition: SIN! If you are sick, hurting, or in pain you often groan and wonder if there could ever be any relief. All of creation is the same, it is seeking relief from its sinful condition! Paul adds something interesting here though. He relates that not only does a sin-fallen creation groan about its condition, 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!” An orphaned child can know they are adopted, but it is not real until their adopted parents come, take them into their arms, love them and take them home! The same is true for the Christian! It is one thing to know you have been redeemed spiritually, but it is a whole different thing to experience it physically! Paul is trying to give the Roman church encouragement. He is telling them that their hope in Jesus is sure and secure: “For in this hope we were saved.” Paul knew that “we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:2). “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) This is why Paul related “we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans. 8:25) Paul knew that that our goal for sanctification means that Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever hurt yourself, say like smacking your arm or hand and it hurts so much that all you can do is kind of jump around, rub your appendage, and moan a lot? We probably all have. It is kind of funny but usually those around us, when this occurs, try to talk with us to get us to tell them just how bad it really hurts! So there you are, pain gushing up your arm or hand, and someone is asking you, “Does it hurt?” “Where does it hurt?” “How bad does it hurt?” All you can think of at the time is that if God could only silence one of His lambs for just s few seconds so you could suffer in excruciating silence how wonderful it would be! Now, have you ever experienced a “good pain?” When you hit your funny bone, and the pain hurts but it feels good all at the same time? Now why in God’s green earth does that happen? I am not sure but what I am sure of is the fact that Christians inwardly groan now, for what they will one day outwardly experience!
Christians can be frustrated with what life brings their way. Often though, I have discovered that life is usually what we decide to make of it. For the believer prayer must be an intricate part of our lives. If we fail to pray, we will fail to discern God’s desire for our lives. We will miss what God is doing in the midst of our suffering and perhaps the reason why. Yet, Paul teaches us that in this there too is hope. In fact, we discover that our goal for sanctification means that …
III. In all of this, Christians are never alone! (vv. 26-27)
1. Just as we hope for what we do not see, we have someone who helps us -- that we do not see! Paul relates that “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” What weakness would that be? During times of suffering, we may not understand why we are going through what we are. We may become confused as to how we should seek God during these times. Paul says that, often because of our sin condition and the suffering we face, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Jesus promised that “He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13b) We discover that this has nothing to do with praying in tongues, as some would like to suggest. The groaning is done totally by the Holy Spirit, not believers, and is not stated in words we would understand. It is with “with groans that words cannot express.” How is this possible? Paul teaches us that God, “who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” During times of trial we may become totally inadequate to the task set before us, but God has provided for us even during this time! He gives us one who can utter the right word for us at just the right time! The glorious truth is that in our goal for sanctification, in the midst of all this world of suffering, Christians are never alone!
EXAMPLE: A teenage girl told me one time that she was “never going to pray again for anything.” I asked her why. She related that God “never” answered her prayers. So I asked her to relate to me exactly how she prayed to God and perhaps this would give me a clue as to why God seemed like He was not listening. She began, “Oh God, I need You to do this for me…” and continued with “I need this done right away…” which was followed by “Lord, I love You and You know how much I love my boyfriend, so help him to love me more…” It was not hard to discover the focus of her prayer. Then there was the elderly lady who would softly grunt when we prayed together. Not a “yes, Lord” or “Amen,” but grunting. It went something like this: I would pray and she would respond with “Ugh!” “Oh!” “Ah!” “Argh!” I found this to be a little disconcerting until I asked her why. She responded by telling me that she felt it “unnecessary to clutter up God with a lot of words,” that in fact God could understand all her needs just fine even before she prayed them! Prayer may escape us, but God never does! And He listens well. In this life, in that our goal for sanctification, God has someone who already interprets our prayers for us.
Conclusion:
Paul teaches us some wonderful truths concerning our goal for sanctification: Christians suffer now, to be free later; Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience; and in all of this, Christians are never alone!
by Pastor Lee Hemen
January 21, 2007
Most people in our day and age do not like to wait for anything patiently. If we do not get what we want, when we want, and in the way we think we should have gotten it all along, we will fuss, moan, and gripe about it until we do. We live in an age when adults act like children all their lives and are encouraged to. This convoluted thinking has infected the Christian church as well. Gone are the days of self-sacrifice. Gone is the call to placing others first. Gone is the teaching that we are to be working to establish the kingdom of God here on earth, before He returns. Gone is the call to live holy lives for the Lord. Rather, we live in an age where we seek first our kingdom, our way of living, and our a happiness and to heck with anything that gets in our way, even our faith! Christianity has become a self-serving concept, instead of a life-changing revolution. Christians have forgotten what they are to live for. Our goal is to live for Christ. A life of sanctification.
Believers want the good life fast and have accepted any theology that gives it to them the quickest way possible. This includes their future existence and their daily way of life now. Purpose driven drivel and an ABC way of living a holy life in the shortest possible way sells books and seminars. Sadly, this is not what Scripture teaches us. So, few read the Bible because when they do they are faced with the startling truth of what our real goal for sanctification is: Live it! Here in Romans, Paul relates for us our goal for sanctification. Let’s discover what it means for our lives now and for the future.
READ: Romans 8:18-27
When I was a kid I remember the old commercials that promised us, “Relief is just a swallow away!” We live in a day when people think that medicine and doctors should always cure us and never make mistakes. Major pharmaceutical companies ply their goods on national TV asking the consumer to get their doctor to prescribe the latest miracle cure. In fact, we are so afraid of suffering pain or discomfort, whether emotionally or physically, we will do just about anything to make sure we do not have to face it in our lives. So it comes as a shock to our sensitivities when we read the Apostle Paul telling us that our goal for sanctification is…
I. Christians suffer now, to be free later! (vv. 18-21)
1. What we go through in this life is nothing compared to what we will one day enjoy! Can you imagine that you have just suffered a tremendous personal tragedy and the person you want to talk to about it responds by saying, “I consider that your present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in you one day.” Most of us would be personally hurt and indignant. Yet, this is exactly what Paul tells his fellow Christians in Rome! Why does he do this? Is he intentionally being cruel? NO! Paul reminded them that if they were indeed God’s children, then they would also share in His suffering. The same is true for us as well! We do not want to face this fact as believers, but let me remind you of something: We all will experience suffering in our life because we live in a “frustrated” (sin-fallen) world! Expect it! Bad things happen to good people! But what is more, we will “suffer” for our faith if we are actually living it for the Lord! Jesus related to His followers, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:20-21) However, Paul also tells his readers that Christians will one day have liberation along with all of creation from the bondage of suffering and death when we are “brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God!” WOW! Christians suffer now, to be free later!
EXAMPLE: Anyone who has gone through physical therapy knows that you have to suffer pain in order to regain what you have lost. We often forget that the same can be true for our spiritual lives as well. I remember when my little dog Lucky broke his rear leg. After it healed, the Vet told me to take him out everyday, stretch his leg, and play fetch with him. At first he would cry, whimper, and not really want to play. It was kind of like, he did, but he did not like the pain. After a few weeks however, he was running and jumping like before, the accident and pain forgotten. It can be tough for us to go through suffering either physically or spiritually, but when we do we can never forget that we suffer now, to be free later. It is true with all physical or spiritual therapy.
We have been sold to the concept that pain or suffering is bad, but it is not. Remember way back in Romans 5:3-5 when Paul related that we are to “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us”? Was Paul insane or did he like to experience pain on a personal level? No, Paul was sure of his faith! He knew that this life is but a mere moment in time compared to eternity. A day is coming when all creation will be free of all corruption. A day of redemption and restoration awaits the believer. This is why Paul would continue by relating that our goal for sanctification means that…
II. Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience! (vv. 22-25)
1. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. It has because it has been afflicted with an incurable condition: SIN! If you are sick, hurting, or in pain you often groan and wonder if there could ever be any relief. All of creation is the same, it is seeking relief from its sinful condition! Paul adds something interesting here though. He relates that not only does a sin-fallen creation groan about its condition, 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!” An orphaned child can know they are adopted, but it is not real until their adopted parents come, take them into their arms, love them and take them home! The same is true for the Christian! It is one thing to know you have been redeemed spiritually, but it is a whole different thing to experience it physically! Paul is trying to give the Roman church encouragement. He is telling them that their hope in Jesus is sure and secure: “For in this hope we were saved.” Paul knew that “we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling” (2 Corinthians 5:2). “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal!” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) This is why Paul related “we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans. 8:25) Paul knew that that our goal for sanctification means that Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever hurt yourself, say like smacking your arm or hand and it hurts so much that all you can do is kind of jump around, rub your appendage, and moan a lot? We probably all have. It is kind of funny but usually those around us, when this occurs, try to talk with us to get us to tell them just how bad it really hurts! So there you are, pain gushing up your arm or hand, and someone is asking you, “Does it hurt?” “Where does it hurt?” “How bad does it hurt?” All you can think of at the time is that if God could only silence one of His lambs for just s few seconds so you could suffer in excruciating silence how wonderful it would be! Now, have you ever experienced a “good pain?” When you hit your funny bone, and the pain hurts but it feels good all at the same time? Now why in God’s green earth does that happen? I am not sure but what I am sure of is the fact that Christians inwardly groan now, for what they will one day outwardly experience!
Christians can be frustrated with what life brings their way. Often though, I have discovered that life is usually what we decide to make of it. For the believer prayer must be an intricate part of our lives. If we fail to pray, we will fail to discern God’s desire for our lives. We will miss what God is doing in the midst of our suffering and perhaps the reason why. Yet, Paul teaches us that in this there too is hope. In fact, we discover that our goal for sanctification means that …
III. In all of this, Christians are never alone! (vv. 26-27)
1. Just as we hope for what we do not see, we have someone who helps us -- that we do not see! Paul relates that “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” What weakness would that be? During times of suffering, we may not understand why we are going through what we are. We may become confused as to how we should seek God during these times. Paul says that, often because of our sin condition and the suffering we face, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Jesus promised that “He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13b) We discover that this has nothing to do with praying in tongues, as some would like to suggest. The groaning is done totally by the Holy Spirit, not believers, and is not stated in words we would understand. It is with “with groans that words cannot express.” How is this possible? Paul teaches us that God, “who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” During times of trial we may become totally inadequate to the task set before us, but God has provided for us even during this time! He gives us one who can utter the right word for us at just the right time! The glorious truth is that in our goal for sanctification, in the midst of all this world of suffering, Christians are never alone!
EXAMPLE: A teenage girl told me one time that she was “never going to pray again for anything.” I asked her why. She related that God “never” answered her prayers. So I asked her to relate to me exactly how she prayed to God and perhaps this would give me a clue as to why God seemed like He was not listening. She began, “Oh God, I need You to do this for me…” and continued with “I need this done right away…” which was followed by “Lord, I love You and You know how much I love my boyfriend, so help him to love me more…” It was not hard to discover the focus of her prayer. Then there was the elderly lady who would softly grunt when we prayed together. Not a “yes, Lord” or “Amen,” but grunting. It went something like this: I would pray and she would respond with “Ugh!” “Oh!” “Ah!” “Argh!” I found this to be a little disconcerting until I asked her why. She responded by telling me that she felt it “unnecessary to clutter up God with a lot of words,” that in fact God could understand all her needs just fine even before she prayed them! Prayer may escape us, but God never does! And He listens well. In this life, in that our goal for sanctification, God has someone who already interprets our prayers for us.
Conclusion:
Paul teaches us some wonderful truths concerning our goal for sanctification: Christians suffer now, to be free later; Christians inwardly groan now for what they one day will outwardly experience; and in all of this, Christians are never alone!
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