NOTE: This week we are taking a break from the Hebrews study.
The Sufferings of this Present Time
Romans 8:18-25
(This lesson is adapted from sermons and commentaries by John MacArthur, http://www.gty.org and John Piper, http://www.desiringgod.org)
This week, I was deeply moved by several tragedies that ranged from something I watched on television to something very close to home.
I want to attempt to answer from God’s Word, why do the sufferings of this present time exist?
Romans 8:18-25
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
John Piper describes how he has seen so much suffering and death from cancer and other illnesses during his life and ministry as a pastor and then describes how he wants to deal with it before his church…
What shall we say to these things? Something must be said because sickness and death are threats to faith in the love and power of God. And I regard it as my primary responsibility as a pastor to nourish and strengthen faith in the love and power of God. There is no weapon like the Word of God for warding off threats to faith. And so I want us to listen carefully today to the teaching of Scripture regarding Christ and cancer, the power and love of God over against the sickness of our bodies.
Piper goes on in that sermon to give what he calls his “six affirmations which sum up my theology of sickness.” I want to adapt five of his six affirmations this morning as we look at this passage and what I believe God is saying to us, through His Word, about the sufferings of this present age.
1. All Creation Has Been Subjected to Futility v. 20
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
As part of creation, man is under the righteous sentence of god for our sin. From Genesis chapter three forward, we have rebelled against God and are caught in a loop of futility.
Futility – uselessness as a consequence of having no practical result
“futility” (from Greek) – the idea of being without success, of being unable to achieve a goal or purpose.
John MacArthur – “Because of man’s sin, no part of nature now exists as God intended it to be and as it orginally was.”
Our bodies are subject to this futility as part of creation, because as verse 23 puts it we “groan inwardly” as we wait for the deliverance from our sinful bodies. This futility or the corruption is for us both spiritual and physical. Sin affects our eternal, spiritual destination, but it also affects or afflicts our physical bodies in this present age, ie., the “sufferings” that Paul refers to in verse 18.
2 Corinthians 4:16 – So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
So, “All Creation Has Been Subjected to Futility” including our physical bodies…
2. There is a Day of Deliverance to Come vv. 21, 23
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
The present sufferings of this age will not last for the children of God; for those adopted as his own.
Philippians 3:20-21
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
1 Corinthians 15:52 – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
Revelation 21:4 – He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
The day is coming when there will be no more death and illness; no more suffering and agony of dying.
3. Christ Served as our Redeemer and as our Model v. 24
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
In this regard, John Piper says Jesus Christ came to this earth and died to do three things…
“…to purchase our redemption, to demonstrate the character of that redemption as both spiritual and physical, and to give us a foretaste of it. He purchased our redemption, demonstrated its character, and gave us a foretaste of it.”
1 Peter 2:24 – He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
We may or may not experience the blessing of healing in this life, but, if we serve Him as Lord, we will know those blessings in the life to come. We will be healed. The only question is when?
We must remember that Jesus did not heal everyone that He came in contact with who was sick. He did not raise all the dead. That was not His mission as He walked this earth. Jesus’ mission was to die on the cross purchasing redemption for us who are held captive by the corruption of sin so that we might be ultimately and finally delivered from the affects of our sin.
But, what about those of our day who claim you can be healed now if you simply have enough faith?
John Piper –
God can and does heal the sick now in answer to our prayers. But not always. The miracle mongers of our day, who guarantee that Jesus wants you well now and heap guilt after guilt on the back of God’s people asserting that the only thing between them and health is unbelief, have failed to understand the nature of God’s purposes in this fallen age. They have minimized the depth of sin and the cruciality of God’s purifying chastening and the value of faith through suffering and they are guilty of trying to force into this age what God has reserved for the next.
We must remember that the deliverance of Christ came only at His death and He is our modeling in how we should live this life. He is our redeemer and our model.
This next point is very difficult…
4. God Uses All Suffering for the Good of His People v. 20
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
We go back to verse 20 and see something revealing that we skipped over. Who subjected creation to futility?
If God is truly sovereign, then He controls who gets sick and who gets well, but this is not some arbitrary decision on His part. God does this for the good of His children. It can and is painful. It may be prolonged. But, it is in His plan for the good of His people.
Look at a couple of passages that show us this principle…
Exodus 4:11 (God speaking to Moses after he did not want to go speak to Pharaoh)
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Deuteronomy 32:39 – See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
Yes, Satan is our enemy, but he operates only by the permission of God. You will recall that Job recognized that God brought both the blessing and allow the suffering in his life. In Job 2:10, Scripture acknowledges the fact that it is no sin to attribute this suffering to God’s hand even though Satan may be it’s immediate cause.
Hebrews 12:5-11
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
God uses all our sickness, persecution and sufferings to bring us toward holiness and cause us to rely on Him, the only One who can ultimately deliver us.
Romans 8:28 – “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”
God Uses All Suffering for the Good of His People…
5. We Should Pray for Healing Power and Always Trust the Goodness of His Sustaining Grace vv. 18, 25
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Many Christians ask the question, if God is ultimately in control of what happens, what should I pray for someone to be healed?
John Piper -
…we should therefore pray for God’s help both to heal and to strengthen faith while we are unhealed. It is fitting that a child ask his father for relief in trouble. And it is fitting that a loving Father give his child only what is best. And that he always does: sometimes healing now, sometimes not. But always, always what is best for us.
We do not always know what is best for us. We do not know what is for our ultimate good. But, we should know that there is One who does know and that’s why we go to Him. You may remember from 2 Corinthians, chapter 12 that Paul prayed to God three times for “a thorn in his flesh” to be removed, but God did not grant him that prayer. Instead, the Lord assured him that His grace and power would be sufficient to carry Paul through that suffering and to enable him to accomplish what God had set before him.
As verse 18 of Romans 8 tells us, there is something to come beyond the sufferings of this present time that will make them insignificant by comparison. God will reveal His glory to us in full and all the sufferings and the memory of those sufferings will rush away from our minds. Until then, as verse 25 tells us, we wait for that sure hope with patience. Patience that doesn’t come from ourselves, but comes from the goodness of God and His all sufficient, sustaining grace.
I want us to go back to Romans 8 and finish that chapter as a reminder of God’s love and grace that will sustain us through the sufferings of this present age and allow us to comfort those brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering even today.
Romans 8:26-39
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
