Romans 8:23
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Good evening, Third. Tonight's passage will be found in Romans chapter 8, verse 23. And on your pew Bibles, that'll be on page 944. So my wife's name is Hannah, and when we started dating, one of the things that we like to do was go on sunrise walks. And when we started dating, it was like the middle of March, And so it was cold, and I was not at all a morning person.
So actually getting up to do these things was really tough. But we did it anyway. We got up way before dawn, obviously, and we would drive to the walking bridge. That's where we like to go a lot of the time. And we would sit there, and we would shiver, and we would wait. Because we knew that when the sun came up, it was going to be worth it. and eventually it would crest, and it would reflect off of the river, and it was a really beautiful sight. So the shivering, and the cold, and the dark was worth it, because the sun eventually rose. So we're in Romans 8 and verse 23, and I'm going to start reading in verse 22 just for a little bit of context. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies. I think the main idea of our passage tonight is rejoice that your redemption is secured and long for your redemption to be completed. Rejoice that your redemption is secured and long for your redemption to be completed. And I'm essentially going to split that main idea right in half and that's going to be our two points for this evening. So point number one, rejoice in redemption secured. Number two, long for redemption completed. Number one, rejoice and redemption secured. So we're dropping right in the middle of Romans 8, a passage that I trust is very familiar to many of you. In our section, Paul personifies creation. Creation is groaning for something. And in verse 19 of Romans 8, we found out what that is. It's groaning for the revealing of the sons of God, particularly on the last day. You see, when Adam and Eve sinned, it wasn't just
people that were cursed, but creation itself. And so it was subjected to futility, and it itself has pains, and it has groanings. But when Jesus comes back, we know that creation itself will be restored. And so creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God, because it also will find redemption. It will be restored when Christ comes back to claim his people. Now getting to our verse, it's not only creation that groans, but we also groan. And we'll talk about the groaning and the waiting in a few minutes, but I don't want to skip over that little phrase about the first fruits. What are they, and why do we have them? Well, the first fruits, in a sense, are all of the gifts that we have now because we've been united to Jesus Christ. They are the supernatural gifts that we are given because the spirit now resides in us. Now I'm not going to name all of them but I
will mention a few. One we have repentance. Before we were saved we were not able to see the goodness of God and the badness to ourselves but now since we are saved and we have the spirit to an extent we are able to see those things and because we have the spirit we're also able to turn away from our sin and to God and run to him and put off sin and put on Christ. Without repentance, we don't have any of that. We are able to say no to sin now. Another thing we have is love, specifically for the Lord and for the church.
Before we were saved, we hated God. Even if we weren't protesting at churches or making fun of Christians to their faces all the time, we ruled the throne of our hearts, and God did not. And in that sense, we declared war against him because we loved our sin. But being united to Christ, we now have a growing love for him, for his ways, for the gospel, for the church. We do not love the Lord and his church without being saved by Christ first. The third thing, the last thing I'll mention here, is that we have hope. You know, I wondered why Paul mentioned at all that we have these first fruits. Because it could have, this verse could have seamlessly been written as not only the creation, but we ourselves grown inwardly as we wait eagerly, and so on. But remember, in this passage of scripture, Paul has been talking about suffering. And so by giving this little,
by putting in this little phrase about the first fruits, it seems like he's giving us a little glimmer of light, a little glimmer of hope in a passage that's dark. And our hope in having these first fruits is that Jesus is coming back to claim his people and to take us home. Our hope is that all wrongs will one day be made right. That is the future hope that we have as Christians. And why do we have these first fruits?
It's because Jesus Christ came down from heaven. He lived the life that we should have lived and died the death that we deserve to die. And on the third day, the Lord raised him from the grave. And now Christ sits seated at the right hand of God waiting for the day that he comes back to take his people home with him forever. Because of the work of salvation, because it was completed by the perfect son of God, Our hope of redemption and glory is perfectly and eternally secure.
That's point number one. Point number two, long for redemption completed. God's people are currently in a state of groaning. And when we think of groaning, often what we think about is simply complaining. It's too hot outside. The traffic is taking forever. The guy preaching right now is way too short for this pulpit, but that's not what Paul is talking about. That's not what Paul is talking about when he talks about groaning. The groaning mentioned in Romans 8.23 recognizes that the world is broken and that we feel those effects. In fact, in a sense, All people, saved or not, feel these effects.
All people groan, saved or not, but very differently. See, unbelievers, the end of their groaning is simply despair. Life hurts, and it's hard, and that's it. That's the end of it. But for Christians, it's very different. Our groaning is meant to drive us to Jesus because he's the one who will one day make everything back to the way it should be.
We see all the same wrongs as unbelievers do. We see the hurricanes and the tornadoes and illness and shootings and betrayal and apostasy and affairs and abuse and depression, but it's meant to drive us to our knees and call out, Lord Jesus, come quickly and take us home. Our groaning drives us to Christ, who will restore all that has been corrupted by sin. Friend, it is okay to feel sad about the world's brokenness.
It's okay to acknowledge that things aren't right. It's okay to pray these things to your heavenly Father. And if you need proof in the Bible, look at the Psalms. The Psalms are full of authors with grieving hearts who make those sad, raw, emotional prayers made known to God. When sin and suffering afflict you, Pray sad prayers to God, cry out to him, groan to him. He doesn't want you to walk around with false happiness. If someone you know falls really ill and it's terminal, or if there's death, or if you found out that your spouse has been committing adultery, he's not expecting you to just walk around with a false smile on your face. Come to the Lord with your anguish and your tears and trust
that he is doing a good work in the midst of it all because he is. Someday he will make all things right but until then groan and pray earnestly for that day. Christians are not only characterized though by groaning but also as eager waiters and what and for what we'll look at our text adoption as sons in the redemption of our bodies now there is a sense in which we are already already adopted but not fully in the spring of 2019 I was I got a letter that said that I was accepted into Boyce College, and I was able to enroll for classes, and so technically I wasn't a student, but I still wasn't allowed in the dorms. I wasn't allowed to eat in the cafeteria. I wasn't
allowed to attend classes yet, and I wouldn't be able to do that until August. That's when I would be a full student involved in everything, and similarly, we are legally adopted as children of God the gavels come down and the paperwork has been signed but we don't yet have the full range of benefits as children of God and we don't get that until we go home with him forever and the text says though that we should be waiting for that day but not just waiting waiting eagerly longing for that day and why do we wait why why is that important because it's vital waiting is vital for enduring suffering now with hope with no light at the end of a dark tunnel it gets really hard to keep going down that tunnel
But if we remind ourselves that this isn't forever, that the groanings that we feel today will cease, it helps to keep us going. Are you waiting eagerly for adoption and redemption? Do you think about these things often? Or do you find yourself being distracted by the busyness of your own life? many of us are busy and it's understandable we have jobs to worry about we have kids to worry about we have a lot of church functions to go to and the reality is at the same time that what dominates our hearts and minds exposes what it is that we truly prioritize waiting is hard for busy people waiting is also hard for those who are in a season where they're not suffering very much a lot of the time. And don't get me wrong, that's a good gift from the Lord. If life is easier for
you right now, praise the Lord for that. But there is a danger in getting so content with life right now that you hardly think about eternity at all. If this is you, I think that you should get to know more members at Third Avenue. I think you should spend a lot of time with them, and here's why. When you truly get to know a person, including all of their hurt, all of their baggage, you, as a Christian, have a responsibility to bear their burdens and their sorrows.
You will feel some of the weight of their suffering upon yourself. And when you feel that weight, you will be reminded that the world is not as it should be. And that will help your mind also look forward to eternity when all wrongs will be righted. The promises of eternity will weigh more heavily on your heart. You cry out along with your brother and sister for Christ to come back and to make his redemption final.
So, get to know your brothers and sisters. Cry with them, groan with them, and wait with them. you know the thing about sunrises is that eventually they have to set again and it gets dark again and it gets cold but when the sun rises on glorious redemption it will never set again we will be with god in all of his radiance in all of his glory forever. On that day, our adoption will be completed, and we will finally be home.
Friend, that day is not here yet, but it's coming. And until then, groan for it, long for it, wait for it with hope. Let's pray. Father, I pray that eternity and the promises that you have given us would constantly be on our minds. I pray that that would help us to wait and to groan rightly now, but not without hope.
Lord, I pray that we as a church would lift one another up and that those who are suffering would be encouraged that these things will not last forever, that you will come back and you will claim your people. Father, I pray that we would wait eagerly for that day. And it's in the name of Jesus that I pray. Amen.