Today we are finishing chapter 8 of the book of Romans. We are pretty much right in the middle of the letter. Today we going to continue to talk about hardships and sufferings a little bit more. Last Sunday Matt gave us a good start and we are about to pick up where we left it. But before we will do that I would like to briefly go over things that we already learned so far.
Going through the book of Romans we are exploring some very important truth about our life as followers of Christ. We are solidifying or reinforcing the foundation so to speak. Deepening our roots in the Lord. Which is very important life long process. That insures that even in the middle of the worst storms we have something to cling to. That no matter how hard the wind blows, it will not be able to root us out.
Overview
The letter starts from teaching us that all people are guilty of sin. It is universal problem for every single one of us regardless of our nation, level of well being or social status. We also learned that justification comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and faith alone. It is not something anyone can earn by doing or not doing things. Justification is the result of God’s grace. We also learned that abundance of God’s grace is not a license to sin. We die to sin and raise for newness of life when we get baptized into Christ Jesus. But being born again is not the end. It’s not the final destination. No, it’s more of a starting point where our race begin.
Difficulties are normal
And in the chapter 7 Bible teaches us that the hardships and difficulties, troubles and confrontation is a normal part of life of a Christian. When we face difficulties, temptation or desece it doesn’t mean that God is not with us, that we are bad follower. It doesn’t not indicates our lack of faith or that we are not born again at all, as some people actually state. That’s not how it is and bible does not teach about it.
Groaning
We live in a broken world. We live in a world that apposes God and everyone of God. We live in our mortal bodies, which has not been “glorified” yet. They are still imperfect and susceptible to the temptations, sin and decease. Last week we talked how all creation is groaning and we ourselves groan waiting for God’s kingdom to come in full. Waiting to be glorified with Jesus. The battle is not over for us, not yet. And we do find ourselves in the mids of storm time to time. And It is ok.
Off guard
Sometimes we find ourselves strong and capable. But other times it catches us “off guard”. Life kicks us when we are already down.
I don’t know if you ever find yourself in a position when you are so crushed that you can’t even get a word out. Your completely wiped out. You can’t pray, can’t cry, can’t hope. You just sit and stair into oblivion.
Some uber spiritual people say that it never happen if you a real one. I don’t really belive that, I will dare to say it does. Bible doesn’t say that we will never be down. What it promises though is that we will never be left alone in our difficulties.
Romans 8:26,27
²⁶Likewise 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.²⁷And 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.
The good news it that Holy Spirit, that lives in us, helps us in our weakness.
No strength
The Greek word used for weakness is “ἀσθένεια” (astheneia) - comes from “ἀ” (a = without) + “σθένος” (sthenos = strength), so it literally means “without strength”.
Spirit of God helps us when we are without strength. God doesn’t sit on his throne watching us struggle and then crossing out our name saying “oh, well… oh, well… that one was not strong enough…”. No, God is loving father. God is on our side. And when we fall short. When we don’t even know what to pray for, how to pray. When we can’t even tell what would be God’s will in the situation. Then Spirit of God himself intercedes for us.
Not bad christian
If you find yourself at the point of “no strength”. It doesn’t meant that you are a bad Christian. That you didn’t read you bible enough. It doesn’t mean that You didn’t fasted enough. That You didn’t pray enough. It doesn’t meant that God is angry with you. But you can be certain that God is there, with you. As Spirit intercedes for you, on your behalf.
Spirit knows
And unlike us, Spirit always know how to pray. Spirit knows our heart and knows the will of God for the concrete situation. As verse 27 indicates. And it doesn’t matter weather our weakness has physical, emotional, spiritual or intellectual nature Spirit of God, that lives in us, still understands what we feel and what we need.
Bad things happen
“Bad Things Happen To Good People” it a common phrase. And there is even a book under the same name. And more often then not bad things and decease is not the consequences of good people’s sin, lack faith, or perhaps not being a real christian at all. Usually, it’s much simpler that that. It is because we still live in the broken world and not everything that happens to us is good. But God can turn all things to work together for good, for those who love Him.
Romans 8:28-30
²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.²⁹For 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.³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Not everything that you are going through is good. Not every event in your life caused by God. Sometimes we suffer because of our own fullishness. Sometimes it is the result of someone elses fulishness. Or very possible it’s just injustes off life. Or million of other possible causes.
Example
As some of you know before coming to Georgia, me and my family worked as a missionaries in Armenia. We did some good work. And there were definetely a fruit, good fruite. Looking back I can say that it was good, fruitfull ministry. But one day it so happened that we could not return there anymore. Door was closed. Unexpectedly.
Was it good? No.
But God turned it into good. Into many good things actually. Among which, we prayed and followed Him to Batumi. And we are not only are honered to be a part of God’s work in this place. But also, witness other people being blessed through that work.
Sometimes we go through finincial crisis. But God uses this opportunity to teach us to be content with what we have. Sometimes we go through relationship problem. And God uses that to teach us to love and forgive, to be patient.
No matter what life throughs at us, when we are with God. He can make it work in conjunction with all othere things in our life for our good, for our benefit. He can make it work according to his perpose.
God have a plan
Because those who love God, the are actually called to His perpose. God have a plan for us. And verse 29 reviles it to us. It says that God’s perpose for us is to be like Jesus. That’s the end gaol. To be confirmed to His image.
Our race begin from being born again. But we do not just run for the sake of running. We are advancing(or at least we should) twords the goal. And little by little God shapes us. Even in the mids of troubles, utilizing every oportunity to help us. To shape us more and more into the image of His Son.
He helps us in our suffering. Giving us strength to push through when we are at the point of “no strength”. Minwhile using this as the apportunity to shape us a little bit more. Confirming to the image of His son.
So, those who love God, are called by God.
Foreknew
Verse 29 says “He foreknew”. God doesn’t need anyone to tell him, that you love him. You don’t have belong to a specific nation. You don’t have to come to a specific building, like a temple. He just knows. He “foreknew”.
You also cannot lie to God. You can fool a person. But you cannot outsmart Him. He know wether you really love Him or just following tradition. He is the one who searches the hearts.
People can outsmart the system and pass an exam, a tests. And Get a jobs they are not quolified for. Man can trick a women to belive that they really love ’em when they actually not and other way around. I saw how people outsmart themselves! But it is not going to cut it with God. There is no amount of retuals you can do, words you can say to fool God.
If you are in the Church today out of a sheer habbit it is not gonna pass. God knows those who love Him. He Foreknew
Predestened
Next verse 29 says that they are predestened, and this word can be misleading. We will live the arguments for the other day. In the context of the letter - it simply means that from the beginning that was the plan. And I do mean THE BEGINNING. From the very beginning God’s plan for us was to grow into or confirm, become like an image of Jesus Christ. To become his sons and daughters. To be adopted into His family.
From the beginning God have a plan for us or in other words He predestened those who love him
Justified
Next point is that those who love God are justified by God. We talked about it many times now. Justification by faith, and faith alone. Apart from works, apart from national factor. Apart from anything else but the faith in Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to do extra steps to be justified. You don’t need circumcision. You don’t need law keeping. It is a free gift by grace.
Glorified
And the last stop is that they are glorified by God. You are new creation in Christ Jesus.
📖 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
What ever was in the past. Will stay in the past. You were brought from death to life. We expiriance radical transformation by the power of the Spirit. It is a foreshadow a hint, firstfruite of a future glorification that is promised to us. And also it is a promise that God will not give up on us.
Recap
God knows us. For real. Not only he knows wether you love him in your heart. But, he also know YOU. Like no one else does. He aware of what’s your going through. Your emotions and struggles. He have plan for you. Perfect plan. Plan in which all things work together for your good. He chose you. And he will help every step of the way. God not gonna give up on you in the mids of trouble. He justified and glorified you, and that is only a beginning.
Romans 8:31-36
³¹What 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?³³Who 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.³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?³⁶As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Climax
We come to the climax of todays passage. Point of hope and motivation.
God is for us
- God is for us - this is something we should engrave in our brain. Becouse sometimes we just can’t truly belive that. Especially at the times when we fall. When we do a wrong thing. And immidiately we look at God as if he is against us. No, GOD IS FOR US. In the mids of troubles God is for us. In the mids of decese - God is for us. In the mids of chrisis - God is for us. He is on our side!
Give all things
- God not gonna give up on us. He not gonna live us mid way, because we are too weak, too slow, too… I don’t even know what, you name it…No way. There is no way he will do that! He already gave His Son for us. There is no way He will leave it at that.
Example
Last week I’ve been fixing our teeny tiny room in our apartment. I had to do it because paint on the walls have seen a better days. There were painting done by our kids when there were too small to understand that the wall is not the surface to try your new pan on. Fingerprints, footprints proboly headprints as well. Holes and cracks. You get the idea.
And our apartment is fairly small. So I can’t just take everything our of the room and work. I had to push things around - sofa, shelves boxes and stuff. Walls had to be cleanned first, many hours and a lot of sweat went that way. Then wholes and cracks had to be patched. Then I realized that I have to remove some more shelves and stuff to get to all places that need work. Once that done. I had to mask all the surfaces I really don’t want painted with masking tape. And hit all the wall with a coat of primer.
All of that truly hard work is on top of all the regular activities and the ministries we have during the week, and our schedule is pretty full as is. All that to say that by the end I was extremely exosted. I became grumpy and snappy. If you know what I mean. So much so that my wife told me “Just live it as is”. Because my condition started to affect the whole family in a bad way.
But I thought to myself. No way. I did all this hard work. And what left is reletevly easy and actually feels the most rewording. No way I’m stopping now. All hard work is already done.
I was not ready to give up on my work when it is merely finished. After I did the hard part.
Even more so God not gonna give up on us:
Philipians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
We have Father and the Son on our side and nothing can get inbetween us.
In the day of the Paul. Jews were put out of synagoge for their faith in Jeus Christ. Which was a very big deal. Not only they were considered cut out of people of Israel, but also cut out of God. No social justice. Nothing. They were considered durt that you shake off your shues.
As for Gentiles some Jews probobly were saying that they are have never been born again because they are not Israelites. Planting confusion, doubts and the seeds of fear in the hearts of those people.
Plus all the persecution form the Roman authorities.
If you read Acts you can see kind of things Paul had to go through. But what does he say. He says:
Romans 8:37-39
³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,³⁹nor 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.
In our harships God is with us. Jesus already holds ultimate vicotry. And there is nothing out there we should be afraid of. Because nono of those things, even though they are not just minor inconvinience, they are a real deal. They still cannot separate us form the love of God. No spiritual power, not Even death.
In fact it’s in the middle of the hardships often we feel the most of God’s love. The most of His presentce.
Recap
Whatever circumstances you are going through are not nesseserily indicators of your spiritual condition. Bad things happend to good people. But we should remember that God is on our side. He knows we love Him. He cares for us. He makes everything work together for our good according to his plan.
And therefore there is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing that can separate uf form God’s love. He will not give up on us, but will perfect until the day of Christ Jesus.
Outro
If today you are going through physicaly, emotinoaly or spiritualy dificulties. I want to you know that God is with you. Spirit interceeds for you even when you have “no strength”. If you want prayer come and see me after the service and we will pray together.