SERMON TITLE: The Assurance of Glory
TEXT: Romans 8:18 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 7/25-26/20
You can watch the sermon here.
It’s great to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshipping with us in person at one of our Findlay campuses or are worshipping with us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
And we’re continuing our journey in the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to Christians living in the city of Rome. We’ve been going through this letter for a few years now — looking at a few chapters at a time — then taking a break from it to go and explore other books in the Bible.
And our text for today is going to be Romans chapter 8 — verse 18. So if you have your Bible please turn with me to Romans chapter 8. We’ll be looking at just one verse today — verse 18.
And while you’re finding our verse — here’s what’s coming up over the next few weeks. A little over a month ago — Pastor Ben Borsay — our founding pastor — and Shaun Meloy — our worship director — began a series on our church mission and values. Well — for the next 3 weeks — we’re going to finish that series. Pastor Robert — along with Scott Miller — one of our Life Group coaches — and Cody Ohnmeiss — our Local Go director — the three of them will be finishing up the series by preaching on our values of Connect, Serve, and Go. So there’s a snapshot of what to expect in the coming weeks.
And now let’s look at the words found in Romans chapter 8. Verse 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.” (Romans 8:18 ESV)
So we’ve got two obstacles to overcome in order to get to the glorious reason for us to have joy — in all circumstances — that our verse is wanting to lead us to today.
The first obstacle is the suffering we see and experience in our lives and world. Now we briefly talked about suffering last week — but we’re going to look at it more closely today. But when it comes to suffering — how many of you have ever heard — or maybe you’ve asked the question, “If God is good and loving and all powerful, well why is there suffering in the world?” This has been an argument against the existence of God for a long time. Because — as the argument goes — suffering proves that either God is good, but not all powerful OR that God is all powerful, but not good. Because if he is good and all powerful — they conclude — suffering and all kinds of evil — in fact — wouldn’t exist.
Now if you’re listening to me — and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — this may be the kind of argument you have against the God of the Bible. Because of suffering in your life — you may think, “See, the Christian God — if he does exist — he isn’t good — at least not to me. Look at all that I’ve been through.” Now if this is you — I hope you’ll stick with me and see that our present sufferings in no way discount the goodness, and kindness, and faithfulness of God — even his goodness and kindness and faithfulness towards you. I hope to take your eyes off of the suffering that you see and experience and instead show you the One who loves you so much that he suffered for you — so you might experience his goodness and kindness and faithfulness that you may be dismissing too quickly.
But I can sympathize with you. I mean — even for the Christian — if we were to base our theology solely on what our eyes can see — we’d probably come to the same conclusion. In fact, if we’re not careful — it’s easy for us Christians to despair as we look around us and — it’s easy to see, isn’t it — that suffering is everywhere. And it’s tempting — even for the believer — to wonder, “Does God even care” — which is to doubt his goodness. Or to wonder, “Can God do anything about all of this suffering” — which is to doubt his omnipotence — him being all powerful.
So that’s our first obstacle.
The second obstacle we have to overcome is our boring view of eternity. If you pay attention to our culture, you’ll notice that heaven is going to be an incredibly boring place. If eternity were a movie, it’s the credits at the end — and there’s not even a cool end of credit’s scene like in the Marvel movies. And this leads many people to believe that the adventure — the climax of life — is right here right now. So we better make the most of life — now — and live life to the fullest. Because this is it — meaning and purpose — are now or never.
Now — to be sure — life in the present is important. It does have meaning. But where the thinking of our day misses the mark is in its view that eternity is going to be an incredibly boring time. This may be how you view Heaven — even if you’re a Christian you may not be looking forward to your eternity very much. You do wonder if it’s going to be boring or maybe even a little restraining — where you’ll feel like you’re trapped in boredom forever.
But — in fact — Heaven is going to make this life seem like the end of movie credits — the life we’re living now are end credits that got put on the front end of the movie. But this thinking of our day — that eternity will be boring — makes it tempting to do whatever makes us feel good now — because — this is it. But in living this way, many miss out on the life they’re wanting to experience — as they try to find fulfillment in life through a terribly poor substitution — a life that’s marked by suffering.
Others of us may look at Heaven and our eternity and become anxious — because — well if this world is so much trouble — who knows if things won’t get screwed up in Heaven too. I mean Adam and Eve had it pretty good and they managed to mess that up. So maybe we’ll be able to mess Heaven up and find a way to bring conflict and brokenness into our eternity. Take unbelievers out of the equation and look at how great of a job we Christians do at showing the world how to love each other — how to be patient with each other — how to persevere and not allow our differences to cause us to go our separate ways. Why should we expect that we’ll get along in Heaven when we often don’t get along now?
Now the reason we should have hope — in spite of what our eyes see — is because the Bible shows us that Heaven is going to be so much better than anything we could ever experience now. One reason is that our eternity will not be under the influence of sin — which is the curse we all find ourselves living under now. And — as Christians — we’re to be living in the present while looking ahead to our glorious future. And — as we do so — our present sufferings are put in their proper place. For our sufferings won’t last forever — our eternity will be full of joy and the goodness of God and delighting in his presence — a future we have a hard time even imagining because of our familiarity with suffering and sorrow in our lives.
So let’s acknowledge that we have these two obstacles and look at both more closely as we move forward — stepping towards the joy set before us — the assurance of our eternityin glory with Christ forever.
Let’s begin by looking at our present sufferings more closely and acknowledge that they are real and they can be devastating. Back to our verse. Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 ESV)
Suffering. What a cheery topic, right? “Oh yes, the preacher is talking about suffering today!” On suffering — it’s been said that, “Wisdom comes through suffering.” (Aeschylus) That nugget comes from the sixth century BC — over 2500 years ago — which tells us that we humans have been wrestling with suffering for a long time. It’s also been said that, “No one is ever holy without suffering.” (Evelyn Waugh) That quote is from the 20th century.
Now our verse — verse 18 — is a turning point in our chapter. It introduces a few ideas that Paul’s going to expound on in the rest of this chapter — and suffering is one of those themes. When we come back to our chapter — in a few weeks — we’ll discover that all of creation — not just humanity — but all of creation is suffering because of our sin. Paul writes, “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” (Romans 8:20-22, NLT)
I’m sure you know the lyrics to a song that describes what Paul is saying about the suffering of creation. Christian or not — “Joy to the world, the Lord has come, Let earth receive her King. Let every heart, prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing.” Nature is singing because the Lord has come. “While fields and floods, rocks hills and plains. Repeat the sounding joy.” Nature is singing and praising God. Why? “No more let sins and sorrows grow. Nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow. Far as the curse is found.” The Lord has come to reverse the curse of sin. And the curse is found in all of creation — not just in humanity. Thus all of creation is groaning and suffering as it experiences the curse of our sin.
Now the man writing our letter knows a thing or two — or three — about suffering. He’s not writing about a topic he has no experience with. In another church — some folks were trying to gain influence and authority by calling Paul’s authority into question. At one point in his letter to the church, he writes, “Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. 28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? 30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-33 NLT)
And Paul calls all of that reason to boast. All of that suffering is reason for him to boast because it’s an opportunity for him to point people to his Good and All Powerful God and Savior. But — man —he faced some suffering, didn’t he? Have any of us been imprisoned because of our faith in Christ? Been whipped and beaten and stoned and left for dead? Or been trapped — with people wanting to get to you — most likely to kill you — and the best option was to be lowered out of the building in a basket? Paul knows a few things about suffering.
And he tells us that these present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that’s to be revealed to us. As he says — later in our chapter — “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Romans 8:35-37, NLT) These present sufferings can be endured — persecution and even death because of our faith in Christ —can be faced with confidence because we look through them to the One who loves us. And when we look to Christ — there’s no comparison between him and his love for us and our sufferings — because we see that his love for us meant suffering on his part — his murder on a cross.
In another letter Paul describes his life in this way. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-12, NLT) And a few verses later he writes, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NLT)
He calls being hunted down — and other such sufferings and present troubles — he calls them small and temporary and — yet — glory producing in the lives of those who follow Jesus. Because our eyes see through these sufferings to the hope set before us — things we can’t see clearly now — but will see and experience for all eternity.
I think of our brothers and sisters — around the world — who endure hardships and persecutions and even face death when they gather together to worship the same Savior we worship. On Palm Sunday — in 2017 — ISIS carried out multiple separate attacks on churches in Egypt resulting in 94 deaths and 252 individuals being injured. Two months later, Open Doors — an organization that supports persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries — interviewed a Christian leader living in Egypt. The first question asked was, “How is the church in Egypt recovering from the ISIS terror attacks...on Palm Sunday?” The answer, “We haven’t recovered. At the same time there is a lot of talk about forgiveness and loving our enemies.” Then they asked, “What do you see God doing in the aftermath of these tragic events?” Listen to the reply — and keep in mind the suffering that would’ve been recently experienced by these Christians in Egypt and the uncertainty if more attacks would come. Here’s the reply to “What do you see God doing in the aftermath of these tragic events?” “It has never been so clear and so open for the church to share the gospel...God is revealing his love to the people of Egypt. Pain and agony are like seeds — growing up through the soil of our country to produce the fruit of the gospel. God is using these events — that Satan meant for destruction — as the greatest gospel platform in Egypt’s history.”
It’s been said that “We all live and move and have our being amid Eden’s wreckage. Affliction and evil — universal as they are real — haunt us, stalk us, plague us.” (Original author unknown.) Part of living in Eden’s wreckage is seeing God’s people part ways instead of working at living at peace with one another.
But even then we Christians don’t despair as we live in Eden’s wreckage. We have hope because we have a future that is glorious. Though our present sufferings are real and can be devastating, Paul reminds us of the hope we have — a hope that’s lacking in the thinking and ways of the world around us. And — as one pastor has said — “We will not understand our suffering without understanding what is waiting for us in eternity.” (John Piper)
So let’s return to our verse and turn our focus on what is waiting for us in eternity. Verse 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.” (Romans 8:18 ESV)
Now earlier I told you that this verse of ours is a turning point in the chapter. We saw how it introduces the theme of suffering — which we’re going to look at again when we come back to this chapter in a few weeks. But our verse also introduces the theme of glory — of the promised eternity for God’s people.
The idea of glory is spoken of about creation — which now is suffering with us — but creation — Paul says — is waiting to “be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21b, ESV) And in what is known as the Golden Chain of Salvation — Paul writes, “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.” (Romans 8:28-30, ESV) Paul says that those God has predestined — if you follow the links in the chain — will be called. Those called will be justified. And those justified will be glorified. The point — for now — is that those who believe in Jesus will be glorified — they will be given eternal sinless bodies as they live in the presence of their sinless Savior for all eternity. But predestination will have to wait until next year when we return to this chapter.
But Paul — in our verse — calls it the “glory that is to be revealed to us.” A future glory. For we Christians — along with all of creation — are waiting and hoping for the culmination of God’s plan and purpose to be fully realized. Thus — if you feel the tension of living in this present world of suffering — while holding on to the hope of an eternity without suffering — know that the incompleteness of life now will be overcome when Christ returns.
And we’re to wait with patience. Yearning and groaning for the brokenness caused by sin to be over. Waiting with patience — but with eagerness — for our future won’t be boring — it will be glorious.
And though it’s hard to imagine what our eternity will be like — Scripture does tell us what we are waiting for — what we’re to be eagerly anticipating. If our eternity is the movie — and not the boring credits — well here’s the sneak preview.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega — the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children… 22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty — but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life… 1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. 3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there — no need for lamps or sun — for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21:1-7, 22-27; 22:1-5 NLT)
And speaking of the Lord — also known as the Lamb who was slain — the One who is our sinless Savior — he suffered. And it’s through his suffering that we have this glorious future guaranteed to us. An eternity — not of despair — but of glory. No other religion has an answer that brings comfort to the discouraged and suffering soul because no other religion offers the true and everlasting hope of the gospel. That the God who is good and all powerful entered into the wreckage of Eden to bring hope and to begin the restoration of all things. Hope — that again — comes through him — our God and Savior’s personal suffering. Thus in our suffering we can trust him because Jesus came to suffer and be wounded and — ultimately — to be killed so that by his wounds we — and God’s creation — might be healed in our future glory. As a minister — who lived in England during World War 1 poetically wrote — “But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.” (Jesus of the Scars by Edward Shillito.) No other person or thing we can put our hope in — nothing else we can live for — can both understand what it means to suffer and provide a hope beyond our suffering — except Jesus Christ. For he is God who became man — to offer healing to our wounds through the suffering he endured — in love — for us.
Now — before we close our time together — I want to offer some resources to you if you’re wanting to explore either of these obstacles in more depth. First, two books by the same author. The author is Randy Alcorn. And the two books are If God is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil and the second book is simply titled Heaven — which I’ve found to be the best book on the subject. A book — by a different author — on suffering that I’d recommend is Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller. And another book on living now — in light of eternity — is Future Grace by John Piper. Links to all of these books are in my manuscript which you can find on our app and on our website.
If you’re the Christian who’s been wondering if the suffering you’re experiencing is because God is mad at you — or is about to reject you — know that isn’t the case. God loves you — you are his child through your faith in Christ. And know that whatever suffering you’re experiencing isn’t because he rejects you or thinks you're worthless. Suffering is a result of living in a sin stained world. Suffering is a result of living in the movie credits, but know that the real movie — life without suffering — is yours through your faith in Christ.
And if you’re someone who’s viewed Heaven as a potentially boring place — I mean — you’re glad you’ll be there — it’s better than the other option — but thinking about eternity in Heaven has felt a bit claustrophobic to you — know that Heaven is going to be the first taste of freedom you’ve ever experienced. For it will be the place where you finally experience happiness and full satisfaction in life — in communion with him and in community with others who are experiencing the presence of their God and finding deep soul satisfying joy in him every day — forever. Joy is coming for God’s people.
And for those of us who wonder if — maybe we’ll find a way to screw Heaven up like Adam and Eve did in the Garden. Know that as we pass through death and into the presence of our God — all of our imperfections and sinful desires will be cleansed from us and we will enter into Heaven in perfected bodies with wills and desires perfectly aligned with God. No Tempter to lure us into believing his lies — for he will be cast into Hell forever. So know with certainty that you won’t screw Heaven up. And though we can’t grasp what it will mean to live in a sin free eternity with sin free bodies among others who are sin free — that is our future hope and glory. This is our future assurance that Jesus has guaranteed for his people. What a gift to us. What a hope set before us. And now — our mission — is to live our present lives with our future glory in mind. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of our future glory. Help us to read and study your Word so we view our eternity for what it will really be — more exciting and glorious than we can imagine — instead of falling for the lies of our culture that make Heaven out to be a boring place. Help us to long for — and anticipate — our eternity with you.
Jesus, thank you for being our Suffering Servant of a Savior. For our hope — in our sufferings — is that you both understand our pain, but have also promised that all things are being made new. And one day suffering will be no more. And amazingly — you’ve guaranteed this promise to your people through your own suffering on the cross. What love you have for us. What assurance this gives to your people.
And Holy Spirit, help us to look at our present sufferings and see them for what they are. Incredibly hard. Difficult. Painful. But temporary. Help us to not only see them, but to see through them to our promised glorious future. Help us to not be bogged down by them nor to ignore them. But to suffer as those who have hope — who have assurance — who worship a God who is good and all powerful. Keep our eyes fixed on our Savior and increase our joy and delight in him even as we suffer. And we pray all of these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May you go looking to the glory that is before you — through your faith in Christ — even as you walk in present sufferings. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
You can find the notes for this sermon here.
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