Patient Hope

Romans 8:23-25 ESV

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.

Today we continue our series of messages outlining Romans, chapter 8, verses 18-30, and today what we are going to be looking at from our reading is the subject of biblical hope, and the patience that is required in order to possess this biblical hope.

Now, I know that patience is something that everybody says that they don’t have enough of and that they wished that they had more of, and furthermore, patience is something that everybody says that when it is tried, whatever the situation is that they have to endure is never an easy one to endure.

It kind of reminds me of a time this past winter when my car was in the shop.

This past winter I was driving my car when it started to make a funny noise. And every time that I would drive it, it would make this noise. So, after about a week of driving it like this, hearing this noise, I decided to take it into the shop.

Well, after it was in the shop for a day or two, the mechanic called me and told me that my car was making this noise because there was a part on my car that was recalled, therefore, he told me that because my car is a Hyundai, that I needed to take my car to a Hyundai dealership so that they could fix the issue. And that’s what I did.

But then that is when the waiting game really began. It was taking them forever to fix my car, and I was calling the dealership at least every other day in order to see what progress was being made on my car.

But even though it was taking forever, I knew that eventually my car would be fixed and that I would have it on the road again, I believed that to be true, but until that day came, I couldn’t really do anything about it. And because I couldn’t do anything about it, I was forced to become patient in this situation, as that day when my car was back on the road eventually came… 8 weeks later!

The kind of patience that I just described, patience that is forced upon us and formed within us as a result of circumstances outside of our control is what is described in our reading for today concerning the hope that every Christian possesses and the forced patience that comes with that hope.

So, let’s go ahead and start to unpack our reading. First, let’s look at the very first part of verse 23, where it says:

Romans 8:23a ESV

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly

Let’s stop right there for a moment. Last week we spoke of how all of creation eagerly longs to be redeemed when the Lord Jesus establishes the new heavens and earth when He returns to earth. Now, here it is written that it is not only creation that longs for this, but it is also we ourselves who eagerly long for it.

Now, the “we ourselves” who is spoken of here is not referring to humanity in general. Afterall, we know that not all of humanity has the same destination when they leave this world. So, it is not all of humanity who longs for the new heavens and earth, rather, our reading says that it is we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit. And those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit are truly born-again Christians.

When Paul speaks of the firstfruits of the Spirit here, he is speaking of those who have a foretaste not only of Heaven, but of the new creation when Jesus returns.

Now, the most striking thing about the new creation is that in it there will the full presence of God. In the new creation, we will behold God, and we will joyously worship Him for Who He is for all eternity.

But like I said, that will be then, as for now, we have the firstfruits of the Spirit of God. What that means is that as Christians, God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us when we become saved.

And when God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, we know that He is there, and what that produces within us is a longing to experience and worship God to the fullest measure. In other words, it’s as our reading says, it causes us to groan inwardly.

It’s as Paul says to the Corinthians, for now, we are as one who looks through a glass darkly, but then we will see face to face.

But it isn’t just we ourselves who groan for the full presence of God, God the Holy Spirit Who lives within believers, He groans and longs for the day when we will put off what is old and put on that which is new.

We see this in the second half of verse 23, where it says:

Romans 8:23b ESV

24 as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Now, last week we spoke about how not all people are the children of God, but that only those who are believers are God’s children as it is only believers who have been adopted into God’s family. And one of the things that believers will receive as God’s adopted children is a new body.

You see, the bodies that we now possess are fading, growing older, and eventually will be no more, but at the establishment of the new heavens and earth, our bodies will be raised to new, glorious bodies, bodies like that of the resurrected Jesus. And these bodies will never fade, or grow old, or die.

This is what the Christian eagerly longs for, to possess a new, everlasting body in a new, everlasting creation, with our everlasting God.

Now, this hope, this longing that every true Christian has to put off their current body and put on the new, resurrected body is a very important hope that we must possess. In fact, it is actually a fundamental hope that a Christian must have in order to be a truly saved Christian.

Paul tells us this in the first half of verse 24, where he says:

Romans 8:24a ESV

24a For in this hope we were saved.

In the Christian faith, there are two divisions of doctrine. There is cardinal doctrine, and there is secondary doctrine. When it comes to secondary doctrine, we can disagree, even be wrong in our positions and still be legitimate Christians. For example, we can disagree on things like the timing of the Rapture, and one if not both of us will be wrong, but that doesn’t make us any less saved.

But cardinal doctrine is essential doctrine, and if you don’t hold to essential, cardinal doctrine, then you are not truly saved.

Well, one of the cardinal doctrines that a Christian must believe in order to be a legitimate Christian is that Jesus raised Himself from the dead on the first Easter Sunday. That is something that someone mustbelieve in order to truly be a Christian.

And so, in connection with that, what Paul is saying here is that just as a Christian must believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, so must a Christian believe that there will be a general resurrection of the dead, and that because of what Jesus done for the Christian on his part, he too will be resurrected in a glorious, resurrected body, just like his Master.

This is the hope that the Christian must possess, the hope that Paul speaks of here. But what exactly is that? What is “hope” anyway?

Well, Paul tells us what hope is in the last half of verse 24, where he says:

Romans 8:24b ESV

24b Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

The way that the Bible defines “hope” and the way that we usually define “hope” are the absolute opposite of one another. For example, you may be watching a baseball game at home and think to yourself, “I hopethat the Cardinals win the World Series this year…” Or you may be running late to an appointment, and you might look at the clock in your car and say to yourself, “I hope that I make it to my appointment on time!”

Now, in both of those examples, there is no certainty as to what you are hoping for. It is not certain that the Cardinals are going to win the World Series this year, it is not certain that you will make it to your appointment on time, and that is how we typically define hope. We typically define hope as wanting something to happen; but our wanting is not always guaranteed.

In other words, our definition of hope is that while we want something to happen, it may or may not actually happen.

Well, praise the Lord that the biblical definition of hope is not the same as our own definition of hope. Instead, the biblical definition of hope is that while something has not happened yet, it will indeed happen in time; it is guaranteed.

So, a Christian can say, “It is my hope that Jesus will return and establish the new heavens and earth” and not be saying, “It may or may not actually happen, but I hope it does!” But instead, it would mean, “Jesus has not come and established the new heavens and earth yet, but He will one day! That is my hope!”

The biblical definition of hope is what Paul says here: it is not something that is seen, it is unseen, but even though it is unseen, it is a reality, it just hasn’t happened yet.

That’s where that patience that I was talking about earlier comes into play. Take a look at the last verse of our reading, verse 25, where it says:

Romans 8:25 ESV

25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Now, if we look at everything that Paul has said in this passage thus far, verses 18-24, we see that we live in a fallen world, a world that longs to be redeemed from its naturally depraved condition.

Humanity too longs to be redeemed from its naturally depraved condition. Humanity longs to be rid of death, sickness, disease, depression, anxiety, the feeling of inadequacy, but for the part of the human race that is not saved and will not ever be saved, the remedy that they look to for things like this is a better diet, bigger houses, nicer cars, more money, drugs, alcohol, sex, fame, extravagant vacations…

The unsaved mass of humanity says that if they can just make enough money, their lives will be complete, that if they can get a few more promotions at work, then their lives will be complete, that if they can get enough people to like them, then their lives will be complete.

But you see, what they desire is just as fading as their lives themselves. That money is temporary, that fame is temporary, that house, that car, that top notch job, it’s all temporary, and none of it can redeem us from our naturally depraved condition.

But the remedy that Jesus gives; salvation by the grace of God alone, through the blood of Christ alone, that will eventually result in a new, glorified resurrection body, that is eternal, that will not fade. And not only is it eternal, but it is also certain, it is absolutely guaranteed!

It’s just not now… It is still to come. And because it is still to come, then as Paul tells us in our reading, we must wait for it with patience.

Beloved, that great day will come when the trumpet shall sound and the dead in Christ will be raised, and those still living who follow after Christ will be instantaneously changed. It is a promise, it is a guarantee, beloved, it is our hope.

May we patiently wait for that hope to be realized!

Amen?