Sermon on Romans 8:18-23

Over the last 10 days or so we’ve seen the devastation of the flooding in central Texas, where upwards of two feet of rain have dropped. Over a hundred reported dead, along with so much property damage. There was also flooding in the Carolinas due to a tropical storm. This on top of everyday events around the world: tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, drought. We’ve even been complaining about the intense heat and humidity of summer. Then we have all the weeds/thorns/thistles that plague our gardens/farms, not to mention pests/diseases that wipe out plants. There’s mosquitoes, ticks, raccoons, and other animals that can devastate our lives/livelihoods.

All these, dear Christians, show the truth of today’s Epistle lesson: For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 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. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Yes, when God created all things, He declared His creation to be good. It was perfect! So why is God’s creation the way it is now? Look again at what our reading says: the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. We see in Genesis 3 who subjected creation to futility: And to Adam [Yahweh] said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.” Notice that, while God is the one who subjects His creation to futility, He does so because of Adam’s sin. God’s perfect creation was designed to support perfect people. But since mankind was no longer perfect, God in His infinite wisdom decided to make His creation be no longer perfect. This is why we deal with the futility that God’s creation is now subjected to—from the annoying to the deadly. Every weed you pull, every mosquito you squash, every piece of food that rots, every crop failure, every pest you have to trap/shoot serves as a reminder for you/me that sin is in God’s creation, and it is because of our first parents. All those things remind us that we must still wrestle with our own sin.

Going beyond what God’s creation does to us in its futility due to our sin, we see what Paul says just before today’s Epistle: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Yes, dear Christians, you/I are God’s children. His heirs, having the inheritance of eternal life promised to us! Yet this passage says that we suffer with [Christ] in order that we may also be glorified with him. Unlike what some will teach, Christians are not promised an easy life. Jesus even tells His disciples that if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; because because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And you know what this persecution looks likes—in fact, you’ve suffered persecution from the devil/world/sinful flesh in various ways. Christians in this country are persecuted by the biggest supporters of the LGBTQIA+ movement, with Christians being called bigots/homophobes/transphobes for daring to speak God’s Word against such sins. We’re told to sit down and shut up when we raise our voices against abortion/assisted suicide/euthanasia. We’re told to keep our faith private and not exercise it in the public square, all the while false religions and atheistic/secular beliefs can be promoted everywhere. Satan works night and day to try and destroy our faith. 1 Peter 5 warns us to be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after who have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Yes, dear Christians, we are suffering in this world. All of God’s creation is suffering. We long for the day when we will no longer suffer due to the devil/world/sinful flesh. And as strange as it may sound, our reading says that God’s creation also longs for the day we no longer suffer. We know this day is coming, for Jesus has promised that He will come again to make all things new. This promise holds true, for Jesus came into this world to save you/me from our sins. He came to ensure that the time will come when our suffering will come to an end, and that the creation will be made new. Jesus knows what it’s life to suffer; after all, He suffered/died on the cross to set us free from bondage to sin/death/Satan. Jesus rose from the dead so that, one day, we too shall rise again and will be glorified. Our bodies/souls being made perfect. This is for you/me, dear Christians. The work Jesus has done is for us today, and is for our future as well. The same is true for His creation, for Jesus will restore His creation to perfection.

When will this happen? When Jesus returns! In the meantime, we as Christians, along with God’s creation, are called to wait. Remember what our reading says: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 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. 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 firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. The next few verses say for in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. We/creation are in a state of waiting. Waiting for Jesus to come and make us what we are truly meant to be. We are waiting to be set free from futility, set free from sin. To have the redemption of our bodies become reality. A number of passages speak to our waiting and the reality that we will be set free. Galatians 5: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery...for through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. Hebrews 9: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Romans 6: Thanks be to God, that you were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having seen set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness...for when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Jesus says to the believing Jews in John 8 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Think about what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Deliver us from evil”. We’re praying for the day we’re set free from evil, from sin, from futility. That day will come, dear Christians, as is promised in Isaiah 65: For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. All of God’s creation awaits the day you/I will have the redemption of our bodies, for on that day the creation will be made new. Perfect, just as you/I/all Christians will be. And we will live in the new heavens and new earth for all eternity, neither the new creation nor us being subject to futility ever again. And all this because of Jesus, who died/rose again so that one day what we wait for will become reality, and we will be set free.