Reading: Rev 20:1-11, Rom 8:18-23
Text: Rom 8:19-22
Introductory Thoughts
* We are continuing our long look at the doctrine of the Security of True Believers, also called Eternal Security, and better known as The Perseverance of the Saints.
* The Security of the Believer is absolutely necessary to the doctrines of Salvation by Grace Alone and Justification by Faith alone.
* Any scheme of salvation which sees salvation as something that can be lost once gained, is a scheme involving meritorious human works, and works and grace cannot mix.
Rom 11:5-6 "Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work."
* In considering this wonderful, deep doctrine, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is teaching us the absolute practicality of this doctrine of our guaranteed inheritance, by showing the importance of our keeping our minds on heaven.
* Keep your eyes on Jesus, Keep your eyes on the Prize.
* This morning, we looked at suffering contrasted with the wonderful glory to come. Tonight, we find that Paul explains something about the sources of suffering, about the perverse condition of our world.
* Why is nature messed up? Did God originally create things this way?
** Why are there flies?
** Why is there Johnson Grass?
** Why do weeds grow easily without cultivation, and good crops have to be coaxed out of the ground?
** Why misery, disease, natural disasters and corruption?
** Why genetic mutation in animals, plants and man? Why are some babies born with deformities and disabilities?
** Why do many of us have weak eyes and thinning hair?
* Why are there storms, natural disasters, earthquakes, volcanoes?
* Is nature just random, or is God some kind of cosmic joker?
* Why do viruses and bacteria mutate into deadly killers?
* If God is a Good God, why is nature so messed up?
* Does nature need to be “saved,” too? How did the world get to be like this?
1. Creation Itself Was Defiled By The Judgment Against Our Sin—“…20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope…”
a. Creation (originally) was all good.
(1) We must emphasize that no human living, indeed no human since Adam and Eve, has seen and experienced the world as it was created originally.
(2) The World was created totally good. Gen 1:31 "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
(3) God created a world, a universe, which was harmonious and perfect.
(4) None of the things we have mentioned existed—there was no misery or suffering, no sin or strife, in all of creation.
(5) So, how did things get to be like they are?
b. The Creation was subjected to vanity (futility).
(1) The word for vanity, mataiotes,
(2) Mataioteôs (futility) carries the idea of being without success, of being unable to achieve a goal or purpose. Because of man’s sin, no part of nature now exists as God intended it to be and as it originally was. (MacArthur)
(3) The verb form of “was subjected” indicates that nature did not subject itself to this degeneration, nor was it “natural,” but that it was done by another force, person, or entity.
(4) “…not willingly…”—Creation is not volitional, it can’t make a choice.
(5) The futility, the degeneration and decay, the strife, of nature was part of a conscious act on the part of someone. Who subjected nature to futility, decay, degeneration?
(a) Was it man? Man has no such power. Man’s sin was the reason, but man did not do it.
(b) Was it the Devil? Again, the enemy has no such power. He is a powerful spiritual being, but he does not have the authority or the power to curse creation.
(c) God subjected nature to vanity, futility, decay, degeneration, and ruin.
c. The Creation was subjected to a curse by God because of man’s fall. “…him who hath subjected the same in hope…”
(1) Gen 3:17-19 "Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.""
(a) Was this cruel on God’s part? Was He wrong?
(b) NO! It was an act of hope, and act of mercy. God, in putting creation under the same judgment as man was gracious to man—him who hath subjected the same in hope
(2) Sinful man could not have lived in a perfect creation.
(3) The only way to allow mankind to continue and to work out the plan of redemption was to curse creation as well.
(4) God’s Curse of Creation included a Promise of deliverance at the same time. Gen 3:15 "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.""
(a) God judged creation and He judged man, because of man’s sin and disobedience, but in His promised redemption of the human race, the promise included a redemption of creation itself.
2. Creation Itself Groans Under the Weight of Human Corruption—22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."
a. Groan—sustenazo – to moan jointly, i.e. (fig.) experience a common calamity:--groan together.
(i) “…refers to the utterances of a person who is caught in a dreadful situation and has no immediate prospect of deliverance. The term is used in its noun form by Luke to describe the desperate utterances of the Israelites during their bondage in Egypt (Acts 7:34)….” (MacArthur)
(2) All of nature groans
(3) There is struggle, there is death, there is horror, there is decay, there is constant eat-or-be-eaten struggling. Species become extinct, and lose out. The winds rush all over the world, great calamities take place. The Earth itself groans and moves, causing devastation; fire belches forth from volcanoes.
(4) This concerted groaning, this great pain and horror, this devastation—this is all because of the curse of God against the sin of man.
b. Travail—experiencing Birth pangs.
(1) The sense here is of a woman in labor, but unable to bring forth.
(2) Nature, Paul says, struggles as a woman in labor, continually trying to renew itself, continually fighting for life, but death and decay always eventually win.
(3) This is the case with everything in this created world—human society included. Ecc 1:1-15
c. Lloyd Jones identifies four things that Romans 8:19-22 shows us about reality, about the world as it really is.
(1) The state of the world is not to be explained, and cannot be explained, by the theory of Evolution
(a) Evolution says that our current state is only intermediary, that nature, and man, are evolving toward a better, higher state.
(b) This is the theory that dominates biological studies in our day, and interestingly, it is contradicted by all we know about the physical universe.
(c) One of the laws of physics is the law of Entropy, which teaches that everything in the physical universe is running down, decaying, moving toward a neutral state.
(d) This is obvious to anyone who thinks about it, whether you have any scientific training or not. Everything decays, everything breaks down, everything slows down—there is no perpetual motion.
(e) Evolution cannot explain this—Paul’s doctrine here does. The world is always in a state of decay because of the corruption which resulted from human sin.
(2) The all importance, for the Christian, of the early chapters of Genesis.
(a) You really cannot fully understand any Biblical teaching unless you know the first eleven chapters of Genesis and understand their huge significance in your life.
(b) These are not allegories or fairy tales, but they are the historical records of creation and the Fall.
(3) There is no hope for man, or creation, or the cosmos, in terms of evolution.
(a) Things simply are NOT getting better, and they are not going to get better.
(b) In the beginning of our century, philosophers and social scientists, along with liberal Christians, thought man was going to progress and bring in the Millennium. Instead, we are standing at the end of the most murderous and horrible century in the history of man.
(c) Human philosophy produced Nazism, Communism, gay liberation, feminism, the drug culture, and the sexual revolution.
(d) Man’s science produced great wonders, including poison gas, tanks, bombers, missles, napalm, and biological and nuclear weapons.
(e) We thought, even recently, that we were going to eliminate disease with our science. But the “bugs” mutate into new and deadlier forms faster than we can kill them.
(4) There is only one hope, and that is rooted in the character and purpose of God Himself.
(a) If you are not a Christian, if you do not share the Blessed Hope, then you have no hope.
3. Nature Itself Waits for Our Glory To Be Revealed— For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
a. The earnest expectation— For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
“The first groan is the personified lament coming from the created universe as it now exists in the corrupted condition caused by the Fall. Apokaradokia (anxious longing) is an especially vivid word that literally refers to watching with outstretched head, and suggests standing on tiptoes with the eyes looking ahead with intent expectancy… The creation is standing on tiptoes, as it were, as it waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. “ (John MacArthur, Romans)
b. The Creature (creation)
c. An anxious wait, a blessed event.—For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
(1) “…earnest expectation…” The word describes earnest excitement and expectation.
(2) earnest expectation… “…translates a (Greek word), which refers to waiting in great anticipation but with patience. The form of the Greek verb gives the added connotations of readiness, preparedness, and continuance until the expected event occurs. (MacArthur)
(3) Manifestation
(4) Revealing translates apokalupsis, which refers to an uncovering, unveiling, or revelation. It is this word from which the English name of the book of Revelation is derived (see Rev 1:1). The world does not comprehend who Christians really are. In his first epistle, John explained to fellow believers: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him” (1 John 3:1).
(5) In the present age, the world is unable to distinguish absolutely between Christians and nonbelievers. People who call themselves Christians walk, dress, and talk much like everyone else. Many unbelievers have high standards of behavior. On the other hand, unfortunately, many professing Christians give little evidence of salvation. But at the appointed time God will reveal those who are truly His. (MacArthur)
(6) Sons of God. At the revealing of the sons of God, “when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then [believers] also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4). At that time, all believers will be eternally separated from sin and their unredeemed humanness, to be glorified with Christ’s own holiness and splendor. (MacArthur, Romans)
Rom 8:29 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."
1 John 3:1-2 "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
4. The Revealing of Our Glory Shall Also Free Creation—“…21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God…”.
a. Creation shall be delivered from bondage to liberty.
b. First Stage of Liberation—the present Earth devastated during the tribulation period. A partial summary of events of Revelation 6-8—
(1) A conqueror goes forth
(2) Widespread war and killing.
(3) Widespread economic dislocation and devastation—
(4) Widespread death. At our current population, the death of 1 to 2 billion people in a short period of time—
(5) Increased persecution on the earth—
(6) Natural disasters in the heavens.
(7) Earthquakes, accompanied by fire, thunder, lightning, and heavenly voices!
(8) Great volcanic eruptions which throw into the sky fire, hail, and lava which looks like fiery blood.
(9) The volcanic eruptions cause the greatest forest fire in history!
(10) A huge meteorite hits the earth
(11) Sea life and shipping – one third is destroyed
(12) A Comet hits the earth
(13) Waters are poisoned
(14) Reduced light, probably leading to winter-like conditions, interrupting food production—
(a) And it gets worse after that!
(b) The physical world is devastated during the Tribulation period!
c. The Second Stage of Liberation—the present Earth restored and ruled by Christ during the Millennium.
(1) The Millennium—Rev 20:1-7
(2) The restoration of the earth during the Millennial Kingdom. Hosea 2:18 "In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely."
(3) Is 11:1-9
(4) The Millennium is not the final stage, but it is the proof of God’s Sovereignty over this present world. He still has a new heaven and a new earth to bring forth, but not until He has shown His ability to undo the curse.
d. The Third Stage of restoration—The End of the Millennium and the destruction of the old earth
(1) The final rebellion—Rev 20:7-9
(2) The judgment on Satan—Rev 20:10
(3) The destruction of the old earth—
(a) Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them."
(b) 2 Pet 3:10-12 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?"
e. The third and final stage of liberation—The New Heaven and The New Earth
(1) Rev 21:1 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea."
(2) 2 Pet 3:13 "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."
(3) Rev 22:3 "And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him."
5. Applications
God has guaranteed that His people will be glorified and will be manifested as the Sons of God.
This guarantee is not only to His people, but to creation itself.
The reason for the misery of the world is man’s sin, and the remedy for misery is redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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