True Believers Yearn For Glory

Rom 8:23-25 "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

Introductory Thoughts

* We are in the middle of a long series of messages about the security of the believer.

* Romans 8 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible, and it is so often misunderstood. Since we have been looking at the book of Romans for over a year now, we need to re-orient ourselves and insure that we are all together in our understanding.

* Romans 1:1-15 introduced the letter, and in it, Paul makes some very strong statements about basic truth.

and insure that we are all together in our understanding.

* Romans 1:1-15 introduced the letter, and in it, Paul makes some very strong statements about Christ and about believers.

Rom 1:1-7 "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:

* In Romans 1:16-17, Paul gives his overall text for the message he is bringing.

Rom 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith.""

* In Romans 1:18, Paul gives us the first problem—man’s sin, and he makes the point from 1:18-3:20 that man cannot save himself.

Rom 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,"

Rom 3:9-12 "…... For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.""

Rom 3:19-20 "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

* Beginning in 3:21, and continuing on until the end of chapter 11 is the next large division of the book, as Paul instructs us that only God can save man.

Rom 3:21 "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

Rom 3:28 "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

* From 3:21 through the end of chapter 4, Paul explains the wonderful doctrines of salvation by grace alone and justification by faith alone.

* In chapter 5, Paul explores the peace with God that we have, the peace of God that we can attain, the place of the Cross in our salvation, and the ruin that sin has caused the race.





* In chapters 6 and 7, Paul meets some objections to grace salvation, and he makes plain that there is an ethical dimension to Biblical Christianity, that we cannot live just any way that we want to live and claim to be believers.

* And in the first part of chapter 8, we reassured that there is no condemnation for God’s people and we are given evidence we can evaluate to determine if we are really Sons of God, to discover if we are really saved. We also learned about the process of sanctification, where God molds us into His Sons.

Rom 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

Rom 8:13 "For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."

* And now we are exploring the security of those true believers, the great inheritance that is ours, and just how secure that inheritance really is by the power of God.


Rom 8:17-18 "and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

* Indeed, the impending glorification of believers in Christ is so momentous that even nature itself is said to be leaning forward, waiting anxiously, for that Day to arrive.


1. The Groans of A True Believer
Rom 8:23 "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves…”

a. The Reason we groan—the Firstfruits of the Spirit—being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we cannot help but groan.

(1) The principle of firstfruits—God received the firstfruits of the harvest in the OT, and in the NT, firstfruits is often used to describe those first won to Christ.


(2) But here, we are talking about something God gives believers.

“The first fruits was that portion of the productions of the earth which was offered to God. From the nature of the case, they contained the evidence and assurance of the whole harvest being secured. The idea, therefore, of an earnest or pledge is included in the phrase…” (Charles Hodge, Romans, page 275)


Eph 1:13-14 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."

(3) What is the evidence of this earnest? What is the evidence of this sealing? The fruit of the Spirit!


Gal 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”


(4) If you are a believer in Christ, God is working in you, and His working in you through the Holy Spirit is part of His promise to you that He will finish that work.

1 Cor 1:7 ”…our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

Phil 1:6 "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;"

(5) You are God’s workmanship—you are God’s building, you are God’s project. If one true believer was ever lost, it would be God’s failure, because He has pledged to keep you.

1 Pet 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

(6) So, if you are a true believer, you have the firstfruits of the Spirit, the earnest, the guarantee, of your ultimate salvation.

b. The Meaning of Groan—to sigh audibly or groan, as with grief.

2 Cor 5:4 "For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life."

(1) Groaning Over Our Sin

“Because every genuine believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9), every genuine believer will to some degree manifest the fruit of the Spirit that Paul enumerates in Galatians 5:22-23, namely, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Every time we see Him working His righteousness in and through us, we yearn all the more to be freed of our remaining sin and spiritual weakness. Because of our divinely-bestowed sensitivity to sin, we ourselves groan within ourselves over the dreadful curse of sin that is still manifested by our remaining humanness.
Acknowledging his own sinfulness, David cried out, “My iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me,… Lord, all my desire is before Thee; and my sighing is not hidden from Thee. My heart throbs, my strength fails me; and the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me” (Ps. 38:4, 9-10). “(John MacArthur, Romans)

(2) Groaning Over Our Lost Loved Ones

(3) Groaning Over The World’s Condition

(4) Groaning Over Suffering


c. The Goal for which we groan—
The Placing of Sons—…waiting for the adoption…”

(1) Waiting Eagerly—


(2) Son Placing


3. Bodily Redemption—the tenses of salvation. “…waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body…”

* There are three Tenses of Salvation

a. We Have Been Saved

(1) In one sense, we were saved when God chose us before the foundation of the world.

2 Th 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Tim 1:9 "who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,"

(2) In another sense, we were saved when Christ died to save us.

Mat 1:21 ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""

(3) We were personally saved, the moment we believed in Christ for salvation.

Acts 16:30-31 "And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.""

Rom 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

(4) For the true believer, it is settled, the transaction is done, you are saved.

(a) You were justified by faith in Christ; your account is paid in full, and the account has been closed.

(b) You have been sealed by the Spirit, Who is the earnest of your inheritance, the promise of God that you are His forever.

b. We Are Being Saved—God is molding us into the image of Christ, sanctifying us.

1 Cor 1:18 "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Phil 2:12-13 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure."

* We are legally as saved as we are ever going to be, but the actuality of our salvation is being applied in our lives daily, as God works in us to make us what He wants us to be.

c. We Shall Be Saved—2 Tim 1:12 "… I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."

(1) When the world is judged, we will not be.

(2) When the world is condemned, we will not be.

(3) We shall be ultimately saved when our bodies are glorified, and we are manifested in the image of Christ.

* 1 Cor 15:51-58

(4) On that day, the very presence of sin itself shall be removed from our lives.

4. The Human Definition of Hope—24 For we are saved by hope:

a. The Secular Pagan definition of Hope—a possibility, often scant or faint. Something not based on real evidence, or the expression would be “hopes are high.”

b. The Religious Pagan definition of Hope—

(1) Again, a possibility, not even a probability

(2) Often scant or faint, and often without any real belief in literal fulfillment

(3) Recognizing no evidence that would lend concrete credence to the “hope.”

c. The World’s definitions of hope are based on the world’s definitions of several things.

(1) Truth—no absolute Truth

(2) Spirituality—gnostic spiritualism

(3) God and His attributes—the weak “god” of 20th century man

(4) What is good—If it feels good, do it, or the witches creed: “Do what you will and harm none.”

d. “Living in Hope.”

* A word about this phrase, used by those who reject eternal security. If you are living with a “salvation” which can be lost, you have no hope in which to live, and no anchor for your soul.

5. The New Testament Definition of Hope: Absolute Certainty OF What Cannot Be Seen—24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

a. Characteristics of Hope:

(1) Unseen

John 20:29 "Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.""

1 Pet 1:6-8 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,"

(2) Future

Col 1:5 "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;"

(3) Certain

Heb 6:11 "And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:"

Heb 6:18-19 "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;"

b. The Blessed Hope of Israel

Acts 23:6 "But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question."

Acts 24:15 "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."

Acts 26:6 "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:"

Acts 28:20 "For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."

c. The Blessed Hope of the Church—

Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"

Rom 5:2 "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Eph 1:18 "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,"

Eph 4:4 "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;"

d. Evidence for the Hope in this life.

Col 1:27 "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

e. Promise of Hope in the Word

Rom 15:4 "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."

f. The Holy Spirit and Hope

Rom 15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

6. The Grace of Patience—Delayed Gratification—25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

a. The Pagan world

(1) The Pagan world wants it all now.

(2) The Pagan world wants what it can feel, touch, see.

(3) The Pagan world will fall for the Antichrist, hook, line, and sinker.

2 Th 2:9-12 "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

b. God’s People are patient— 2 Cor 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."


Rev 13:8-10 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."

Rev 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

The Two Children From Pilgrim’s Progress

I saw, moreover, in my dream, that the Interpreter took him by the hand,
and had him into a little room, where sat two little children, each one in his
chair. The name of the eldest was Passion, and the name of the other
Patience. Passion seemed to be much discontented, but Patience was very
quiet. Then Christian asked, “What is the reason of the discontent of
Passion?” Interpreter answered, “The Governor of them would have him
stay for his best things till the beginning of the next year, but he will have
all now; but Patience is willing to wait.”

Then I saw that one came to Passion, and brought him a bag of treasure,
and poured it down at his feet; the which he took up and rejoiced therein,
and withal laughed Patience to scorn. But I beheld but a while, and he had
lavished all away, and had nothing left him but rags.

Then said Christian to the Interpreter, “Expound this matter more fully to
me.”

So the Interpreter said, “These two lads are figures: Passion, of the men of
this world; and Patience, of the men of that which is to come; for as here
thou seest, Passion will have all now this year, that is to say, in this
world: so are the men of this world, they must have all their good things
now; they cannot stay till next year, that is, until the next world, for their
portion of good. That proverb, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the
bush,’ is of more authority with them than are all the Divine testimonies
of the good of the world to come. But as thou sawest that he had quickly
lavished all away, and had presently left him nothing but rags; so will it be
with all such men at the end of this world.”

Then said Christian, “Now I see that Patience has the best wisdom, and
that upon many accounts.
1. Because he stays for the best things.
2. And also because he will have the glory of his, when the other has
nothing but rags.”

Inter. Nay, you may add another, to wit, the glory of the next world will
never wear out; but these are suddenly gone. Therefore Passion had not so
much reason to laugh at Patience, because he had his good things first, as
Patience will have to laugh at Passion, because he had his best things last;
for first must give place to last, because last must have his time to come:
but last gives place to nothing; for there is not another to succeed. He,
therefore, that hath his portion first, must needs have a time to spend it;
but he that hath his portion last, must have it lastingly; therefore it is said
of Dives, “In thy life time thou receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.”
Luke 16:25.

CHR. Then I perceive it is not best to covet things that are now, but to
wait for things to come.

Inter. You say the truth; For the things which are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18. But though
this be so, yet since things present and our fleshly appetite are such near
neighbours one to another; and again, because things to come, and carnal
sense, are such strangers one to another; therefore it is, that the first of
these so suddenly fall into amity, and that distance is so continued
between the second.



Applications

1. Do you yearn for glory? Do you yearn to be clothed with immortality? True believers yearn!

2. What is your hope? Is your hope based on a weak, worldly, scant, faint, possibility?

3. Or are you really living in Hope—in the certain knowledge that God finishes what He starts.