We have covered some amazing ground. The big headline in the opening chapters of Romans is that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. So what if you have been a hard-core sinner and have paid a steep price for all your sin, is there hope for you? What if you have been blatantly hypocritical (a religious pretender, living a double life), is there hope for you? What if you have been holier-than-thou (a spiritual overachiever), do you even have anything to worry about?
From a human perspective, we weigh people’s need for grace differently. We assume a hard-core sinner needs far more grace than the holy roller. But from God’s perspective, we all get weighed by one standard. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And to every human being (no matter how bad or good we think we are) God makes one, singular offer: we can be “justified freely by his grace.” (Romans 3:24-26)
In ancient culture, final judgment was pictured as giant scales, where the souls of people get weighed by a sovereign God. Our salvation isn’t determined by the weight of our righteousness… its determined by the weight of Christ’s righteousness. For as many of us who trust in Christ Jesus, Christ’s righteousness gets credited to our account. It is Christ’s righteousness, not our own, that tips the scales in our favor.
Some people boast that they don’t need God whatsoever. Some boast they don’t need God nearly as much as others. Some boast they don’t need Christ because they’re already such a good person in the eyes of God. In Romans 5:11, Paul says, “. . . we boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation.” Romans 3:26 says, “He is just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. . .”
If the opening headline of Romans is that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… the very next headline is that we’ve been set free from the power of sin and death. In Romans 8:2 Paul says, “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. . .”
Now I know we are accustomed to hearing the gospel over and over. But for Christians to claim they’ve been “set free” from the power of sin and death is nothing short of extraordinary. Has sin really been defeated? Has death really been defeated?
As Paul is describing all of this, we can easily imagine a skeptic in Paul’s midst, protesting these gospel truths. “Wait just a minute Paul… if grace now reigns in Christ, why is there is so much sin and evil and wickedness in the world? If eternal life now reigns through Christ Jesus, why is there so much pain, suffering and death? If Christ makes all the difference in the world, then where is that difference?
Let’s consider these questions separately for a moment…
Q: Why, if we’ve been set free from the law of sin, is there so much sin? Paul addresses this question in Romans 8:5-8. He makes the simple observation that not everyone is being led by the Spirit of God. Those who live according to the flesh, have their minds set on what the flesh desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law nor can it do so. Those who belong to the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Earlier in Romans 6, Paul describes how there are people who go on sinning that grace might increase. There are those who let sin reign in their mortal bodies, who offer the parts of their body as instruments of wickedness. There are people who offer themselves as slaves to impurity and ever-increasing wickedness, who are under the control of sin.
Now before you suppose this is some diatribe against people outside the church… you should know that throughout Romans Paul is speaking to churchgoers! Just because you are a churchgoer doesn’t mean you are living in accordance with the Spirit, or have your mind set on what the Spirit desires. In Romans 8, the mind governed by the Spirit possesses life and peace. Those who are led by the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body and live.
Earlier in Romans 6, Paul describes how in baptism the old self is crucified, and the body ruled by sin is done away with. We no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies. We no longer offer parts of our body to sin as instruments of wickedness. Instead we offer ourselves to God, as instruments of his righteousness, leading to holiness. We obey God from the heart, letting his grace claim our allegiance.
Q: Why so much sin in the world? Why is there so much evil/wickedness? Answer: People aren’t inviting God’s grace/righteousness/Holy Spirit to reign. Instead of inviting the Holy Spirit to lead, people (even churchgoers) succumb to their flesh.
I don’t think any of us have trouble understanding this truth. Some people will show utter contempt for the riches of God’s kindness and mercy and grace. Some people will go on sinning, thinking God in his grace will always “pick up the tab” no matter how hard their heart becomes. Some people will never offer themselves to God (whether by faith, repentance, baptism), but instead hold God at arm’s length, either dabbling at the edges of life in Christ or plummeting headlong into a life sin.
We get that not everyone walks in presence/power of Spirit. Not everyone invites God’s grace/righteousness/Holy Spirit to reign. Our posture ought to be to stand alongside folks and remind them how the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness, how the Spirit searches our hearts and knows our mind, and intercedes for us before God. The Spirit doesn’t condemn us, but reminds us that we are children of God. The Spirit urges us to cry out “Abba, Father”, trusting God to hear plea for help. The Spirit reminds us that at the end of the day were justified “only” and “freely” by God’s grace.
Q: A more difficult question is “Why, if we’ve been set free from the law of death, do we still seem to be subject to death.” Or, “Why, if Christ has conquered death, must even Christians endure pain/suffering?”
Earlier, in Romans 8:10 Paul doesn’t skirt the issue of death. He says, “If Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.” In this verse, Paul doesn’t see a conflict between his declaration that we’ve been set free from the law of death, and the obvious fact that our bodies are “subject to death.” You might conclude just by reading verse 10 that our resurrection is purely spiritual. For example, you’ll hear people explain how “though we die ‘physically’ we’ll go on living for eternity ‘spiritually’ or ‘in the spirit’”
But in Romans 8:11 Paul prevents this narrow understanding of our hope, “…if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”
There is a sense in which our spirit has received the life of God. But there is particular way our physical bodies (our mortal bodies) have yet to receive/experience the life in God. What does it mean that God will give life to our mortal bodies? Have you ever thought about it?
Back in Romans 6:4-5, what did Paul say about our baptism? “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life… if we’ve been united with him in a death like this, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” What ever does Paul mean? Just as… and just like this… and just like his… Was Christ only raised “spiritually” or was he not “physically” raised from the grave? Will our resurrection only be “spiritual” or might it also be “physical?”
So how do most Christian answer the question? “Why, if we’ve been set free from the law of death, do we still seem to be subject to death?” Most would say its because eternal life has nothing to do with our mortal bodies, and only has to do with our Spirit/Soul. But friends, that’s not at all what Paul says!
In Romans 8:17 Paul uses some interesting language. He says, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. . . if indeed we share in his sufferings … [it’s so that] we may also share in his glory.” So how should we think of eternal life? We should think of eternal life as an inheritance, and we should think of ourselves as heirs or God, and co-heirs with Christ. One day we should expect to receive from God the very same kind of life Christ received from God, upon his death. So what does that mean? Well Christ suffered. Christ died. But then what happened? His body, though subject to death, was raised from the grave! This is a preview of coming attractions! If indeed we share in Christ’s suffering/death, we’ll share in his glory…
What Paul unfolds next, in Romans 8:18-25, is nothing short of spectacular! He doubles down on his assertion that our hope isn’t purely “spiritual” but tangibly “physical.” He says, “18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
“22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Notice his language. Our “present sufferings” are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. How should we think about this life? We should think about it like a mother, groaning in the pains of child birth, her pain eclipsed only by her expectation of what is yet to come. And what is yet to come? Romans 8:23, “the redemption of our bodies!” Now if our hope is only spiritual, why doesn’t Paul say the redemption of our souls, or our spirits?
A lot of people like to spiritualize baptism, and they dismiss that God would require us to physically be baptized. But what if our hope isn’t just spiritual? What if our hope is also physical? And what if our baptism isn’t just a recognition of some spiritual change, but a recognition that God will physically raise our mortal bodies up from the grave and give life to our mortal bodies? And if God has in mind a full body death, burial and resurrection… could that be why in the Bible people’s whole bodies were immersed and not just sprinkled?
But I digress! Our hope doesn’t bypass suffering. No, Romans 8:17 says if we share in the suffering, we’ll share in Christ’s glory too. Romans 8:10 says our hope doesn’t bypass physical death (unless of course Christ first returns). No, just as Christ was subject to death so also we will be subject to death. Just as Christ was buried then raised, we too will be raised.
In Romans 8:23 Paul says, “we eagerly await our adoption as sons.” In the Greek, the expression “eagerly await” conveys idea that we’re holding our head as high as possible, we’re on our toes, practically climbing out of our shoes! We’re trying to see as far across the horizon as humanly possible! We’ve “not yet” received all that is in store.
Romans 8:24 says, “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” I love what John Stott says about this verse, “We are to wait neither so eagerly that we lose our patience; nor so patiently that we lose our expectation.” Like the pains of childbirth, our present sufferings aren’t worth comparing to the glory of the new life that is about to be revealed. The trauma of death itself, isn’t worth comparing to the glory of our coming resurrection, the redemption of our bodies.
Friends we are on the “caterpillar cocooning” side of an amazing transformation into a butterfly. We are on the “seed getting buried in the dirt side” of an amazing transformation and the receiving of a new / infinitely more glorious body. We are on the “expectant waiting mother” side of an amazing new birth that is about to happen. Keep your head held high—do not be discouraged by suffering and pain, do not fear though your life be subject to death, do not get weighed down in grief as those who have zero hope… do not be discouraged by the passage of much time, for God is patient not wanting any to perish but everyone to be saved.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Philippians 3:20-21, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
1 Corinthians 15, “16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.