Romans 8:18-30
18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
23And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
26In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Today’s message is often one of debate and confusion. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I always get it. Let’s see how it goes today…
First off, we learn that not only are humans born into sin, but the whole world is born into sin. Every living thing. Even though we still have power and dominion over the rest of nature, it is still sinful. They too will be freed of the burden of sin and slavery to us once we are reunited with our King.
I enjoy how Paul talks about The Spirit interceding for us in our prayers. Our pastor did a sermon this past year about prayer. How to pray, what to pray, why to pray, when to pray. It’s quite interesting once you learn what the bible says about prayer. It makes a difference in the motivation behind your prayer. Our fleshly desires cause us to pray for winning the lottery, acing a test, getting promoted, etc. Our Spirit desires God’s will and glory. Period. We must pray according to His will, that’s how The Spirit helps us, by knowing His will for us.
Now onto the controversy:
Our “destiny” is foreknown, by God. That’s right, He knows what you are going to do before you do it. It’s the epic battle of God’s Sovereignty and Free Will. I see it this way. God knows what we are going to do. God has the power to do anything He wants. One of those things is giving us free will. Sure, he knows what we are going to do, but He takes pleasure in knowing that we choose to do it. Sure, He can make us believe, but isn’t it that much more meaningful if we do it on our own? I liken it to a gift. If you want something, you can take it from someone, steal it from a store, or even buy it with your hard earned money. But, isn’t it much more meaningful if someone were to freely give it to you? Not only does it mean more to God, it enriches our lives as well. the bible tells us to only give willingly, not begrudgingly. I think the first step of giving in that example would be giving our believe and faith to Christ.
So, if you believe, why do you? If you don’t believe, why don’t you?
