Sermon - Romans 8.12-25

Romans 8.12-25

There are two rival versions of the christian story, both of which can be argued from the Bible.

The first believes that this world is heading for destruction, whether at the hands of men or of God, and that Christianity offers an escape or evacuation route for people who believe in Jesus. A way to a distant heaven where everything is perfect, for Christians.

The second holds that the world is loved by God and has not been abandoned. It teaches that the whole creation will eventually be healed and restored and will be a place of true justice and peace in which the tears will be wiped away from every face.

As we look at Romans 8.12-25 this morning, I’m going to argue that it is this second version of the Christian story which fits the teaching of the Bible best and that seeing things this way makes a huge difference to the way we live; to our attitudes, motivation and priorities.

I’m making the kind of case which Brian McLaren, Tom Wright and Rob Bell have been making in recent years (I recommend Bell’s recent book “Love Wins”, Wright’s “Surprised by Hope” and McLaren’s “Everything must change”).

Romans 8.12-17

The first part of our reading focuses mainly in the present and Paul emphasises how the status of Christians has changed, so that they are no longer slaves but are adopted children in God’s family.

This was powerful language to use because the Roman empire was built on the backs of slaves. Many of these first christians in Rome, who Paul was writing to, were slaves or slave owners. And the life of slaves was not good. A slave was just an object or a tool to be used by his/her owner in any way they pleased – often including physical or sexual abuse – until they were too old or worn out, when they would be thrown away. They would have no family, no comfort, no hope of improvement. Their best hope would be to be bought by a relatively kind slave owner who would treat them with some kindness and dignity. But this was a slim hope.

Now Paul writes to these slaves who have responded to the good news of Jesus that they are no longer slaves but adopted children of God. To be adopted into any family, to be given the legal status of a son or daughter, was more than a slave could dream of. And to be adopted by the most powerful person in the universe? This would be a fantasy beyond imagining! He also addresses slave owners and others who now realise that they have lived as slaves to their wants and passions and that this was not pleasing to God.

To be adopted as a child of God is better than being a slave to even the most benevolent owner. It is in fact to become an heir with Jesus to all the riches of God.

Escapism?

This may be thought to be a kind of escapism, the “opium of the people” as Marx described it, but Paul brings in a note of realism in verse 17, where he explains that the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus must share in his sufferings in order to share in his glory. Perhaps this idea would go some way to explaining why the physical circumstances of many believers were so hard.

Romans 8.18-25

But moving on from the idea of sharing in Christ’s sufferings, Paul looks to the future, because the way we see the future shaping up greatly affects how we live in the present.

He starts by claiming that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (v18)

At first glance this might seem to support the escape and evacuate version of the gospel: “Don’t worry how bad things are, God is going to take you Christians away to somewhere better, after you die”. But as we read on, I think we can see that Paul is saying something different. He writes that “the creation (the whole universe) waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration … in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” (v19-21)

Can you hear what Paul is saying? That the whole world; all its people, its animals, its environment – is waiting eagerly and expectantly for the church, for God’s adopted family, to reveal itself for what it really is. When this happens, when Christians live in the freedom of Christ and the power of the Spirit to the glory of God, the whole creation will be freed from the brokenness and frustration which currently spoils and limits everything.

This is a far cry from the escape and evacuate view – “don’t worry about the world; its going to hell anyway. Just be grateful that you’ve got a ticket for the escape capsule” – no! Paul is saying God’s salvation project is way bigger and better than that, and you are called to be part of it, part of the rescue package for all creation.

He’s saying the story will end with all things being restored, healed and made new. With God’s kingdom on earth. With the lion lying down with the lamb. With swords turned into ploughshares, no disease, no death, no fear! Paul shares this vision with Isaiah, with the writer of Revelation and of course with Jesus – heaven on earth; not an escape to somewhere in the clouds.

The way to live

So if this is how the story is going to end, how does that affect the way we see things now, the way we live? Well firstly it means that we see all the pain and difficulty and suffering of the way the world is now NOT as the suffering of a terminal illness or a deserved punishment for crimes, but as the pains of childbirth, as a beautiful new life is being born!

When Paul uses this kind of language he is encouraging a positive, healing and transforming role for Christians in the present world. An attitude he characterises as “hope”. Not a vague hope that perhaps if we are lucky things might turn out better, but a sure and certain hope that God is on the case and therefore the best possible ending to the story will certainly come to pass.

Does that make a difference for you? I’m reminded of the story of the very tired looking man, endlessly hitting a large rock with a hammer. When asked what he was doing he answered “I’m trying to break this rock in half.” Close to him another man was performing the same task but with more energy and with a big smile on his face. When asked what he was doing he replied “I’m part of team that is building a cathedral”.

What a difference it makes to see yourself as part of a big project to create something beautiful and worthwhile and wholesome and perfect! Can you see how much better and more biblically based this hope, this motivation is, compared to the alternative view in which Christianity is simply an escape and evacuation plan for a minority of people?

HOW would your attitude to injustice be changed if you really believed that God is transforming this world into a place of true justice?

HOW would your attitude to war be changed if you really believed God is working to bring about peace for all people?

HOW would your attitude to non-christian people be changed if you really believed that God loves them and will not stop seeking them until all are saved in Christ and adopted into his family?

Jesus commissioned the apostles to go and make disciples (followers) of all nations, not to sell tickets for an escape capsule. And this is what the apostles and the best missionaries have spent their lives doing down the ages, making disciples, building the kingdom of God on earth, living in hopeful, patient anticipation of the beautiful completion of God’s salvation plan.

Let’s pray.