Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Romans 8. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- There are two most basic and important foundations upon which Christian faith and life are built – but which are denied by the vast majority of people in the world today. First, that there is but one God. Second, that God is truly and genuinely good, that “God is love.”
- While most people today agree that there is only One God, there are in fact numerous “gods,” many diverse and mutually exclusive ways in which people think of God, attempt to pay deference to Him, and serve and worship Him. These are quite disparate and many involve great evils and violence toward others. All but Christianity are ignorant of the real nature of God’s love and goodness. God’s enemies have indeed “sowed” many seeds of wickedness into His world.
- It is perhaps understandable how people become vulnerable to ignorance of God’s love – given the “sufferings of this present time” which Paul addresses in our text. Human sin has caused all of this, but in that we are not at all eager to look at our sin or to accept responsibility for the pain and suffering in the world, we tend to cast the blame on God – or perhaps others. But then we wonder why we should have to suffer along with everyone else.
- This is how many people think about God, themselves, and others, and it erodes away our sense that “GOD IS GOOD.” So we contemplate these things today that we may keep our thinking straight. First, that:
I. There Is Only One God
OT Lesson: “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides Me there is no god.”
Statement: Okay, this is clear enough – and the same reality is asserted over and over again throughout Holy Scripture. And it is a great wickedness to belie God, to think or assert otherwise. So whatever the state of affairs here in this world, it is with God, the only True and Living God, that human beings have business. Whatever happens or occurs, it is all either by His causation or by His allowance.
Application: But not all is good in this world! If God is good, and God is in power and control, then everything should be good. Not, however, if God were to allow for human beings to either love or hate Him, and given the choice, human beings did end up hating Him, and passing down that hatred of God to their children. This brings misery enough into the world – but there is more. Part of the now fallen nature of human beings is that they do not take responsibility for their own sin, but rather cast the blame on others, or even back on God. And so there is an educational and salutary consequence to human suffering:
II. God Has Subjected All Creation To Decay And Futility Because Of Human Sin And Rebellion Against Him
Text: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him Who subjected it.”
Gen. 3:16-19 “To the woman God said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ And to Adam He said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’”
Statement: On the surface, the account of mankind’s fall into sin seems rather small and harmless. It was anything but that. Adam and Eve began to hide from God, to lie to God, to blame each other and God. They were changed, they had become evil – and this evil was passed on to the children, down all the way to us, to all people today. The “sufferings of this present time” reflect this – not only in the thorns and thistles, the earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, but also in mankind’s crime and violence, murders, thefts, and wars, lying, deceiving, cursing, and anger, and in our lack of care and concern for others – our greed and selfishness.
Application: Rather than honestly confessing the source of all of this grief and suffering – including much of what comes specifically into our own lives – we would rather cast the blame on God, making Him out to be the “bad guy.” But it is not so, and God made sure that everyone might know that He is not the “bad guy,” the blame. For He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior, to provide redemption for us, renewed peace with God in His forgiveness, and also great promises for the future – including restoration of the goodness of creation, for:
III. God Has Also Promised To Free All Things – In The Freedom Of The Glory Of His Own Dear Children
Text: “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him Who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.”
Statement: The goodness of God can still be seen in the Creation, however, the message is somewhat ambiguous. But there is no ambiguity in regard to God’s love as revealed in Christ Jesus. And the ambiguity in nature exists only to alert people to flee to Christ for forgiveness, mercy, and clemency from God! We experience this goodness even now through faith, but the goodness of God will be completely unambiguous on the Day of Judgment when He restores all things.
Application: So let us rejoice in the promises of God, remembering that “GOD IS GOOD.” We will see this in the end – perfectly, even as we see it now in the gifts of Christ, His Word and His Sacraments. And through these means of His grace and love He will continue to strengthen us in our faith and trust in Him. And according to our text, God provides us with even more help, for:
IV. The Spirit Of God Helps Us In Our Weakness, To Wait With Patience And With Faith And Hope In God
Text: “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings to deep for words. The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Statement: Yes, God is indeed good. He is for us, and His Holy Spirit intercedes FOR us – and this is God’s will! So yes, we too must bear and endure the sufferings of this present time – but great glory is soon to be revealed in us! Even as we are already being renewed in faith and love, so also all of Creation will be renewed and brought to a glory like our own. The thought is rather dramatic that we will be the pattern to which the renewal of Creation will conform!
Application: So let us not give up hope, and let us certainly continue to grow in our knowledge of the fact and reality that “GOD IS GOOD.” The Spirit tells us so, directing our hearts and minds into the love of God in Christ Jesus our Savior! And let us exemplify the coming “goodness” of God in our lives today, as we live in His mercy and love, and as we increasingly express that mercy and love to others in all that we say and do!
Conclusion: It is sometimes difficult to envision just how God is going to undo and remediate thousands of years of human abuse of the planet. In fact, it is impossible to grasp unless we remember how God brought everything into existence in the first place. It remains “unseen” just what the “freeing” of Creation will mean, but God has promised and we hope and trust in Him. We are able to “wait for it with patience” precisely because we know that “GOD IS GOOD.”
May we remain firm in this faith and hope until He returns in glory at the close of the age. And may He grant that others also come to know that “GOD IS GOOD.” May we exemplify His goodness, and always bear witness to His goodness! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.