Bible Study Notes - is There Hope? -Romans 8:18-39

Bible Study Notes - Is There Hope?

Romans 8:18-39

Introduction

  Illness, loss, disappointment, confusion, disillusionment and a myriad of other challenges are a reality of life.  Christians do not escape these rough patches in the road.  Rather, our faith in God equips us to face life’s obstacles and detours.  This is because our personal relationships with God give true purpose to our lives. 

  Consequently, when we view our hardships through the prism of faith we experience them in proper perspective. No matter how desperate the times seem, we know our God is the creator of all things. Ultimately, He will restore the universe to righteousness.  God has promised that those who live in Christ shall know the glory of this future time.

  Until then, God has given believers the Holy Spirit as a sign of our adoption.  The Spirit draws us to God and to Christ.  It can reveal to each of us the proper application of God’s Word to our particular situation.  In this way, the Holy Spirit enables us to fully embrace the hope we have in God. Today’s lesson provides an opportunity to focus on the sustaining hope God gives us for both our present and our future.  

Lesson Setting

  The Apostle Paul is the accepted author of the letter to the Romans.  The historical references and doctrinal arguments presented in this letter concur with Paul’s other writings.  It is generally thought that Paul most likely wrote the letter to the Romans while on his third missionary journey during the first quarter of A.D. 57. Although Paul was eager to minister to the Roman church, he felt compelled to return to Jerusalem to deliver the missionary offering he had collected for the needy believers there.

  As a result, a primary purpose of this letter was to prepare the Christians in Rome for Paul’s planned visit.  The letter is a well thought out presentation of Paul’s intended ministry in Rome.  For a church that had not yet received the gospel message from one of Christ’s apostles, this letter provided a practical outline of God’s plan for salvation. Paul takes care to specifically address the relationship between Jewish and Gentile believers in teaching about God’s universal plan for the redemption of humankind.  This was important because there were mounting tensions between Gentiles and Jews in the church.  The main source of contention was the Jewish followers continued adherence to religious laws including those pertaining to circumcision, dietary restrictions and observance of sacred days. 

  Paul tackled the role of the law in relation to the freedom that Christ secured for believers by his death and resurrection.  Paul explained that all people, Jew and Gentile, fell short of righteousness before God. Therefore, Paul urged believers to put their whole faith in Christ rather than rely on their own works in the hope of gaining favor with God.  Paul assured the recipients of his letter that God’s love for them and the divine gift of salvation in Christ that came from it was the source of hope to face every adversity.

  The focus of today’s lesson,  “Is there Hope?”, is a significant theme addressed throughout Paul’s letter.  It was a critical concern because the early Christians to whom Paul wrote faced seemingly endless persecution as a direct result of their faith.  In fact, Christianity was illegal until the reign of Constantine. So the suffering that Paul speaks of in our focal scripture is that associated with the religious oppression that he and his fellow believers faced.  He speaks authoritatively because he personally endured physical and emotional pain because of his commitment to Christ and his teachings.

  Paul is widely noted for his ability to effectively preach the gospel message to all types of people regardless of religious background or socio-economic status.  Perhaps, his personal suffering for the cause of Christ prepared him for this far-reaching ministry.  Paul himself declared, “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4) Furthermore, Paul explained that he humbly set aside the worldly prestige of his lineage in the tribe of Benjamin, his educational achievements and his career status as a Pharisee.  Viewed in proper perspective, Paul considered these assets “rubbish” compared to the riches of knowing God through Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Philippians 3:4-8)

Exposition

I.                   There is Hope for the End of Suffering  (Romans 8:18-21)

  Paul teaches that in the future Kingdom of the Lord the creation will return to perfect order as in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the pain and suffering Christians experience now will pass. Under Christ’s righteous reign we will be completely free of all pain whether physical, psychological or spiritual. Paul maintains that the depth of the suffering we now know cannot compare to that of the joy we will experience when we see the glory God will reveal to us.

 Paul also states that apart from humankind, all creation – both animate and inanimate - awaits the glorious future. As a result of Adam’s sin, creation was forced to experience disorder and decay together with humankind.  Consequently, the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of God’s children.  The hope of creation is that it will share the future freedom of the children of God just as it shared their bondage.

II.                There is Hope for the Full Benefits of our Spiritual Adoption (Romans 8:22-25)

 

  When we consider God’s future glory and his desire that we experience it with Him, we cannot help but hold to our faith.  We are encouraged because we know at that time God will identify His true sons and daughters and completely restore all creation. In fact, our love for God sometimes makes us eager for our Lord’s magnificent reign. 

  However, Christ has not abandoned us until that time.  Rather, the Savior promised the Holy Spirit. God gives believers this gift as a seal of spiritual adoption. Therefore, we hope for the glorious future when we will enjoy the full benefits of God’s parenthood, but we wait without anxiety.  For we know that God is already redeeming us by restoring purpose to our lives. 

  As we wait, we look to mature in our relationship with God secured by our savior Christ Jesus.  We are thankful that the Kingdom presently resides in our hearts.  Accordingly, we ask God to prepare, guide and use us to accomplish His work here and now.

III.             There is Hope in the Intercession of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27)

 

  God also gave believers the Holy Spirit to help us through difficult and confusing times.  Even when our very faith is so tested that we are unable to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes.  At these times when we feel most wretched, the Holy Spirit can draw us to God with groans that communicate what is on our hearts in a way words cannot.  In so doing, the Holy Spirit helps us to realign ourselves with God’s will.

IV.             There is Hope in the Justification that Christ Offers (Romans 8:31-34)

  When we are distressed by the chaos of this world, believers can find some relief in the knowledge that God forgives.  Out of love, God designed the intricate plan that sustains the believer’s reconciliation with Him.  According to this plan: (a) Christ died; (b) he rose again to assume the position of authority at the right hand of God; and (c) now he continually mediates on our behalf.

  Since God made the ultimate sacrifice of His Son to save us, surely He will do whatever else is necessary to complete the work of the Kingdom.  At the cross, Christ paid the price for humankind’s sin once and for all.  Those who accept Christ as Savior are justified in him.  Because of God’s grace believers are free of condemnation to rightly relate to Him and to do His work. 

V.                There is Hope in the Endurance of God’s Love (Romans 8:38-39)

  Paul was convinced that God’s love is steadfast.  Paul’s maturing relationship with God enabled him to appreciate the enduring nature of His love.  Paul was drawn to God’s love even from the time of his misguided persecution of Christians, to his conversion and his call to gospel ministry. 

 

  Paul’s experience persuaded him that God’s love conquers all things.  After all, it is the Father’s love for us that fueled the divine plan for our redemption.  This love even required God’s unselfish sacrifice of His only Son for the pardon of humankind’s sin.

  According to God’s plan, believers are crucified with Christ and made dead to sin.  Likewise we are resurrected with our Savior and made alive in the Spirit. In the new life we live in the Spirit nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Main Thought Explained

  “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.”

 

  Here, Paul assures us that the suffering that Christians experience is only temporary.  In the glorious time to come we will be free of all pain whatever its source - physical, psychological and spiritual.  Under the Lord’s sovereign rule we will want for nothing.

  The glorious future that Paul speaks of is the culmination of God’s plan of reconciliation with humankind. This magnificent reunion in the coming Kingdom of our Lord is the reason for Jesus’ death upon the cross. When we consider this righteous time when we will be free to love and serve God without limitation the weight of our present suffering seems less oppressive.  We know that we will see the glory of our Lord only because of God’s saving grace.