Firstline

By Terry Virgo

Surely Romans 8 must be regarded as one of the most majestic chapters of the Bible. Beginning with no condemnation, it ultimately arrives with a great crescendo at no separation. No one can condemn us and finally nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love. Wow! Christ has completely delivered us from every accusation of our enemy. Before we try to defend ourselves, plead our merit or point out our good works, God Himself justifies us (Rom. 8:33).

Having been so explicit about our wonderful acceptance and security in Christ, Paul nevertheless is careful not to paint such a rosy picture of life in Christ that we should be surprised if we hit a problem or two, or indeed a tragedy of heart-rending proportions.

Peter similarly warns us not to be surprised at the fiery trials as though some strange thing had happened to us (1 Pet. 4:12). Being ‘surprised' at pain or regarding it as a ‘strange thing' means that we have perhaps misheard the message of the gospel.

Jesus explicitly warned that in this world we would be persecuted and would suffer. Paul said it was through much tribulation that we would enter the kingdom of God.

Modern Christianity, with its tendency to be preoccupied with therapy for suffering, has tended to lose its clarity regarding a theology of suffering.

Against the background of heartbreak, tragedy, drug culture, multiplied knife and gun crime, the church can be in danger of being regarded as either triumphalistic or entertainment-orientated, and therefore irrelevant in answering the major challenges facing a suffering world.

As David Wells says, ‘Evangelicalism, now absorbed by the arts and tricks of marketing, is simply not very serious any more.'

This present time
Paul approaches the theme by speaking of the sufferings of ‘this present time' (Rom. 8:18) not simply as in the NIV translation ‘our present sufferings'. These are not to be understood as merely what seems to be happening currently, but sufferings that are associated with this particular age.

Jesus has ushered in a new age. His resurrection, ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit have inaugurated the promised kingdom. We are invited to enjoy our resurrection life in the power of the Holy Spirit and celebrate our part in being new creation. However, we live in an overlap period of ‘now' and ‘not yet'. ‘Even now we are sons of God but it does not yet appear what we shall be' (1 John 3:2 my italics). We are already sons but we are still awaiting full adoption, which includes the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23).

Meanwhile, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. We live in a vulnerable ‘earthly tent' which can be ‘torn down' (2 Cor. 5:1). Sometimes our ‘groaning' can be heard ‘for indeed while we are in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven' (2 Cor. 5:2). Indeed, Paul tells us that the whole creation is groaning (Rom. 8:22). Life is not yet what it shall be. We have not yet arrived. The perfect has not yet come.

Frail
Meanwhile, in this present age we are frail, vulnerable creatures, subject to setbacks, heartaches, perplexity and weakness. Sometimes we feel out of our depth, confused and completely overwhelmed by our human limitations, very conscious that we came from dust and will very soon return to the same.

Death and the agonies of bereavement are inevitable to all, until Jesus comes. Many thousands have become orphaned by the ravages of HIV/AIDS and those who have lost their partners battle massive grief and loss of companionship, identity and purpose.

Fallen
Not only are we frail, we are fallen creatures living alongside a fallen race. We may be called saints, but we live alongside sinners who detonate terrorist bombs that rip apart not only tube trains, buses and planes but also beloved family members who are suddenly wrenched from our side. Loved ones we expected to share our lives are suddenly snatched from us by drunken drivers.

Fought against
In addition to these unpredictable calamities, to which we along with the whole human race are subject, we as Christians face persecution from Christ-haters who pinpoint Christ-followers as particularly worthy of hostility. Christ promised that we would be hated by all the nations for his name's sake - not a verse often found adorning fridge doors.
For most of us in the West this can mean little more than unpleasant, persistent verbal abuse from work colleagues or family members, but in other nations (even among our Newfrontiers family in Pakistan and Kerala, India in this last year) it has included attending church meetings needing armed protection. In Turkey last year some were killed while distributing Christian literature in the same location where our friends had been doing the same.

The early church was born in intense suffering and down through the centuries men and women have laid down their lives rather than deny the Lord. Hebrews 11 tells us they were following the example of Old Testament heroes in looking for a better resurrection.

How to respond
What is to be our Christian response to these realities? Should we bury our heads in the sand in denial? Should we ‘whistle a happy tune'? Should we adopt a stoical stance of cold acceptance and endurance? None of these alternatives matches the Biblical perspective.
Paul's argument in Romans 8 points us forward.

While those outside of Christ are devoid of answers, believers know that this life, though full of amazing mercies and blessings, is not the ultimate. We live in anticipation of a glorious hope. Peter similarly reminds us of the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in which we greatly rejoice though ‘for a while we suffer various trials' (1 Pet. 1:6). Paul argues that our present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).

Jesus, under the shadow of the cross, prayed that we would eventually be with him to see his glory (John 17:24) and that day will surely come. Not only shall we ultimately gaze on him but we ourselves will be changed into his likeness (1 John 3:2). We will be phenomenally transformed when he comes to be glorified in his saints (2 Thess. 1:10). When Christ, who is our life, is revealed we will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:4) and he will change our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body (Phil. 3:21). We who have borne the image of the earthly (man) will bear the image of the heavenly (man) (1 Cor. 15:49).

Magnificent glory awaits us. Indeed, glorification not sanctification is the ultimate goal of our salvation. We shall experience entire deliverance from sin and all its effects and be perfectly like Christ. All that was lost will be regained and, indeed, much more!

He is the beginning
One of Christ's titles is ‘the Beginning'. He is the first-born from the dead (Col. 1:18) and will stand as the first-born among many brothers (Rom. 8:29) who will ultimately inherit all things with him. Our adoption to God's family is with a view to a breathtaking inheritance which we will share.

All this lies ahead. Paul tells us that we have been saved ‘in hope' (Rom. 8:24). He then goes on to explain that we don't hope for something we already have. We live in eager expectation. Small children are tempted to search the house in advance longing for their hoped-for Christmas presents. Their anticipation can consume them. Maybe you have planned a once-in-a-lifetime holiday (as Wendy and I did this year). The anticipation is real. Paul speaks of an ultimate salvation which we have not yet experienced but which, with perseverance, we eagerly wait for (Rom. 8:25). But this will be no passing, escapist holiday but our ultimate, never-ending, glorious destiny!

Cosmic knock-on effect
Paul actually broadens the picture even more by saying that this ultimate experience of ours, namely of being glorified with Christ and being completely revealed as the sons of God (Rom. 8:19), will have further mind-blowing cosmic knock-on effect. He tells us that the whole creation is waiting for this to happen. It is as though the whole creation is straining on tiptoe waiting for this full salvation to be revealed. Our glorification as sons of God will actually release the whole creation from its present corruption and futility (Rom. 8:20-21).

When we are transformed and revealed as God's glorious children the whole of creation will step into breakthrough freedom. The curse that followed Adam's rebellion, which has left everything out of step with itself, will suddenly be broken (Rev. 22:3). The whole universe will be regenerated and God will make all things new.

To use Old Testament expressions, ‘the wilderness shall be glad and the desert shall rejoice' (Isa. 35), ‘the mountains and the hills will break forth into joyful singing and all the trees will clap their hands' (Isa. 55:12).

Jesus spoke of ‘the regeneration' when the Son of Man sits on his throne in glory (Matt. 19:27-28) and Peter told his hearers that heaven must retain Christ until ‘the restoration of all things' (Acts 3:21).

The fate of the creation is indissolubly and inextricably linked with that of man. Indeed, Paul explains that the creation itself is groaning and suffering, but he adds a further insight when he compares this with suffering the pains of childbirth. This is pain with purpose. Creation is seen as a pregnant mother, longing for the manifestation of the children of God.

Ruined creation will be recovered and, as Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, ‘the redeemed will live in our glorified bodies on a glorified earth under glorified heavens.'

Meanwhile, we will experience suffering and pain. The Holy Spirit who has been sent to us as a guarantee and foretaste of our future inheritance, will fortify us and even give us the Christian triumph of joy in pain so that we can be like the Thessalonians who ‘received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit' (1 Thess. 1:6). Indeed, the New Testament rarely refers to suffering without mentioning the blessings of suffering, and the words ‘joy' and ‘suffering' are frequently found together.

Joy in the midst of pain
Sudden pain can lead to a time of spiritual numbness when we may be tempted to draw back from God in shock and even bewilderment. Satan would love to make it a time of intense loneliness, fear and devastation. The fact is that God is a very present help in trouble, and sufferings will inevitably come to every one of us. It is crucial that truths that we have learned in times of peace are stored up and ready to be drawn upon in times of darkness and difficulty.

The Holy Spirit is there for you. He will comfort, encourage and fortify you if you draw upon him, and in his own supernatural way he will even cause a river of joy to flow into your besieged city. You can know the miracle of joy in the midst of pain and even the songs of praise on the darkest night. I would suggest that there really is no ‘halfway house'. I encourage you to seek the joy-giver, experience his personal tenderness, don't allow the numbness to win the day. Cast your care on him for he cares for you.

Firstline

By Terry Virgo

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