The Greatness of The Believer’s Future Glory

About this sermon

Introduction: Beware the desire to be more spiritual than God requires. I know, when I say that, that I am speaking of an impossibility. In truth, it is impossible to be more spiritual than God requires. Indeed, the kind of attitude I’m addressing is a DISTORTION of spirituality. What I am trying to describe speaks to a kind of attitude that you sometimes find, especially in immature Christians. *Christians who refuse to find joy in the very things that God has set forth in His Word for their enjoyment — because they think that temporal joys are unspiritual. *Christians who only allow themselves a very narrow set of interests, or involvements, because general interests are thought to be unspiritual. *Christians who think of Godliness in terms of do not handle, do not touch, do not taste. In other words, they substitute asceticism for authentic godliness. This is a kind of attitude that the apostles had to address in the early church. ESV Colossians 2:20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- 21 "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)-- according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. That is not the Christian life. That is an empty, flesh driven, man exalting, approach to living life. I want to be clear, there IS such a thing as libertinism. There ARE people who indulge the flesh in the name of grace. But there also people who would take our new life in Christ, full of infinite beauty, and want to reduce it to a monochrome existence. There are people who feel guilty if they enjoy the very things God gave them to enjoy. Or they judge others to be less spiritual because they enjoy the things God gave them to enjoy. We find the correct perspective declared in 1 Timothy 6:17. ESV 1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. The richness of this life is not our God, but God is the source of the richness of this life, and of the life to come. I begin with that thought, today, because this next section in Romans 8 makes plain that our God WANTS US TO ANTICIPATE OUR ETERNAL FUTURE. And one of the ways that we see that this is what He desires, is that He has set its GLORY before us. That is, HE APPEALS TO OUR DESIRE FOR THE GLORIOUS NATURE OF WHAT HE IS WILLING TO GIVE. Our God not only wants us to know that He has saved us. He wants us to look forward to all that He has given us in salvation. And, he wants us to think about this when we are under the weight of today’s troubles. When believers suffer, they are meant to process their sufferings in the light of future glory. This morning we think about that. We think about the future glory that makes today’s sufferings seem small. A BELIEVER’S CONSIDERATION (vs.18) Paul begins by giving us insight into his own thinking about suffering and glory. He tells us how he processes today’s troubles considering God’s promises regarding the future. AND HE WAS NO STRANGER TO SUFFERING. In fact, he was prepared for it from the very outset. ESV Acts 9:10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

Topics

• Faith
• Worship