Suffering and the Sovereignty of God / Romans 8:16-39
The Presence of Sin and the Promise of Hope
Well, church, it is good to see you here this week. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been up here, and I have to tell you, I’m excited to be back with you and excited for the text we are in today. We are going to be in the back half of Romans chapter eight. If you’re a guest and just joining us, you’ve caught us at a turning point. After today, we’ll be halfway through the book of Romans.
What we’ve been coming to understand in this book is the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God to save. In chapters one through five, we saw that the gospel pays for and does away with the penalty of our sin, which was death. In chapters six through eight, we’ve seen that the power of the gospel is currently doing away with the power of sin over our lives. But the question that comes up as we wrestle with this text is this: Is there a day coming when not just the penalty and the power of sin are gone, but the very presence of sin is removed? Is there a day coming when this struggle in the flesh will end, and I’ll no longer be entangled by the sin that so easily entraps me?
For those of you who identify with that struggle, who have walked through any form of suffering or pain and long for the day when it will end, I want you to know that the back half of Romans 8 is where you need to put your anchor. This is a theology of hope. This anchor of hope for that glorious day is what allows us to persevere through trials, knowing that God is sovereignly in control of it all and has set aside a day when suffering will be no more.
The Privilege of Inheritance
Last week, we walked through the front half of Romans 8 and saw the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our lives. We saw the privileges that come with the Spirit’s work, culminating in the intimacy we enjoy as adopted sons and daughters of God. Of all the imagery the Bible uses to describe our salvation, there is probably none more powerful than adoption.
This is especially personal for me right now. My wife and I are currently in the process of adopting two little girls. We’ve already got three, and some of you are thinking, “Man, you’re crazy! Five girls? Don’t you know what that much estrogen does?” But there is something so powerful about understanding the life these girls came from—the trauma, the tragedy, the taste of death—and now seeing a new life, a new identity, a new name, and a new home. There’s nothing more powerful than that to show us what God has done for us in bringing us out of darkness and into life.
What’s incredible is that this adoption comes with even greater privileges than we’ve already discussed. We see this in verse seventeen.
Romans 8:16-17 (NASB)
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him].
If you are truly a child of God, then you are an heir. Now, what is an heir? An heir is someone who inherits their father’s estate. If I died today, my daughters would inherit my estate, which is a beauty of about thirty-seven dollars in a checking account, a 2005 Nissan minivan with a dent on the side, and a mortgage payment they can split five ways. I say to them: “You’re welcome!”
But verse seventeen says something much better. It doesn’t say that when we die, we just get God’s “stuff.” It says we are heirs of God himself. The greatest inheritance we will ever receive is not streets of gold, pearly gates, or incorruptible bodies—as wonderful as those perks are. The chief inheritance is the Father himself. If God isn’t there, I don’t want it. The longing of our hearts is God himself.
The Wilderness and the Weight of Glory
However, Paul also tells us that in the meantime, we inherit something else: the sufferings of Christ. We might hear that and think, “I don’t want that. That’s a Christmas gift I’d like to return to the store.” But suffering is something every one of us must go through if we are children of God.
The book of Romans actually parallels the Exodus story. Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God provided redemption through the Red Sea, but before they entered the Promised Land, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. We see that same flow here. We were enslaved in sin; God delivered us and conquered our enemies; but before we enter the ultimate Promised Land, we have our own time in the wilderness. Just as Christ was glorified after He suffered, we will suffer too.
Trials are unavoidable. From 2011 to 2013, my family walked through one of our darkest valleys. We lost eleven family members in two years—grandparents, my wife’s mother, then her father, then my own father. It was just funeral after funeral. In the midst of those trials, there was a longing in my heart for the day when we would never taste death again. You find yourself asking, “When is that day coming?” As followers of Christ, we aren’t exempt from suffering until that day arrives. But until then, we hold onto this promise.
Romans 8:18 (NASB)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Paul says that whatever you are going through right now—no matter how horrific or hopeless it appears—there is a day coming where your worst sufferings will pale in comparison to the glory and joy that await you. You can’t even put them on the same table; the future glory is that much better.
The Groaning of Creation
That glorious day is going to be so fantastic that right now, all of creation is groaning for it. The physical earth is longing for the “regeneration” mentioned in Matthew 19. This broken planet, filled with disease and disaster, is waiting for the day when all things will be made new.
Romans 8:19 (NASB)
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
That phrase “anxious longing” or “eager waiting” in the Greek literally means to turn the head away. It’s the idea of walking in a straight line but catching something out of the corner of your eye that you just can’t look away from. It’s the same look I had for my wife in our early days. It’s the same feeling thousands of kids in Fresno public schools get at 2:45 every day. They don’t care what the teacher is saying; their heads are turned toward that clock, waiting for the minute of their redemption from schoolwork.
Right now, when there is an earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, that is the earth groaning, longing for the day when such things will be no more. And why is the earth broken? Because of what happened in the Garden of Eden.
Romans 8:20-22 (NASB)
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
When Adam and Eve sinned, a curse was put on the earth. It was subjected to futility, but it was subjected in hope. Paul likens it to a woman in childbirth. She is willing to endure the pain because she knows that at the end of it, life will come. The earth has been in those birth pains for thousands of years, waiting for its redemption.
The Already and the Not Yet
It isn’t just creation that groans; we groan too. We have the “first fruits” of the Spirit, yet we are still waiting.
Romans 8:23 (NASB)
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for [our] adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
You might ask, “Wait, I thought we were already adopted back in verse fifteen?” This is the “already but not yet” promise of our faith. Judicially, yes, we are adopted and forgiven. But the full expression of that redemption hasn’t been realized. We are still waiting for the redemption of our bodies. Does anyone here want to live in the body you have right now for all eternity? If you said yes, just give it a few years for gravity to kick in. I bent over to tie my shoes tonight and ran out of breath; I had to sit down! We are longing for a home that is not yet fully realized.
Romans 8:24-25 (NASB)
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he [already] sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Because we have this hope, we persevere. We suffer well because we know God’s promise is not in vain.
A Testimony of Perseverance
I want to share the story of a woman named Jane Wilder who was part of our church. I had the privilege of sitting down with her a few months ago to capture her testimony. Jane was diagnosed with clear cell ovarian cancer, a very aggressive type. After eighteen weeks of chemo, it seemed to be gone, but it came back rapidly. Eventually, Jane made the decision to enter hospice care, choosing to be comfortable during the dying process rather than continuing curative treatment.
What was so incredible about Jane was her perspective. She told me that dying of cancer wasn’t even the greatest struggle she’d had; her greatest struggle was forty-eight years of singleness. She said that God used those years of wanting Him to do something He didn’t do to prepare her for this suffering. She learned to trust Him in the vacuum and the emptiness so that, even in the face of death, she knew He was good. Sadly, on September 24th, Jane lost her battle with cancer, but she won her fight of faith. She is now in the presence of the Lord with no more suffering.
Jane’s story encourages us to persevere. But how do we move forward when the pain is so overwhelming that we don’t know how much more we can take? Where do we find help?
The Intercession of the Spirit
Paul tells us that we have a helper in the midst of our despair.
Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for [us] with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to [the will of] God.
In the middle of suffering, prayer should be the easiest thing to do, but it often becomes the most difficult. Have you ever been there? The world is caving in, your mind is scattered, and all you can cry out is, “God, I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know what You’re doing.” In those moments, the Holy Spirit who indwells you takes those groanings and translates them to the throne of heaven. Praise God that the Spirit’s help isn’t predicated on how well we can articulate our prayers.
I should mention that this verse is often taken out of context. This isn’t talking about a private prayer language or tongues. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul says not everyone has the gift of tongues, but this verse in Romans applies to every child of God. It is a promise that when you don’t know what to do, He does. When you don’t know what to say, He intercedes to accomplish God’s perfect will in your life.
The Sovereign Purpose of God
Sometimes we wonder, “What is God’s will in this? Why did You bring this into my life?” Paul is about to show us how a loving Father is in control of everything. He sovereignly uses not only the good things but even the worst of sufferings to bring about His will for His glory and our good.
Romans 8:28 (NASB)
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.
Notice the contrast: in verse twenty-six, we “do not know” how to pray, but in verse twenty-eight, “we know” that God causes all things to work together. In our finite thinking, we don’t know what’s best, but we know the One who does. He is using the suffering to fit His sovereign puzzle together. He allows seasons of tragedy—not because He is evil or doesn’t love us, but because He is going to use that very thing to glorify Himself and bring about our good.
Now, this isn’t a universal verse to stamp on a Hallmark card for everyone. This promise is specifically for those who are “called”—the believers. And yes, Paul uses the “P-word” here: predestination.
Romans 8:29-30 (NASB)
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Paul isn’t writing this to trip you up or make you paranoid about how God works. He is writing this to let you know that when it comes to your salvation and your suffering, God is fully in control. When you are tempted to believe the lie that God must not love you because you are hurting, you hold onto the promise of His sovereignty. He says, “I will not let you go. I have you.”
What is the “good” He is bringing about? It is that we might be conformed to the image of His Son. God’s number one purpose is that we might cling to Him and become more like Jesus. If, at the end of the suffering, I get nothing else but more of God, then I have everything He wanted me to have. If a trial helps me hold onto His promises more tightly, then that suffering was worth it.
From the foundations of the earth to the moment He called you, to your deepest darkest suffering, to the day He takes you to glory—He has you. He cannot lose one of His own.
The Inseparable Love of God
Paul concludes this section with one of the finest anthems in the entire Bible. When we walk through suffering, we are tempted to believe lies: that we’ve lost our salvation, or that God is punishing us for our past. But listen to this logic.
Romans 8:31-32 (NASB)
What then shall we say to these things? If God [is] for us, who [is] against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
If God is for us, who can be against us? Do you really think God would give up His own Son to die for you only to lose you now? No way. There is no opposition that can defeat God’s plan for you.
Romans 8:33-34 (NASB)
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
Who can bring a charge against you? No one, because God is the one who justifies. When the gavel is about to slam down to condemn you, you have an Advocate standing up in the courtroom, holding up His nail-scarred hands, saying, “This one is mine.” There is no condemnation for those in Christ.
Romans 8:35-37 (NASB)
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
Can tribulation, distress, persecution, or famine separate us from Christ? Paul quotes Psalm 44 here, reminding us that believers have been facing death for generations. Thousands of our brothers and sisters across the earth are facing death right now at the hands of groups like ISIS. It is tempting in those moments to think God doesn’t love us. But Paul says, “May it never be!” In all these things, we are overwhelmingly conquerors.
Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is no event, no being, no force, no time, and no place that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is our anthem.
Closing Challenge
Where are you right now? For those of you walking in brokenness and despair, let me remind you: this is not your home. There is a day coming when sin will be no more. The penalty is gone, the power is being destroyed, and one day the very presence of sin will be eradicated. We will know no more cancer, no more pain, and no more tears.
In the meantime, church, let us suffer well. Let us see suffering not as a tragedy inflicted on us, but as a gift that makes us more like Jesus. Let it drive us to cling to Him and usher in the hope of the promise that the day is coming. Keep your head turned, fixed on the eastern sky, while we fulfill the mission of Christ in the days we have left.
Father, thank You for the encouragement of Your Word. Whatever trials we encounter—whether from our own sin, the sins of others, or just living in a broken world—help us remember that You are sovereign, good, and holy. We trust You. Jesus, we pray as John did: “Come quickly.” Give us hope and fill our hearts with worship for who You are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.