The Groaning Of The Children Of God
Attitude Of Groaning
In a Brief Survey
of the Epistle of Paul to the Romans
Based on sermons
preached in PCC Worship Services, July 2003 to Sep 2005
Part 38c of 83
“23And
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body. 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is
seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25But
if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Romans
8:23-25).
[The apostle Paul is in our text
speaking about how the children of God groan in pain and longing for the day
when all that is anticipated in our redemption in Christ will come to pass. In
the previous two installments of our study of this profound passage, we answered
three questions: (1) What is it to groan within ourselves? (2) What causes the
pain that makes us groan? And (3) What are
we groaning in wait for?
In this
concluding installment, we want to consider how we should respond to the
reality that provokes us to groan in our soul. In other words, we want to
consider what conscious attitude we should seek to cultivate in the light of
what evoke our groaning. This attitude, as we shall discover, is not very
different from the attitude with which we should come to the Lord’s Table to
partake of His body and blood broken and shed for us. —JJL]
4. With
what Attitude
should We Groan?
We
noted that as the Spirit has whetted our appetites for better things
to come, we must groan in hope. Paul confirms this truth:
24
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man
seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Now,
throughout this chapter, you will notice the little word ‘for’ occurring over
and over again. ‘For’ generally means ‘because’. So when we see the word ‘for’,
we know that Paul is giving a reason for something he is saying.
So
what is Paul saying here?
He
is saying that our being “saved by hope” is the reason why we are groaning and
waiting for the redemption of our body.
To
put it simply, he is saying, it is because we hope, that we groan. Or to put it
in another way: We do not groan because we have no hope and we not groan hopelessly.
We groan because we hope!
Therefore,
our attitude as we groan must be one of hope! This is another great difference
between the groaning of the children of God and the groaning of the children of
the world.
Christians
are saved by hope, says Paul. What is it to hope? The word ‘hope’ is used very
loosely today.
If
you are planning an outing to the park, you may say: “I hope it does not rain
today.”
If
you drop your wallet in the bus, you would say: “I hope that whoever finds it
will return it to me.”
What
you mean by saying, “you hope” is that “you wish” or “you desire.” You wish it
would not rain or you wish that someone would return you your wallet. And you
can never be certain that it will turn out as you wish.
The
meaning of ‘hope’ in the Scripture is very different. Hope in the Scripture
speaks of a firm assurance based on conviction of a truth or on faith in God.
This
is why the apostle to the Hebrews tells us that “faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).
Faith
and hope are closely related. Hope is faith in God concerning His promises.
Paul
writing to Titus introduces himself in this way:
“Paul,
a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of
God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2
in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world
begun…” (Tit 1:1-2)
Notice
how he ties hope with God’s promise.
When Paul speaks about hope, it is not just a mere wish. It is a deep settled
conviction that God will keep His promises.
When
Paul says “we are saved by hope” (v.
24), he is reminding us that we are saved in believing that God has, is and
will deliver us from our sin through Christ Jesus our Lord. Our faith is not just
that Christ died for us, but that He will save us unto the uttermost. He will
completely rid our hearts from sin, and one day He will restore our bodies to
us again free of all corruption and hindrances (1 Cor 15:49-55; 1 Jn 3:1-3).
Yes,
eternal life has begun. What is eternal life? Eternal life is knowing and
enjoying God in Christ Jesus today and forever. We have indeed begun to enjoy
God today.
However,
the full enjoyment of our adoption as the sons and daughters of God awaits a
better day.
This
is why Paul teaches us that we are saved by hope. It pleases God that we should
today walk by hope and faith. If we can see everything today, why do we need to
hope?
Why
does God want us to hope rather than see? Because hope builds up our
relationship with God in a way that sight does not. In a way, God is training
us today. If we see everything, we would not grow. Because of sin in us, we
will begin to take God for granted. We will not learn to trust Him. So God
appointed for us to remain in hope today.
We
must hope. But if we are hoping, then “Do
we with patience wait for it?” Wait for what? Wait for what we hope for?
What
are we hoping for?
For
the redemption of our bodies! To be delivered from the body of this death. To
have a new body with which to glorify and enjoy God in.
The
Holy Spirit has whetted our appetite and He has given us a desire to enjoy God
and glorify Him.
Today
we feel wretched and we groan within ourselves at our failures.
Have
you not often cried unto the Lord: “Lord, thou does know the desires of my
heart. I want to see you. I want to feel your love more. I desire to worship
you more. I desire to glorify you with my life. But my flesh is weak, I
struggle with sin”?
The
day will come when all these impediments will be removed.
If
we are hoping, what will we do?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with
patience wait for it.
How
shall we wait? We shall “with patience
wait for it”.
If
we are really hoping, we will be patient. If we have no hope, we would not be
patiently waiting for it! Likewise, if we are not patiently waiting for it,
then we are not really hoping.
Are
you patiently waiting? If you are truly groaning in your heart, it must be
because of hope in Christ. If you are hoping in Christ, you will wait
expectantly and yet patiently.
Or
let me put it this way: If you are groaning because of suffering today, but you
are groaning hopelessly, then you are not truly groaning in the way that Paul
is describing. Paul is describing the groanings of the children of God.
They
will groan under the burden of suffering and sin, but their groans will be
tempered with hope and patience.
They
groan with a patient trust that God will deliver them from all sin and
suffering.
They
will never give up and decide to walk in the way of the world, or worst take
their own life.
They
bear up under their present struggles with an assured hope of better days to
come.
This
is what Paul is saying will happen in the lives of all true children of God.
Conclusion
What
do we say to these things?
In
the first place, you will notice that the apostle Paul is not giving us any
imperative in our text. He is not telling us what to do. He is telling us what
is the experience of the children of God. As the children of God indwelt by the
Spirit of Adoption, the following will be true of you:
(1)
You will be filled with hope upon the promises of God in Christ.
(2)
You will groan within yourself because of your present sin and suffering. You
will groan because you are not satisfied with you present life.
(3)
You will wait expectantly for the redemption of your body, which is the display
of your true status as a child of God.
But
you will wait patiently, trusting that your heavenly Father knows what is best;
and that Christ your Lord will not delay His return one day longer than
necessary.
These
things will be true for all who are true sons and daughters of God. Are these
things true of you?
Blessed
are you, if these things so describe you, for you can be assured that the
Spirit of Christ has begun a good work in you and will perfect it unto the day
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Go
on, therefore, in your walk in the way everlasting. It is a difficult way of
suffering, but know for sure that the suffering of this present day is not
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in you.
Are
you groaning in your heart so much that you are discouraged and even wonder if
you are a true child of God? Perhaps you have been struggling against a
particular sin, and the burden of guilt is almost impossible to bear. You know
there is no condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus. But you wonder if
you are in Christ Jesus. So you groan in your heart.
Is
that you? Well let me encourage you by reminding you that you will not groan
for sin if you are not a child of God. A dead man does not groan under any
burden no matter how heavy. So if you are groaning because of sin, and not just
because of suffering, you can be confident that you are a child of God.
Groan
therefore, dear child of God. Let your groaning move you to grateful prayers.
The Lord hears your groaning and will soon deliver you.
But
secondly, Let me remind you that though Paul is speaking of the things that
will happen in our hearts, yet we must cultivate the same things. Let me put it
this way: The hope and patience that Paul speaks about does not grow out of
natural adamic soil. They come about through the work of the Holy Spirit in our
heart. They are, if you like, fruit of the Spirit.
But
in so far as they are fruits of the Spirit, they are also that which we must
seek to cultivate. This is a biblical principle we must learn and apply.
Is
this not a biblical principle? Think of love, joy and meekness. These are the
fruit of the Spirit according to Paul in Galatians 5:22. Does this mean that
these things are not our duty and we do not need to cultivate them? Does it
mean we should simply wait for the Spirit to grow these things?
No,
no; Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say,
Rejoice.” Likewise, he tells us in Colossians 3:12 and 14 that as the elect of
God, we must put on (among other things) meekness and love.
It
is a biblical principle, therefore, that whatever is the fruit of the Spirit,
that is the very thing we must exercise and cultivate in our lives.
So
here it is in Romans 8. Paul is reminding us that the true child of God will
groan in hope and patience. What does this mean for us? This means that we must
put on hope and patience. We must hope, and patiently wait for what we hope
for. Such patience and hope must characterise the groaning of the children of
God. Therefore, when you are tried and you feel cast down, and your soul is
groaning in disquiet, then exhort yourself to hope.
Not
to hope is to disbelieve and to sin against God. We must never doubt God.
Therefore, exhort yourself as David did – to hope in God for you shall yet
praise Him who is the helper of your countenance (Ps 42:1). Likewise, not to be
patient is also to distrust God. So we must never allow ourselves to ever
consider taking our own life even when the going gets tough. We must rather
take heed to James’ exhortation. Be ye patient, stablish your heart: for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh (Jas 5:8).
Suicide
comes about because of hopelessness and impatience. Christians will groan, but
we cannot be hopeless and impatient for we serve a loving heavenly Father and
an understanding elder brother.
So
put on hope and patience as you groan within yourself. So learn to cultivate
hope and patience.
How
can you cultivate hope and patience? There is no better way than reading,
hearing and meditating on the promises of God, and making use of every
opportunity to remind yourself of God’s promises. We saw previously that death
and decay in nature ought to remind us of God’s promise of better things to
come. So it must be. Let us remind ourselves constantly that God has promised
and He will keep His Word. When we do so, we will put on and cultivate the hope
and patience that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts.
Finally,
let me address you if you have for some reason read up to this point, but yet
do not really appreciate the kind of groaning of the soul that we have been
talking about. You may know something about groaning under suffering. But you
are neither suffering for Christ, nor do you know what it is to groan under the
burden of sin.
Maybe you are a child, you know what it is to cry when
your parents spank you. But if your parents did not find out about your sin,
then your sin does not trouble you.
Or maybe you are an adult, and the same if true with you.
You have been indulging in some immoral activity, but because no one knows, you
are not bothered. Or you have no regards to the speed limit. You only slow down
when you see the speed trap. Or you don’t really care about keeping the
Sabbath. Because you don’t care, you don’t groan in your heart when you break
God’s law.
If I am describing you, then, I must warn you that you
are in a very dangerous situation. If you do not groaning for your sin today,
you end up weeping and gnashing your teeth for your sin tomorrow.
This
is the warning of Scripture. May I warn you not to continue in the foolish way?
God is holy and just. You must fear him, or you will for all eternity cringe in
fear.
Think
about the wrath of God that will be poured down on you if you remain in sin. Groan.
If you cannot groan for sin today, groan for the punishment that awaits you. If
you truly groan and you go to the Lord confessing that you are a sinner
deserving God’s wrath, you will find salvation and deliverance in Christ Jesus.
For
Christ Jesus says:
“Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”
(Mt 11:28-30). Amen.
—JJ Lim