Saved for Heaven
Romans 8: 18 – 27
Introduction
Today
is the third week I have preached about salvation. There are three ways we can talk about
salvation. I like to think of it as
past, present and future. In other words,
all three of these statements about salvation are true: I have been saved; I am being saved; and I
will be saved.
When
I say “I have been saved,” I am saying that there was a time in my life when
Jesus saved me. I experienced “conversion”
or “rebirth” through faith in Jesus.
Jesus changed my life and gave me a new life.
When
I say “I am being saved,” I am saying that my salvation is an ongoing reality
or process in my life. God is still
working on me. Through the presence of
the Holy Spirit in my life, God is shaping me and making me holy.
When
I say “I will be saved,” I am saying that my salvation is not yet
complete. I will not experience the
fullness of salvation until I experience the presence of God fully in
Heaven. Another way to express this is
to talk about Hope.
The
Christian experience of Hope is not the same thing as “wishful thinking.” To Hope for Heaven is not the same thing as
to hope the Lufkin Panthers will win the football state championship this
season or to hope that it won’t rain this afternoon.
The
Christian experience of Hope is to long for and to desire the very thing God
created for us. In fact, I would argue
that it is more than just a Christian experience. At some level or another, every person longs
for a better world (or at least for a better life).
When
we experience suffering or disease, we long for a world where loved ones do not
die, and there is no such thing as cancer.
When
we experience disappointment or broken relationships, we long for a world where
our dreams become reality, and there is perfect harmony between all people.
When
we experience failure or inequality, we long for a world where people are not
divided by race, social standing or finances.
Ultimately,
I believe this is a God-given desire (or Hope) for Heaven. However, many people do not recognize what
they are longing for and make the mistake of trying to substitute more
temporary pleasures. People try to
satisfy their desires with sex, drugs, alcohol, a new job, a new spouse and
material stuff. Ultimately, we will only
be satisfied with a relationship with God and our eternal home in Heaven.
I
cannot say this better than C.S. Lewis: “Creatures
are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a
thing as food. A duckling wants to swim;
well, there is such a thing as water.
Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no
experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I
was made for another world.”[1]
We
desire Heaven and a relationship with God, because that is what we were created
to desire. If we try to find
satisfaction in anything else, we end up feeling empty and unfulfilled. You were not created for this world. You were created for Heaven.
Of
course, I don’t want to give the impression that everyone goes to Heaven. No. As
human beings, we have a sin problem. And
the only way for us to go to Heaven is for our sin problem to be resolved. This is the reason for the Gospel. God took the initiative to resolve our sin
problem. God loved the world and sent
his Son Jesus. Jesus offers us
forgiveness of sin through his death on the cross and eternal life through his
Resurrection.
Since
we were created for Heaven and saved so that we can go to Heaven, I want to
preach about Heaven today. But, I want
to begin with a confession and a warning.
Over
the past couple of months, I have spent more time thinking about Heaven than
the rest of my life combined. I hope
that doesn’t mean I am getting old (and I hope 42 is still young). In this time, I have read four books about
Heaven. And I have discovered something
very disturbing about myself. Most of my
beliefs about Heaven are closer to Greek philosophy and Plato than they are to
the Bible and Paul and Jesus.
And
now a warning…If you are like me, then what I say today about Heaven may not
sound like what you believe and what you have been taught. However, this is what the Bible says about
Heaven. I encourage you to look it up
for yourself. The biblical view of
Heaven can be found in Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4; and
Revelation 21. We are only going to look
at one of those passages today.
Romans 8: 18 – 27
Greek
philosophy and Plato’s writings are filled with references to the concept of “the
immortality of the soul.” This view is
based on the Greek assumption that human beings can be divided into two parts—the
physical and the spiritual. The physical
part of our life is what we think of as our body. The spiritual part of our life is our soul. The body is temporary, and the soul is
eternal.
Plato
takes that a step farther and declares that physical life is evil and spiritual
life is innately good. Therefore, your
good spirit / soul is trapped in an evil body.
Death is a welcome friend who comes to release your good and eternal
spirit / soul from your temporary and evil body. At the moment of death, your body begins to
decay and your soul is released to an eternity with God, where your soul will
live on eternally with no physical body and nothing physical to corrupt it.
Many
people think this is the Christian view of death and Heaven. But, this is not what the Bible teaches about
Heaven. In fact, this is not what the
Bible teaches about your physical and spiritual life.
Instead,
the Bible teaches us that in the beginning God created. God created a physical world and created
human beings with bodies. After each day
of creation, God said, “It is good.” But
after creating the first man and woman God said, “It is VERY good.” Now, jump forward with me to the life of
Jesus. Jesus was not a spirit or a soul
who floated around without a body.
No. Jesus was and is human in
every way as we are. He experienced life
in a physical body. And when Jesus rose
from the grave, Jesus rose in body and spirit.
And when Jesus ascended into Heaven, Jesus ascended in the body. Therefore, the only way we can say that the
body is evil and the spirit is good is to say that Jesus had an evil body and continues
to have an evil body.
In
Greek philosophy, the human problem is the fact that we have a physical body
and live on a physical earth. One day,
the human problem will be resolved when our spirit / soul is released from the
body and set free from the earth.
In
Christian theology, the human problem is sin.
God created a physical universe and said, “It is good.” God created human beings with physical
bodies, placed them in the physical universe and said, “It is VERY good.” But, something happened. Sin entered into God’s good creation. As a result, all of creation fell under the
curse of sin and suffering. The world is
evil, because of sin…not because it is physical. You and I are evil, because of sin…not
because we have physical bodies. In
fact, sin affects more than just our physical bodies. Sin affects our souls / spirits as well.
Romans 8: 18 – 21… 18 I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be
revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own
choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage
to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
There
are several important things happening in this section.
First,
Paul acknowledges that we are experiencing suffering in the present world. God never promised us that our lives would be
free from pain and suffering. In fact,
it is just the opposite. God promises us
that if we expect to share in the glory of Jesus, we will also share in the
suffering of Jesus.
This
takes me back to Psalm 23…Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff shall comfort me… We are not promised a pathway that goes AROUND
the valley of the shadow of death. We
are promised a pathway THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death. And, we are promised that God will be with
us.
Second,
Paul tells us that whatever suffering we face will pale in comparison to the “glory
that will be revealed in us.” What do
you think this is a reference to? Paul
tells us…but not yet…we have to wait for his description of the glory to come.
Third,
Paul tells us that the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay
when the “sons of God are revealed.”
When
sin entered creation, all of creation fell.
God pronounced a curse on Satan and a curse on the earth. All of humanity experienced a separation from
God, a separation from each other and a separation from the earth. The earth would no longer grow fruit and
vegetables naturally. No. The man would have to cultivate the earth,
and the earth would fight against the man’s efforts to raise crops to provide
food for his family.
This
was not God’s original intention for humanity and the earth. God’s plan was for men and women to worship
God, to experience relationships with each other and to be stewards over God’s
creation. None of this is possible as
long as sin is a part of God’s creation.
However,
there is hope. The hope is that one day
God’s original intent will be restored.
And that can only come when the “sons of God” are revealed. Paul is talking about Resurrection…actually,
he is talking about two Resurrections—the Resurrection of the sons of God and
the Resurrection of the earth.
The
Christian view of eternal life is not the same thing as “the immortality of the
soul.” The Christian view of eternal
life is Resurrection. The sons and
daughters of God will experience Resurrection and will life eternally on the Resurrected
earth—the New Heavens and the New Earth.
Romans 8: 22 – 25… 22 We
know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth
right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope
at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it
patiently.
According
to Paul, the earth is in the throes of childbirth. It struggles.
It experiences pain. It groans. But, this struggle will not last
forever. Something wonderful will be
born. God is creating a New Heaven and a
New Earth—a Resurrected Earth to replace this one which is corrupted by sin.
It
is important to believe that this world will experience both death and
Resurrection. If we believe that this
world will be destroyed and that God’s children will escape to a spiritual
Heaven, then we have to admit defeat.
Satan has so corrupted God’s good creation that God had to start
over. Think of the story of Jesus as an
example. When Jesus died on the cross,
it looked like Satan and evil had prevailed.
By killing Jesus, Satan had defeated God and his purposes. However, Satan only thought he had won. The Resurrection of Jesus was a great
reversal and proof that God has won the victory over Satan and evil.
This
is another point of departure from Greek philosophy. The Bible never teaches us that death is our
friend who releases us from physical life.
No. The Bible teaches us that
death is our enemy. And the only way we
can have victory over death is through Resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus defeated death once
and for all. One day, we will experience
that victory fully. Everyone who is a
child of God will experience a literal Resurrection—a victory over death. We will live eternally in bodies and spirit,
no longer corrupted by sin. And, we will
live on a Resurrected earth, no longer corrupted by sin.
Everyone
who is a child of God will experience victory and Resurrection. Did you know that the Bible NEVER teaches us
that we are all God’s children?
In
the New Testament, there are two primary descriptions of God’s children. On one hand, there is the teaching of the
Apostle John. John stated his views most
clearly in John 3, in the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus wanted to become a child of
God. Jesus told him that he had to be
“Born Again.” John teaches us that there
is no such thing as an evolution from a human being to a child of God. You must be Born Again.
On
the other hand, Paul has chosen a different image to describe God’s
children. For Paul, it is not about
being Born Again…It is about being adopted by God.
I
think Paul used the imagery of adoption, because he was preaching to the
Gentiles. In other words, it does not
matter where you were born. You don’t
have to be a Jew before you become a Christian.
Through Jesus, God has adopted all of us into his family. The only way anyone can become a child of God
is through faith in Jesus. We are NOT
all God’s children.
Conclusion
It’s
worth repeating here that this may not be what you believe about Heaven and
eternal life. It is possible that you
have never heard of Resurrection and the New Heaven and the New Earth
before. But, this is what the Bible
teaches. I recommend you read the Bible
and allow the Bible to shape your views on eternal life. Look at Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 15; 1
Thessalonians 4; and Revelation 21. Don’t
form your views on what you have always heard or what you have always thought.
I
also recommend that we use our imaginations to imagine what Heaven will be
like. Don’t just use your imagination…Read
the Bible and imagine what it will be like to experience eternal life as the
Bible describes it.
For
example, if eternal life will be Resurrection of the body, then we will have
bodies in Heaven. If we have bodies,
that means we will have individual identities and personalities. That means we will recognize each other in
Heaven. We will be able to know others
and to be known by others. We will love
and be loved in Heaven. If we have
bodies, then I think we will hug each other in Heaven.
Another
example…Do you like to experience the beauty of creation? Some people love to go to the mountains and
see the colors, the trees and the snowcapped peaks. Some people like to go to the beach and watch
the waves roll in and feel the sand in their toes. Some people like to stare at the stars and
the moon in the night sky, to witness the beauty and the vastness of the
universe.
The
beauty of creation as we see it today is not as good as it can be. The creation is subjected to
frustration. It is under the bondage of
decay. It is affected by sin. If the world, affected by sin, can be this
beautiful, then imagine how beautiful it will be when sin is no longer a
problem.
We
ain’t seen nothing yet.
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