Romans Chapter 8
So many people are hurting today. Multiple crises cause us to cry out to God with “groanings which cannot be uttered.” But what happened on that first Easter morning 2,000 years ago will turn our hurts into hallelujahs, our midnight into sunrise, and every Calvary into a resurrection.
Death and disease, confusion and pain are all around us. Every home has its heartache. That’s why Easter is so important. The resurrection says God triumphs over all. And Romans 8 verses 11 and 18 declare victory because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead:
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Paul doesn’t even bother to ask here, “Is anybody suffering?” He knows we are. We can’t escape suffering in this fallen world. But what’s devastating to us now will become a distant memory when we come into the magnificent future God has planned for us. These current sufferings won’t compare. All this is made possible because of Easter, because Jesus was raised from the dead.
When Adam sinned, he dragged all creation into a bondage the Bible calls “the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21). The curse of sin was placed upon the world. The deeper question is, Why did God allow it? Why did He permit even the possibility for sin? And why doesn’t He just step in, kill the devil, and destroy evil?
The answer is so important: If God removed evil, He would remove our freedom—our capacity to choose. We must be able to freely choose between good and evil. If evil doesn’t exist, we have no “choice.” We can’t freely choose to love Him.
God is a God of love. He wants a love relationship with us. But love is meaningless if we’re not free to choose to truly love and follow God.
Then what is God going to do about all this evil and suffering? God is going to defeat it at the cross, through the resurrection; in fact, He has already defeated it!
In Romans 8:1-4 we learn that
Sin no longer condemns us once we are “in Christ.”
Sin no longer controls us because of the resurrection.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death (v. 2).
There are two gardens in our history: the Garden of Eden with its first Adam; the Garden of Gethsemane with the Second Adam, the Lord Jesus. The Son of God took sin upon Himself, carried sin to the cross, and died to abolish it.
Today, under the curse, “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (8:22) and we groan as part of it. Something is deadly wrong with this world: infection caused by sin and disease.
When Jesus returns, the curse will be lifted. Creation will be changed (Isaiah 55:12).
Ultimately, God through Christ will triumph over it all. Christ has broken the curse. A better time is coming. Romans 8:19 tell us all creation is standing on tiptoe and “eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” The groans we endure are temporary. The glory we expect is eternal (v.18).
Having endured the worst of sufferings, nevertheless Paul could say:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (v.28)
We've been prepared for glory by receiving life from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We’re predestined for glory, being “conformed to the image of His Son” (v.29). It’s settled, a done deal. Hell cannot annul what Heaven has decreed.
We’re preserved for glory. Jesus took our sins upon Himself saying, “It is finished—paid in full.”
All because of Easter, no foe can conquer us, no fault can condemn us, no fear can separate us from the love of Christ.
We are His forever.
Through all our guilt He offers grace, comforts us in our grief, and welcomes us to glory. God defeats evil with the cross and Easter’s resurrection.
That's what Easter is all about.
Friend, if you don’t truly know Jesus you can’t truly celebrate Easter. Confess your sin, turn from your sin, receive His forgiveness, and worship Jesus as Lord over your whole life.
