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Episdoe 804:In this episode, we delve into Romans chapter 8, focusing on the powerful promises found within this passage. We discuss the reality of suffering in life and how Paul reassures us that our current struggles are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us. The conversation highlights the hope that creation itself longs for, as well as the groaning of believers who await the full realization of God's promises.
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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, everybody, thank you for tuning in for another episode of The Bible. Man, Chris. When I was coming in today, I was thinking, we're gonna give these guys the best we can possibly give them today on a Thursday. Are you thinking. Of Thursday's recording? Sure? Okay, sure, perhaps you think in general you're thinking I was thinking in general, okay, that we are going to give them the best podcast effort we can give them. Okay, all right, man, Well I'll tell you what this is gonna be a good one. I'm just gonna strive for above mediocrity. I'm gonna let you carry it about that. Okay again, So thanks, all right again. So here'sousn So you know, we only bring the finest. News to our absolutely and to our. Listeners, and you know sometimes we bring special interest things. And this is kind of a little bit of news and a little bit of special interest. It comes from the finest, most reliable sources. We comb the Internet, and we keep coming back to the Babylon b Yes for the best information. So today's article that we're going to read for you is man buys new TV so he can watch NFL refs blow calls and stunning four K resolution. Which which, by the way, is very applicable because the Lions fans just played the Chiefs. For Lions fans in general. But oh yeah right, yeah, yeah, general, yeah, but for considering they just played the Chiefs here recently. Yes, here's what goes new Bronfels, Texas. One super fans dream of seeing his team play in high definition came true this weekend as a local man bought a new TV so he could watch NFL referees blow calls and stunning four K resolution. Derek Johnson upgraded his home entertainment system over the weekend, including a seventy inch OLED television that finally allowed him to see the officiating crew totally botch every penalty call in the forty nine Ers game. I can now see every horrible officiating error in the crystal clear detail, Johnson said after the refs made another completely bogus holding call. Gone to the days when I would be stuck trying to figure out what the refs were looking at on my standard definition TV. Now I can see them ruin games every week in four K. A lifelong Niners fan, Johnson was excited to now see his team fail miserably thanks to egregiously boned calls by inept referees, every bad pass interference call, every down by contact ruling on a clear fumble. I can see it all now, he said. Before I just had a sneaking suspicion that they were making all of these mistakes. Now I can see it just like I was sitting in the front row. It adds a whole new dimension to watching my favorite team get completely re weekend and weekend. Wow. At publishing time, Derek Johnson had smashed his brand new four K TV after throwing one of his wife's decorative fall pumpkins at it in anger due to the refs missing a blatant roughing the passer call. Wow, that's so good. Ah, that's fantastic, so good. So he buys this new TV and all you can see is, you know, the bad rest and then he smashes it right right well, because after all, now he's now he has reason to be angry, right with crystal clarity. Okay, so Chris, do you think that they're blowing these calls? On purpose. You know what I have. It's an epidemic, isn't it. I have a hard time believing the entire organization of the NFL is instructing referees to to to to sway the games, Okay, like in other words, like the conspiracy theory is it's the entire organization right now. The very much lesser theory is that maybe somebody is getting paid under the table, and there's you know, there's certain referees that are getting paid, which, by the way, on you know now with AI that the things that come up after the games are hilarious, right because they make they make people say things that they didn't say. You're right, So like, uh. So the coach, coach Campbell's in the locker room and he's saying like stuff, and I'm like, that's not what he said, right, but but AI makes it seem like it. Right. But anyway, what ends up happening is the referee is just about to call Golf's touchdown back and and then there's a chief fan that walks up to him and he's holding a card reader and he goes boop, he hits the card and then the referee looks down and he goes, thank you, No, no touchdown, we're calling it back. I just And then there's another AI meme where he had a duffle bag full of money and he comes and he lays it down and he goes, he kisses. Him, he kisses the referee, and he goes. He goes pass interference. He's hilarious. Okay, Well, all I know is if the game goes our way, yeah, then I never see any bad calls. But if the game goes against me, I want to gently push back in that and say, oh no, I'm just saying. As a fan, as I do see all the things that go away, I always think to ourselves, ooh, that car went our way and it shouldn't have. Yeah, Like, I always think that all the time. I'm such a good fan that I think I agree with the refs when they go our way, and when they go that's right, that's right. We should get away with that. People have gotten away with it, which by the way, is true. But but yeah, yeah, so uh anyways, that was a I thought, really really useful thing talking about blown calls and all those kinds of things. Yeah, you know what else is useful? You know who also takes good care of their their fans. God, God takes care of his fans. Yeah, that's right. So in Romans chapter eight, Hey, this is oftentimes one of those misquoted version miss misquoted or misunderstood or frustrating passages. So I thought i'd start reading in Matthew eight eighteen. If you don't mind, you know what I allow that. Yes, so there's a lot that he's already talking about beforehand with regard to the living life in the spirit of God. There's now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus all this stuff. But then you get to verse eighteen. It says, yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. So as difficult as this life is, it's nothing compared to how great eternity is going to be. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as as adopted children, including the new bodies He's promised us. We were given this hope, and we were saved. If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently confidently, and the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying. For the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chosen to become like his son, so this son would be the firstborn among many brothers. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him, and having them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things disease? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even his own son, but gave him up for us, all, won't he also give us everything? Else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own no one, For God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one? For Christ. Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, And he's sitting in the right place, in the place of honor that God's right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Doesn't mean he no longer loves us. If we have trouble or calamity, or persecuted or hungry, or destitute, or in danger or threatened with death. As a scripture's sake, say for your sake, we're killed every day. We were being slaughtered like sheep No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ Jesus, who loved us. I'm going to keep go. Yeah, they go. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, No neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today, nor are worries about tomorrow. Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below. Indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Well there you go. Now there's a bunch of promises in there. Buddy. Now you ready for this, Go for it. This is in my top five. Yeah, it's one of my. Best passages, my favorite passage, favorite passage. Yeah, so I would say from from verse thirty five to the end of that chapter, which is what verse thirty thirty nine, thirty nine, Yeah, so thirty five through thirty nine, it is one of the most powerful. In fact, whenever I read it, which is often, I actually say this is first of all, it's the most common question I think in the Bible. Can can you know can can about God's love? Does that love us? Right? It's to do with God's love? You know, it's the most common topic I should say in the Bible. And then it's the strongest answer to any given question in all of the scripture. So I would say the only thing that rivals it would be when God, at least in my mind, unless you can come up with something I'm not thinking of. But remember when God answered job and job and Job was talking in but it really wasn't like a singular question. This is a single question. Can anything ever separate us from Christ love? That's the question? And then all of a sudden, the next four verses is the like some of the strongest language ever. Let me be clear. Nope, nothing, yeah, nothing. Let me clarify what nothing means. Not that and not that and that thing. He says, no power in the sky and the earth below right, nothing indeed will ever be able to separate us from the love of God through Christ, Jesus, our Lord. You know it's just it's just so strong and so yeah. When when God answered job, I think that he answered strongly. You know who made the deaf, who made the dumb? You know who created the ocean who totally can only go this far right, which we just sang on Sunday, by the way, And so anyway, I think that that was a strong answer, but I don't think it was a direct question that was asked that Job had. Jordan's was was did Job plainly say why? Right? Like? You know, he more so complained to God and then God was addressing the complaint right right? Whereas like whereas this is an answer to a question. So anyway, I think I think this is the strongest answer to any question in the Bible. But that really isn't the promise though, right, The promise we're looking at today isn't the promise we're looking at today. Yeah, the promise we're looking at today is he who did not spare his own son, Well he not also give us everything that we need. Yeah, so there's there's the promise of provision. In other words, God gave everything. If God was willing to give everything, including his own son, how hard is it for him to make sure you have what you need? Right? Right? It's he already did the hard work. This is this is light work compared to your big problem today? Is light work compared to what He's already done for you. Yeah, and so he can do it yeah yeah. Well and it's and again this is one of these promises that talk about the nature of God. Right, So the nature of God is a God who's giving, which, by the way, it's worth saying that that, you know, we are created in the likeness of God. We're creating the image of God, and so we're created to give our lives away. So that literally was the sermon on Sunday, wasn't it. That's right. Yeah, we talked about how the fact that you know, we all admire people who are generous, we all admire people who give, and in fact, it's it's some of the strongest admiration that we have for a human to be able to say, at the end of their life, man, they thought of everybody else before they thought of themselves. And the reason why that's in you. We made the case and say, the reason why we thought think that that is in you and in me is because that is the nature of God in you and the story of God in you. Right. So God has placed that within you. It's built in whether you're a Christian or not, or whether you believe in God or claim to be an atheist like it or not, we all believe who are Christians that you, even as an atheist, you still are created in the image of God. You have God's nature in you that needs to come alive in Christ. But it's still there. Your tendencies or you know, human tendencies, and then you have spiritual tendencies, and you're attracted to the story of God that is alive in you. And so I think that I think that that is exactly why we admire people who are selfless, because we are created to be selfless. Yeah. So this passage begins with Paul acknowledging life is hard, right, Hey, things are tough. What we're suffering right now is nothing compared to the glory of what God's promised. And then a lot of people will ask why did bad things happen? Right, And Paul's acknowledging that part of it. Hey, whether you're a Christian or not a Christian, life is really hard, right. You're gonna have moments when it's pretty great, maybe years that are pretty great. Yeah, those moments when my granddaughter came running to me, jumped up on my lap, and the first time they both my grandkids call me jeepy for some reason and jump up on my lap and she goes gep and she just looked at me so intensely, and then she jumped out and ran away again. That delight in that moment is just amazing, you know what I mean. It's just so much fun. And so there's these really incredible beautiful sunset I was out in my tree stand in the woods hunting a couple days ago, and that beautiful fall sunsets, when the leaves are turning, It's just bright blue sky, a little storm in the background, beautiful sunset, geese flying through the air. I could hear a great horned owl was hooting not far away from me, and all of a sudden, coyote started howling all around me. It was just really intense night, right. And sounds like a scene in the Three Amigosh. Yeah, yeah, it was just so incredible. Right. So you have these You're welcome, Chad. You have these amazing moments in life that make us long for paradise and for perfection. I agree with that. Topia, I agree with that. And then we have to leave. You got to get out of your tree stand. You got to come home from your vacation, right, and you're hit. Just keep on kids, keep disobeying, you know what I mean, screaming in the back of all that kind of stuff. And and so it's built in us to desire paradise and perfection. And then Paul says, but hey, the promise we're looking for is exactly what God's promised. That's exactly what your heart desires, right, it's that perfection. But in between, what's going on? And he says, well, the whole world, against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. God says, if you sin, you'll die. And you know he made humanity is the crown jewel of creation. So when when we sin, everything broke, everything broke. It all pivoted from it's designed to keep you alive too. Now it's trying to have you ever been to Texas. Everything in Texas is trying to kill you. Everything in Africa. You've been on the bush with me before, we've been together, and well, I guess I was out in the bush with you on that trip, wasn't it. But everything's trying to kill you, man. The bugs are trying to kill you. The plants are trying to kill you. The heat's trying to kill you. The rocks, the sides of the mountains, everything serpents. So yes, snakes are trying to kill you. And so he says, what happened was the world broke under the curse that was placed on humanity because of our sin. And he says, but with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day. This is all of creation is looking forward to the day when it'll join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. There's going to be a day when there'll be no more death, just like there was at the beginning in perfection. We have this echo off action in paradise in eternity that we still long for today, all of creation does. And he says, for we know that all creation has been groaning, as in the pains of childbirth, right up to the present time. And so and he says, even we believers also grown, even though we have a holy Spirit with us as a foretaste of future glory. Right, so we even we long for our bodies to be released from this this sin and suffering. And so we wait with an eager hope. So we also are living in a broken world, and so bad things happen, But because of Christ, we have hope for eternity, and he will have a solution. He has a he had he bring us back to the garden, back to paradise that we've always longed for. So you know how the garden when Sin entered into the world. One of the things that God specifically mentions is you're gonna have to work for your food now. Yeah, right, So, so no longer is everything going to be perfect. So I equate that to weeds, right, we are a part of that curse. Right, hard hard ground weeds. Yeah, like like labor, low production. Yeah, and so so I definitely look forward to the time when all landscaping will have no weeds. Yeah, great, with no weed block, no weed block needed, that's right. But let me ask you this question. Based on the fact that there's gonna be no more even even creation itself is looking forward to no more death. Does that mean do you think that leaves will no longer turn colors and die? Will they always just be green? Well, you would have to have that leaf be a living entity. And it's not. It's a part, but. It says here creation is looking forward. To Yeah, but the tree is the living entity. The leaf is just a part of the tree. Okay, yeah, yeah, Otherwise you'd have to believe that hair would never fall off your head, that fingernails would never need to be clipped. You make a good point, and I will concede to it. It felt, that felt unbelievably fulfilling. Of course you did. It always does for you. That's so good. So anyways, even Paul acknowledges this is Saint Paul. We think of him as being like super Christian Paul. Right, And even he says, hey, listen, it's hard for all of us. Life is hard. We shouldn't be surprised by it. We're all going through it saved and unsaved together. Life is difficult because the world is broken. The difference is you and I don't have to be depressed by it because Jesus has a solution for it. Right, And so then people go, well, then why are we living in this curse? How mean is that? Well, Peter tells us God isn't being lazy right the way that you would measure laziness the city. Otherwise, why wouldn't you come back sooner? Right? Instead, it says he's being patient so that no one would perish, but that everyone would have a chance to come back to him in repentance. Right, And so God's allowing time to play out, even though it's a broken time. He's allowing it to play out so that everybody that should be born will be born, and that everybody will have an opportunity to hear the gospel and turn to Him in faith. And so the solution to the broken world around us isn't just isn't only more food lines, more bags of rice, more wells. The solution is we need to get more Jesus everywhere, and he begins to restore what is broken and what is lost. And we have the Holy Spirit one in us, which gives us assurance of the promises to come. Yeah, and once again, the nature of God, the promise that we were focusing on hinges on the fact that this describes everything about Jesus or God, the father who gave Jesus. Right, so it says, you know that he where's that thirty two? That's really again, since he did not spare even his own son, but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Because like you said, he's already done the hard work. So is there anything more costly? To God than to give up his only begotten son. Right, So God is not going to withhold well, you know what, I don't think they deserve this. So think of and by the way, this is such a great word picture because no matter what you can think of, it's not going to trump what God has already given to us. So if somebody comes up and says, hey, listen, I'm going to give you a million dollars, we always think, do you think that maybe he'll give me five dollars? Right? And he's like, yeah, I'm pretty sure he's willing to give you five dollars because last week he cut you a check for one million dollars. I've already given you that Rebby steak, right, but I'm not going to give you this chicken nugget right right, right, It doesn't make any sense. I've already given you that private jet, right, but I'm not gonna let you have this paper airplane right right right. That's more extreme. That's more extreme. Right. So He's already given us, beyond our comprehension everything that we need. Why would he hold back simple little things? And that's really what Paul's trying to say. Yes, right, but I think it's interesting because he pivots in between how hard the world is to all the needs that we're going to have, and right in the middle of that. Again, I'm always looking for what's in the middle, he says. You know, sometimes we don't even know what to pray for. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't always know what God wants us to pray for. Well, then if I don't know, and I think a lot of our listeners are probably struggle with this, I've struggled with this in my past. Oh yeah, boy, I just I'm not going to pray because I don't even know what to pray for, right, And it's exactly the opposite solution here. So pray, keep praying, because the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that can't be expressed in words, and the Father, who knows all hearts, knows what the Spirit is saying for. The Spirit leads pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And then in that context, we know that God works all things together for our good. But it's not for everybody. It's just for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So you can't mess up praying, is what I'm trying to say. You might not know what to pray for, So tell God, God, I don't know what to pray for. The Holy Spirit, would you? Would you sort this out? I need help, right, And so you're you're asking, and then the Holy Spirit can pray on a level bring our needs to God on a level we can't even comprehend, he says, with groanings. We can't be expressive words. That's good. Well, that's probably a great place to end, and what a great passage, and hopefully we will see you tomorrow on the Bible. Gus