Romans 8:21-23 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And 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.

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Introduction

Last week we covered Revelation, Expectation, Subjection, and our Blessed Hope. I have to say I really enjoyed studying this concept of subjection: subjection to vanity vs. subjection in hope. I believe in the power of hope. Hope is not just wishing for something, but it’s waiting, expecting, and planning for; the eminence of our salvation, the surety of our place in heaven, the eternal security of our faith, our savior, and our future. I know there’s much much more in the to this concept of subjection in hope. But we must move on. I read these few verses and I always look at certain words. For example, the subjects is the creature or the whole creation and then we ourselves. And then the common actions like shall be delivered, groaneth, travaileth, and waiting. The objects like the bondage of corruption and the glorious liberty of the children of God and the adoption and the redemption of our body. And I ask myself what sticks out to me? How do all these words come together to speak to me?

How do we group these things together in our understanding?

Two States

So first of all, there are two states that this text is talking about.  And this is probably how we’ll divide the message today. There are two different periods of time to be in. There are two different places to be. One is the present. The here and now. Today. Our current state; current condition; the description of our times and surroundings. The first state is our present state. And the text refers to this as the bondage of corruption. The other is our future, and the text refers this as the glorious liberty of the children of God. And the transition from our present state to our future state, our deliverance from one to the other the bible refers to as the adoption or the redemption of our body. So we are to understand some things about our bodies. Our bodies, in this present state is in the bondage of corruption, right now. But there’s coming a day. Praise the Lord. These bodies will be delivered. These bodies will be redeemed.

I know a lot of times we think, “I can’t wait to get rid of this body! I can’t wait to shed this old flesh!” Well, I got news for you today. This body isn’t going anywhere. This body will not be forgotten. This body will not disappear into oblivion. No. Instead, they will be changed:

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Phillipians 3:20,21)

So did you get that? The Lord Jesus Christ shall change our vile bodies. They will be changed. These bodies will be delivered. They will be redeemed. You might think, “Well what about those bodies that have rotten away into the dust of the ground.” You can go dig up some old graves and you’ll find no body, no bones, no worms, just dirt. These bodies God must first resurrect.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17)

You don’t necessarily need a body to resurrect before hand. The purpose of a resurrection is not what was, but the end result; which is a living body. The resurrection is the quickening of a body, the life of the body. In other words, dust is not a problem for God. The bible says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)  Maybe this is a just a minor point to some people and they might think, “Who cares?”

Well, I care. I care to know the things that God wants me to know. The bible says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalm 139:14) You think about this? Do you think that God is going to throw away what he’s so fearfully and wonderfully made? The bible says “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5) Do you think that God is going to throw away what he has so intimately known and sanctified? The bible says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15) I don’t believe that God will so lightly cast away his creation. These little things, minor points, may give us great insight into the love and care of God.

This reminds me of the Good Samaritan.

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead… …a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

The other night, I had a massive headache. I don’t know what’s really going on in my wife’s soul and spirit. I mean her Spirit does not bear witness with my spirit. But, she gets this oil, deep blue, or pan-away, these essential oils. She drips a few drops on my head and rubs it in. That makes all the difference in the world. She cares for my body. God cares also for our bodies. He cares for all of us, the soul, the spirit, and yes also the body.

Reading through the Old Testament, much importance and care was placed on the temple, the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God. And now we, our bodies, our the temple of God. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) Our body is the temple. Not your spirit or your soul, but your body. That thing you kick out of bed every morning, you scrub down and dress up, you push throughout the day. That thing you keep shoving food down three times a day and the thing you rest it bed every night. The body. Your body. Your body is God’s temple; his tabernacle, his abode.

State #1: The Bondage of Corruption

Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The text speaks of two states; and the first state is our present state. And the text refers to this as the bondage of corruption. Right now, our bodies are in the bondage of corruption. The old temples did not last. The one Solomon Built was destroyed. The temple that Ezra rebuilt fell to decay. The temple that King Herod built has fallen. And now at the temple Mount where the temple of God once stood stands a Muslim mosque. Does everyone know the story of Ben-Hur? In the beginning of the story, Judah Ben-Hur, the Jew, is trying to explain to Messala, the Roman Captain, his hope in the future of his people. He says, “Besides, you must understand this, Messala. I believe in the past and future of my people.” But Messala answers, “Future? You are a conquered people! You live on dead dreams. You live on the myths of the past. Solomon’s glory is gone. You think it will return? Joshua will not rise again to save you… Nor David.”

When I think of the old temples of the Israelites and kings of old and how they didn’t stand forever. They were either destroyed or decayed or carried away. Then I think of our bodies how they don’t seem to last forever. We don’t stay young forever. What we’ve succumbed to is the bondage of corruption. And in this bondage of corruption, we must live. Let me read this text again:

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And 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. (Romans 8:22,23)

In this present state, the present state of bondage, in this prison of corruption I see three things that we do in the text: Groan, Travail, and Wait. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now… We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption…” Groaning, Travailing, and Waiting. You’re probably thinking, “That’s not very encouraging, brother Rick! Groaning, Travailing, and Waiting? I thought you were supposed to be encouraging us and helping us?” Well, like I said before, sometimes we have to hear the bad news first before we can appreciate the good news.

Even in the bad news, it’s comforting to know that God knows, that Paul knew. I never get any indication that Paul was always bubbling, joking, and laughing all the time. He was a pretty serious fellow. And when he gets into these things, it tell me and reminds me that God knows and God cares. When I read the Word of God on these matters it reminds who Jesus is:

For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4;15,16)

Reality is that we need mercy and grace in time of need. We’re not always going to be on the mountain top. Most of this journey is in the valley. And if you do have any mountain top experiences, remember that most of that journey is up-hill. The easy down-hill portions will finish as quick as it starts. It’s just reality. Obfuscating this reality will not help you. But bread and living water along the way will help you. A lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path will help you. A friend that sticketh closer than a brother will help you. A shelter in the time of storm will help you. Amen. So we want to stay, even though its hard, in reality, not fantasy. And the reality of this present time in the bondage of corruption is groaning, travailing, and waiting.

1. Groaning

You know when you hear these three words groaning, travailing, and waiting, what is it that comes to mind? I mean what are these three words synonymous with? I think of no other things but child birth. Now I don’t have actual experience on this. But I do have 1st hand experience on this. Patty had two C-sections in the beginning, but five of the children were born the normal natural way, through groaning, travailing, and waiting. And I got to witness all that 1st hand. I got to be there and witness the whole ordeal. So when I hear groaning, travailing, and waiting, my mind always goes back to the those days. And the irony of this is that I always think of those days as wonderful days. But we’ll get to that later, I think.

I remember when it was time. Those contractions started with a low intensity. And there were false alarms; Braxton-Hitch contractions. The body was just warming up or something. It wasn’t the real thing. You know how I knew it was the real thing? Groaning. Patty would hold her stomach start saying “Oooooooooooo!” When she started doing that, that was it. It was the real thing.

Can I say this: If you ain’t groaning, then you ain’t living. In this life, in this bondage of corruption, in this body, there’s going to be groaning. “Ooooooooooo!”

• When you first get married, and you’re arguing everday, it’s “Oooooooooo!”
• When the grocery bills and the doctor bills start coming and don’t stop coming, it’s “Ooooooooo!”
• When the main water line busts, it’s “Ooooooooooo!”
• When the septic outside overflows, it’s “Oooooooooo!”
• When there’s barely enough time in the day to sleep, it’s “Ooooooooo!”
• When the kids start rebelling, it’s “Ooooooooo!”
• When your sons and daughter become teenagers, it’s “Ooooooooooo!”
• When the parents start getting old, it’s “Ooooooooooo!”
• When your loved ones hurt you, it’s “Oooooooooo!”
• When your body starts to fail you, it’s “Ooooooooooo!”

Now I want to say this: Groaning is not complaining though. If the “Ooooooooo!” was all that groaning was about then it would really just be complaining. Groaning doesn’t just bemoan your present condition, but hopes and waits for something better. Let me say that again. If the moaning is all there is to your groaning, then that’s just complaining and self-pity. You don’t want to go there.

There’s should be a silent “I can’t wait!” after the “Oooooooo.”  So it should sound more like “Oooooooo, I can’t wait….” It’s a longing and an aspiration for something better; a better state, a better condition, better times. If we lose sight of what things can be, or will be, then all we’re doing is complaining. Instead, our groans and moans should be the sounds of toil, the sounds of pressing, the sounds of effort, the sounds of energy spent, the sounds of work.

Groaning is Moaning + Growing.

Groaning is Moaning + Going.

Groaning is Moaning + a Goal.

So if there’s no goal, no going, no growing, then it’s just moaning. When a woman is in labor, there’s an end goal to all this groaning. Every “Ooooooooo” brings that child closer and closer to taking his first breath and beginning a new life.

Have you ever pushed yourself in exercise? You’re trying to reach 40 push ups. You get to 20 and it starts getting real hard. You get to 30 and the pain becomes almost unbearable, but you want to reach 40, so involuntarily as you press for the mark, as you bear down and force yourself to keep going you start groaning, groaning to reach the goal, groaning to not give up. That’s why I say if there’s no goal, no growing, no going, then it’s just moaning.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthian 5:1-4)

Did you see that? For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon. This mortality, these burdens, this tabernacle: We’re not just groaning against these things. No. We’re groaning for something better; to be clothed! We’re groaning for life! We are groaning for a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven.

So in all the groans of life: the bills, the arguing, the water line, the septic tank, the kids, the parents, your parents, and your body, don’t lose sight of the goal. Or maybe I give ourselves a little too much credit. Maybe we need to get a goal. Maybe life seems like a drudgery to you. Maybe all the moaning in your life has no goal to hook up with. Maybe you feel like you’re going nowhere because you truly have no place to go. Maybe in all your trials and troubles you’ve been through, you’ve haven’t grown from them, and instead you keep having to take the same test over and over. I believe this is what Christ does for the mankind. He gives us a goal. He puts some grow in our groanings. He gives us a glimpse of what things can be or what things should be or what things will be for the children of God. In our groanings, are we just moaning, or are we earnestly desiring for something better, earnest contending for our faith.

2. Travailing

I want to bring your attention to two words in the text. It says, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”  In pain. Now I want to go back to what these three words groaning, travailing, and waiting remind us of; child birth. As far the bible is concerned, travailing in birth and pain are synonymous. You will seldom find those two concepts separated in the bible.

Fear took hold upon them there, andpain, as of a woman in travail. (Psalm 48:6)

And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth… (Isaiah 13:8)

Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth… (Isaiah 21:3)

Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. (Isaiah 26:17)

Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. (Isaiah 66:7)

We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. (Jeremiah 6:24)

O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! (Jeremiah 22:23)

Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. (Micah 4:10)

And this last quote here in Micah really hits the nail in the head. You see in the bible, it’s not the baby that is delivered. It’s the mama. Isaiah 26:17 says “Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain…” In Micah it says, “Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. (Micah 4:10) You see it’s not the baby that is delivered from the mama’s womb, but the mama is delivered from her travail. What is gained is not really the baby, but the deliverance from the pain and anguish, deliverance from the 9-10 months of being under a load, deliverance from the burden of carrying that child. She is delivered from the child, not the child delivered from her.

Like I said of groaning, “If you ain’t groaning, then you ain’t living!” But of travailing I’ll say this, “No pain, no gain!” How’s that for encouragement? No pain. No gain. Sometimes I wonder about this. I question, “Is there another way?” Must we suffer in order to grow? Must we suffer in order to learn? Why can’t we just grow? Or why can’t we just learn? Why does it take trials and tribulations and troubles to change and mold us? Why is there so much pain in this life? Why do things have to hurt? And honestly, I have no answer. God’s ways are above my ways. I didn’t set this thing up like this. It’s just so.

But let me take you back to what I was saying earlier about the irony of those days when the children were born. The irony is that even though they were days of pain, travail, worry, sorrow, and such, they were also wonderful days. I can honestly say that two of the most amazing days that Patty and I have had were when those kids were born. I remember when Finny was born, I was in the living room with waiting like the old days. And Patty was in the bedroom with the midwives. I remember all the anticipation and the worry and anguish in that house, but it all was over the moment I heard “Waaaaaaaah!”

A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. (John 16:21)

The bible says that “”’Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Hebrews 12:11) I know I always associate chastening with punishment. But that’s not so. Chastening is correction. And correction is instruction. Correction doesn’t mean that you’re getting punished. It means you’re being trained and instructed. The bible says, “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Proverbs 3;11,12) We question why? Why do we have to go through these things? Why do we have to suffer these things? Why must we be denied things? Because he loves you, and he knows what you need and don’t need.

The bible says “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Proverbs 13:24) No pain. No gain. Nothing is worth having in this life comes forth without pain, without travail. I know we don’t want that. I don’t want that. I often pray that this wouldn’t be so, but I know in my heart that this is the way God made things. I always remember the words of that song, “Tears are a language God understands…” Even the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated this in the garden. The Bible says “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39) And God the Father said, not in words, “That is not possible.” But Praise the Lord, “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:9,10) And if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.

Maybe the when Paul said that he wanted to know the fellowship of his sufferings, what he truly had in mind was the glory and the perfect salvation. In other words, the fellowship of his sufferings are more about the ends and not the means; not the fellowship of the suffering itself, but the fellowship of the ends of that suffering; the glory of God and the redemption of these bodies.

3. Waiting

I’ve been reading this book Talent is Overated. And I’ve come to the conclusion that this book is really just a motivational book, backed up with research. The author is trying to convince and proof to the reader that masters and the greats did not necessarily possess some sort of innate talent, but rather they were a product of a lot of real good practice. Most of the great composers, authors, athletes, and such were not particularly good at what they did when they first started. What they did have in common though was that they had extraordinary teachers, and spend extraordinary time in practice, and they endured extraordinary difficulty in their practice. And one of the things that the author brought up, and this was not his orginal thought, was the 10 year rule; that it takes at least 10 years of practice and study before someone becomes exceptionally good at something. If you study the great authors, composers, and athletes, you’ll see that most all of them waited until after 10 years of their profession before they had their great accomplishment. They had much study and much practice and much failure before they hit the big one, so to speak.

So it’s not just groaning and travailing. But it’s also waiting. No. The answer will not come overnight. You’re going to have to wait. I know this doesn’t set well with our modern day fast food approach to everything. We got it have it now now now! I was just talking to my brother the other day about the wonders of FedEx and UPS. Their superior logistics have, in these recent days of Amazon Prime, are just rock solid now. You can get stuff now, where as in the past, it was a little more difficult. Home Depot and Walmart have everything. Just go get it. You can’t afford it? No problem, just charge it. You don’t have credit? Bad credit? No problem. This is contrary to Christianity. Much like I’ve explained regarding this follow your dream mentality. It runs contrary to the teachings of Christ. Instead of gratify yourself, Christ has challenged us to deny ourselves. Instead of pursuing our dreams, we are challenged to bow to His will and not our own.

And we’re going to have to wait. And it’s not just waiting round doing nothing. It’s waiting in the groaning and the travailing. These great authors and composers and athletes, they just didn’t decide to be great one day and wait around for ten years and all of a sudden they were great. No they did 10 years of purposeful practice, diligent study, hard work, uncomfortable disciplines, and after 10 years of that, then came the fruit. I think that we ought to desire to be great Christians. I’m not talking about being great in the eyes of man; but being all that God wants us to be. This book Talent is Overated takes pages and pages and pages and research and study just to say one thing: Practice makes perfect. We ought to practice being great Christians. Do what it takes grow into all that God wants us to be.

Christians have goals. Christians do have gain. And we do grow. But we also wait for it. And it’s not in ease and comfort, but in groaning and travailing. And it’s not once, not twice, but however long it takes. You say, “Man, that’s tough!” It is. Paul told Timothy “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Timothy 2:3) I always think of that song Lester Roloff used to sing:

You took the hand of Jesus, stepped out upon his promise. Yet it seems you have trusted in vain.
The answer you have prayed for, it’s on it’s way and paid for. Hold on a little longer. Hold on.
Hold on a little longer. Hold on a little stronger. The testings of the Lord are pure gold.
He’ll take you through the fire. He’ll burn out the dross and mire. Hold on.

I don’t know more to say to you than. Wait on the Lord. Do what you know to do and wait on the Lord. He will bring it to pass.

 

Back to the Bondage of Corruption

Now in this present state, this bondage of corruption, is described as a state of groaning, travailing, and waiting. But these three words do not fully describe or explain our state. There’s more to it, for the child of God at least. Let’s read the text again:

Romans 8:22,23 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And 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.

Paul is explaining that the whole world groans and travails for something better, for a better day. And then he says that it’s not just the whole world, it’s the children of God too that groan and travail. But there’s something different about the world and ourselves and it’s those seven words which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We have the Spirit of God. And I think the emphasis is that even though we have the Holy Spirit, we must endure suffering, and groaning, and travailing. That having the Holy Spirit doesn’t exempt us from these things. But it does make all the difference in the world. We read 2 Corinthians earlier:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (Here it is) Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. (2 Corninthians 5:1-4)

It’s God that has put us in this state. This is a similar thought as being made subject unto vanity. God has subjected us to this condition. This condition of groaning and travailing and waiting. He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God! But it doesn’t stop there. It says “who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit!” Remember I’ve said that hope is the holy matrimony between desire and expectation. We may have a desire to go to heaven, but unless we have a reason to expect to go, then we don’t have a hope. We see that same principle here. God has given us the earnest of the Spirit; and the Spirit is that reason to have an expectation. Without it, we’d be only like the rest of the world, groaning, travailing, and waiting for something better, but having no hope. But we have the firstfruits of the Spirit. We have the sampling of the field, the evidence and expectation of the bountiful harvest. We have the proof that there is something better coming. We have the earnest of the Spirit.  The world has not that. 2 Corinthians goes on to say:

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10)

The Holy Spirit gives us confidence in our future; confidence that our current state will someday change; confident that there is coming a day; “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Phillipian 3:16) Confidence that the adoption will take place, that God will redeem of our bodies. It’s the Holy Spirit that gives us this confidence. Without the Holy Ghost, there’d be no go, there’d be no grow, and there’d be no goal. That’s why Paul said, “Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.” That’s why he said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) God has put in us a desire for something better, but he has also put in a reason to expect that something better will come, his Holy Spirit.

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:35-39)

Cast not away therefore your confidence. Can I say this: Even though our bodies may be in a state of corruption, they’re also in a state of confidence. Confident God is not going to forsake what he’s so fearfully and wonderfully made. Confident that God will not forget that which he has so intimately known and sanctified. Confidence to say as Paul has “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

State #2: The Glorious Liberty of the Children of God

There’s two states in the text. The first state is the bondage of corruption. But for the saint of God, in that state there’s hope and confidence and an earnest expectation for the other state, the Glorious Liberty of the Children of God, the adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

Ben-Hur said to Messala, “I believe in the past and future of my people.” But Messala answers, “Future? You are a conquered people! You live on dead dreams. You live on the myths of the past. Solomon’s glory is gone. You think it will return? Joshua will not rise again to save you… Nor David.” Do you know what Ben-Hur said? He said,

“You may conquer the land. You may slaughter the people. But that is not the end. We will rise again.”

These old bodies will soon be conquered. They will fail. These frames will fade away. But they will rise again. God asked of Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” God commanded, “Prophecy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.” (Ezekiel 37:3-5) We will rise again. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” ((1 Thessalonians 4:16) Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” (John 11:25)

We will rise again. These bodies will be resurrected in immortality. These bodies, whether they’ve been dust for a thousand years, or they’re in the middle of corruption with the worms running through them, or whether they still be kicking, we shall all be changed, and in the twinkling of an eye. By the word of God, upon his breath, we will live again. I’m looking forward to the resurrection. I can’t wait to see the stones rolled back. I can’t wait to see the graves bust wide open. I can’t wait to see the immortal glorious body that God will make for me. I can’t wait to be in it. I can’t wait to realize and experience what this glorious liberty of the children of God will be like. Liberty and freedom from corruption. All our long days we have been subject unto vanity, unto corruption, subject unto death and decay and the curse. Bless the Lord, when Jesus comes to redeem these bodies, we will no longer be subject to that. We’ll be free of that. Free of these corruptible bodies and the fate thereof. We will be delivered from the groaning and travailing and waiting of the bodies that were bound to corruption.

Conclusion

Which brings us to the end of this message. Listen, what happens if you are not delivered from that. What happens if you are not in that adoption. What happens if your body is not redeemed? You will forever groan and travail in pain and wait forever for something that will never come. You will be eternally bound to corruption. In Mark, hell is described three times as “The fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9) You all the passage in the bible about Lazarus and the rich man:

“…the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:22-26)

There is no deliverance from the pain, from the groanings and travail. And the waiting will never end. There will be no Holy Spirit and no hope for a better day. After a million years of groaning and travailing and torments, you will lift up your eyes and cry “My agony has just begun.”

Do you have the Holy Spirit? Are you saved? That’s the question that the preacher asked the night before I got saved. Preacher Allen asked during the preaching, “Do you have the Holy Ghost living inside of you?” My wife, who had been in church all her life, walked down the aisle that night and got saved. I fell asleep pondering and mulling over that question and the events that had come to pass. I woke up the next morning on the brink of hell. I came to Jesus, a lost sinful wretch, found love and mercy, and got gloriously saved.