This is a summary of the sermon preached on July 20, 2025.
- Date: Sunday July 20, 2025
- Venue: A Sunday service at Karuizawa Retreat Center
- Title: "Suffering and Glory"
- Scripture: Romans 8:18-30
Introduction
As you can probably guess from the title, one of the central themes of today’s message is suffering.
Unfortunately, the Bible does not promise that becoming a Christian will eliminate suffering or free us from it.
In fact, it teaches quite the opposite:
even after we come to faith in Christ, suffering remains a part of our lives.
However, as we will see today, the Bible does not speak only of suffering—it also promises glory that is to come.
Through our passage today, I’d like us to consider together:
How should we as Christians face and respond to the sufferings of this present world?
The Glory of Salvation
Paul opens in Romans 8:18 by saying that
the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
When Christ returns, the final judgment will be rendered, and this world will come to an end.
On that day,
those of us who believe in Jesus, as children of God, will be fully freed from the power of sin and death (Romans 8:21; cf. Romans 6:22–23).
Our bodies will be redeemed and transformed into glorious, imperishable bodies—just as Jesus was raised from the dead (Romans 8:23; cf. Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:51–55).
At that time, it will be made manifest that
we, who believe in Christ, are truly God’s children—Jesus being the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:19, 23, 29).
All of this describes what Scripture calls
the complete salvation—the final, glorious fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan.
Paul is essentially saying that
it is by fixing our eyes on this future glory—the coming fullness of salvation—that we are able to endure the suffering of this present age.
The Hope of Salvation
Paul then expands his vision beyond humanity to all of creation in verses Romans 8:19–21.
God’s redemptive plan is not limited to the restoration of humanity alone. He also intends to restore creation itself to its rightful, original state (cf. Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5).
The complete salvation, according to the Bible, is not merely the redemption of individuals, but the renewal of the entire created order.
Because of this hope—that all things will be made new—Paul tells us in Romans 8:24–25 that we are able to persevere through suffering with endurance.
The Help of the Holy Spirit
In verses Romans 8:26–27, Paul offers even more encouragement:
God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, helps us to endure the suffering of this world.
In other words,
God responds to the Spirit’s intercession in perfect alignment with His will. Through these Spirit-led prayers, God accomplishes His divine purposes in our lives (cf. 1 John 5:14).
There are moments in our lives when suffering overwhelms us to the point that we don’t even know how to pray.
But
even in such weakness, the Holy Spirit comes to our aid—interceding for us according to the will of God.
And
God, in His faithfulness, answers the Spirit’s prayers. Through our hardships and sorrows, God accomplishes not our plan—but His.
When we begin to see our present suffering as the context in which God is actively working, a deep strength can well up from within.
I believe I’m not alone in experiencing that.
The Sovereignty of God
Finally, in Romans 8:28–30, Paul proclaims that
God is sovereign over all things, and uses all things to bring us into the fullness of His glorious salvation.
In verse 29, Paul tells us that
God has predestined us—to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that Christ would be the firstborn among many.
This means that
our becoming like Christ and Christ becoming our elder brother is the very fulfillment of that complete salvation we’ve been considering since verse 18—the glory to be revealed in us.
Then in verse 30, Paul astonishingly writes that
this glory—the one still to be revealed—has already been given to believers.
In other words,
our glorification, our full, complete salvation, is not in question. It is guaranteed in God’s sovereign plan. He will bring it to pass, using all things to do so.
Seen in this context,
the “good” in verse 28 refers to our complete salvation, the glory to come.
“[I]n all things God works for the good” means that God is at work in all things—even in suffering—to bring us into that future glory.
When we grasp this truth, we can endure suffering—not by our own strength, but by trusting the absolute sovereignty of our faithful God.
Conclusion
There is suffering in this world.
Becoming a Christian does not mean we are guaranteed a life of ease, joy, and pleasure every day.
That’s because
the salvation the Bible speaks of has not yet come to its full completion.
That full salvation will be realized only when
Christ returns at the end of the age.
So when you feel crushed by grief, sorrow, or pain,
lift your eyes toward the glory that is coming in the world to come.
When you find yourself so overwhelmed that you no longer know how to pray,
remember the Spirit who dwells within you and intercedes on your behalf.
When your pain is so intense that you lose sight of God altogether,
remember His sovereign hand—that He is using all things, even your suffering, to accomplish His perfect will.
No matter what happens,
God will restore all things to their rightful state.
On that day,
we will be freed from sin and death,
receive imperishable resurrection bodies, and
be conformed to the image of Christ.
Then it will be revealed for all to see that
we are truly children of God, and we will dwell forever in the family of God, with Christ as our firstborn brother.
Some of you may still struggle to grasp this coming glory.
If that’s you,
look again to the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is through the cross—through Jesus bearing our sins and dying in our place—that we are forgiven, justified, and made children of God (Romans 3:23–24, 28; 8:14–15).
But
the Bible doesn’t stop there.
Salvation includes not just freedom from sin, but also freedom from death itself—because sin and death are inseparably connected.
The Bible tells us that through Adam’s sin, death entered the world (Romans 5:12).
So, if Jesus has taken away our sin, and we’ve been freed from its power, then we must also be freed from death.
And
the guarantee of this promise—we'll be freed from death—is the resurrection of Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26, 54).
His resurrection assures us that one day we too will experience complete salvation—not only from sin, but from death.
That is our hope, even now, in this suffering world.
There is suffering in this world.
But
glory awaits in the world to come.
May we remember the cross and resurrection of Christ, which gives us assurance and hope for the glory to come,
rely on the help of the Holy Spirit, and
trust in the sovereign plan of God as we walk day by day through this broken world.
Amen.
Bibliography and Notes
- Moo, Douglas J. Romans. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
Douglas J. Moo, Zondervan (2000/12/1)
- ———. The Letter to the Romans. Second edition. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2018.
Douglas J. Moo, Eerdmans Pub Co 第2版 (2018/11/26)
- Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. 2nd edition. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2018.
Thomas R. Schreiner, Baker Academic; 第2版 (2018/10/16)
Douglas J. Moo, Zondervan (2000/12/1)
Douglas J. Moo, Eerdmans Pub Co 第2版 (2018/11/26)
Thomas R. Schreiner, Baker Academic; 第2版 (2018/10/16)