Renew: Romans 8 With Timothy KellerSample

Looking Forward

This world, and each of us, are not what we were meant to be. But one day, we will be. This certainty is what Paul calls “hope.”

Where Nature Is Heading

• What does Paul tell us about nature? (v 20, v 22)

The creation is in “bondage to decay” (v 21). It is caught in a continuous cycle of death and decomposition. Life always ends in death.

• What does Paul tell us about nature’s future (v 21)?
• When will this happen (v 19)?

When the full glory of our status as God’s children and heirs is revealed, we will bring nature with us. The glory that is coming will be so blindingly powerful that when it falls upon us, it will envelop the whole created order and glorify it along with us.

Some people see the material world as inherently bad—we should withdraw from the world, and be suspicious of physical pleasures. Others see the material world as all there is, and inherently good—we should enjoy, and live for, creature comforts, physical pleasure and beauty.

• How does the view of the created world in these verses differ from these views?
• What difference will a Christian view of the world make to how we treat it?

Where We Are Heading

• What does Paul tell us about believers? (v 19, v 21, v 23)

We saw in the devotional on the previous passage how wonderful it is to be Spirit-filled sons of God. Yet all this is only the “firstfruits,” a foretaste of the incoming harvest that we will enjoy in the future. We will be completely, totally free from the effects of sin and death in our bodies and spirits.

• How do we wait for this day (v 23, 25)?

How the Spirit Helps

• As we wait, how does the Spirit help us?
• How does this encourage us when we suffer, and when we struggle to pray?

When we are too weak to act like children of God, the Spirit helps us.

Pray

Are there issues in your life that you don’t know how to pray for? Bring them before God now, trusting the Spirit to take your thoughts and emotions and to pray on your behalf. Ask for an eager patience about the new creation.