Paul’s Vision – Romans 8:24-39

Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome touches on a lot of things that those new to the faith struggled with.  One of the hardest things to understand was how they could believe that God had overcome death through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and yet still continued to suffer as many of their group would have been persecuted and even killed for their faith.

What was the explanation for this? How could they continue to believe in this God? This passage from Romans is a very personal declaration by Paul of what he believes not only about the present time in which they lived but of the future which they are to expect. Yes, the kingdom of God has yet to be fully revealed on earth and because of that, the people of God continue to suffer; but Paul believes with all his being that the return of Christ – which he believed to be imminent – will bring a glory that will cause all suffering to be forgotten.  Creation itself will no longer know decay and ruin. The Spirit of God has been given to the believers who are the children of God, but the final step of their adoption awaits the return of Christ and the redemption not just of their spirits and their minds and their hearts but of their bodies as well.  Paul’s vision is that as God has renewed us in spirit, we will be renewed in body.

And while we do experience the presence of the Spirit of God and know that we are saved, it will remain a hope until the return of Christ and the renewal of all creation.  And we know that hope is something not seen.  It is something that has yet to be realized and Paul encourages the people to hold onto that hope with patience. In this time, the people needed the strength of the Spirit of God to help them overcome the weakness that still plagued them as they sought to discern how they were to live in the world as children of God.

Once again, in spite of the present situation that they find themselves in, Paul affirms that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Then Paul makes a statement that has been the subject of much theological debate over the centuries. Paul sincerely believed that the only reason why we can have faith in God and hope for the coming of the kingdom is that God knows us and he predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.

Paul affirms that God is creating a family who will one day live in a fully revealed kingdom of God. God has already made that decision for us but just because God has decided, there needs to be a response from us. And so, Paul does not simply leave it that we have no say in the matter for he goes on to say that we are called.  Answering the call of God has always been a free will decision. And when we answer the call by committing ourselves to be conformed to the image of Christ, then we come to know the forgiveness and mercy of God whose sacrifice in the blood of Jesus brings us freedom from whatever may be drawing us away from him.  We are freed by the truth that Christ brought and so we are made whole in our spirits as one day we will be whole in our bodies.

For Paul this is an encouragement for all believers. We need not ever doubt our decision to accept the grace of God, to accept the forgiveness and mercy of God, to accept the love of God and to have the courage to live this life as disciples of Christ in hope of the fulfilment of all things in God’s time.

He then goes on to declare to the people that there can be no argument for abandoning their faith.  If God was prepared to do all these things for us, how could we even imagine that anything in this world could ever separate us from God.

Today we have come to remember those who have lived their lives and passed from this place.  We have come to remember that we have entrusted them into the hands of God. We have come to remember that as Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised with him.  We have come to remember our hope for the coming of the kingdom of God. May we never allow anything or anyone to turn us away from the One who knows us, who chose us, who called us, who forgave us and who will count us as his children in that eternal kingdom.

AMEN