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| > Sermon Archive > Sermons by Author > Rev. Jeremy Segstro > The Greatest Sermon Ever Written: This Too Will Pass | Previous Next Print |
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) Reading: Psalm 41 Text: Romans 8:14-30
THE GREATEST SERMON EVER WRITTEN: THIS TOO WILL PASS
Words to Listen For: bloom, goat, seal, starve, due-date, punch
Questions for Understanding:
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Beloved congregation of Jesus Christ,
Have you ever heard the saying: “This too will pass” ?
It is a saying that is so popular, in both secular circles and in the church that recently someone asked me, “ ‘This too will pass’ - what Bible verse is that again?”
But it’s not something that is in the Bible. Instead, it comes from an ancient legend.
There was once a king who came up with a test for his advisors.
“Find me something that will make me happy when I am sad, and sad when I am happy.”
The advisors puzzled the matter over in their minds, and eventually brought the king a ring. He smiled, thinking that they had failed their task, until he saw the inscription: This too will pass.
This too will pass.
When things are bad, remember: it won’t always be this way. Take one day at a time. This too will pass.
When things are good, remember: it won’t always be this way. Enjoy every great moment. This too will pass.
Now, even though this comes from a legend and not the Bible, there is something similar that we read in God’s Holy Word.
And it’s EVEN BETTER than This too will pass.
Turn with me, all of you, to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
2 Corinthians chapter 4.
Verse 17 and 18 - For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
I prefer the NIV - what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What does this mean?
Well, this contrasts so beautifully with “this too will pass.” Because what this secular saying suggests is that there is hope because BAD THINGS aren’t forever, and there is beauty and value because GOOD THINGS aren’t forever.
But that’s precisely the wrong way to look at it.
It is COMPLETELY UNTRUE that the beauty of something is directly linked to its temporary nature.
A flower is not so beautiful BECAUSE its bloom quickly withers.
A sunset is not so beautiful BECAUSE it will soon be night.
And then, just in case you’re unconvinced, a ridiculous example for you: a marriage is not so beautiful because divorce looms over the horizon!
A flower or a sunset is beautiful DESPITE its temporary nature.
Our desire is not that the ultimate good and the ultimate bad will pass away and we just have to accept it - an incorrect understanding of stoicism - but rather, as Christians, we rejoice because “this too will pass” is written across ALL EARTHLY THINGS but NO HEAVENLY THINGS.
“This too will pass” describes precisely NONE of our riches in Christ Jesus. In fact, all other things will pass away, and these riches will be the only things that are left, lasting into eternity.
So as we begin to close the book on
THE GREATEST SERMON EVER WRITTEN, saving the second half for another time, let us examine together where this phrase: THIS TOO WILL PASS, properly applies.
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Our Identity Will Never Pass Away
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Our Suffering Will Pass Away
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Our Future is Forever Secure
THIS TOO WILL PASS: OUR IDENTITY WILL NEVER PASS AWAY
Let me begin by posing what might be a strange question - do you still prefer that original saying? “This too will pass.”
Is it easier for you to live in a world where everything is temporary? Is it easier for you to be stoic in the wrong way - cutting off all the high and low parts of your emotional journey, existing in the plateau of being “fine” - never really sad, but never really joyful either?
Let me put it this way to you - just as there are those of us who are afraid of heights, afraid to stand on a ladder or a roof…there are also those of us who are afraid of EMOTIONAL HEIGHTS.
Can I dare to let myself hope?
Can I dare to let myself feel joy?
Can I dare to let a friend into my life?
It will all just pass away anyways.
“This too will pass” feels like a curse, but it’s a curse that has become COMFORTABLE. We hate it…but we also love it.
We CAN LIVE in a world where everything is temporary. It has become our “new normal.” But living where there are ETERNAL THINGS…where there are things that, no matter how hard we try, we can’t change…well, this can terrify us.
But should it? What are these things that are eternal for those who believe? What is promised to us? What will never be taken away?
We began to hear of these glories last time: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus - that shining jewel of comfort and joy and peace.
No condemnation - Jesus Christ has entered the conversation and has taken on that wrath that we so rightly deserve, and has given us the righteousness that He so perfectly earned.
And then, For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ from the law of sin and death!
Sin says “jump” and we CAN RESIST. We can draw our sword and say, “NOT TODAY! I don’t have to obey you. I have a new master!”
The glorious eternal promises continue with the promise of fulfillment - fulfilling the LAW with the LORD - for only one of these can save us, and then the promise of walking by the Spirit. Depending on the Holy Spirit instead of living in our own strength.
Of these promises we cannot speak in detail this morning. For there are other wonderful promises as Romans 8 continues.
Romans 8 is a chapter that can be pictured as mountain goat leaping from peak to peak, with ever greater promises, with ever higher joys. What began with no condemnation ends with no separation. No separation from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Looking to our text:
Verse 14 - For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God
All who are led by the Spirit.
This comes directly from that last glorious promise, walking by the Spirit.
Those who are led by the Spirit, those who are awake, recognizing their sin and fighting against it with all the strength the Spirit provides…it is these people, these people who I hope and pray all of you are…these people are SONS OF GOD.
This one of the most precious, the most glorious themes in the Bible. And it all begins here. Apart from 3 minor references in Matthew and Luke, this is the first time in the New Testament age that Christians are called SONS of God.
We may not be over-awed by this, as familiar with this language as we are in the church, but try to hear it now as though you are hearing it for the very first time.
You are a SON of God. Even the women. You are all SONS OF GOD.
Now, this isn’t sexism, but rather the exact opposite. The fact that the Apostle Paul says “all who are led by the Spirit” are SONS OF GOD speaks to the remarkable progressivism of the gospel. Men, women, children…Jew and Gentile, slave and free…ALL ARE HEIRS. All are SONS. All will INHERIT.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons.
Sons here are contrasted with slaves.
And what’s the difference?
Slaves are always fearful - their entire identity is that of PERFORMANCE. Slaves are always one wrong move away from being cast out.
A slave is not loved, a slave is used…a SLAVE is temporary. A slave is a “this too will pass” kind of identity. But a SON…a son is an HEIR. A son is LOVED. A son has RIGHTS and PRIVILEGES. A son is ETERNALLY A SON.
We are welcomed in and will NEVER be cast out.
Ah, but one of you might say, the text says ADOPTED SON. The Spirit of ADOPTION.
Now this might make us pause. Is there a difference between ADOPTED CHILDREN and NATURAL CHILDREN? Is this a two-tiered system?
NOT AT ALL. We might think that in the days of the Roman empire, bloodlines might matter immensely, but this was actually not the case. Not one bit.
What Paul is drawing on here is the amazing Roman adoption laws. The word Paul uses is for that of being PLACED INTO A FAMILY. Adopted, placed in, welcomed in. And what adoption meant in that time was that you immediately lost all the rights and privileges and debts of your old family. Sound familiar? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The wages of sin is death. Death and condemnation are the “rights” and “privileges” of our old life, and they are LOST. Immediately.
Literally Romans 8:1 says “there is not one condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It’s not good english, but it’s GREAT THEOLOGY. NOT ONE CONDEMNATION. Not an ounce. That old way of life is DEAD!
You immediately lose all of the rights and privileges and debts of your old family, and you immediately gain all the rights and privileges of your new family. Exactly the same as a natural born son. When your father dies, you inherit exactly the same as the natural born sons. You gain land, you gain wealth, you gain power.
The most famous adopted child was a man named Gaius Octavius. You might know him better by the name CAESAR AUGUSTUS. The emperor of Rome who sent out a decree that all the world would be registered? An adopted child of Julius Caesar. Inherited all the rights and privileges of RULING THE ENTIRE KNOWN WORLD.
Just like us. Adopted children of God, we will REIGN WITH CHRIST - the natural Son of God - over all things.
An adopted child is by no means a second-class citizen. But the problem is that this adoption is an invisible thing. We’ve been welcomed into the household of God…but…internally. Invisibly.
And the Apostle recognizes that this is hard to believe. These INVISIBLE THINGS that are eternal. What is seen will fade away, what is unseen will not decay.
And so, verse 16 - the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Not only has God placed His seal on us, washed us clean in the blood of Christ, welcoming us into His home to dwell with Him forever, but He has given us His Spirit to live inside of us to comfort us when we doubt. The Holy Spirit, when He is promised in John 14, is called the comforter. Another comforter.
Just as Jesus, during His earthly ministry would comfort His disciples, working with their weaknesses, meeting them in their brokenness…so too the Holy Spirit now comforts us. When we doubt the eternal invisible things, He comes to us and assures us of eternal life. He assures us of our adoption. Of our eternal identity as heirs of God.
And in this world, in this life, we desperately need assurance, because, even for heirs of the ruler of all, this world is filled with pain and suffering. The Holy Spirit assures us that there is a purpose to suffering, and there is an end to suffering. It will pass away. Our second point.
Romans 8 would be a lot easier if the Apostle Paul made a firm separation between sonship and suffering. It would. THIS LIFE would be a lot easier if there was that firm separation there.
You are sons, you are heirs to eternal life, you have this bright and glorious future, but before that is realized, there is going to be suffering. And it SUCKS. But it’s temporary.
Sonship over here // Suffering over there.
But that’s not what Paul does. Because what do we see in verse 17? Suffering and sonship completely enmeshed together.
Backing up to verse 16 for context - The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
WHY CAN’T IT STOP THERE?
But it doesn’t.
Heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, PROVIDED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM.
There is a certain amount of frustration and confusion we can have with the end of verse 17.
So what do we make of it?
Well, we see that there is, at once, the teaching that suffering is RELATED TO GLORY, and then that suffering is CONTRASTED FROM GLORY.
First, how they are related.
The relation here between suffering and glory is what we call CONDITIONAL.
Provided we suffer with Him - this is the condition - in order that we might be glorified with Him. And here, glorified is related then to being a co-heir with Christ. What do we inherit? GLORIFICATION.
Now this can produce all kinds of uneasiness, all kinds of doubt.
I THOUGHT ALL THIS WAS ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED BY CHRIST!
NOW I TOO HAVE TO SUFFER? AND I HAVE TO SUFFER WITH CHRIST…does that mean that my suffering must match His suffering, so that my glorification will match His glorification?
I’ve suffered SOME…but maybe not a LOT?
I’ve suffered A LOT…but not like CHRIST!
But we can calm down. We MUST calm down, calm our fears, we must calm our doubts.
For what was true in point 1 about us being heirs of God IS STILL TRUE. What was true last time about there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus IS STILL TRUE.
What we will hear in point 3 about the golden chain of salvation - those whom He predestined, He also called, those whom He called He also justified, those whom He justified He also glorified…this IS STILL TRUE.
But how then can we make sense of this puzzle?
Let’s unravel this together.
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If we are justified, we WILL BE GLORIFIED
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Only those who suffer will be glorified.
What should we conclude then?
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We must conclude then that suffering is part of the Christian experience. A NATURAL PART OF THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. It is not something that we must ADD in order to be saved, for the only suffering that saves us is the suffering of Christ. How could we ever add to His work on the cross? NONSENSE!
So what is this suffering? It is BUILT IN to the Christian life.
The suffering of our sanctification. It feels like suffering to kill your old nature each and every day.
Because, while on the one hand, it ISN’T YOU ANYMORE, on the other hand, it definitely still is. You have to deny, you have to starve, you have to KILL your old nature. By any means necessary. In the strength that the Spirit gives.
And there is external suffering too. We struggle with our own sin, and we struggle with the sinful behaviour of others. This we heard in our reading of Psalm 41.
Verse 5 - My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?”
Verse 7 - All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me
Verse 9 - Even my closest friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me
We will be hated because we confess the name of the Lord.
We will be hated because we have a sexual ethic consistent with Scripture.
We will be hated because we value life in the womb, we value the life of those living with disabilities, we value the life of the elderly.
By confessing that JESUS CHRIST and not CAESAR is Lord, we have set ourselves up as enemies of this world. And they do not like that.
But there’s another conclusion we can come to about suffering.
All the justified will be glorified - TRUE
Those who suffer will be glorified - TRUE.
Suffering must be part of the Christian life, flowing from justification - TRUE.
BUT ALSO NOW…
God Almighty, our Heavenly Father, our Abba, will see you through your suffering. He will preserve you in suffering. The suffering will not stop your salvation. It will not prevent it. For your salvation is ETERNAL, but your suffering is temporary.
The Apostle Paul goes on to describe the CONTRAST between suffering and glory.
Verse 18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us.
From verse 18 through the end of our text this morning, really through the end of the chapter, the Apostle Paul outlines his theology of suffering.
And it can all be summed up in 4 words. Just 4 words: IT IS WORTH IT.
All of this suffering…IT IS WORTH IT.
It’s more than that, but this is Paul’s conclusion: IT IS WORTH IT.
And we can see that it is worth it for 4 reasons.
First of all, the lesser paves the way for the greater.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are NOT WORTH COMPARING with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Not worth comparing. You know what that means? It means that when we step through the veil separating this world and the next, all of our sufferings will seem as nothing.
The sufferings that are so overwhelming now, will seem as nothing in comparison to the weight of glory. A weight of glory UNSURPASSED. Unsurpassed by the tiny hints of glory we see here, but also unsurpassed by all of the suffering here.
And there is DEEP SUFFERING. There is intense physical pain, there is a lack of physical ability, a lack of mental ability. There is paralyzing anxiety, where people feel trapped in their homes. There is crippling depression where people cannot get out of bed. There is illness, there is even DEATH.
And Paul knows this too. He is not writing out of ignorance. The Apostle Paul suffered more than many of us will ever suffer…whipped by the Jews, beaten by the Gentiles, stoned, shipwrecked, starving and dehydrated, anxious for all the churches, imprisoned and eventually beheaded for his faith.
And yet…NOT WORTH COMPARING. It is worth it.
What glory is waiting for us? So much more glory than we could ever imagine.
Our fear is that the glory will not be worth all of our suffering. Because all we can see sometimes is the suffering.
But how does our saying go? “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
The lesser gives way to the greater, and the temporary is replaced by the eternal.
For I consider that the sufferings of THIS PRESENT TIME
This present time. Our sufferings here will not continue forever. That’s just not how it works. When suffering has produced its work, it will pass away.
We see the hope, the confidence of the end of suffering in the next few verses
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God
When we will be publicly declared as heirs. When we receive our full inheritance.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Creation itself will be set free. It hasn’t been set free yet. Creation still groans under the weight of sin…creation, meant to glorify God, has been corrupted, just like we were. This doesn’t mean that Christ died for the sins of CREATION, but rather, that there will be a new creation, creation will be renewed. This promise belongs, properly, to the GLORIFICATION aspect of our salvation, not to the JUSTIFICATION aspect.
For we know that creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
The pains of childbirth…what a description! The pains of childbirth - something is coming. Something is being produced inside. And it’s GLORIOUS! It’s PERFECT! It’s PARADISE! But man, is it ever PAINFUL! Paradise is being grown in the womb of this world. And we are getting ever closer to the due-date.
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A moment ago, I said: “when suffering produces its work” - what exactly is that work?
Well, we see this answered in the next few verses of our text. Suffering sanctifies us, and suffering even COMFORTS US.
Suffering sanctifies us because it draws us to depend on God. Specifically God the Holy Spirit who is at work inside of us, making us holy.
Verse 26 - Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.
See that last word there? It governs the whole phrase. Not only is it God’s purpose to CALL US…but ALL THINGS. ALL THINGS are the purpose of God. Even when you can’t see the purpose, not knowing why it is God’s plan to have you still on this side of glory, there is still a purpose.
The purpose of God is to make us more and more Christlike, more and more holy, revealing more and more of that family resemblance we have as His children.
We are sanctified in our suffering - causing us to depend on HIM, making us rely on GOD rather than ourselves. Encouraging us to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.
And we are comforted in our suffering. It feels SO FOREIGN, EVERY TIME…because that’s exactly what it is. Suffering IS FOREIGN. It’s not the way it should be. What is natural is the resolution of suffering. What is natural is comfort. And the Holy Spirit interceding for us with groanings too deep for words. When we groan in pain, He groans in comfort. Divine almighty comfort.
So write across all of your sufferings the words: THIS TOO WILL PASS. Because they will. This saying perfectly describes our earthly sufferings. THEY ARE NOT FOREVER. THEY WILL PASS AWAY. THERE WILL BE A DAY WHEN THEY WILL BE NO MORE.
Psalm 41 speaks to this beautifully - In the day of trouble, the LORD delivers him. There are days of trouble, but God will always deliver us from them. Whether the the day is 24 hours or 24 years…we will be delivered.
The LORD protects him and keeps him alive
The LORD sustains him on his sickbed
And let us not be so small minded as to apply this exclusively to our earthly health. To our earthly life. Because THIS TOO WILL PASS. Our earthly pleasures and treasures WILL PASS AWAY. Exchanged for eternal lasting treasure and glory.
But rather the LORD protects our soul. It will stay alive, truly alive, raised with Christ, never to die again, it will stay alive even though the terrors of death.
We will be sustained on our sickbed - not necessarily physically. There will be a sickbed for each one of us that becomes our deathbed. But during that suffering, we will be sustained. We will not be lost to God, we will not be disinherited from His house…in our suffering, we will be kept close to Him, forever dwelling together with our Father.
Indeed, however difficult our road, wandering in the wilderness, walking on a road marked with suffering, even DEFINED BY SUFFERING for a season…our destination, our future is secure. Our final point this morning.
What is our destination? What does our future look like? In a word: GLORIOUS.
Verse 29 - For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called, those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified, He also glorified.
Verses 29 and 30 sit on the foundation of verse 28 - And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
And so often, we make a mistake with this verse. We make a mistake when we say it to others, and we make a mistake when we hear it said to us.
All things work together for good.
We say this to those who are hurting, on that road of pain, that season of suffering. And this is the mistake we make. It isn’t wrong to say this. It’s not. But when we say this as a simple solution to everything, when we say this and sit back with a contented smile on our face thinking that we have fixed the problem? No. Ridiculous.
How did I describe this verse a moment ago? As a FOUNDATION. This verse is not a building in itself. This verse out of context is not a skyscraper of hope, or a one punch knockout to any suffering someone is going through.
If you’re going to use this verse, use it carefully, and use it in context. Mourn with those who mourn, show care and compassion, and when you want to show comfort, remind them of who they are in God. Remind them of the weight of glory that is about to descend upon them. Remind them that their sorrow is not the punishment of God, and that being sad, being confused, even being angry with God cannot take away their salvation.
Because out of context…to tell someone that a death in the family might make them a bit emotionally stronger a year from now? That’s heartless and cruel. That’s not what God does, that’s not what Scripture says.
And the other mistake we make? Essentially exactly the same - from the other side. When we hear this verse, when someone who wants to comfort you, someone who wants to comfort you with the beautiful truths of Scripture, with the eternal promises of God, and they make a mistake in how they go about it…try…try in your pain to have patience with them. Remember the context of Romans 8. Ask your would-be-comforter to read Romans 8 together with you. Hear the true context of this comfort. Help your comforter truly comfort you.
So this is the foundation…what is built on top?
Only the most glorious building ever constructed!
Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined.
Those whom He predestined, He also called
Those whom He called, He also justified
Those whom He justified, He also glorified.
And we only have a few minutes left, we have to go through this quickly, so hold on.
Those whom He foreknew
Before the foundation of the world, God knew you. Now, of course, God knew everyone who would ever exist. But this knowing is a special kind of knowing. A deep knowing and a deep loving. And by all accounts, it doesn’t make sense. That God would know us AND YET STILL LOVE US? Knowing all our inner darkness, knowing all our sins and weaknesses, knowing the depths of our hatred, and still loving us. He knew you…He knew you as a member of His church, as a member of His family, as someone washed by the blood of His Son. Before time began, before Christ ever died, before you were ever washed clean. Because time…time doesn’t call the shots when it comes to God. He is eternal, He is beyond time. And so, before you were ever born, HE KNEW YOU.
Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined.
We are still in the time before time began. He predestined you. He did not just KNOW YOU AS REDEEMED, but He CAUSED IT. He wrote your name in the book of life, your name that CAN NEVER and WILL NEVER be blotted out. He predestined you.
Those whom He predestined, He also called
Now we have stepped into time. The call has gone out. God has so ordained it that there would be a day when you would encounter the gospel.
One minister put it this way: “this call is not the call of a person calling a dog. The dog may or may not come. But rather, this call is the call of Christ at the tomb of Lazarus: LAZARUS, COME FORTH! The call contains the power to do what it commands.” The call contains the power to do what it commands.
Those whom He called, He also justified
We spent quite a bit of time earlier in the series explaining the depths and nuances of justification, but in summary - God was telling the truth when He called you. When the gospel call comes “Your sins are forgiven you for the sake of Jesus Christ, His blood has washed you clean” … that call of gospel is completely true. When He called Lazarus, His call included the power for the dead man to come back to life. When He calls you and me, when He promises that our sins are forgiven us, THEY ARE. WE ARE JUSTIFIED.
Those whom He justified, He also glorified.
These words are put in the PAST TENSE because…as we already heard, our God is timeless. And so, for God, we are already glorified.
But for us, in time, these words are put in the past tense because they are SO CERTAIN, it is as though they already happened.
Justification has already happened, we are sure that it did. We look back at the cross. And glorification, though it is still to come, IS JUST AS CERTAIN.
This too will pass?
For some things, for SO MANY THINGS, yes, absolutely. Everything you can see, even God’s good gifts of earthly blessings, they WILL PASS AWAY. Everything you can see, even the suffering that God allows…it WILL PASS AWAY.
But the things unseen. Your identity. Your Sonship. Your everlasting inheritance. That weight of glory that is descending upon us, even now…these things will NEVER PASS AWAY.
AMEN.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Jeremy Segstro, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright, Rev. Jeremy Segstro
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