The Christian also groans.

Last week we learned that all of creation groans, awaiting God’s children to reveal a brand new wonderful earth which is free from the curse of the sin of the human race!
Now this week we see that,
The Christian also groans.
Romans 8: 23 – 25: We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Along with creation, the child of God groans. Paul refers to our desire to be free from these weak, mortal bodies. But he also speaks of the indwelling ministry of the Spirit of God in the believer's life. Since we were saved, the Spirit worked in us in such a way that we began the process of seeing sin like God sees sin. The Spirit of God "sensitised" us to sin. We became sensitive to sin around us and in us.

As a result, we are distressed by the sins we commit and that we see others commit. If sin doesn't bother us, we have a serious spiritual problem! If we can witness sin and it does not affect us, something is amiss in our hearts!

This produces a longing within the believer. We want to be delivered from the sinful, weak, mortal bodies. We would do anything to be free from this weakness. Wouldn't it be a blessing if we never again had a wicked thought? Did a wicked deed?

But Paul tells us that we are saved by "hope". Hope in the Bible has a vastly different meaning than it does in the world today. When people use the word "hope" now, they are saying, "I wish", or "I want". But instead of hope only being a wish or desire, biblical hope is a deep settled knowledge based on the firm promises of God. Biblical hope is a conviction that salvation comes through faith in the shed blood and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the sure knowledge that one day our Lord will come for us and will take us to heaven. It is the sure knowledge that we will be changed from weak, sinful creatures into new people made to be like Christ.

We, who are God’s children, groan because we want to be free from sin. We have a longing to be remade into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that day is coming! One day, in God’s perfect time, this sinful flesh will breath its last and I will be remade in the image of my Saviour!
This is the hope of every child of God!