Chapter 8 New Testament reading. The sufferings of His present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope. and to obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. That not only the creation, but we ourselves have the first fruits of the Spirit. And in this hope, we were saved. 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. Father, the Word of God has been read this morning and we pray that your blessing will be added to it. We ask that you would fulfill your promise that the Spirit of God would work through the Word of God. That the reading of the Word of God would have its work in our hearts, that our hearts would be comforted. Look and search Scripture out this morning, really trying to think through the issue of tragedy, and how we can be comforted, and what our perspective in all of this should be. We pray, Father, that You would be glorified in all of it. We ask that even in the suffering of many, that somehow Your excellence would be made known. As many more are going to die, their sorrow will increase over the next few days. And the reality of what has happened sets in. Father, You know the only loving thing is for the Gospel to penetrate their hearts. And to give them sight beyond the grave. To give them vision beyond their circumstance. To give them, by grace, the mind of Christ. We pray to that end. We pray for wisdom. It really becomes a synthesis of all other branches. You have to have a biblical anthropology, not the kind of anthropology that the world talks about, but really the kind of anthropology that comes from the Bible. You have to have a sense of bibliology, the doctrine of the Bible. You have to know what the Bible has to say about these things and how the authority of the Scripture and the inspiration of the Scripture might relate I am certain that you cannot have a proper theology of tragedy without understanding soteriology, which is the doctrine of salvation, or even hamartiology, which is the doctrine of sin. You know that God uses his helping angels, and so you have to have a functioning understanding of synthesizing evangelicalism. You're reading about it in the Old Testament, it's important for you to have an understanding of Israelology, the New Testament ecclesiology, the doctrine of the Church. And there is absolutely no hope in a theology of tragedy if you do not have, and you are not able to somehow synthesize, Now, folks, I'm going to confess to you that what I wanted to do this morning is to write a comprehensive theology of tragedy. If I were to put all of those things here together, I probably would have to write a book. And it would turn into a series. So what I wanted to do today is just go through and really look at some of the tragedies in the Bible that's now there, talked about, and then really look at some passages, particularly two passages one that we read today. John Piper said once, when he was reading through this passage, he said that your church ought to know what their pastor's view on tragedy is. He said, this is my view on tragedy, and he just read the passage. And then I want to look at what comfort we have. I don't think it's going to be a very long message this morning. But every time I think that, it turns out to be wrong. The first tragedy that we find in the Old Testament is the tragedy that probably epitomizes all tragedies. And it's the way of the flood. never seen and never had a mass tragedy in the Bible until we get to the Mosaic. Mosaic? Noahic. Flood. A flood in which the entire population of the world is wiped out. Just in a very short period of time. Save me. But folks, there are tragedies, and there are tragedies, right? Years ago, I was living on Kaua'i, and when I was a child, I heard Hurricane Iwa hit. I think that was in 1980. And we got over it pretty quickly. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki hit. And a very similar thing happened where I don't think there was a lot of loss of life if there was any. And the island of Kauai was able to heal. I remember, because I wasn't there for a week yet, I had just left to go off to college, and a few weeks later I was able to talk to my sister, and she says, she said, I know Columbia goes hard, but I don't know if it will ever come where it looks like Southern California. And it did. And it's green. Because that's one kind of tragedy. There's another kind of tragedy, and that's a tragedy that involves the loss of life. And those times are not easy to get over. And those times are not easy to forget. I know it's 116 people, and they're guessing that it's up to a thousand people that might, in the end, be declared dead because of this tragedy. But please understand this. Nothing happened to those people that wasn't going to have to meet. What does the Bible tell us? It tells us it's appointed to man what? To die one. But why is it shocking? It shouldn't be shocking, should it? You only guarantee one thing in life, and that's that you're going to die. I know some people say death and taxes, but... I don't know any of those words. We're all going to die. We're all going to face that moment, and yet it seems to be that it's the most shocking thing that happens in the life of an individual. Those people can be a hundred years old, they pass away, and what happens in their family? We were created to live forever. The book of Genesis tells us that something intervened and that was the sin of man. You look all the way back at the beginning of the book of Genesis and what you find is man sinning such a mild sin nevertheless. An act of rebellion against God and Adam plunged the entire race, the entire human race, into And in one way, it's an act of mercy that God allows us to die. He allows us to die because through the regeneration of our spirits, our souls are regenerated. Through the regeneration that we find in Christ, our souls are regenerated and we have these bodies that are still subject to death. Paul tells us that in 1 Corinthians. still remains. This body of death, he calls it. So nothing happens that's not going to happen already, yet we're shocked because it's not created yet. Death, very clearly, is an aspect and a result of sinfulness. of mankind, the sinfulness of humanity, but also an act of grace in that God can take this body of death and He can destroy it and then recreate it and take our redeemed and regenerated souls and bring them back together in resurrection. It's a beautiful thing. It's a foolproof system. Until we have that pattern of resurrection, we suffer under the tragedy of death. And there is no death more stark than what we read about in the tragedy of Genesis 6. takes the entire world, and because of their sin, he wipes out the entire population. I remember once reading through a guy's book, and tried to calculate based on the times that they lived, and the length of time, and the years that they produced children, that it was possible that the low number would have been 7 billion people on the face of the earth at that time. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's astounding. Astounding. There's another tragedy that happens just a few chapters after that in the book of Genesis. And it's a tragedy that we often allude to, I think, in our daily lives even, I think. The tragedy is the tragedy of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom had become so immoral that they literally sought to forcibly rape the two angels of God that came into the city. They were that bad, and God says, I'm going to destroy them. He does. Why? Because of their sin. Skip ahead thousands of years, we come to another tragedy that we read about. Well, we don't really read that much about it in the New Testament. We read about it in Prospect in the New Testament, and that is the destruction of Jerusalem. And all of it because of sin. saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. And I love this, I love and hate this next section right here because it describes the depravity that was going on in my heart. That every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. You have just this, this stream of modifiers about their wickedness. It was evil. That's ultimately what it is, right? Their thoughts was evil, but it wasn't just their thoughts. It was the intents of their thoughts, but it wasn't just the intents or intentions of their thoughts. It was the intention, it was every intention of their thought. Every intention of the thought. Sometimes every intention of the thoughts of their heart was only evil. No. Look at what it says. Continually. The world had become so evil at that point that every intention, that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So Yahweh said, I will blot out the man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Man, animals, creeping things, birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. At the age of 18, the angel of the Lord is with Abe right now. Verse 20 says, then Yahweh said, because the outcry in Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very great, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. What's the point? The point is that He's going to go and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because All the people that sought him in the war of harm are crying out and saying, Lord, the horrors of these people, the things that they have done, avenge us. And that's when we come down and get the bargaining that Abraham does with the Lord. Lord, if you find 50 righteous, Lord, if we find 40 righteous, Lord, if we find 10 righteous, He ends there at 10. If you find 10 righteous in these two cities, will you still destroy them because of their wickedness? And the Lord says, no. But the Lord goes down and does not find 10 righteous. Because of their unrighteousness, it's very clear. Skip ahead to the book of Matthew. Matthew chapter 12. Look at verse 31. After Jesus healed the demon-oppressed man with the light and youth, It's not like a shrine in the scripture, but there's a tradition nonetheless that Jesus does it, and they say he does it by the power of Satan. 31 says that Jesus is condemning them. He says, therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, and whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Now, there's something that's a little bit misleading about the transgression So what's happening here is that Jesus is revealing to them that because of their rejection of Jesus, I'm going to destroy that generation and hold them accountable for that blasphemy. What does Jesus say to Jerusalem? Jerusalem, how often? 23. 23. 23. He gives a bunch of things that are going to happen that are horrible things that will happen. And it says, truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. And it says, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent in it, how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings? is see what your house is left desolate. How do we know that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of Because God said, I'm going to destroy them because of the outcry that's coming because of their wickedness. How do we know that God destroyed Jerusalem because of their wickedness and rejection of the Messiah? Because Jesus says, this is what's going to happen. Because you rejected me, I'm going to destroy your city. The Westboro Baptists, you guys know who the Westboro Baptists is? They're a cult. There's a bunch of guys that go and they protest at like the soldiers' funerals and stuff like that and hold up offensive signs and stuff. They're not really Baptists, they're actually a cult. A non-Christian cult that calls themselves Baptists for some reason. They're run by like one family, but they're just so non-Christian. because Lahaina is the center of homosexuality on the island of Lahaina. I received a video this past week that said Lahaina was destroyed because they were too accepting of some charismatic evangelist that came here. How do we know that God destroyed the world by flood because of their sin? Because God said it. How do we know God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness? God said it. How do we know that God destroyed Jerusalem because of their wickedness? God said it. So why did God destroy the Hymen? We don't know. And it is presumptuous and even cultic to say anything otherwise. Can I prove that to you? We just studied a passage not many weeks ago. Look at Luke 13. There were some present at the very time you told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? Jesus says this, no, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will likewise perish. What's the point, folks? Stop looking at how you can condemn other people and look at your own pride and arrogance. I'm going to tell you a story. There are two positions that the world thinks you can take. You either affirm homosexuality or you hate homosexuality. It is vital for us as Christians to think and to be biblical. said that it was because of their sin, and it's then because the Pope said it was because of their sin. The Mormons have apostles, the Council of Apostles that gives alleged prophecies. And of course, any old charismatic can stop and say, you know, God told me it was because What's our standard? Our standard is this book. Our standard is the Word of God. Jesus said, neither did he sin, nor did I sin. I want you to think about that phrase. For the first time in history, God found some He was just simply saying that the reason that this ailment comes about, the reason that this malady comes about, the reason that this personal tragedy comes about isn't because of any sin that they've done. They've committed no sin that leads to this tragedy. And then he goes on to say this was done so that God might be magnified. Then I get into it and I stop turning pages so that I'm still not writing. Paul says, I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. What do we know about this tragedy? We certainly know about this tragedy that it is a suffering of this present time, right? What will this tragedy ultimately lead to? What we know this tragedy will ultimately lead to is... Creation is subjected to utility It's subjected to emptiness and isn't that where the world is right now? the word futility means empty. In fact, it's the word that's translated as vanity in the Greek translation of the Testament. It means emptiness. Isn't that what the world is right now? According to the world, why can this happen? This happened for no reason. And you can see that. You can see that the hopelessness That's one of the reasons that our governor came back from wherever he was, and was able to take charge of the situation. Did you notice the first thing that he said was, climate change? Is this climate change? And then Mazie Hirono came and said, climate change, and climate change, and da-da-da-da-da. I'm not saying climate change didn't have a part in something or whatever. I'm not saying it did. I'm saying that they should have said what I'm saying, and that is, we don't know. I didn't realize there was an investigation that had been held in the two days after the fire that determined that these were the causes. Someone's out there taking a blowtorch to grass and I don't think we can call it climate change. Well, why did they have to do that? The reason they had to do that is because even the secular mind had to wrap their heads around the fact that there has to be suffering. And if we can aim it at fixing the climate into this environmental utopia where nothing ever goes wrong, if we can do that, then all of this might be worth it. No, creation is subject to emptiness. It's subject to vanity. But it's subject to this vanity and hope. What do we mean by hope? Hope is the idea of confidently expecting that the promises of God are going to be fulfilled. That the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption. What's the hope? The confident expectation is that someday these tragedies are going to be no more. That creation itself is going to be released from its bondage to emptiness. 22 says, we know the whole creation has been roaming together in pains of childbirth until now. of the Spirit, we groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption of sons and redemption of our bodies. What that is telling us is that it's not just the creation out there, it's the creation right here. I'm groaning. I'm waiting for that day when all of creation is no longer subject to futility. I'm longing for that day when my body is no longer subject to futility. Aren't you? Wouldn't that be nice? The redemption of our bodies is the hope of the believer that one day we're not just going to stay in the earth. It's not just that our souls are going to exist in some, you know, astral plane somewhere, in whatever. It's that our bodies will literally be recreated. Our bodies will literally be raised from the dead. And in the same way that we experience joy now in these bodies, we're going to experience joy in the same way, but to a greater degree, when our spirit and our bodies are reunited in resurrection. That's the redemption. That's the adoption he's talking about there. says when we began, it's like it's almost like we weren't created to die. We weren't. This great anti-miracle happens when this body rends itself. We rend ourselves from ourselves. We have a physical part and an immaterial part. And at some point they have to be joined back together because our souls are not satisfied without the body. And our bodies are not perfect without the soul. And we need each other. And in the resurrection they come together so that we can glorify God as one. and wait for it with endurance or patience. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we walk. The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Have you been there this evening? It might be easy for us. We're all the way across the channel from those guys. But I guarantee you that our brothers and sisters over there in Rahaina who are looking around and seeing 1,000 fewer people. You know that guy that used to sit in the corner by the grocery store? He's not there anymore. You know that guy that used to watch his grandchildren and his grandchildren? Not there anymore. And I just heard him burst into tears. He's had to go to the scene of gun shootings, and murder, and suicide, and car accidents, and all kinds of horrific things. And this guy is reduced to tears. Because someone gave him a check. What do you think he prays for at night? He closes his eyes and goes, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH We don't even know what to ask. and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. Can I say don't sleep on that verse? Don't sleep on that verse. Sometimes we just dismiss that verse because we hear it so often. Don't worry, all things work together for good for those who love God and those who are called according to His purpose. You're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. Folks, that's the real deal. That's what this is all about. It's going to work out. It's going to work out through groaning. It's going to work out through suffering. It's going to work out through pain. But it's going to work out. Why? Look at verse 29. For those who he foreknew, the idea of foreknowledge there is the Old Testament concept of knowledge. I don't have to explain too much about it just to know that sometimes we use the phrase that person and that person in the biblical sense. What does that mean? That means a physical intimate relationship. Idea of knowledge in the Old Testament doesn't necessarily mean physically intimate, but it does mean intimate. That's why very often it is used to describe a man having relations with his wife. This says, for whom he foreknew eternity past, he 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. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those who justified, He also glorified." What does that mean? He just says everything is going to work together for good. And you know why? Because from the time God knew you in eternity past, you have been as good as it was worth. They asked Pastor John Piper what his theology of tragedy was, and he read to them Romans 8, minus 2 Corinthians 4. Beginning of 2 Corinthians 4, we have this passage that says, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We have renounced disgraceful and underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word. Remember that. We're not going to take the Word of God and twist it just because it might win us an argument. But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those The gospel of the glory of Christ was the image of God for a long time. Jesus Christ as a word with ourselves as your servants for his sake for God who said that the light shine on the darkness and show in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ. We have this gospel in these jars of clay. What are jars of clay? They're just nothing. They're just pots that are utilitarian. They have no glory in and of themselves. They have no value in and of themselves. We are afflicted in every way, but not Christ. I like this one. We're perplexed, but not driven to despair. Do you understand what's going on over in Lahaina? Because I don't. I mean, I guess if it was clear that only evil people died in the fire. These old folks speaking here, their grandchildren? I don't think there's any answer that could just make it feel better. You know what I mean? I don't think we're supposed to feel better, because he says we are perplexed. But yet, even in the midst of perplexity, it doesn't drive us to despair. Persecuted, not forsaken, struck down, not destroyed. always carrying in the body the death of Christ, so that the life of Jesus can also be manifested in our bodies. We, who live, are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake. But the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work with us, Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what has been written, I believe and so I spoke. We also believe and so also we speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence. What is the point of the extension of grace to more and more people? Review day by day. These last two verses of chapter four are really where I want to concentrate all of this. It all comes down to this. For this, okay? This. Circumstances that they're going through, Paul described as being beaten. Paul described it as being in the middle of affliction. Paul described it as being And he says, for this light momentary affliction. more place. I still like it now. The momentariness of it is preparing for us something eternal. The lightness of it is preparing for us something that is waiting. And the affliction is preparing for us glory. Do you see that? Do you see the parallels on either side of that phrase? Light, momentary, affliction, eternal, wait, glory. Compared to the eternal wave of glory, someday this will all look like a light, a momentary affliction. Verse 18, excuse me, concludes, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are not seen. I'm not going to be happy if I lost a lot of stuff, but it's all sin. What about those guys who were killed by Pilate? What about those guys whose blood was made over the sacrifice? And Jesus says to them, essentially, there is something greater than that. That momentary light affliction, eternal weight of the Lord. My question to you today is, regardless of the affliction you may find yourself in this morning, how are you I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. in this congregation. But we pray, Father, that you would help us to have this perspective. That these things which feel so weighty are light. That these circumstances that seem to never end are not terrible. and subject to affliction. How possible is it?