ROMANS 8:23-25 – “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

THEME OF THE DAY: OUR INWARD GROANINGS. It is a clear sign of a healthy walk with the Lord to be longing to be free from sin. However, for this to be a healthy sign, it has to be attached to the right motive. The proper motivation to be free from sin is what it enables us to do in our relationship with the Lord. Think this through with me. Is not our greatest grief in the world the hindrance sin places upon us in what we long to give the Lord Jesus? Are we not daily sorrowful over the sin which easily clings to us and prevents our loving the Lord with all our hearts, worshipping Him in the absolute beauty of holiness, and serving Him with not even a hint of attention to self?

It was early this morning, real early, as I drove into my office. The moon was bright in the sky, placed on the backdrop of a beautiful night sky filled with shining stars. I began to think about all I had to do today; the challenges, the discipline necessary to study for Sunday’s sermons, and just the fact I was tired. As I sat at a stop sign, I looked up and said, “Lord, I long for the day I won’t fight the sin of worry, stress, pressure, and the battle of my flesh. Oh, for that day to soon arrive.” I know I am not alone. Every Christian sighs with such longing in their hearts; to be free from the “invader of their new born soul” known as “remaining sin.” We do or should daily long to be fully delivered from indwelling sin and walk in the total freedom of the sinless new creature. That is what the Apostle Paul is describing in today’s scripture; this inward groaning that goes beyond words to realize this complete transformation into the image of our Lord Jesus. This attitude is no spiritual escapism, but the reality of the Christian life. We simply groan for deliverance from sin, not for our sake, but for the Lord’s; for Him to get what He so deserves – our love, worship, and service without one trace of defiling sin.

So, with these yearnings and groans from our hearts to be free from sin, what are some of the benefits of this experience? There are many, but we want to address just one and it is the most important. Before we do, we must do a little self-examination by asking, “Is today’s scripture our experience?” Every healthy Christian will have this ‘groaning experience” for deliverance. It is part of God’s Spirit at work in us. Should we not be sick of sin, longing for deliverance in order to love, worship, and serve the Lord to our fullest capacity, something is seriously wrong in us. And what is that wrong in us? Worldliness. The things of the world have so gripped our hearts and shaped our lives, we are living for the now and seen, not the then and unseen. We have lost our spiritual compass and are being steered by the winds and currents of a godless world. It is easy to see this by the simple absence of hatred over sin and the forsaking of sin, all sin. Okay, the chief benefit we gain from this groaning in our souls is to be delivered from sin is the proper view of both salvation and sin.

As the Spirit of God produces this groaning for full deliverance from sin, we begin to get the right understanding why God saved us. He did not save us to primarily free us from hell and sin’s consequences. Salvation isn’t all about us. Obviously, it is about us, but not about us exclusively. He saved us to create a relationship of love with Him that sin prevents. And this relationship of love always does three things in us; deepens our hatred for sin, intensifies our desire to be free from sin, and makes us fight with great resolve all sin. When we understand what God has done in delivering us from the penalty and guilt of sin, we really start seeing sin as an “unwelcomed guest” in our hearts we want kicked out, never to return. It is incompatible to be a Christian and not only hate, but fight against, the sin which destroyed our love relationship with the Lord Jesus. And the more we see Jesus in prayer and the Scripture, the more this groaning grows. As it does grow, so will our holiness in the likeness of Jesus. May the Lord find us submissive to His Word and Spirit, not the world, and make this inward groaning a daily part of our walks with Him.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to hate sin more and more out of my deepening experience of Your love.

REFLECTION: It is a healthy spiritual sign to want to be free from sin in order to love the Lord without the hindrances of sin.