"FAR AS THE CURSE IS FOUND"
Look Up: Romans
8:19-23
(Copyright 2006)
[“Far
as the Curse is Found” was used in Alcorn, Heaven, p. 105, referring to
a verse from “Joy to the World”]
INTRODUCTION: The
last time that I preached on heaven was 1994. I remember that, because
after my dad died I found [going through things at his house] a tape in his
cassette player on The New Heaven and the New Earth—specifically, The New
Jerusalem. I sent him tapes of our services here, and apparently that
particular tape was the last one he listened to before he died. He is not
experienced the New Heaven and New Earth yet. He is in the intermediate
heaven, awaiting the eternal heaven. But the Eternal Heaven is coming for
him and all of God children and it’s thrilling.
Last Sunday we looked at the Intermediate Heaven [so called because it is not
the final heaven]. Today we will begin to look at the Eternal Heaven,
which is not only different from the Intermediate Heaven but moved.
I am not sure we have understood the Eternal Heaven. Our thinking
concerning heaven is usually of the Intermediate Heaven. But the Scripture
teaches that with Christ’s final victory, there will be a New Heaven and a New
Earth and the dwelling of God will be with us [Rev. 21:1-3]. We may not
have grasped that as we should have due in part to a lack of understanding of
the plan of God and also to a narrow view of redemption.
1. The Plan of God. Ephesians 1:9 speaks to that plan.
And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good
pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will
have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth
together under on head, even Christ.
God’s plan for the
“fullness of time”, when time merges into eternity again, is to unite all
things in heaven and earth under Christ. Heaven is God’s home. The
earth is our home. The incarnate Jesus forever links them together.
You have the picture of that kind of union in
Now after Adam and Eve sinned, God could have destroyed them and started over or
perhaps confined them to hell. But He chose to redeem and fulfill His
original plan. But our view of redemption is often too narrow.
2. The Narrow View of Redemption. When we think of redemption we,
obviously, think of our own salvation. But redemption involves both
humanity and the earth. We have left the rest of creation out of the
discussion of redemption. The first Adam affected both. Thus the
second Adam affects both. The curse of sin affects man and the rest
of creation. So redemption will reach as “Far as the Curse is Found.”
That is a line from Watt’s “Joy to the World.”
Steven Lawson says: “If redemption does not go as far as the curse of
sin, then God has failed. Whatever the extent of the consequences of sin,
so must the extent of redemption be.”
The redeeming work of Christ is powerful and wide. It overcomes every
vestige of the curse. The total work of Christ is nothing less than to
redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That redemption will
not be complete until there is a New Heaven and a New Earth—Eternal Heaven.
I. CURSE
A. Man
What effect did sin have on us?
We were dead in transgressions and sin and objects of wrath [Eph. 2:1-3]. We are depraved. We have forfeited our role to rule the universe as
God intended. We are morally, socially, emotionally, psychologically and
physically affected. We toil and struggle to find it hard to work for
sheer pleasure. We fail to please and glorify God. We spend our
years trying to make a living, fighting wars, trying to protect what we have
obtained. We have to deal with debilitating sickness and sin. And we
die.
B. Universe
But not only did sin affect us,
but it affected the universe. Not only did the curse of sin fall on us but
it fell on the universe as well. Humanity and the earth are linked.
Hence, the curse and redemption of man is tied to the curse and redemption of
the universe. Genesis 3: 17 says:
Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of
it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for
you….
In Romans 8 we read:
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but
by the will of the One Who subjected it….[v. 20].
When we experience storms,
earthquakes, droughts, crab grass, thorns, smog, etc. it is a result of a
creation that has been affected by sin.
II. REDEMPTION
A. Man
Redemption has undone, is
undoing and will completely undo the damage down to us by sin and the curse.
We have been made spiritually alive [Eph. 2:5]. We have been reconciled to
God—so we are no longer objects of wrath. We have become new creations.
We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and enabled to obey our Lord.
However, we still continue to sin and live in a sinful world. Our physical
bodies breakdown and wear out. But redemption continues. We will be
delivered from the presence of sin and our bodies will be resurrected. We
will be with the Lord forever, with no possibility of separation. And we
will glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. As far as the curse is found—it will
be dealt with, undone.
B. Universe
…creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought
into the glorious freedom of the children of God [Rom.
God’s material creation will
be redeemed and glorified, because God’s children will be redeemed and
glorified. The pains of labor will be followed by the joy of birth [22].
The universe is not going to be destroyed but liberated and transformed.
If we realize that with the
curse—
We still reflect the image of God, can glorify Him, evidence that we are
fearfully and wonderfully made, can you imagine what it will be like when
redemption will have reached as far as the curse is found.
If we can see the beauty of the universe now. If the heavens can declare
the glory of God now [Ps. 19:1-2]. If our world , even now, can cause us
to stop and wonder at its beauty, can you imagine what it will be like when
redemption will have reached as far as the curse is found and there is a New
Heaven and New Earth?
Here is the final result of
redemption.
No longer will there be any curse [Rev. 22:3].
No more let sin and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
We and creation will be as God
intended. The God Who rules the earth with truth and grace won’t be
satisfied until ever sin, sorrow and thorn has been dealt with [Alcorn, p. 105].
Victory will have come at a great price—the redeeming work of Jesus.
JESUS IS THE CURE.
In Genesis 1-2 and Revelation
21-22 you have a perfect man and a perfect earth.In between is
redemption. Jesus came to save us and all of creation from the curse.
Without Him, we would be doomed. He came, died and rose again. He
brings deliverance. Because of Him, we are not doomed nor is the earth
[Alcorn, p. 106].
Are you in on redemption or missing it?