Romans 5:2b-5: “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
In the Christian life, we are complete in Christ. Christ’s acceptance of us is secure. No one can take that away. But as we are growing in our relationship with Christ, becoming more and more like Him, we will have temptations and problems. That is what life is on this earth until Jesus calls and takes us home to live with Him. We enjoy having the peace of God because He has justified us, declared us not guilty, by His grace. But we still face daily pressures. Yet God has a plan in it all.
The Chain of Christian Growth and Maturity Found in Rom. 5:3-5:
- Suffering produces endurance v. 3-if we remain firm under it. Literally, Paul is referring to stresses of life. Real hardships. Paul knew this better than anyone from his own life.
- Endurance produces godly character v. 4.
- Character produces hope v. 4
- As we wait for this hope to be fulfilled, the love of God is poured into our hearts v.5.
Look at Romans 5:3-5 from The MSG: “There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary – we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” Now if I can just remember that the next time I feel like I am hemmed in with troubles! Yes, my faith and my hope in the Lord should tell me – “Hey you! There is more to come out of this. Pause and wait to see what God will do next.” I confess that has not been my gut reaction during the past two weeks.
Paul taught the church at Rome that in our tribulations and sufferings, God’s glory will be revealed through our endurance which will then be producing and maturing our character. This transformation process is like purifying gold and ends up in the hope of the glory of God, as we wait for the love of God being poured into our heart. It is certain but may not be fully realized yet. Christ Jesus is our hope (1 Tim.1:1), and as we abide in Him He fills us with joy (Jn. 15:11 & Gal. 5:22).
Have you felt like you were going through a time of sufferings? The NASB uses the word “tribulations” in Rom. 5:3. Warren Wiersbe has said that the English word tribulations comes from the Latin word tribulum. In Paul’s day, a tribulum was a massive peace of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain, and it separated the wheat from the chaff. As we go through tribulations, sufferings, afflictions, and depend on God’s grace, these trials purify us and help to get rid of the chaff.
As we wait for God’s love to be poured into our heart, to fill up the holes of defeat, disdain, loneliness, rejection, intimidation, maybe frustrations of failures and various heartaches, God will sustain us with His love, joy, and peace, while we are dealing with the stress and feeling hemmed in on every side for God is faithful. Have hope.
How has God shown His love to you this week?
“The weaker the human instrument, the more clearly God’s grace shines through.” John MacArthur.
Listen to Mercy Me’s Even If (Official Lyric Video).