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Our hope is not in the circumstances that surround us. Our joy and assurance is in our eternal destiny. Paul wrote the fifth chapter of Romans to teach that those who have been justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ are secure in their salvation. We saw in chapter four that Abraham was a saved man. How was Abraham saved? It wasn't by his heritage, ability, godliness, or any good works unique to him. He was saved by grace through faith in the words, promises and character of God. He had a different time perspective on the promises than we do today. He believed what God would do; we believe what God has done. Abraham looked forward and believed in Christ who would bring salvation through his seed. (Genesis 3:15; 12:2-3; 15:4-6; 17:6-7, 19) We look back in history and believe in Christ who has completed the work of salvation. (Matthew 1:1) Perhaps you wonder if your relationship with God is temporary. How can you be sure that you are a Christian? How can you, who continue to sin, not be counted once more as God's enemy? The answer is in Christ. When you understand that you do not deserve God's love, you can begin to be secure in it. Because you cannot earn God's love, you cannot lose God's love. When you received Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were justified by God, and were born spiritually. That cannot be undone anymore than you can be unborn physically. In this lesson Paul tells us some of the blessings that the justified have. First you have peace with God. You are no longer an enemy of God because your sins are no longer on record with Him. We are at peace with the One who created us and paid the debt for our sin. You may not always feel peaceful, but God has given you a peace treaty signed with the blood of Jesus Christ which will never be broken. Another blessing of the justified is rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. Christians expect to stand in the presence of God's full glory one day! (Jude 24) In our day "hope" is a weak word. We speak of "hoping or wishing for the best", but this is not what hope means in the Bible. In the Bible hope is a certainty and the only reason it is called hope is that we do not yet possess the thing that will one day be ours. (Acts 2:26-27; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Titus 1:2; 2:13; Hebrews 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:3) Our hope is in Jesus Christ and has been promised to us by God. We can understand rejoicing in the hope of God's glory, but Paul says that believers should respond to their suffering with rejoicing. Why should we rejoice in our trials? Because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Suffering matures our faith when we learn to rely not upon our strength but upon God's. We hold on to God because He holds on to us. The gift Christians have is that God is with us and has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Let's look at what suffering produces; firstly, perseverance. When suffering comes to each one of us, it is in our response that perseverance is developed. The immature Christian tries to avoid difficulties and get out from under them. The maturing Christian is steady under fire, knowing God will prove Himself faithful. Secondly, suffering produces character. We become "fit" for God's use as a result of spiritual self discipline. A godly response to suffering produces a testimony that can be used for God's glory and to comfort and encourage other Christians. (2 Corinthians 1:4-5) Paul knew there would be suffering but he also knew that this suffering will not compare with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18) Thirdly, suffering produces hope in the character of God as the Christian experiences God's faithfulness to take us through the trial. In verses 3-5, the most important word is "know". God allows us to know with certainty part of the reasons for sufferings and what to expect from suffering. We do not know everything there is to know about suffering, however the Bible gives at least five reasons why people suffer. 1. Some suffering is merely common to mankind. (Job 5:7)2. Some suffering is corrective. (Psalm 119:67) 3. Some suffering is designed to glorify Christ. (John 9:3) 4. Some suffering is cosmic to demonstrate the rightness of God's ways before the fallen angels. (Job 1-2) 5. Some suffering is constructive. (Romans 5:3-4) Jesus Himself knew suffering. We remember He wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. (John 11:35) Jesus wept again when He looked upon Jerusalem, the city He loved and knew would be destroyed in 70 A.D. (Luke 19:41) Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame for the joy set before Him of sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Rejoicing is not a jumping up and down happy feeling. It is the understanding that God Himself is for you and, if He is for you, who can be against you? (Romans 8:38-30) While we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) God's love for us is totally undeserved. Nothing could be more positive than that statement of fact. If we think that God loves us because we are somehow lovely or desirable, then our appreciation of the love of God will be reduced. If we think we deserve God's love, we can never be secure in it. It is only those who know God loves them in spite of their sin who can trust Him to continue to show them grace. God loves us because He loves us. "We rejoice...," writes Paul in verses 2, 3, and 11. Do we? Honesty compels us to admit that often we do not. Why do Christians so often fail to rejoice? One reason may be because we don't fully trust that God will do what He has promised. Abraham left his home; Noah built the ark; Joshua took the land. When I think of how God has worked in my life, why am I so unwilling to step out in faith with joy and love? Each of us must take hold of what God has done and live our life with the joy of our salvation in our hearts. To summarize, we have peace with God even when we don't feel it. In our daily sins we can lose God's peace, but we can never lose our peace with God. We have reason to rejoice in circumstances today and for the future because we have a faithful God. How will you rejoice in the
hope of the glory of God? Will you ask God to help you grasp the truth
of "justification by faith alone"? How will you prepare to rejoice in
suffering? Will you think about these truths, meditate on them and
learn how great the love and grace of God is? Perhaps then, you, along
with the hymn writer of old, will be able to: "Turn your eyes upon
Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will
grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
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