“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but 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.” Romans 5:1-5
“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8
“...and take the helmet of salvation…” Ephesians 6:17
In verses 1-2, Paul brings out three stabilizing truths:
We are justified by faith alone. Therefore, we have peace with God.
Because of this faith we have obtained access into the grace in which we boldly stand as forgiven sinners.
We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (HOPE is the confident anticipation of an event that is sure to happen (Romans 8:24-25 and 1 Peter 1:3). It embraces the belief in the present goodness of Abba Father and the continual looking forward to the coming eternal world of incredible happiness and joy in the NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH.)
RESPONSES TO HARD TIMES:
1. The STOIC approach (“white knuckle”). We endure.
2. The dismissive approach towards pain, sorrow, and heartache, which is unbiblical, non-reality, and fancifulness.
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” 2 Corinthians 1:8
“For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.” 2 Corinthians 2:4
3. Understand that hard times (eventually) produce endurance, character, and hope.
How does God build us in the midst of hard times?
1. It underscores my n_____ for c_________ g_______.
“The new condition makes him realize the need of a fresh supply of grace and strength. In other words, the trials and tribulations make him think of the Lord Jesus Christ again, the One he is always liable to forget. They do more, they send him to Christ, they make him pray to Him, they make him spend more of his time with Him, they make him plead with Him and ask Him for greater strength and understanding. To put it in another way, the trials are doing something that is very good for him, they are driving him back to the Lord Jesus Christ.” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: Exposition of Romans 5, pp. 67-68
“And pain is not only immediately recognisable evil, but evil is impossible to ignore…pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, pp. 90-91
“As for me, I said in my prosperity, 'I shall never be moved.' By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. 8 To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy…”. Psalm 30:6-8
The Lord uses hardships, pain, and brokenness to build Christ's honoring character.
“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11
“I trust him so much, that I do not doubt that whatever I need for body and soul, he will provide; and whatever hardships he sends me in this life of sorrow, he will turn for my good. He is able to do this because he is Almighty God; And he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.” Heidelberg Catechism Question 26B
Heidelberg Catechism Question 28
Q: How does it help us to know that God created all things and still upholds them by his providence?
A: We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and confident for the future in our faithful God and Father, fully trusting him that nothing in creation can separate us from his love; for all things created are so entirely in his hand that without his will, they cannot even move.
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” Psalm 119:71
“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Proverbs 31:25
“How sweet it is to labor for God during the day and at night to lie down under his smile.” Sarah Edwards, (1710–1758, wife of Jonathan Edwards)
*Answer Key: need, compounded grace