[Romans Study 11-2]
Surprising Blessings of Our Justification [Romans 5:3-11]
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Are We Seeking a ‘Prosperity Gospel’?
The Bible does not promote the ‘prosperity gospel’, the so called ‘health and wealth gospel’, or the ‘gospel of success’. The advocates of this false (non-biblical) gospel believe that material wealth and physical well-being are always the will of God. They believe that if people have faith in God, He will bless them with prosperity and security, as if fulfilling a contract. Salvation to them means to be happy and successful, living on their positive feelings of material blessings and health. When things go wrong they become unhappy, and everything can be lost. You may have once thought that by accepting the teachings from the Church, then all is well and worries vanish. Yet that is not the gospel of God. The gospel of God surely brings believers prosperity, but not according to our terms nor by our control, but according to God’s grace and by His control.
How Is Christianity Different From Stoicism?
There seems to be much confusion between Stoicism and Christianity. Christianity is not Stoicism, which is a resignation. Stoicism puts up with things, bears them, managing not to give in. With courage and a tremendous effort of will, Stoicism goes on and just gets through. That is Stoicism; bearing it, putting up with it, not failing, and not breaking down. That is not the15 Christian reaction. Christians do not merely exercise courage through their unwavering willpower in the midst of troubles. Christians exercise courage based on their faith in God.
When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong.
Though Christians themselves are weak they submit to God and let His power, not their own
power, work through troubling situations. They understand what the Apostle taught in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
They understand that there is mystery in their weakness; when they are weak before the Lord, then they are made strong in and through Him.
They are humble and honest. Acknowledging their weaknesses they kneel down before God. They depend on Him, not on themselves, and plead for Him to provide them with His power and wisdom so that they can overcome troubles just as Christ did in carrying the Cross. They are not confined in their own thoughts, crying over their misery, nor being crushed by their troubles in the end. They would rather cry over their unfaith, having failed to abandon their own egos for trust in the love of God. In the time of tribulations, they trust in His love over them. They spend more time with the Lord, seeking His intervention and His ways through petitions of faith. They do not fall apart nor are destroyed because of troubles; Instead, they use these opportunities to get closer to God and to strengthen their faith. Their hope also is strengthened. In all of this, they reconfirm and are touched by God’s love for them.
Joy In Tribulations, How Does It Work In Practice?
We have found abundant evidence from the Bible teaching Christians to rejoice in tribulations. The Christian’s reaction should not be one of unhappy resignation, like the reaction of the Stoicists. We should not be happy in spite of tribulation, nor should we be happy in the midst of it. We ought to rejoice on account of it, and because of it.
Certainly this does not mean that we should be glad when sorrowful things happen to us, as if we were masochists. We are not obligated to praise and thank God thoughtlessly at the first sign of trial.
When difficulties enter our lives, nobody will like this. But what does the Apostle say that we should do when troubles come? “We also glory in our sufferings…” (Romans 5:3) It is possible to glory in our sufferings. How – and why? Because our faith in God allows us to see that our sufferings do not end with sufferings but they produce something much more hopeful and beautiful. “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)
What does the suffering of Christians produce? The Apostle says that Christians should clearly see a triple transformation, ‘suffering -> perseverance -> character -> hope’. This is Paul’s understanding of the believers’ suffering. Their suffering will eventually result in hope. Suffering is equal to hope in the end. Hope always belongs to the future. The darker the night gets, the closer the dawn is! Therefore, Christians ought not to look at their present suffering only, but to look at the future and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Like An Albatross Soaring Over A Storm
Albatrosses are very large and extraordinary sea birds. They can live to be 60 years and beyond. They mate for life and often do not find another if their partner dies. In Moby Dick, Herman Melville described the albatrosses with ‘vast archangel wings.’ They have the longest wingspan of any bird, reaching up to 3.5m (11.5ft), which makes very awkward when not in the air. Their movements on land, inexpressive facial features, apparent foolhardiness, and misplaced trust in humans resulting in the near-extinction of their species, have all contributed to their nickname: stupid birds.
However, these birds are no longer hopelessly awkward when a storm arises. Most birds struggle to overcome stormy winds; albatrosses exploit them. Their long narrow wings that are so cumbersome on land are ideal for soaring above the sea. Rather than fearing the wind, they catch it fully within their wings and sail upward. They do not give into the wind but turn into it to gain altitude. They take advantage of the energy of the storm, and then glide back down in safety.
Carl Safina wrote in National Geographic, “Graceful as angels and tight as leather, all albatrosses…spend months and sometimes years beyond sight of land, able to take the most hellacious punishment the ocean can hurl, While living in the windiest regions on Earth, they seem to inhabit another plane of existence.”
The stupid birds become mighty albatrosses when a storm arises. A storm is an opportunity for them to soar over the sea. Christians too can become mighty believers of Christ through tribulations. When Christians can understand the opportunity found in trials, rather than quivering in fear, they will soar with the enormous wings of the Holy Spirit.
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.” (Psalm 37:5-6)
Republished with permission from Dr. Christy Tran, the author of “The Epistle to the Romans: Paul’s Love Letter from God.”