The Joy, Journey, and Justification of Hope in the Believer's Life
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
This has certainly been a week filled with affliction. Filled with suffering for many in this congregation. There has been a plumbing issue, scheduled surgeries, a diagnosis of Bell’s Palsy, friends in ICU, and the death of a loved one. For some it isn’t one particular event but what seems to be compounding events, compounding bad news, where months go by without relief, perhaps years and you are being squeezed and pressed and pressured. And it has gotten to the point of asking God a very real and heartfelt but despairing question. “Are you mad at me? Did I do something that has made you angry? Do you hate me?” Perhaps in your Bible reading, you come across verses like
Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
and immediately know how the writer feels.
And some of us feel bad that we feel so bad. We haven’t experienced the suffering that others have. There are people who are going to bed hungry, but our pantry and fridge is full. There are people who are in constant physical pain and mine is just emotional or mental anguish. Christians are being persecuted for their faith and standing strong though beaten down, but I have religious freedom and can barely get out of bed some days.
Let me say first that it does no good to compare your suffering to anyone else’s. In God’s good providence and sovereignty, he has brought upon you the affliction that is for you. It is intended for you, as we will soon see. And at the risk of sounding super-spiritual, like some Super-Christian or Super-Saint, I believe that fretting over our affliction does no good either, but instead we ought to rejoice. Often, when counseling or consoling, we point people to the hope of heaven, the hope of Jesus who is our glory. And that is not wrong. But, the believer who rejoices in the hope of God’s glory, must also rejoice in affliction because affliction bears the fruit of hope.
We see this in today’s text, but not only in Romans 1:1-5, but in other places as well. We see this in James and in 1 Peter also. There is hope for the Christian, for the one who confesses Jesus as Lord. And Paul shows three parts contained in hope. The first part of hope that Paul shows us is the joy of hope. The second part that Paul writes about is the journey of hope. Finally, we see that Paul shows us the third part: the justification of hope.
Joy of Hope
Journey of Hope
Justification of Hope
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.
The Joy of Hope
The Joy of Hope
As we open up the text this morning, the first thing we see are the reasons Paul gives for stating that there is joy in hope. So let’s read those words again.
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.
Remember that Romans 5 has just been set up by Romans 4. Verse 1 is a slam-dunk, crowd-goes-wild-verse. But have we stopped to really think about this verse? “Therefore,” in other words, “for this reason.” For what reason? The fact that Jesus died for our trespasses and rose for our justification. That’s what the last verse of chapter 4 tells us. Jesus died on account of our rebellion, on account of our suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, exchanging the glory of God for the glory of creation, exchanging the truth for a lie, and for following after our own hearts and ways; thus we have all sinned and fallen short (lacked) glory of God. Jesus rose so that we would be made right with God. When he rose from the dead, he procured our justification. We are declared not guilty because our debt has passed from us to him and his not guilty-ness has passed from him to us. And for this reason, we have peace with God. That peace, as Paul made clear, comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the agent by which peace comes. This is peace. This is not a truce. This is not a live and let live policy. This is peace! No more war with God! God is not our enemy. We are not at enmity with him. There is peace. We have surrendered, entered into God’s kingdom, joined God’s family, have peace with God and become agents of peace for God.
This happened at our justification. “Since we have been justified by faith.” The idea of “since” comes with both the idea of cause and time. We could easily and rightly switch the word “since” to the word “because.” “Because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The cause of our peace is not our own doing, but the doing of God’s agent: Jesus who rose for us to be justified. We could also substitute the word “when” and still be just as accurate, “When we were justified by faith.” And we need to understand this: justification doesn’t go away. It is not a long process. It is something that happens the moment we believe. Paul wrote about it as something that happened, as a stated fact of history. The moment when you were justified, your peace with God began.
But be sure to understand that peace with God does not happen until we are justified by faith. When Christ rose, justification was supplied. But it is when we are receive it by faith that justification is applied. Which means that until you or I put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not at peace with God. Which means that we do not stand in grace and so have no access to the throne of grace. We do not have the hope of God’s glory and therefore have nothing with which we can truly rejoice over. There can be fleeting moments of joy, but not lasting joy.
But it is not only peace with God that comes with justification, but also access. Jesus not only brought us peace through justification by faith, but he brought us access through justification by faith.
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.
We have access into this grace! What grace? What is this grace? Paul doesn’t just say we have access by faith into grace, but this grace as if it is some specific grace. To answer that we need only see if Paul wrote about a specific grace. We don’t have time, but I would encourage you to go back and read Romans 4 as it sets us up for chapter 5.
In verse 9, we begin with faith being counted as righteousness. By verse 16, we see righteousness depending on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace. What we saw a couple of weeks ago was that God had made a promise of the world to Abraham. But the world would not be given by Abraham’s obedience to the law. In fact, if it had been incumbent upon Abraham’s obedience (or ours for that matter) then faith is emptied and the promise is invalidated because obedience to the law is impossible. Instead, God credited Abraham’s faith (and ours) as righteousness, and therefore the promise was given by grace. The promise rests (or is according to grace), but the grace of God is what credited Abraham with righteousness. This righteous-crediting grace is the grace in which we stand. It is only through Jesus Christ that we have access to a righteous-crediting grace. And we who believe have stood and continue to stand in that righteous-crediting grace since the moment we believed.
But there is more! Because we rejoice in the hope of glory. There is the joy of hope. Paul is building up a sense in which there is real joy in real hope. We have been justified. Therefore we have peace. Thus, we have access to righteous-crediting grace. And so, we rejoice in the hope…and then he defines where this hope points: in the glory of God. Hold the phone! Stop the presses! Because we have been justified, we have peace with God and access to grace and so we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. You mean the glory of God that we refused to give to him as we saw in Romans 1:21? You mean the glory of God that we exchanged as we saw in Romans 1:23? You mean the glory of God that we fall short of, the one we lack because we exchanged it in Romans 3:23? That glory of God?! Yes! That glory of God! We rejoice in hope because that glory of God has been restored because we have been made right with God and thus have peace with Him and have stood and continue to stand in grace that forever makes us righteous. Now we may not see that glory as brightly as we’d like. That’s why there is hope. As Paul would write later, hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But the reality is that the glory is ours!
No more long face. No more wondering if it is possible. It is no longer just a possibility; it is a fixed reality. Live in the light of hope, not some “perhaps” hope, but a hope based on facts. Fact: God promised. Fact: God has the power. Fact: God procured it through Jesus’s death for our sins and resurrection for our justification. Fact: By that justification you and I are at peace with God. Fact: through Jesus we stand in this righteous-crediting grace. Fact: we rejoice—knowing the facts—in the hope of the glory of God. So beloved, remind yourself of these truths, and daily preach to yourself this hope.
But if you have not trusted in Jesus, you wonder from hope to hope, nothing lasts. This sounds good for now only to disappoint later. So you go to some other new hope, only to realize it too is nothing. True hope only comes with Jesus.
The Journey of Hope
The Journey of Hope
Which leads us to the second part of hope. The first part was that there is the joy of hope, but now we see there is a journey of hope as well. It is a journey that is long and arduous. But the destination is worth it all.
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
We can get rejoicing in the hope of God’s glory. But really? Rejoicing in our sufferings? Suffering is not the place to rejoice. But Paul gives us a reason to rejoice in our sufferings. Suffering is the seed that grows into hope. Affliction is the seed that bears the fruit of hope.
The word for suffering comes with the connotation of being pressed down. Think of a millstone or a winepress. This great big stone that presses down upon grain or grapes. That’s suffering. This is more of a generalized suffering. Paul is not associating this suffering is for Jesus. This is any and every type of suffering. This is the leaky pipe, the surgery, the scraped knees, the hurt back, the devastating news you never wanted to hear, the death of a loved one. Are all those of the same degree? No. We understand that suffering comes in various degrees. But they are all in some form suffering. They are in some way affliction. They are pressing down up on us. They weigh on our minds. They can cause sleepless nights—physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion or anguish.
But why should we rejoice in those. We could even say, boast in those? Paul used the same word in
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Because we know what comes from affliction: endurance. That word literally means to remain under. When we are pressed down, we remain under. This doesn’t mean that we are to dive under. Some people have a martyr-complex where they seek out suffering. They see a millstone rolling by and they dive under it. But that isn’t what Paul is saying we are to do. Rather, when God puts suffering in our lives, he does so in order to build in us endurance.
I go to the gym and I have stood there and watched guys bench pressing 200 or more pounds and then wondered how that was possible as I go and put 50 pounds on my barbell. I have to remind myself that they didn’t start at 200 pounds though. They were like me at one time. They were under the 50 pound weights for a time. They’d remain under pressure of those weights, up and down, up and down. With each press, their muscles would tear a little at a time. Eventually, those muscles would repair themselves so that the pressure of 50 pounds was no longer that difficult. But then suddenly another 10 or 20 pounds were put on. And it was like starting all over again. Until that is, the muscles were able to sustain the weight. But then more pressure and more repairs but then more pressure and so on.
In the gym, I look at those who can do 200 pound or more and kind of wish I could endure such weight. But in real life, I see those who suffer greatly and hope I never have to endure it myself. Beloved, understand that the pressure you are under right now, whether it is a leaky pipe or loss of someone you love or anywhere in between or greater, is God’s work in your life to build your spiritual muscles. This world is filled with suffering. Some of it we have gotten accustomed to and don’t even hardly notice anymore. We’ve gotten used to the 50 pounds. So God puts on another 5 or 10 pounds. A leaky pipe here, a bad grade there, an unmet expectation. Just a little more. Let us not despise the work that God is doing in our lives. Let us rejoice that he seeks to build our spiritual strength, because it is not simply our strength that he is building, but teaching us to use his strength.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
You see that pressure that leads to us remaining under eventually brings about character. That word literally means tested or proven. We have been declared righteous. We have right standing with God. We have peace with God. We have access to righteous-crediting grace and a hope in the glory of God. But have we been proven? Are we yet what we have been declared? The answer is no. But suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces a proven character. The saying goes, “God loves you just the way you are.” But that is only half of the story. The other half is, “But he loves you too much to let you stay that way.” And so God puts in your life and my life afflictions. He puts suffering in our lives to build our spiritual strength and show his spiritual muscles so that we come out the other side with a proven character as we grow into the righteousness he has declared us to be and given us in grace. Which is why we have hope!
Read this journey once more:
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
The Justification of Hope
The Justification of Hope
And there are some here who look at these words and despair. You have been under these afflictions for so long and you don’t feel like you’ve endured well and your character is not as proven as it ought to be. Why should you have hope? Even the thought of having hope fills you with shame and disgrace. If that is you, then verse 5 is for you. You need to listen closely. You see Paul pointed out the first part of hope, there is the joy of hope, but then there is the journey of hope as well. But this last part, this part for you who despair and feel shame or disgrace, this last part is for you because Paul shows the justification of 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.
The words, “put us to” are supplied by the translators. They certainly make the Greek smoother by supplying them. What it really says though is that “The hope does not shame.” What does affliction/suffering do? It produces endurance. What does endurance do? It produces character. What does character do? It produces hope. But then he goes all negative and I think it is because Paul understood how disheartening it can be when we realize that our character is not as proven as we think it should be, especially after having endure what we’ve endured. After all the complaining and the whining and the grumbling and questioning. We look back and go, “I wasted my suffering by not coming out some Super-Saint! I’m so ashamed. I’m scum!” And Paul says here, “no! Hope does not shame. It does not disgrace.”
He is telling the Roman Christians and you and me that hope is right and good. Do not let the hope of the glory of God be a reason for shame, dishonor, disgrace. Hope doesn’t do that! How can he say that? Why would Paul make such a claim? Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Those words, “poured into our hearts” are perfect passive indicative words. The perfect means that it is something that has already happened in the past but has present ramifications. Thus, the moment we believed, we not only were justified, not only had peace with God, not only had gained access to the righteous-crediting grace, and not only had hope in the glory of God, but had God’s love poured into our hearts as well, brought to us by the Holy Spirit as he entered in. And the present ramifications of that is that we are currently and forever loved by God. The passive means that the subject received the action. In this case, love is the subject. The Greek word literally means “to pour out.” In essence, God’s love poured out of him and into us. It is indicative which is the mood of reality. It is not a possibility. It is not a probability. It is a reality.
Hope does not shame because God has poured out his love and put it into your heart by way of the Holy Spirit. He has loved you and continues to love and will always love you. So there is no need to feel shame. There is no need to feel disgraced. There is no need to feel dishonor. Instead, feel the reality of God’s love poured out into your heart. God in his foreknowledge and providence and sovereignty placed you under the afflictions of this world and having already put his love in your heart. And he did that knowing exactly how you would respond and knowing exactly how you would come out on the other side. You and I may get caught off guard at how much or how little we have grown in our affliction. But God is not. He knew it before time began and still poured out his love in our hearts. So hope! Do not let your heart condemn you, but let God’s love satisfy you.
Peter was walking one water, then began to drown. He cried to the Lord to save him and Jesus took him by the hand. He said “You of little faith.” When the storms came and Jesus was asleep, the disciples came and woke him up. He rebuked the winds and waves and said to his disciples, “You of little faith.” Was he shaming? No. Was he trying to dishearten them? No. If that were the case, why not let Peter drown? Why not let the disciples sink in their boat? He was building them up. He was strengthening them. He was saying, I’m here. Even when it seems I’m far away and there’s a storm, I’m here. Trust me and hope in me. Even when it seems there’s a storm and I’m asleep, I’m here. Trust me and hope in me.
Peter was at 50 pounds of faith. Jesus was honest enough to tell him so. “You’re at 50 pounds, Peter. This storm was another 10 pounds of weight put on you. I’m here to grow your spiritual strength; I’m here to grow your faith. You’re not where you want to be and not where I will eventually take you, but trust me; I’m not going anywhere. My love has been invested in you.” Peter was called to lead the early church as an apostle. Do you think he could have done it without suffering leading to endurance and endurance leading to character and character leading to hope? Do you think he could do it having utterly failed when denying Christ three times if he did not realize God’s love being poured out for him after the resurrection?
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish Romans 5:1-5, we have seen some important truths about hope. We have seen that there is the joy of hope that is found in God’s glory. No longer are we the exchangers of glory that fall short of it, but have that glory restored and fully realized when Christ returns. There is a journey of hope that takes us through suffering then to endurance then to a proven character and right back to hope. We have seen that there is a justification of hope that is grounded in God’s love that has been poured out into our hearts. No need to be ashamed as hope does not shame.
If you are a person who has not put your trust in Jesus, then understand what all you lack that the Christian has. You lack a right standing before God. You lack peace with God. You lack access to righteous-crediting grace. You lack joy in hope and still lack the glory of God. But when you receive Jesus as your Lord, your Master and Savior, all those things become yours.
If you are a believer, it is so easy to hate the very thing that God uses to bring about hope in your life. The sufferings and afflictions that God uses can be overwhelming. But that is what Paul’s point was in 2 Corinthians. The thorn in the flesh exposed his weakness, and he boasted, or rejoiced, in his weakness because it was only then that he saw God’s strength coming forth. Understand that God loves you. He has already proven that by pouring out his love in you through the Holy Spirit who was given to you. Therefore, I would encourage you to do what Peter encouraged his readers to do.
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Your hope rests in God’s love being poured out and is applied through faith in Jesus Christ as he justifies you, gives you peace with God, gives you access to grace, and restores God’s glory that you will see fully when he returns. It is grown in the soil of suffering as suffering leads you to endurance and endurance into the proven person God has already declared you to be. So brothers and sisters, continue to hope.