Romans 5:1-5:5 - Faith Leads to Grace

Calvin (6/22/01)

5:1: Paul further confirms the plan of justification by displaying the effects it produces. First, he turns to the peace it brings, which cannot be brought about by attempts to be justified by works. These latter attempts will either lead to our being forgetful of God's judgments, or to our being constantly fearful of them, knowing our works can never be good enough to satisfy justice. But faith recognizes that Christ alone is our peace. That peace is differentiated from fleshly security in that all attempts at fleshly security consist in a retreat from God's tribunal, whereas peace knows reconciliation with God, and so fears not to approach His tribunal.
5:2: Footnote: Again, Paul displays the use of parallelism a la the prophetic style; verse 2 being much the same in thought as verse 1, though the phrasing differs. The word [translated 'introduction' in NASB, but] translated 'access' in KJV, can be considered in either form, although its use elsewhere suggests that 'introduction' is the intent here, as well. (1Pe 3:18 - Christ died for all, in order that He might bring [or introduce] us to God, made alive in the spirit.) Christ introduces us, that we might then talk with God. Christ is our access. In Him alone are we saved, and in Him alone we begin to stand before God. Further, by Him we continue to stand. Our continuation in the faith no more depends upon our own strength than did our salvation. Yet, faith takes strong root in the heart of the faithful, allowing him to stand firm against all temptations. "It is then not he, who by a sudden impulse is led to believe, that has faith,…but he who constantly, and, so to speak, with a firm and fixed root, abides in that station appointed to him by God, so as to cleave always to Christ." [emphasis mine.] Inasmuch as we are told we shall 'exult in hope of the glory of God,' we see that our perseverance is assured. There is no doubt of the outcome, for it is Christ who upholds us, and God who has promised. (2Pe 1:4 - He has given us His promises, so that we can become partakers of the divine nature, and escape this worldly corruption of lust. 1Jn 3:2 - At present, we know we are His children, yet we are uncertain what we will be. Yet, we are certain that at His appearance, we will be like Him, for we know we will see Him as He truly is. [And no sinful man can see God, for God cannot abide sin.])
5:3: The world may look upon us and wonder how we can consider ourselves blessed, when our afflictions and trials are so obvious to behold. But Paul shows how these very trials, far from preventing our blessed state, work to increase it. The suggestion here is not that we are expected to look forward to afflictions, nor that we should leave off trying to avoid them, nor even that we are somehow going to be happy in the midst of it. No, but yet there is that glorying of recognition that even these trials come by God's command, and so, are geared and designed to promote our salvation (for all things work to our good, who work in His will), and, if salvation is promoted, how can we but glory in it? For us, the goal is to learn patience in our afflictions, and if we have not so learned, then we hinder His work in us. In patient endurance, we are led to feel the help of God confirming our hope in Him. Though there will doubtless be times when all hope appears gone, yet the moment will come that God's help shines through, and our hope rebounds and redoubles. (2Co 4:8-9 - Although afflicted in every conceivable way, we are not crushed, though endangered on all sides, we do not despair, though persecuted and afflicted in every way, we know we are not forsaken. And though our trials may knock us down, they will not destroy us.) In the natural, these trials promote complaints and murmuring rather than patience, for they chafe against our stubbornness. But, as the Spirit works within, we can indeed allow these trials to promote patient endurance.
5:4: James orders patience and perseverance differently in his listing. (Jas 1:2-3 - Trials produce endurance.) Here, perseverance is the experience of those that rely on God's sure protection to overcome all difficulties. In James, the trials themselves are spoken of, by which God proves His servants. Footnote: the words in these two passages are different. In James, it is the test itself that is referred to, whereas here, the result of the test is held in sight. So we see that patience will only advance as we recognize God's power upholding us through the trial, giving us cause to hope for the future. Indeed, seeing the trial passed, and our character proven - all by God's own hand, we cannot but find hope confirmed in our considerations of past actions.
5:5: Footnote: Chalmers notes that there are two distinct hopes in this paragraph. The first hope, found in v2, is the hope of faith, founded solely upon the word of God. The second hope, found here and in v4, is the hope of experience, founded upon that experience we have had. The hope established by these trials will not be ashamed, for they are in a most certain salvation. Thus, we see that the trials have indeed promoted our salvation, and the point is proved, that afflictions are, for the godly, a cause for exulting. Just as all that seems pleasant and joyful will turn bitter, if it be found against the pleasure of God, so our tribulations, bitter though they may be, will turn out prosperous and joyful, inasmuch as they serve God's purpose to our salvation. This understanding, the Spirit must impart within our hearts, for the good things of God are hid from the minds of men. With this understanding, we see the love of our Father even in these trials, and know that He works from that love even then, and so, even the trials can come to be loved by us, as expressions of His love for us. Footnote: Either view of the love of God - ours toward Him, or His toward us - is supportable by the context here. The former would fit as a logical completion of the sequence of virtues, being noted as a fruit of the Spirit. The latter would be supported by connection to the following sentence, which bears the construct of cause and effect; God's love for us being displayed in Christ's dying for us at the necessary time. Further, note that the Spirit is given us, not earned by us. We are able to bear our trials, and confirm our hope in them because of our love for God. But note also that the fount of all love is found in the full conviction of God's love for us, not a slight conviction or acknowledging of the idea, but a thorough soaking in of the fact [an epignosis understanding, life-changing and fully participated knowing.]

Matthew Henry (6/23/01)

5:1: The benefits of justification ought to make us diligent to assure ourselves of our justified state, and take comfort in it, doing all that it calls us to do. Among those benefits is peace with God, not just the cessation of hostilities, but positive friendship. What was impossible while our guilt was upon us has been made possible by Christ. Through Christ, we can lay hold of God's strength (Is 27:5 - Rely on His protection and make peace with Him), we are made, like Abraham, to be friends of God (Jas 2:23 - Abraham believed, to his justification, and he was called the friend of God. Jn 15:14-15 - You are My friends if you do as I command, no longer being slaves who don't know what the master does, but friends who have heard the plans laid by the Father and I.) We now can approach God the Father as friend, but only through our Mediator (Eph 2:14 - He is our peace, who broke down the barrier. Col 1:20 - Through Christ, the Father reconciled all to Himself, making peace on earth and in heaven.)
5:2: To peace is added grace, as another benefit of justification. And this grace is completely other than our natural state as children of wrath. It is a thing unattainable by us in our own right, as we could not overcome the obstacles in the way. In Christ, we are introduced to the King on high as pardoned offenders, strangers brought to the King by a court favorite to have an audience with our Lord. Paul had those who introduced him, and led him by hand on this earth (Ac 9:27 - Barnabas brought him to the apostles to tell his story. Ac 9:8 - Being blinded by the experience, they led him by the hand into Damascus.) But it is Christ that introduced him to the grace of God, leading him by His hand. But leave no place for merit. It is our dependence on Christ, not our efforts. How much is packed into the fact that we stand in that grace. The convicted do not stand in court, but are thrown to the ground to hear their sentence. We, stand as those freed of guilt (Ps 1:5 - The wicked will not stand in judgment.) We stand as those still going forward, we cannot rest, thinking all is accomplished. We stand as servants of Christ, awaiting His command. We stand in perseverance, upheld by God's own power, keeping our ground as soldiers against the power of the enemy. In standing, we know ourselves not only introduced to grace, but confirmed in the favor of God. We stand in humble confidence (Php 1:6 - that He who began a good work in us will perfect it.) And to the joy of this blessed grace, there is added hope; hope of the glory that will be ours in eternity, seeing God, and knowing the fullness of His image in us. Only those who know His grace now can hope for His glory hereafter. (Ps 84:11 - The LORD is a sun and shield, giving grace and glory, and withholding no good thing from the righteous.) "It is the duty of those that hope for heaven to rejoice in that hope."
5:3: As if the benefits were not already greater than we could reasonably expect, there is added the ability to rejoice even in our trials. What one might expect would hinder our enjoyment of the other benefits turns out to enhance them, (2Co 4:17 - for these momentary afflictions are producing an eternal glory to which they cannot compare.) This is all the more true when our tribulations are due to righteous efforts, but it remains true even when there is no direct connection. (Ac 5:41 - They went from the Council rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer for His name.) We find cause for rejoicing in these trials because we see that they work to our hope. Our trials lead to patience, not as the efficient cause of patience - for tribulation by itself works for impatience - but is the tool that, when combined with God's grace, exercises our patience, making it stronger. And this is cause for great joy for 'patience does us more good than tribulations can do us hurt.'
5:4: This patience builds experience in us of God's consolations, His songs in the night; of our own sincerity, which in patience is proved and approved. (Job 2:3 - Consider Job, blameless and upright, holding fast his integrity in spite of trials.) The patience he showed in the face of adversity led to his approval in the courts of heaven. And such proven character in ourselves will encourage our hope, not as the basis for hope, but as a prop or support of the hope we have in Christ, for we see God has delivered us in the past, and so are the more assured that He will do so again.
5:5: This hope will not deceive us, nor disappoint us, as will the expectations of the wicked. (Pr 10:28 - The hope of the righteous is gladness, whereas the hopes of the wicked perish. Ps 22:5 - In Thee they trusted, and were not disappointed; delivered as they cried out to You. Ps 71:1 - I have taken refuge in You, LORD. Of that I'll never be ashamed.) Nor are we ashamed of our sufferings, knowing our hope of glory, knowing all is for the good cause of our good Master. That hope is sealed to us in the Holy Spirit, showing forth God's love in our hearts, and so drawing out of us love towards God. His love builds in us a special grace, and a full sense of that love within us. It is this love, known in our hearts, that gives us ground to persevere in comfort and holiness, whatever may come. (2Co 5:14 - That love controls us), it draws us and binds us to God in love, and knowing His love, we are neither ashamed of our hope in Him, nor our sufferings for Him.

Adam Clarke (6/24/01)

5:1: With it proved that the Gentiles are equally justified, and heirs to the promise to Abraham, the benefits that accrue with justification are now listed. First, the hope of eternal life is brought forth. Then, the way in which the Christian's trials serve to establish his hope, and [in a subsequent section], there is the privilege of having a claim to God as Father. It is taken as proved that we are justified and saved by faith. We, as sinners, could have no righteous works to plead as offsetting our guilt. Our hostility toward God could be seen in our very sins, our rebellion against His rule. Yet, now we are at peace with Him, reconciled to His Lordship. We were in terror under the guilt of our sins, now we are at peace, knowing that we have been forgiven, and guilt taken away. This has come about for the one reason that Christ died so that we might be reconciled to God.
5:2: Not only our pardon depended upon Christ, but our remaining in a state of justification is equally dependent upon His continued intercession on our behalf. Only through Him were we ever able to come before the throne of God, and only through Him are we still allowed that great privilege. We were not brought before Him for an interview, but to abide as part of His household, so as to 'walk in the light of His countenance' even in this present life. Knowing this privilege to be ours, we stand in happiness. Forgiven and adopted, we know ourselves heirs (Gal 4:7 - No longer a slave, but now a son; and if a son, then an heir) to eternal glory in God. What the Jews boasted of in their rites, we have in truth; all that was signified by the temple and its sacrifices completed in Christ so that we are welcomed into the divine presence. 'We are in the peace of God…and thus, we have heaven upon earth.' (emphasis mine).
5:3: Our happiness is not confined to the prospect of eternal communion with God, nor with our eventual presence with Him. No, that happiness even encompasses the sufferings we may go through because of our testimony, for such sufferings are sanctified by His grace as well. And so, they become 'powerful instruments of increasing our happiness.' The idea of trials building endurance is taken from the process of refining metals. It is not that such trials lead us to bursts of joy, but that we know that what we pass through increases our patience and forbearance on account of the Gospel.
5:4: The example from the refinery continues. For each such trial as we face gives us opportunity to test the truth of our confession, as well as the faithfulness of God. With each test passed through, we find both the more certain and proved, just as silver or gold tested in the fire will show itself true, and not adulterated. Furthermore, these concluded tests build up our hope, for with each experience of God's faithfulness, we are the more prepared to trust in His faithfulness for future trials. And, with each painful experience turned to our profit, we find more reason to expect that the next trial to come will also be turned to our profit by the grace and love of God, having seen that, indeed, all things do work together for the good of them that love God.
5:5: Hope without reasonable foundation will fail, to the shame and confusion of the one who hoped. But our hope has its foundation in the goodness and truth of God, and our experience [even in trial, if not especially in trial] has shown that this hope is well placed. The most convincing testimony, we have within ourselves, as the love of God is spoken into our hearts, becoming the source and power of all our actions, and motivating our obedience. "We love him because he first loved us; and we love him with a love worthy of himself, because it springs from him: it is his own; and every flame that rises from this pure and vigorous fire must be pleasing in his sight: it consumes what is unholy; refines every passion and appetite; sublimes the whole, and assimilates all to itself. And we know that this is the love of God." And this love, this grace, is made to be understood as the Holy Spirit works within us, producing within us the mind of Christ, and so enabling us to obey the pure Law. All love to God, and all love to every soul of man ought to be the experience of every believer. To this, the Holy Spirit has in times past added the miraculous gifts that are His, and, should they become needful again, He will again communicate them to us.

Barnes' Notes (6/25/01-6/26/01)

5:1: Since we are justified, we have peace. (Ro 1:17 - God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, by which faith, the righteous man will live. Ro 3:24 - Justification is a gift by His grace through redemption in Christ. Ro 4:5 - To the one who believes, rather than works, that faith is reckoned as righteousness. Jn 14:27 - Christ leaves peace with us, given to us that we might not be troubled or fearful. Ac 10:36 - Through Jesus Christ, God was preaching peace to Israel. Ro 8:6 - The mind set on the Spirit is life. Ro 10:15 - The preachers of the gospel are they whose feet are beautiful, as they bring glad tidings of good things. Ro 14:17 - The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Gal 5:22 - The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Is 32:17 - The work of righteousness will be peace; its service, quietness and eternal confidence.) Peace is noted as a benefit, as we were enemies of God prior to our justification. (Ro 8:7 - The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God. Eph 2:16 - On the cross, God put an end to enmity. Jas 4:4 - Friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Jn 15:18 - If the world hates you, remember it hated Me first. Jn 15:24 - Because they have seen My works, they have hated Me and My Father, too. Jn 17:14 - The world hates them that have Thy word, because they are no more part of the world, as You are not. Ro 1:30 - We were slanderers, haters of God, arrogant, boastful inventors of evil.) Also, prior to justification, we felt our alienation from God, and so, were agitated, and far from peace (Is 57:20 - The wicked are like a stormy sea, beyond quieting, as its waters toss up all sorts of garbage hid beneath.) The sinner aware of his sin fears God's judgments, and so views Him as an enemy. In Christ, God has revealed the plan by which He wills to be reconciled; the obstacles of justice removed from His view, and the obstacles of guilt removed from ours, so that we can now regard each other as friends. Quite often, it is this peace experienced within that is the first sense we have of our conversion. (Php 4:7 - God's peace, which is beyond our understanding, guards our hearts and minds in Christ. 1Pe 1:8 - Even though we haven't seen Him, we love Him and believe in Him, knowing in that inexpressible joy, and a fullness of glory. Jn 16:22 - You have sorrow at present, but when I return, your heart will rejoice, and your joy will be such that none can take it away.) It is Christ's mediation that has brought us this inexpressible peace.
5:2: In Christ, we have been handed the privilege of knowing God's favor, once we have been justified. He has opened the way for us to obtain God's favor. (Jn 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me. Eph 2:18 - Through Him, we all have access to the Father in one Spirit. Eph 3:12 - Through faith in Him, we have boldness; confident access to the Father. Ro 1:17 - The righteous shall live by faith. Is 12:3 - Therefor, you will joyfully draw from the springs of salvation. Is 35:10 - Those the LORD has ransomed will return to Zion with joyful shouts, with eternal joy. All sorrow and sighing will be chased away. Is 52:9 - Break forth in joy, for the LORD has redeemed Jerusalem! Is 61:3 - He has granted the mourners in Zion a garland for their ashes, the oil of gladness to replace mourning, the mantle of praise in place of a fainting spirit. Is 61:7 - Instead of shame, a double portion. Instead of humiliation, shouts of joy over their portion: everlasting joy. Is 65:14 - My servants shall shout joyfully with a glad heart. Is 65:18 - Rejoice forever in what I create, for I create Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for gladness. Jn 16:22 - Your heart will rejoice when you see me again, and that joy none will take away. Jn 16:24 - Ask of me now, and you will receive, so that your joy might be made full. Ac 13:52 - The disciples were constantly filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Ro 14:17 - The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 1Pe 1:8 - Even though you haven't seen Him, you love Him and believe in Him, rejoicing with inexpressible joy.) This joy comes because God has regarded us as righteous, and admitted us to abide in His favor, as well as giving us hope of greater blessings in the fullness of His glory when we come to heaven. Hope combines the emotions of desire and expectation. If either is missing, so is hope, and where they are out of balance, peace is gone. In the Christian, this balanced emotion of hope is placed in the desire, and confident expectation of obtaining to the glory of God, and so, we are sustained amidst all afflictions. This glory of God is the honor and dignity that will be given to the redeemed, when the work is completed, and their full honors given in redemption. Then, we shall be completely free of sin, pain, and sorrow; joining instead in the full splendors that surround the throne of God. (Lk 2:9 - As the angel of the Lord stood before them, the glory of the Lord shone about them. Rev 21:22-24 - The Lord God and the Lamb are the temple of the new Jerusalem, and their glory is its light, leaving no cause for sun or moon. In that glorious light, the kings of the earth bring their glory to add to it. Rev 22:5 - Night shall be banished, and the need for the light of lamps and sun gone, because God Himself will illuminate them eternally. Is 60:19-20 - No longer the sun and the moon for light, for the LORD shall be to you an everlasting light, and all mourning will be finished.)
5:3: Our rejoicing is not limited to prosperous times, but lies also in knowing support in our trials, and the joy we have in knowing our justification is carried with us into those situations. (Mt 5:11-12 - Rejoice when you are persecuted on account of Christ, for your reward will be great and, in persecution, you join company with the prophets. Jas 1:2 - Consider your trials as joy. Jas 1:12 - The one who perseveres in his trials has been approved, blessed, and promised the crown of life.) These trials encompass all that we may be called to suffer because of our Christianity, and might also be seen to include those trials we face that are not a direct result of our confession. When Paul says he knows that tribulation leads through steps to greater hope, he speaks not only from the reasoned nature of religion, but also from personal experience, this letter being written near the close of his life. (2Co 1:3-6 - The God of all comfort comforts us in affliction, so that we can comfort those who are likewise afflicted. Our sufferings abound, but so does our comfort, and both abound so as to serve to bring others to salvation and patient enduring. 2Co 11:24-29 - Lashed, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, stranded in the ocean; endangered by rivers, robbers, Jews and Gentiles, in the cities and the country, at sea and among false professors; hard worked, sleepless, underfed and thirsty, unprotected against the elements; pressed upon by concern for the Gospel work, weakened by every weak brother, agitated over every brother's sin. 2Co 12:9-10 - But God's grace is sufficient, so we can boast, in our weakness, of the power of Christ within, by which we know ourselves content with our weakness, with the insults, persecutions, and difficulties that come for Christ's sake, for in them, we find ourselves strong in Him.) Such trials push the sinner into greater rebellion and complaint. But the Christian, knowing that he deserves no mercy, that God is both wise and good, that His actions must be for our good, and has experienced the restraining effect such trials have on his passions will only become more patient. And that patience shows in a willingness to suffer whatever evils may befall one without complaint or discontent.
5:4: This patient endurance in trial gives us the experience to know ourselves as we truly are, to prove us genuine, and to know ourselves so proved. And so, seeing ourselves tested as true, we find that the trials we faced have produced a greater hope, for they have shown both God and our religion genuine - He in supporting us, our religion in trusting in Him to so support. Furthermore, we find that the end result of these afflictions is to turn our eyes heavenward, as befits the children of God.
5:5: A hope that goes unfulfilled will lead to disappointment, and perhaps to a sense of being ashamed at having so hoped in the first place. But the Christian hope is not subject to this, as it is assured of its fulfillment. (Php 1:20 - My earnest hope will not put me to shame in anything, because I know Christ will ever be exalted by my body, both in life, and in my death. Ps 22:4-5 - Our fathers trusted You, and You delivered them. They cried out to You in trust, and were not disappointed.) This whole chain from trial to hope causes a love toward God to overflow in us. That love toward God is given to us by God, through the Holy Spirit, so as to sustain us in our trials. (Ac 10:45 - The circumcised believers were amazed to see that the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles as well.) This love, as with all other graces, is produced by the influence of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22 - The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…) He is imparted to us to dwell in us, and produce all such graces in us. (1Co 6:19 - Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom God has imparted to you to dwell in you so that you are not your own. 1Co 3:16 - You are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you. 2Co 6:16 - We are the temple of the living God, as He has said, in saying "I will dwell in them and walk among them.")

Wycliffe (6/26/01)

5:1: Throughout the last chapter, and a good portion of the previous, the theme has been the righteousness that comes by faith. Now, the effects of that righteousness are turned to. In this section, the various items indicating present action (we have, we exult), could as easily and correctly be taken as exhortations (let us have, let us exult). All of these terms speak of present and constant activities. The peace we have by this righteousness is with God through Christ. His work provided the atonement for our sins so as to reconcile us to God, and remove the hostility.
5:2: We also find fellowship, being given the right to approach our King, and the proper introduction into His presence. And in His presence, we find that we stand in His unmerited favor, in declaring us righteous so that we can so stand before Him. So, we are boasting in hope of God's glory being displayed, as His promises are fulfilled toward us.
5:3-5:4: Knowing this hope, we also boast in trial because we know it will only make that hope the clearer. Trial leads to patience, which in turn produces character in us, by which proven character we know our hope the more certain.
5:5: Although hope is anchored to God's future action on our behalf (Ro 8:24-25 - We have been saved in hope, but hope persists only until the hoped for comes. Until it comes, hope enables us to persevere in eager anticipation.), it also has a present component in that love which God imparts to us through the Holy Spirit. This love, poured into us, and overflowing from us in outreach, is to be the mark of genuineness for the Christian (Jn 13:34-35 - Love one another as I have loved you, so that all will know you to be My disciples, in that you have this mutual love.)

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (6/27/01)

5:1: From proof of the doctrine, we move to the fruits of justification; first to privileges bestowed, and, in later chapters, to life. The first privilege addressed is peace with God. Debate among the manuscripts is wrapped up in the presence or absence of one letter, the which could shift the sense from 'we have', to 'let us have'. By shear numbers, the manuscripts would seem to point to 'let us have', but there are other considerations. First, the context in which the passage sits is a declaration of those benefits that come of justification, and so, to start the list with an exhortation rather than a declaration would seem odd. The record of the early church fathers is suspect in regards to this passage, for they had a tendency to shift much of Scripture into a form of exhortation, when that was not the original intent of the passage. The textual argument is whether a long o was changed to a short - a common transcription error in Greek manuscripts. Thus, the context ought to be considered a stronger evidence then the manuscript count in this case. To have peace with God is to have His wrath ended on our behalf, to have His displeasure at an end, as our sins are put away in Christ Jesus. Knowing this peace, our conscience is also at peace, as it finds rest in hope of acceptance. But this latter peace is a product of the former.
5:2: Objection is made to the idea that access is in the present tense, rather than the past. In Christ we have already had access by faith. The very One by whom we were introduced to the grace of justification by faith, is the Foundation upon which our peace with God is built. The Eastern idea of an introduction by Christ into the court of the King should not be seen here. (Eph 2:18 - Through Christ, we all have our access to the Father in one Spirit. Eph 3:12 - We have confident access through faith in Him.) The word can as easily indicate approach to any object, and is not restricted to royal introductions. The second privilege we have in justification is rejoicing hope of the glory of God, a rejoicing that is of such swelling emotion that loud outbursts of bragging or triumph cannot but come forth. As we know our present peace with God, so we are empowered to hope for a future we know secured, with prospects that cannot cause great joy to burst forth in us, as though we already had it with us now!
5:3: Next among our privileges comes the ability to triumph in our tribulations. Even in the face of trials, we have this same exuberant joy, not because of the trials, but because we know the end result that must come of them at God's hand. In our trials we grow toward patient and quiet endurance, even though we wish the trial ended. There is a patient endurance that springs from pride, thinking that to show signs of suffering under hardship would be beneath one, but that is far different from the endurance that comes of God. (Job 1:21-22 - I began life naked, and so I shall end life. What I have been given was given me by the LORD, what has been taken has been taken by His hand. In all this, He is blessed. (And so Job remained free of sin, not blaming God for his troubles.) Job 2:10 - How can we be willing to accept the good things from God, but not the hardships He sends? Heb 10:36 - You need endurance so that, having done His will, you may receive His promised reward.) These trials are but needed discipline for a finite period, and ever come with the promise of songs and joy to follow.
5:4: This endurance provides us with proof and evidence that our belief has indeed been well founded. (2Co 2:9 - I wrote to you in order that you might be tested, and found by that testing to be obedient in everything. 2Co 13:3 - You seek proof of that Christ who speaks in me. He is mighty in you, too. Php 2:22 - You know Timothy to be proven worthy, having served so long already for the Gospel.) And, this proof found in our experience leads to hope again. This hope we first had in looking to the Lamb of God to save us from wrath. Now, we find we have it in seeing how that object of our first hope has transformed us inwardly. The next six verses seek to give illustration of the solidity of this hope we have.
5:5: That hope is not an empty hope. It will not be disappointed. (Ro 9:33 - He who believes in Him who is the Rock of offense will not be disappointed. Ro 10:11 - Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.) The love shed abroad in us is God's love to us (Ro 5:8 - which He demonstrated to us when we were still sinners). That love is generously poured out into our hearts. (Ac 2:17 - In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit upon all of mankind, giving them to prophesy, see visions, and dream. Ac 2:33 - Christ having been exalted to God's right hand, and having received the promised Holy Spirit, has poured out what you have experienced today. Ac 10:45 - The circumcised were amazed to see that the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon Gentiles as well. Ti 3:6 - He [the Father] poured out the Holy Spirit upon us richly through Christ Jesus our Savior.) This love is communicated to us by that very Holy Spirit that has been poured into our lives, whether the reference be taken to the initial Pentecostal experience, or to the personal experience of each believer (Jn 7:38-39 - From him who believes shall flow rivers of living water; the Spirit that was yet to be received by those who believed when once He had been glorified.) Knowing this love in our hearts, we know our hope to be assured, for we know with certainty that God has shown us His love in Christ Jesus.

New Thoughts (6/29/01-6/30/01)

This past week has been an occasion of experiencing all that the passage before us is talking about. It was a week that began with foreboding, and proceeded quickly onward to a seemingly endless array of bad news. It was a week during which I was thankful (for the most part) that I was in the process of studying this particular passage, because I needed the daily reminder that He is good, and He is in control. Indeed, as Calvin pointed out, there were points where I felt as though all hope was gone, that just one more thing would suffice to push me beyond my limit, yet God remained true to His word, and has not tested me beyond my ability, but has rather shown me a greater character than I thought I had. And, in the end, He has shone through those troubles, restoring hope beyond what I knew before. He has given me yet another occasion that I will be able to look back upon and see His hand of deliverance. And so, I have another support added upon which I can lean the next time things are bleak. Was I able to look upon all these trials as joyful occasion while I was in them? Nope. Never will. Nor does God call us to be quite so bereft of our senses. He does want us to look to Him in the midst, to remember Whom we serve, that we call Him "Master", and He is a good master. The great purpose of affliction is to turn our eyes to Him, when otherwise they would quickly be distracted by the world around us. And, in the end, as painful as all this has been, I come out knowing that even these things have been for a good purpose, and have only served to further sanctification, and have fertilized the fruit that the Spirit is causing to grow in me.

It seems that the Church at present is beginning to come back to the lesson of Job, for the reason his story is included in Scripture. For far too long, we in the western church have been happy to dwell in the blessings of the Lord. Too long, because we have learned to despise His chastisements, and so, we have slipped into a weaker faith. It's time to recognize the answer to Job's question: "How can we be willing to accept the good things from God, but not the hardships He sends" (Job 2:10)? We don't want to hear that! We try ever so hard to deny that God could allow such things to occur! It was the devil did this, it was the devil did that. Surely, not God. He's good. He couldn't do such things. But, the whole of Job tells us that He allowed the testing, He circumscribed the limits of the testing. He remains faithful to us even in this, for He knows us, and He longs for us to know ourselves, to grow into the full stature of what He created us to be.

Just now, I've had a call from a sister whose husband, newly in Christ, is undergoing tremendous trial. Oh, to be certain, the enemy is at work trying to turn him back from his recent commitment to the Lord, but even in this, the Lord is working to further strengthen that commitment. He can be trusted to help this man to stand. He can be trusted to keep those that He has called His own. And in this call, I see another portion of why He has had me going through the things I've had to deal with this week. I needed to be freshly come through a place of fear and anxiety, so that I could be here to minister to this very present circumstance in another. I needed the experience, that I might have the compassion and understanding to pray the more fervently for one in a similar state. Thank You, Father, for preparing me both for my own situation, which You provided for so incredibly through the timing of this study, and for this situation where prayer was so needed, and a sister needed the comfort of reassurance, that her husband was cared for by His Father. Oh, Lord! Trials may come, but You stand firm! Our hope remains secure, our anchor yet holds before Your throne, and nothing, nothing, NOTHING will shake that anchor loose! No storm of trials can come against us that You are not proof against. You are holy and awesome and faithful and true, and every trial You carry us through just leaves us the sweeter in reverence of You, my Lord and King.

Yes, we've come through afflictions to find that His peace - a peace so great and assured that we don't truly understand it - has guarded and kept us through it all (Php 4:7). We come to the end of it all, and find that He has indeed replaced our mourning with gladness, where our spirits were failing within us, He has brought forth the mantle of praise (Is 61:3). Shall I speak of last night? At the end of this torturous week, I, as part of the worship team, was called upon to serve in a multi-church conference on worship. This brought us into unfamiliar territory, not that worship is unfamiliar to us, but the setting was not the one we were accustomed to, and the building was not as well outfitted as ours for the type of worship we tend towards. Add to this, that we have had a history of very frustrating experiences when we play outside of our own church. Add to this, that my wife was taken ill, that I had, the day before, been so stressed and strained that I felt myself in danger of passing out. But we all of us (for my trials are not unique) came, in spite of that burden, in spite of the 'issues' of leading worship with no overheads, no monitors, in spite of an unusual (for us) inability to hear what we were playing; in spite of all this, we came determined to praise our Lord, and He blessed us with His mantle that we might do so. It was an experience to reverse and repair all the bad experiences we've had in previous trips. It was an experience to restore all the damaged confidence of those occasions, as we led a worship above and beyond our own abilities, and allowed God to reign and rule. Indeed! He replaced all the mournfulness of the week, the ashes of hopes seemingly destroyed, the weakness of our spirits within us, with the mantle of praises, with the anointing oil of gladness, with a celebration of worship that, both in our own service, and in the many other offerings made to His glory, was truly refreshing and restorative.

We were not brought before Him for an interview, but to abide as part of His household, so as to 'walk in the light of His countenance' even in this present life. This is the thing we need to remember as we go through the trials that will doubtless come. We are of His household, His children, His beloved, and He will in no wise abandon us. This is the firm foundation of our hope: The God who cannot lie, who has sworn by Himself, has declared Himself our Father, and has promised us a place in His home for eternity. I really liked the definition of hope that Barnes produced: Hope combines the emotions of desire and expectation. If either is missing, so is hope, and where they are out of balance, peace is gone. In the Christian, this balanced emotion of hope is placed in the desire, and confident expectation of obtaining to the glory of God, and so, we are sustained amidst all afflictions. If we expectantly desire to be with Him for eternity, if we expectantly desire to be like Him when we see Him as He is, we have all we need to be sustained in trials. If we expect to be with Him for eternity, but don't truly desire it (can this even be possible?), then we haven't a hope but a dread. Here, perhaps, is the end of the unrepentant sinner, for he will still spend eternity with God, but not in His favor, rather under His wrath.

Lord, once more, I just want to thank You for bringing me through this last week. I ask Your forgiveness for my weakness, for my stumbling and grumbling in the midst. Yet, I praise You for Your faithfulness to me through it all. I cannot fathom the goodness of Your love, Your peace. It' too vast, too far beyond the limits of my senses. Yet, I know beyond doubt that You have sustained me, sustained this family, through a very hard place, and I know beyond doubt that You will be faithful to lead us in the week to come, as we go on vacation. I'm going to miss this time, this ability to pour out my thoughts. I'm amazed, even now, at how You orchestrate this study to time things ever so perfectly! That You brought me to look at my thoughts from last year just as I was coming out from under the cloud. That You reminded me of my own prayers to You, and Your loving answer! Oh, how well You have done for me, my Lord. And, as much as I have hated what I just went through, I see, as I knew I must, that You have indeed brought very good things from what seemed so miserable. And, knowing this, knowing how much the hurt may be, I renew that prayer to You, and ask that You would do whatever is needful to continue producing in me the patient endurance that so pleases You, for I know that this indeed leads to a firmer hope, a hope secure in knowing it will be done.

Finally, I just want to put this quote down again, where I'll be sure to find it. When I first read this (almost a week ago), it so impressed me that I couldn't attempt to paraphrase it, but wanted it whole. I printed it out to share with folks at church, because it just blew me away. And it still does. What an awesome, awesome thing to consider, and to remember! I pray that I will remember it every time I am before Your eyes, my Lord (which is ever and always)!

"We love him because he first loved us; and we love him with a love worthy of himself, because it springs from him: it is his own; and every flame that rises from this pure and vigorous fire must be pleasing in his sight: it consumes what is unholy; refines every passion and appetite; sublimes the whole, and assimilates all to itself. And we know that this is the love of God."