Romans 5 "Suffering Builds Character and Hope!"

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Peace and Hope

Having delineated our standing before a holy God and that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Paul now reveals the benefits of being justified by faith freely by God's grace in Jesus Christ. 

First of all, we have peace with God. Some people may not even know they don't have peace with God. They are so inebriated with the things of this world, that they don't stop and think about their standing before a holy God. But every now and then dread comes upon them thinking, "What if there is a God? Will I be responsible for what I have done with my life?"

The way of life is characterized by fear and anxiety. But when have been justified by faith we have peace with God. Not in God, by God, or for God. It is with God.  

"This is peace with God; the battle between God and our self is finished – and He won, winning us." - Guzik

But just because we have peace with God doesn't mean we won't have tribulation. Paul and apostles faced all kinds of trials. But Paul shows us that our tribulations can play in a role in developing Christlike character in us. 

We don't develop character in a vacuum. It is us a process. Paul shows us the process to building character and hope.

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us." 

In the moment we are facing a trial, we cannot see the end result. We can only see and feel the pain we are in. But if we persevere and endure the trial, we are strengthened and our character is built. As character is built each time we go through a trial, it is strengthened for the trials ahead of us. From this growing character hope is built. What does this mean? 

Hope is the expectation and confidence of an favorable outcome. The favorable outcome a Christian longs for is heaven. We have the hope of heaven. When we have victory over sin, it proves the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It shows us that our hope is real.  

"Therefore we say – soberly, reverently – we say about tribulation, “Lord, bring it on. I know you love me and carefully measure every trial and have a loving purpose to accomplish in every tribulation. Lord, I won’t seek trials and search out tribulation, but I won’t despise them or lose hope when they come. I trust Your love in everything You allow.” - Guzik 

Paul says at the right time Jesus died for us. In A.A. an addict is only read to get the help they need from God when they realize alcohol has made them powerless and their life has become unmanageable. In the same way Jesus realized we were powerless over sin. We could not "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps." 

Also, if you ever wonder how much God loves you, Romans 5:6-7 sums it up quite nicely. 

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rarely will anyone die for a good person, but Jesus proved His love for the worst of sinners. He willingly chose to go to the cross for every man and woman regardless of their worthiness. If you ever wonder if you are loved, look at the cross and see Jesus' eyes looking at you and saying, "I love you so much, I died for you. If you were the only person who ever lived, I would die for you." 

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

Paul describes how sin came into the world through one man and that sin brought death. Since we are all born through this one man, we all inherit a sinful nature. All men and women were guilty before Moses brought the Law, which contained God's commandment. In the bible this first man is named "Adam".

It is interesting that the word in Hebrew for "Adam" means "humankind".  Adam represented all humankind. Sin brought death, as God had warned Adam and Eve when they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He warned them that when they ate of the tree, they would surely die. It seems unfair that we really didn't have a chance when we were born in sin and separated from God. 

We may not like the fact that we are made sinners by the work of another man. We may protest, and say, “I want to stand on my own two feet, and not be made a sinner because of the work of another man.” Nevertheless, it is fair to be made righteous by the work of another man only if we are also made sinners by the work of another man. If we aren’t made sinners by Adam, then it isn’t fair for us to be made righteous by Jesus. - Guzik

Paul sums it up by saying, "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." Sin brought death. Grace brought life. Though God never intended or wanted us to sin, He used it to show us His goodness and grace. 

How often do you thank God for grace he has given you in Jesus Christ? One of the ways you can thank him is to live your life to give glory to him. While we will always struggle with our sinful nature until Jesus returns to take us home, we can live in the power of the Holy Spirit and persevere through trials building Christlike character.