May 23 - Romans 5:2-4

Pastor Tritten · May 23 - Romans 5:2-4

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans

May 23, 2021

Opening Prayer

Psalm 119  

¹²¹ I have done what is just and right;
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
¹²² Give your servant a pledge of good;
    let not the insolent oppress me.
¹²³ My eyes long for your salvation
    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
    and teach me your statutes.
¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding,
    that I may know your testimonies!
¹²⁶ It is time for the Lord to act,
    for your law has been broken.
¹²⁷ Therefore I love your commandments
    above gold, above fine gold.
¹²⁸ Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
    I hate every false way.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² 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. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ 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.

Verse 2

What is hope?

-        Three statements.

o   I hope we have KFC for dinner.

o   I hope I will have a good result on my tests.

o   I hope in Christ’s resurrection.

o   Do these use hope with the same meaning?

-        A wish, a desire, or confidence in God’s promise.

 

What is the hope of the glory of God?

-        John 12 – note especially v. 16, and 23-33.

-        The centrality of the Cross as the key to God’s glory.

-        “Christ comes for sinners.” – Pres. Matt Harrison’s sermons.

-        John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

BY JOHN DONNE

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

We rejoice (boast) in our suffering – tribulation, affliction, trouble.

-        Why do we suffer?

o   Persecution

o   Wrestling with sin

o   God

§  His discipline - Psalm 51:8, Proverbs 3:11-12

§  Our rebellion – Acts 26:14, James 4:1-5

§  For His glory - Job

o   Love for others.

§  Love often leads to suffering!

o   Evil

§  “We pray in this petition (‘But deliver us from evil.’) that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.” – Luther’s explanation to the Seventh Petition of the Lord’s Prayer

-        How do we feel about suffering?

o   Many of the problems of this life come because we shun suffering – even discomfort.

o   How often do we compromise our beliefs because we are afraid of suffering?

o   We often prefer the comforts of the penultimate to the promises of the ultimate.

 

Suffering produces, brings about, makes endurance – perseverance, fortitude, patient waiting.

-        Running a marathon – training for six months to build up endurance.

-        God is playing the long-game, and we do too when it comes to the life of faith. Life and mission require endurance.

 

Verse 4

Endurance produces character.

-        What is character?

-        The Greek word is related to judgement and means having the quality of having stood the test or mature.

 

Character produces hope.

-        Joseph – Genesis 37-50

o   Favorite, Pampered, Tactless (as evidenced by how he talked about his dreams).

o   Sold into slavery – where he succeeds by his work ethic and dependability.

o   Refuses adultery and is falsely accused.

o   Prison – where he succeeds – and also interprets the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and baker.

o   Interprets Pharaoh’s dream – 2^nd in command over all of Egypt.

o   Famine, Brothers, Tests, and Forgiveness. Genesis 50:20.

o   Genesis 50:24 – “Bury my bones ….”