Romans 5:2-4

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

V2-4 – Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God; rejoice in suffering which produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope. Another implication of justification, besides peace, is hope for the glory of God, in which believers get to share. The Israelites wanted Canaan; Moses wanted to see God’s glory. Do we just want to be in heaven, maybe sneak in by the skin of our teeth, or do we want to see God’s glory in the face of Christ? Who is the first person you want to see in heaven? It better be Christ. Yearning for God’s glory, we share in it. And it will be revealed like never before. God will glorify Himself by restoring creation into an eternal perfection, without the possibility of corruption, and we will share in it. Do you hope for the glory of God? Satan wants God’s people to think that God is not worth living for. But in the end God’s glory is going to be revealed. And everyone who has faith in Jesus Christ will know that God was worth living for, and that living for His glory is beyond question. Paul is saying, “If you’re justified, you will be there; God is worth living for.”

Paul says, “Rejoice in the glory of God to come and also in the sufferings you currently endure.” It’s easy to see why we rejoice about what’s coming, especially given that we are so confident in it. But it’s not easy to rejoice in suffering. Suffering is hard, especially ongoing suffering with no end in sight. Paul doesn’t say that we rejoice in spite of our sufferings; he says that we rejoice on account of our sufferings. How is it that you can rejoice in suffering and tribulation? The only way that you can rejoice in any and every tribulation is to know that in every tribulation you are seeing not God against you, but God for you. For the unbeliever, he may well feel that the trials and tribulations of life are the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The traumas and difficulties of life may cause him to say, “This universe makes no sense. I loved that woman, and God took her away from me by cancer. I loved that job, and I was wrongfully taken from it. I loved my child. I devoted myself to my child, and God took my child away from me.” But Paul says trials and tribulations are not that way for believers. Why? Nothing in the universe is against God. If God is for you, who can be against you? And even in the universe which is warped by sin, God in His fatherly wisdom is ordering all things for your good. That’s why we are able to rejoice in present suffering. Nothing capable of our demise in this entire universe is against us.

Through grace, evil has lost the initiative in a believer’s life and can no longer lord it over him or her. Evil becomes an instrument in God’s hands of furthering His purposes in the believer’s life. It may be chastening, fatherly discipline. It is for perseverance and character. It is not for destruction. It is not for God’s amusement. He does not take suffering lightly. He desires to sanctify His people, to build them up for some great battle ahead or to glorify Himself. He will allow or cause suffering so that His people will persevere and grow in character. There will be a benefit, most likely in some way that they would never ever fathom. But in all of it, God has the design of the believer’s good. Rejoice in suffering; it leads to perseverance, which produces character, which produces a sure and settled hope. This is sanctification.

The idea is that when you put metal through a fiery testing and it comes out on the other side persevering and enduring, what you call that metal is “proven” or “authentic” or “genuine.” That’s the sense here. When you go through tribulation, and your faith is tested, and it perseveres, what you get is a wonderful sense of authenticity. You feel that your faith is real. It has been tested. It has stood the test with perseverance. And it is therefore real, authentic, proven, genuine. It persevered and developed character.

Have you ever said in the midst of suffering, amidst a trial or tribulation, “Thank you God for breaking me so that I could see again that Your love is better than any love that can exist in this world. Thank you Father, for showing me again that You care so much for me that You will wean me away from the affections of the world to trust in and love You only.”? Hebrews 5:8 says of Jesus, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” The same is true for us. God’s purpose in whatever trials we face is to teach us obedience and refine us into the image of Christ. Because of God’s purpose in our trials and tribulations and sufferings, we rejoice in them. He’s sanctifying us; He’s making us like Christ. What could be better?