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Romans 5:3-5 - Building Perseverance, Character, Hope and Love.Romans 5:3-5 (NLT) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.INTRODUCTION These verses introduce a section that contains some difficult concepts. To understand the next four chapters, it helps to keep in mind the two-sided reality of the Christian life. On the one hand, we are complete in Christ, declared righteous and accepted fully by him. On the other hand, we are still growing in Christ, becoming more and more like him. At one and the same time we have the status of royalty and the duties of slaves. We feel both the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin. We enjoy the peace that comes from being made right with God, but we still face daily problems that often help us grow. If we remember these two sides of the Christian life, we will not grow discouraged as we face temptations and problems. Instead, we will learn to depend on the power available to us from the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and is God's gift to all who believe. As Paul states clearly in 1 Corinthians 13:13, faith, hope, and love are at the heart of the Christian life. Your relationship with God begins with faith, which helps you realize that you are delivered from your past by Jesus' death and resurrection. Hope grows as you learn all that God has in mind for you; it gives you the promise of the future. God's love fills your life and gives you the ability to reach out and love others. For first-century Christians, suffering was the rule rather than the exception. Paul explains that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome. This means that, for now, we will experience difficulties that help us grow. We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but because we know God is using life's difficulties and Satan's attacks to build our character. The problems that we encounter will develop our perseverance - which, in turn, will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future. You probably find your patience tested in some way every day. Thank God for those opportunities to grow, and deal with them in his strength (also see James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). All three members of the Trinity are involved in salvation. The Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to bridge the gap between us (John 3:16). The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with love and to enable us to live by his power (Acts 1:8). With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve him completely? [Life Application SB 2019] COMMENTARY PEARLS Jesus came to impart to the human soul the Holy Spirit, by which the love of God is shed abroad in the heart; but it is impossible to endow men with the Holy Spirit, who are set in their ideas, whose doctrines are all stereotyped and unchangeable, who are walking after the traditions and commandments of men, as were the Jews in the time of Christ. They were very punctilious in the observances of the church, very rigorous in following their forms, but they were destitute of vitality and religious devotion. They were represented by Christ as like the dry skins which were then used as bottles. The gospel of Christ could not be placed in their hearts; for there was no room to contain it. They could not be the new bottles into which He could pour His new wine. Christ was obliged to seek elsewhere than among the scribes and the Pharisees for bottles for His doctrine of truth and life. He must find men who were willing to have regeneration of heart. He came to give to men new hearts. He said, "A new heart also will I give you." But the self-righteous of that day and of this day feel no need of having a new heart... for they felt no need of a Saviour........ (Matt. 23:2-7, 23). 1SM 386 God's law is fulfilled only as men love Him with heart, mind, soul, and strength, and their neighbor as themselves. It is the manifestation of this love that brings glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men. The Lord is glorified when the great end of His law is attained. It is the work of the Holy Spirit from age to age to impart love to human hearts, for love is the living principle of brotherhood. Not one nook or corner of the soul is to be a hiding place for selfishness. 8T 139, 140 COMMENTARY Why Does God Allow Suffering? After Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden, the world slipped into a pretty sorry state. It will remain that way until Jesus comes again and sets up his Kingdom in the new creation. Sure, we all want a world where nothing bad happens. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Jesus promises just that - but in eternity, not the present. In this world we have to fight against Satan and bring as many people as we can out from under his grip. And, right now, we face times of suffering. Some suffering we bring on ourselves - we do dumb things and get hurt. Some suffering is caused by sin. Some suffering - such as natural disasters like floods, fire, or storms - is the result of the curse that came over creation after the Fall in the Garden of Eden. We do not always know why certain bad things happen. God may not always stop suffering, but that doesn't lessen his power. He does something even better: He uses our suffering to teach us, mature us, and help us to reach out to others who are also suffering. In this way God takes suffering and redeems it. [The One Year Bible for New Believers] Persevere An Amazing Fact: After being drafted, Desmond Doss' refusal to bear arms gave his commanders fits, and his fellow soldiers often used the meek misfit as a punching bag. He believed his Christian faith forbade the taking of lives and promoted their saving. He always kept his Bible close by but refused to carry a weapon at his own peril. Yet as an infantry medic during World War II, Doss did as much as any great warrior to save the lives of his fellow men. During a bloody assault in Okinawa in April 1945, private first-class Doss exhibited magnificent fortitude and unflinching bravery in the face of deadly conditions. He retrieved 75 wounded men off a rocky cliff while under constant enemy fire. Doss believed this feat was made possible only by the guiding and protective hand of God. Doss received many wounds during that battle, but he always tended to others before himself. His reputation as a soldier propelled his name as a symbol for outstanding faith. While seriously wounded after jumping on a grenade to protect his fellow men, Doss dragged himself through the battlefield to treat wounded soldiers until he was rescued. Doss later discovered he'd lost his Bible during the conflict. However, the respect of his fellow soldiers had grown so profound that they searched the battlefield until they found the beloved Book of the private they had all once mocked. For his heroic efforts and bravery, Doss received this country's highest military honor. On Columbus Day in 1945, President Truman placed the Congressional Medal of Honor around Doss' neck and said, "This is a greater honor for me than being president." Doss is the only conscientious objector ever to receive the award. Christ, in the same way, honors the church of Philadelphia. "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name" (Revelation 3:8). And, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial" (v. 10). Praise God for protection to those who persevere in His name. [Moving Mountains by Amazing Facts] Love Poured Out An atheist once asked a Christian to quickly explain the gospel. "I believe," he responded, "that the power who created the cosmos - from the two trillion galaxies to every cell in every living thing - this power, God, shrank down, became a human infant who, as the adult Jesus, offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world so that whoever believes in Him has the promise of eternal life." "Wow," the atheist responded, "that is good news." Good news indeed. However much in nature, even after six thousand years of sin, points to God's love, nothing reveals that love as perfectly as Jesus' dying on the cross. That was God, the Creator (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16) and Sustainer (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3) of the universe, hanging there by His nailed hands and feet, dying one of the bloodiest deaths that the Romans had devised for criminals. And He did it so that we can have hope, the hope of something beyond this world, which promises us so little. Amid life's trials and tragedies, if you would surrender to the Lord, then the promised love of God, revealed by the cross, will be, as the text for today says, "poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit." No matter how painful your circumstances, no matter how hard your present situation, if you would begin each day at the foot of the cross focusing on who Jesus was and what He did for you personally, you will experience the hope that does not disappoint. Lord Jesus, help me see, day by day, moment by moment, the reality of Your love as revealed at Calvary. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts] ILLUSTRATIONS Strength through Struggle On a trip to a local butterfly garden, my two granddaughters and I followed instructions and stayed on the paths, didn't pick plants, and refrained from picking up caterpillars. As we strolled among the butterfly bushes, verbena, pincushion flowers and asters, the plantain, grasses, and milkweeds, we spotted a "mock" monarch, a pipevine swallowtail, a cabbage white, a yellow-and-black western tiger swallowtail, and a dozen or more black-and-orange swallowtail caterpillars dining on the Dutchman's-pipe vine. I had a lot to learn about these beautiful insects. Some interesting tidbits about butterfly behavior: They go "nectaring," dipping their long tubular tongues into a flower to eat. They also dine on rotten fruit and animal droppings, and they "puddle," or sip, dissolved minerals and salts from wet earth. The males "hilltop" by finding a high spot where they patrol and defend their territory while seeking a mate. Females oviposit, or lay eggs singly or in clutches on specific host plants (like the Dutchman's-pipe vine). Butterflies also bask in the sunshine to warm their cold-blooded bodies. Maybe you've heard the story about a child who thought he was helping a butterfly by splitting open its cocoon so the creature could escape more easily. Without the struggle to get out, though, the butterfly's wings didn't develop the strength needed to fly. Sometimes an act of mercy can get in the way of God's blessings. Whether I want to jump in and help someone else, or I want someone to rescue me, I've learned the hard way this can cause more harm than good. The uncomfortable truth is that trials and tribulations are often training grounds for great growth in character and in faith. Romans 5 tells us that problems build our ability to persevere through struggle, even if we can't see the end point. That endurance in turn develops our character, which is the core of who we are even when no one is observing us, and then "strengthens our confident hope of salvation." And that's really the key, isn't it? That kind of hope - trusting that God really is redeeming us, that He really has a glorious eternal future planned for us - changes everything. Sometimes God does step in and rescue us. But often it's when we struggle that we turn to Him for help and discover the immensity and beauty of His tender care. Only then can we mount up on wings of faith and fly. Lord, often I just want my troubles to go away. But I know that You are sovereign, and You have a purpose for what I experience. Please don't let these struggles be wasted. May my trials create in me endurance, character, faith, and an unshakable hope in the salvation that comes only from You. [Earth Psalms by Francine Rivers] The Lyre Pine I want to share with you the lessons taught me by a radiant Christian woman on how to overcome frustration. In case of doubt, let me make clear that the woman concerned was not a thick-skinned individual who cared for nothing and nobody, but rather a highly sensitive person who knew how to turn every test into a testimony. Here is her prescription for overcoming frustration. First, realize that Christians aren't exempt from facing problems. It is true that Christians are exempted from many self-inflicted pains which non-Christians bring on themselves through wrong attitudes, wrong moral choices, wrong behavior, and so on. But apart from this, every Christian is as subject as a non-Christian to accidents, sickness, and even death. Some years ago a plane full of non-Christian Indian seamen crashed into the Alps; a few days later, fifty-eight Christians, fresh from a conference, crashed in the same Alps. Secondly, fix in your mind that the Christian answer is along the line of using whatever comes - justice or injustice, pain or pleasure, compliment or criticism. Ever heard of a lyre pine? The lyre pine is a pine tree whose top is shaped like a harp, with a number of branches forming the top, instead of one straight branch. It is produced, they say, by a calamity such as a storm or a lightning flash striking off the original top. Frustrated, it then puts up a whole series of tops stretched on a more or less horizontal bar. This, too, can happen to us - if we let it. Calamity can turn dullness into music, a lone top into a lyre. Father, let this truth sink deeply into my spirit so that I will be able to turn all my lone tops into lyres. Quicken within me today the sense that with You, I can overcome everything - including frustration. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional] CLOSING THOUGHTS We often think that we could be happy "if only" we had fewer problems, or more advantages, but it is very unwise to put off being happy. Be full of joy now, because "now" is all that you have. We all hope for many tomorrows, but today is our only guarantee. This day is a gift from God and it would be tragic to waste it being unhappy. Even if your circumstances are unable to provide your joy, let Jesus be your joy. Just imagine having your problems and not knowing Him! None of us enjoy dealing with painful situations in life, but we can rejoice and trust God's promise to work something good out of them (see Romans 8:28). We live in a world where the sin principle is at work, and we should face the fact that nothing is perfect here and it never will be. God invites us into a life where, although we cannot avoid all difficulty, we can find a place in Him to live above it. The Bible calls it resurrection power! (See Philippians 3:10.) I urge you not to waste your time thinking that you would be joyful "if only" things were different in your life. Serve the Lord with gladness and always remember that the joy of the Lord is your strength! Father, You have given me many blessings and I want to always be joyful for You and what You have done for me. Forgive me when I put off being joyful until another time, and help me to always rejoice now! [My Time with God by Joyce Meyer] Perfect Peace Years ago when I traveled to Europe to preach, I liked to travel by sea to enjoy the five days of relative quiet on the ship. On one of my voyages Captain Anderson of the United States took me down to see the ship's gyroscope. He said, "When the sea is rough, the gyroscope helps to keep the ship on an even keel. Though the waves may reach tremendous proportions, the gyroscope helps to stabilize the vessel and maintain a high degree of equilibrium." As I listened, I thought how like the gyroscope is the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Let the storms of life break over our heads. Let the enemy Satan come in like a flood. Let the waves of sorrow, suffering, temptation, and testing be unleashed upon us. Our souls will be kept on an even keel and in perfect peace when the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. He comforts us with God's abiding presence, and assures us that God's promises are true. The person who doubts is tossed about by every storm that comes (James 1:6). The person of faith, come what may, simply carries on. The Holy Spirit makes all the difference in how we handle life's trials. [Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY Romans 5:3-4 - Building Character and Hope. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240213-1053.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200130-1138.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2012/20120718-2114.html James 1:2-4 - Let Trials Make You More Like Jesus. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250402-1317.html 1 Peter 1:6, 7 - Problems Prepare You for Eternity. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220622-0818.html 2 Pet 1:5-7 (NIV) For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. Devotional pending. LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |