Recently I wrote on how it takes guts to care for others, i.e. if we genuinely care for another, we will feel their pain in our gut.
We feel that pain even if the one we care for has contributed to the painful situation he is in; and even more so where he is the innocent victim.
This is Biblical.
But it can also be painful – for us, as well as them.
And most of us don’t like pain.
At the time I wrote we were feeling the pain of others – in some cases where they had contributed, in others where they were entirely innocent.
Then, early this week a situation arose with one we love in which Eileen and I felt helpless, but in which we both felt deeply in our gut on behalf of the one suffering.
It drove me back to reconsider that wonderful passage in Romans 5:1-5.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
This is comfort for all believers
The comfort these verses offer to those suffering (“tribulations”) is for those – and those only – who have trusted in Christ.
They only “have been justified by faith.”
It is comfort for believers only.
But it IS comfort to believers – all believers.
Those included in these words of comfort are all the “we” who have been justified by faith: all believers.
Likewise “the love of God” that “has been poured out” is upon all believers.
It is not (as some have suggested) a “second blessing” for a few special believers.
The “love of God” is “poured out” in “our hearts” – referring to the same “we” as in verse 1.
The degree to which we experience that “love of God” may vary from one believer to another, and from one time to another. But to a greater or lesser degree it is experienced by all believers.
The Westminster Confession (ch 18, § 4) puts it this way:
True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted… yet they are never so utterly destitute of that seed of God, and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart, and conscience of duty, out of which, by the operation of the Spirit… they are supported from utter despair.
This is comfort in the Triune God
Some Christians seek their comfort in “Jesus only”.
I have written before on the way worship and preaching are being impoverished by a “Jesus-only” approach today.
But equally, in pastoring, to seek comfort in “Jesus only” robs the sufferer of much of the comfort he could derive. (Thankfully, many who claim to seek their comfort in “Jesus only” can unwittingly be better in practice than in what they say or teach.)
So as not to be misunderstood let me assure you I do seek my comfort in Christ “who cannot but sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15)
I happily sing “What a friend we have in Jesus”, “Jesus I am resting, resting” and some other similar hymns.
My concern is not in seeking comfort in Christ, but that so much is lost (so much comfort is lost) when we lose sight of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus, in that great passage on comfort (John ch 14: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid…”) taught us to seek our comfort in the triune God:
“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him… The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:23-26)
The same focus on comfort in the triune God comes out in Romans ch 5:
1) Here is the comfort we have in God the Father (representing the triune God):
- we have peace with [Gk. pros] God
- we rejoice in hope of the glory of God
- the love of God has been poured out in our hearts
2) Here is the comfort we have through Christ:
- we have peace with God through [Gk. dia] our Lord Jesus Christ,
- through [Gk. dia] our Lord Jesus Christ we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,
3) Here is the comfort we have through the Holy Spirit:
- the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by [Gk. dia] the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
This comfort is in: Peace, Access, Joy, Hope, Love
These are all the fruit of justification.
1) We have “PEACE with God”.
The war is over; our sins are forgiven. Peace is declared between us and God.
As Isaiah foretold:
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God.
“Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” (Isa 40:1-2)
2) We have “ACCESS by faith into this grace in which we stand”, i.e. the grace of justification. We “stand” justified, accepted in the presence of God.
No one, nothing we suffer, can rob us of that.
3) We “REJOICE in hope of the glory of God.”
At present we groan; we “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23)
But even now “we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor 3:18)
And, at last, when Christ returns “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
Even more wonderful, we shall behold God in His glory. We shall see God. (see here)
4) This is our HOPE.
This is not a vain hope. It is not like our “hopes” for this life – that we’ll get on in our job, that our children will succeed, or that we will enjoy good health. We can’t be certain of any of these.
But our hope of glory is a certain hope.
It will not fail; it will not “disappoint”.
5) We are assured of the certainty of such a hope by the LOVE of God filling our hearts through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
As noted before, the degree to which we experience that “love of God” varies from one believer to another, and from one time to another. But to a greater or lesser degree it is experienced by all believers.
This comfort only reaches us through suffering
God’s comfort comes to us in our suffering.
But out of left field we learn that comfort like this reaches us only through suffering.
This is why Paul can say that, not only do we “rejoice [Gk. kauchaomai, i.e. boast] in hope”, but “we also rejoice [Gk. kauchaomai, i.e. boast] in tribulations” – for it is only through such “tribulations” we arrive at such “hope”.
This takes some unpacking.
1) Paul begins with “TRIBULATIONS”. Suffering begins with tribulation.
In another life, as an engineer, I studied tribology: the study of how surfaces wear each other down by rubbing against each other.
That is literally what tribulation is: it is burdens that press down upon you, grinding you down and wearing you away. It is the trial that goes on and on; there seems to be no relief.
2) It is only in the context of “tribulations” like this, that grind you down and wear you away, that you can learn to “bear up from under” – which is literally what “PERSEVERANCE” (Gk: hyper-monē = “remaining under”) means.
Unless something is “pressing down” upon you from above, you can’t “bear up from under”. Hence“perseverance” like this can only be learnt through “tribulation”.
3) Then, as we learn to “bear up from under” our “CHARACTER” (Gk: dokimē = proven character) is formed, i.e. tested and proved.
If we respond aright to “tribulations” we will learn so much through our suffering; even Jesus “ though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Heb 5:8).
Maturity comes as character is formed; and character is formed and proved through suffering.
It is for this reason Peter also “rejoiced” in “various trials” (1 Pet 1:6-7):
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the proven-genuineness (Gk. dokimion) of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested-and-proved (Gk. dokimazō) by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…
Joni Eareckson Tada writes:
As I begin to count my blessings each year in anticipation of Thanksgiving, I am careful to put my suffering – more importantly, what I have learned from it – at the top of my list. Yes, you heard right. I am thankful for my suffering, not just in spite of it…
Forty-six years ago when God answered “no” to my prayers for physical healing, He was answering “yes” to a better, deeper healing. His “no” answer made me reach out urgently for His nearness and presence. My suffering taught me so much about myself and has bound me to other believers who deal with pain and affliction. The day-to-day suffering that never goes away has forced me to depend on His grace, strengthened my commitment to Him, and purged sin from my life. Times of difficulty have deepened my prayer life, refined my faith, and stretched my hope.
That is character.
That is maturity!
4) This kind of maturity spawns genuine “HOPE”: Biblical hope that is sure of certain glory.
The importance of hope often gets overlooked.
The Bible says, “Now abide faith, hope, love, these three.” (1 Cor 13:13)
But “the greatest of these is love”; and faith gets the lion’s share of press coverage in the Bible (as in Rom 5:1).
Hope is the runt of the litter.
Yet hope is essential for the healthy Christian.
I have often reflected on how one of the greatest weapons in the devil’s armoury is despair: if he can rob a Christian of hope, he has won – at least, for the time being.
One of the most memorable moments (for me) from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is when the two pilgrims are caught napping by Giant Despair and carted off to Doubting Castle.
In the dungeon Christian has lost all hope and tells his companion:
“Brother, what shall we do? The life that we now live is miserable. For my part, I know not whether it is best to live thus, or to die out of hand. My soul chooses strangling rather than life, and the grave is more easy for me than this dungeon.”
Only his companion, Hopeful, keeps him from taking his own life.
We need hope – the kind of hope that grows out of mature character.
John Piper has well said:
Hope grows when we experience the reality of our own authenticity through testing.
The people who know God best are the people who suffer with Christ.
The people who are most unwavering in their hope are those who have been tested most deeply.
The people who look most earnestly and steadfastly and eagerly to the hope of glory are those who have had the comforts of this life stripped away through tribulations.
Hope is essential for a healthy Christian life.
Hope like this grows out of maturity.
Maturity like this grows out of suffering.