God’s will is that believers rejoice in their tribulations! But, why in the world, would a believer do that? It’s because he knows that God is using these tribulations to produce perseverance, proven character, and ultimately grant him hope of everlasting glory by granting assurance of saving faith.
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Rejoicing In Tribulations
Romans 5:3-5
Paul, here in Romans 5, is in the midst of a section about rejoicing. The word “exult” is found 3 times in this chapter, and means “to greatly rejoice, or to rejoice triumphantly.” It is found in verse 2 – rejoice in hope, verse 3 – rejoice in tribulations, and in verse 11 – rejoice in God.
We have discussed rejoicing in hope several weeks back. Here in Romans 5:1-11, Paul is telling us what the fruits of our justification are. They are Peace with God, Standing in Grace, and Rejoicing in Hope.
Because God has justified us (declared us legally righteous by crediting Christ’s perfect righteousness to our account), we have peace with God. We are no longer enemies of God. We are no longer at war with Him. Instead, we are His friends, and have found peace with God. That which caused the enmity, sin, has been removed out of the way, being born by Jesus Christ. Christ has made peace through the blood of His cross.
Because God has justified us we stand in grace. We are not slipping and sliding in and out of grace. No, we stand in grace. And this grace is not just God’s kindly disposition toward us, but is His omnipotence exercised toward us in a sovereign way. Sin used to have dominion over us like a king, but now grace reigns over us like a king. The same grace that found us, and justified us, will bring us all the way into God’s glorious presence to dwell with Him forever.
Because God has justified us we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. This hope, is not some kind of uncertain wish, but it is something certain in the future because it is based on God’s promises who cannot lie. And this hope is to experience the glory of God. We are talking here about God’s eternal kingdom, shining like the sun in the glory of our Father. We are talking about no more sickness, pain, tears or death. We are talking about seeing Jesus face to face, falling on our faces before Him, and casting our crowns at His feet. We are talking about enjoying communion with God in the New Earth, as we serve Him and love one another.
And, because God has justified us, we also rejoice in our tribulations. That’s what we read in verses 3-5, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Verse 3 begins with, “And not only this, but we also exult…” In others words, Paul is saying that we not only rejoice in a hope of future joys in eternity, but we also rejoice right now, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Now, here we see a chain of four links: tribulations – perseverance – proven character – hope. And each link in the chain leads to the next link.
Now you may be thinking, “Brian, the Bible sometimes seems to say crazy things! It sees right here that I’m supposed to rejoice in my tribulations. But how in the world can I possibly rejoice in my tribulations?” And this truth doesn’t come only from Paul. Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” And, in addition to Paul, and Jesus, James tells us in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” And not only that, but the apostles actually practiced this bizarre sounding practice. When the Jewish religious leaders flogged the apostles, “they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:40-41).
How do we respond to trials? Some of us grumble and complain about them. Others indulge in self-pity. Others may do a bit better. They don’t complain, but just stoically endure them. But the Bible says we exult in our tribulations. How can we do that? Well, that’s what we want to discover today. Let’s dig into this text to see if we can crack this hard nut!
1. Tribulations
The word “tribulation” has the idea of “to press” or “to hem in.” The word was used of squeezing olives to extract the oil, and squeezing grapes to extract the juice. It means anything in our lives that brings pressure upon us. It might be physical pain or illness. It might be marital conflict, or the pressure of a rebellious child. It might be difficulties you face at work, or problems with neighbors. It might be the pressure of not having enough money to pay your bills. It might be the troubles you face for truthfully sharing the gospel with others. It might be the loss of a loved one. It refers to an affliction, or a distress, or a trial you are facing. These tribulations can be anything that bring pressure into your life. Anything that threatens your faith in the goodness and power and wisdom of God is a tribulation.
The English word “tribulation” is derived from the Latin word “tribulum” (literally a thing with teeth that tears), which was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the corn or grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it separated the wheat from the chaff. As believers experience the “tribulum” of tribulations, and depend on God’s grace, the trials purify us and rid us of the chaff.
Scientists believe that diamonds are formed when carbon deep within the earth is subject to intense heat and pressure over time, and then is catapulted to the earth’s surface through a volcano to quickly cool. Well, you and I as believers, are like the carbon. And in order for God to transform us into beautiful diamonds He applies megadoses of heat and pressure to our lives. We may not look like much now, but God’s purpose is to turn us into beautiful diamonds that will reflect His glory! And He does that through tribulations He allows into our lives.
Sometimes we have the idea that as long as we are serving the Lord and doing His will, that God will spare us from trials and tribulations. However, that is NOT the truth! Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have tribulations.” In Acts 14:22 Paul says, “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” And in 1 Peter 4:12 Peter writes, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.” In fact in 1 Peter 4:19 Peter says believers suffer according to the will of God. Tribulations are to be expected. God ordains them for our lives because He has a good plan for them.
The first clue to how we can rejoice in tribulations is the word “knowing” in verse 3. “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that…” Our joy in tribulations comes from knowing something. We know that God is using these tribulations to do something really significant in our lives. God is using tribulations to bring about something. What is it?
2. Perseverance
This word for “perseverance” is talking about the capacity to remain under difficult circumstances. It is a compound word. In the Greek, this word is formed by bringing the word for “remain” together with the word for “under”. So, this word literally means “to remain under.” So, Paul is telling us that we rejoice in our tribulations, because we know that these tribulations bring about perseverance in our lives. And perseverance is a very precious character quality.
2 Thessalonians 1:4, “therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.”
1 Timothy 6:11 “But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”
2 Peter 1:5-7, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
Revelation 2:3 “and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.”
As you can see, perseverance is a beautiful quality. It is a character quality that we are to pursue, and the Lord commends it when He sees it in His church.
Why does the Christian remain under the tribulations instead of giving up on Christ? It is because he stands in grace. Remember, that grace rules like a king, and will enable the believer to persevere in the most difficult trials of life. It is because of God’s omnipotence that we are enabled to persevere. In John Bunyan’s immortal book, Pilgrim’s Progress, there is a scene in which the devil is pouring water on a fire against a wall, but the fire doesn’t go out. This is mysterious, until we go back behind the wall and see that the Holy Spirit is pouring gasoline on the fire. No matter how much water the devil pours on our faith, it will persevere, because the Spirit of God is pouring gasoline on it!
3. Proven Character
This is the goal – proven character! The word was used to describe metals that had been tested and have been proven to be pure. The metals are put into the fires to melt them, and the impurities are skimmed off the top, so that only the pure silver or gold remains. Our tribulations are the fires that we are placed into. And when our faith perseveres through these tests, we emerge on the other side refined, and purified. Our faith is proven to be authentic and genuine. We have proof that our faith is real, because it has been tested and has stood the test.
Usually our tribulations are unexpected, and most of them are just the common irritations, pressures and annoyances of life. They are Pop Quizzes from God. God surprises us now and then with a Pop Quiz. Will we pass it or fail it? We only pass, if we persevere through the trial, depending on Christ’s faithfulness. If we react out of the flesh, complaining and murmuring, or if we walk away from Christ because we are angry or bitter, we fail the quiz. Pressure is God’s classroom, and God is teaching us every day.
James 1:12 says, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham by calling upon him to offer up his son, Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham passed the test, by persevering through it, trusting that if necessary, God would raise his son from the dead.
So, God’s objective in placing tribulations in our lives, is to produce proven character. He is most interested in conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This is exactly what Paul tells us later, over in Romans 8:28-29. In Romans 8:28, Paul tells us that God causes all things (even trials and tribulations) to work together for our good. But what is that “good” that all things are working together for? We find out in verse 29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” That is the good – being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. This proven character is just that. It is the believer being made more and more like Christ, his Savior.
Now, let’s look at the fourth link in this chain – hope.
4. Hope
Tribulations bring about perseverance, and perseverance brings about proven character, and proven character brings about hope. Do you see how we have come full circle? Paul tells us in verse 2 that one of the effects of our justification is that we exult in hope of the glory of God. Because we have been justified we have a strong confidence that we will share in God’s everlasting glory and joy. This hope is not just a weak wish. It is a strong confidence, based on God’s promise.
So, why does proven character strengthen our hope of dwelling with God in glory forever? It is precisely because proven character assures us that we possess true, saving faith. James talks about faith that is dead and faith that is alive. Faith that is dead, is faith in name only. It will not rescue you on the day of judgment. Only living faith avails. And when we persevere through trials and come through with proven character, with our faith stronger in God, and our resolve greater to serve Him, our hope grows even stronger. When Paul wrote to Titus, he spoke of the “faith of those chosen of God.” When we pass God’s Pop Quizzes, and persevere under pressure, and prove God’s faithfulness, and don’t run, our assurance that we possess the faith of those chosen of God grows greater and greater. That’s why it leads to hope. If we possess the faith of those chosen of God, that means that we will dwell with Him in glory forever!
Paul goes on to tell us that “hope does not disappoint.” If we hoped our whole lives for something and never got it, our hope would disappoint. But Paul’s point is that this hope of enjoying God and His glory forever won’t disappoint us. In other words, Paul is pointing to the assurance of our salvation. He is telling us that our future hope of the glory of God won’t fail us. It is based on the rock solid promises of the Word of God. When we come to die, our hope won’t fail us. Instead our hope will be realized.
But how can we know that this hope of eternal glory is for us? What if those promises were true, but for others, and not for us? How can I know that this hope is personal, for me? Well, Paul has already given us an argument for that. The argument is that if we discover that we persevere through tribulations, this should encourage us that we have the faith of those chosen of God.
However, Paul is not satisfied with only giving us an argument. He points to an experience. Notice verse 5, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” How do we know that our hope will not disappoint? It is because the love of God has been poured out through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Now, what does Paul mean by “the love of God”? Is it our love for God, or God’s love for us? I believe it must be God’s love for us, because of the context. In verse 8, Paul says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Let’s try to understand more fully this experience that Paul is talking about? Is this experience of the love of God being poured out within our hearts only for some privileged Christians or for all? Paul says “the love of God has been poured out without our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Our – Us. Paul includes himself in this group, and all the believers he is writing to in Rome. Obviously, this experience is one that Paul expected all Christians to have, not just some.
We can also conclude that this is not the work of man, but the work of God. The love of God is poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This has nothing to do with you working up a feeling of the love of God. This is God communicating His love for you through the work of the Holy Spirit in your hearts. He “pours out” God’s love in your heart. This is supernatural. It is not the product of our circumstances. We don’t make it happen. The Holy Spirit makes it happen.
But we can also conclude that this work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts is mediated through historical facts. In other words, there is objective content undergirding this experience. How do I know this? Just keep reading. Verse 6 says, “for while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” This love of God is seen in that Christ died for the helpless and ungodly. Then again in verse 8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Do you see that the love of God is best seen in Christ’s death for ungodly sinners? So, is the love of God demonstrated to us in history, so that we can study it and meditate upon it? Or is the love of God experienced in our hearts to give us assurance against our doubts? The answer is Yes and Yes! It is both. This love of God poured out within our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is a love that has been demonstrated in history in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. When the Holy Spirit pours out God’s love in our hearts, He does it by opening the eyes of our heart to see the all-satisfying beauty of God’s love displayed in the cross. This experience is not like electricity. It is not just a heavenly zap in the middle of the night that makes you feel warm and fuzzy and loved. It is not like being hypnotized or some out of body experience. The Holy Spirit is not a mood-altering drug. He is the illuminator of the wonder of God’s love in the cross of Christ. He opens the heart to the reality that in the cross of Christ, God loved us infinitely! The Spirit takes the truth of Christ’s death for us, and opens our heart to see and feel the overwhelming love of God!!!
Conclusion
So, let’s draw out some application lessons for our own lives.
Rejoicing in tribulations is part of a normal Christian life. It is 98.6. It is not just for the super spiritual, or the mystical monks, or the spiritual marines in the church. This is how every true child of God was meant to respond to trials. Rejoicing! Exulting! Now, God is not commanding you to rejoice in the pain, or the grief, or the suffering, as though you enjoyed it. God is not commanding us to be masochists. Rather, we rejoice in what we know this trial is going to produce. And what will it produce? Perseverance, proven character, and a hope that doesn’t disappoint. These tribulations will strengthen your assurance of salvation, and they will mold you into the very image of Christ. Now, can you rejoice in that? Of course you can! Going through trials is a little like a woman going through childbirth. Her pain and suffering are great, but at the end the new little baby is worth it all, and she rejoices. Think of your trials as childbirth, but look forward to the baby that is on the way!
So, what are the tribulations you are facing today, this week, this year? Name them. As you go through these hard times that tempt you to doubt God’s goodness, wisdom, and power, instead rejoice that God has ordained these Pop Quizzes, so that you can see whether your faith is real and genuine and saving, and rejoice that He is using these tribulations to make you more like Jesus.
So, my exhortation to you is rejoice in tribulation! When you feel the pain and anguish of sharp trials, don’t give in to self-pity. Don’t be self-absorbed. Don’t start grumbling and complaining about your trials. Start thinking about what God is doing in these trials. Start praising Him for increasing your assurance through these trials.
Questions:
- What trials are you facing now, and how successful have you been at rejoicing in them?
- Can you describe a time when the love of God was poured out in your heart?
- Do you think God wants us to have assurance of salvation? What has helped you to gain greater assurance of salvation?
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