Romans 4:4 tells us that when we work, our wages are obligatory, but to those who do not work, but trust God, their faith is credited as righteousness.
It IS that simple. It means that believing is everything. And the problem is truly believing is the hardest part.
Righteousness comes From faith.
The promise of Grace comes By faith.
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God"
Romans 5:1-2
However, instead of praising God for only the good things, we should also rejoice in our suffering.
But the Bible doesn't just say we should because we should. Instead, Paul tells us of three things in the book of Romans. He declares it through a peculiar, different type of faith, something I'm sure some of us can relate to, but to others in this world, it is possibly the most ridiculous thing ever.
"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope."
Romans 5:3
1. Suffering produces perseverance.
Suffering - going through hardships and obstacles and pain - these we face almost everyday. But this isn't just to harm us, but is to create endurance and perseverance. I was reading The Screwtape Letters the other day, and there was this bit that said that even though God loves us so much, He allows us freedom - something the devil shuns - instead, the devil wants perfect control of our lives. But if we are in God, we will most certainly stumble, and fall.
However, I doubt Paul is implying that Suffering is good, or even okay and fine. Or that it should be welcomed in some masochistic sense. As was pointed out in the last CG, we should not boast about our sufferings. That was not what we are made for - we were not made to suffer!
Instead, I guess what he means is that, if we have met and encountered God, and our lives have been transformed, and we have received the gift of life and love - well, then suffering and death and mishappenings will not be able to obliterate it. Yes, that gift of salvation and grace given to you because you were chosen by God - it trumps all else.
2. Perseverance produces Character.
If we are to get through our sufferings, perseverance is definitely key. It is a communal quality that can be found in each of us, and it produces a character much sought for by the world (but more often than not, is lost despite its obviousness) - one that enables us to "resist hopefully and love faithfully".
"This word "character" is a word used to express refined metal that has had its impurities removed. In the same way, through patience a person has impurities removed from his or her daily living and life and is purified. In this way a person is prepared for that time of taking part in the glory of God." (Rev. Takao Kiyohiro)
3. Character produces Hope.
This is the best part, I reckon. We are justified by our faith - neccessary in all equations in this sense. Through this justification of faith, we are at peace with God. The gap of sin seperating us since the time we were formed, since the fall of men through the disobedience of the first man - it is bridged, and we are reunited with our Creator.
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us"
Romans 5:5
This is precisely what the Gospel, what our beliefs and faith is all about. There is suffering, there is unpleasantness. They are part of the fabric that constitutes the freedom and the terror of life. Without one we could not have the other. But they are to be embraced in love, however difficult that is, not shunned. This is not romanticism. It is hope. And hope never disappoints.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit was given to us. Not only have we been redeemed by grace - the best gift ever, we are also given the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in us. So that even though our human nature and physical body might fail us, the Holy Spirit continually strengthens and renews us.
Such generous acts of giving - life through death, and to be at peace with God - isn't it sufficient for us to have that bit of hope? And hope. Hope isn't just wishful thinking. It's knowing for sure that one day, when oour body wastes away in this temporal world, there will be our spirits rejoicing and finally reunited with God in paradise. For eternity. Hope is knowing that Jesus bore the weight of the world, that he chose to sacrifice his life, and this one act of love has saved all of us from perishing.
This hope is not easily obtained. But it is the only hope worth having. It is not simply optimism - we do not merely expel the pain for the moment, or avoid the situation, and prelong the suffering. With this hope, the agony that cannot be excised without an annihilation that also annihilates us is transformed into peace and joy. And That is what salvation in Christ means.
"His death resulted from his willingness to embrace the hated other (the
Samaritan, the outcast) and from living a life among enemies he refused to kill
but instead loved. It is for that reason that his wounds give hope. Not
because suffering is good, but because when viewed in the light of Jesus Christ
it points towards a risen life that is not captive to the forces of death, but
rather seeks transformation. It is the art of hoping against hope"God Bless x
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