Romans 5:3

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing the suffering produces endurance," (ESV)

In verse 2 of Romans 5 we were left rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God because all of our hope is anchored in the Grace of Christ and faith in what He accomplished on the cross for us. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God...which is how we stand and how we live and breathe.

Verse 3 begins with "more than that" which refers to the end of verse 2...Paul here is adding something else to rejoice in. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God which is both the basis of our worldview and also the hope that we have for when we die.

Speaking to the practical...to the day to day situations we are in, Paul adds that we also rejoice in our sufferings.

Rejoicing in suffering at the first glance seems like a very strange thing to do. Suffering is...well...suffering. It is unpleasant and painful and stressful. It can be fraught with anxiety and fear and distress. Suffering can come in all shapes and forms. Also, suffering is a day to day reality for those of us mortals who live and walk the earth.

Suffering can be through an ailment like a health problem. Suffering can be in the form of a financial burden...like having too much debt and feeling like we are being crushed by it or in prisoned by it. Suffering can be a bad boss or a bad employee who causes us distress. Suffering can be through a ruined reputation either because of something we have done or because of something someone said about us. We suffer when we are enslaved to a particular sin that we just can't seem to shake. We suffer when a loved one or friend is hurting. This is not a complete list....suffering can be so many things.

The kind of suffering that Paul is writing about here is not just devestating, horrible suffering...it is all types of suffering that you may be encountering.

When we are suffering or when we see someone else's suffering we often ask ourselves the question why. Why is it happening? Why me? Why him? Why her? Why them?

Part of the answer is here in Romans 5:3....suffering produces endurance. Another part of the answer is found in Romans 8:20-25 where we learn that such things drive us to Christ. In Romans 5:3, Paul is focusing on what suffering is actually doing to us, which is producing in us endurance.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity, especially the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.

The Dictionary goes on to use the example phrase "a marathon runner's endurance."

This brings to mind the words of Hebrews 12:1-2

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (ESV)

And 2 Timothy 4:7

" I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (ESV)

The marathon runner's endurance is what we need. But we do not have it within ourselves. We do not have the gas to make it to the end. We do not have what it takes. We need endurance...but not the kind we can make. The endurance I can fabricate in myself is substantial. We see it in great human endeavors like climbing mountains and gruelling athletic feats. And were I to train my body and my mind to its absolutely maximum human ability to where I was the most efficient machine that had a soul....it would not be enough. I would fall short, exhausted, frustrated, and completely in despair.

I need an endurance that comes from outside of me. I need an endurance that only the maker of endurance can give me. I need the endurance of Christ. And God in His infinite wisdom and glory, is pleased to give me that endurance. He is pleased for His glory to grow that endurance in me...through suffering.

Why has God chosen to use suffering? Why doesn't he just let me train myself and build my endurance and watch me run toward Him and Heaven with it?

Because God knows as well as I do, that the endurance I can gain on my own will be used not to run towards Him but to sin.

All the endurance I can muster inside myself I will use to chase the law. And to glorify myself and to show off. But God does not want me to glorify myself...that is very odious to Him. He wants me to give glory where glory is deserved...to Him!

Suffering is not glorious. Suffering is sad and depressing and embarrassing. It does not bring me glory. It brings me shame. To endure it I need something that I don't have inside me, and that's where God comes in.

God uses suffering to produce in me the endurance that I need.

And I have no choice but to glorify Him.

And this is why Paul instructs us to rejoice in our suffering.

First, because I know that God will bring me through it for His glory.

Second, because God is using the suffering to produce something I need.

Third, becaue suffering keeps me on my knees. Suffering keeps my mind focused on God and on the Grace of Christ. Suffering keeps me close to my Father.

The world, with all of its comforts and pleasures and distractions would pull me away from God....but suffering keeps me in prayer and keeps my eyes focused on Him.

Suffering keeps me from sin.

And this is a reason to rejoice. Because sin leads to death. So whatever keeps me from sin is pushing me toward life....even suffering.

Romans 5:2

"Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into His grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (ESV)

I work for the government and a lot of what I do is contingent upon a security clearance. There are two basic types of clearance, Secret and Top Secret, but then a myriad of different access levels that a person can have based on what he or she is working on. For example, if I am assigned to a particular sensitive project I will be given access to the information pertaining to that project while the person sitting next to me who has the same clearance level that I do may not have access to the project and so can't talk to me about it. After the project is completed my access will be removed for that category of information and I will move on to something else. Access determines what I can see or read or talk about. I get access through my boss, who grants different access to differnt people in the office based on their tasks.

As Christians...we long for accesss to that which saves and sustains. We want to be right with God and we have no way of obtaining that without Christ. It is the Grace of Christ which saves and so that is what we need access to. Only God can grant that access and He does it for His Glory.

The Grace of Christ is a saving Grace. But it is also a sustaining Grace. It is that Grace that gives us hope and joy. It is that Grace that gives us peace and security. It is a Grace that we definitely want access to. It is a Grace that we need access to. And it is a Grace that we have access to through faith in Christ. This is a very profound statement. We have access to the Grace of Christ through faith in Chirst. It is access to salvation, hope, strength, peace, and secuirty. And we have it. We are privy to everything that the Grace spoken of here gives us.

It is the Grace of Christ that allows us to stand.
It is the Graceof Christ that enables us to keep standing.

What does that mean? For what do we need to stand?

We stand against sin and for Christ's glory.
We stand against the world and for Christ's kingdom.
We stand against ourselves, the old man that would drag us back into our depravity.
We stand against the constant onslaught of sinful impulses that attack us every minute of every day from the media, or unbelievers, or stinky worldviews.

We stand in His Grace.

We do not stand in our own strength. We do not stand in the profoundness or cleverness of our own thoughts. We do not stand in the glow of our own religion. We do not stand by the strength of our idols.

We stand in His Grace.

Nothing else can make us stand or sustain our ability to stand.

Is this worth rejoicing? Absolutely.

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Because there is nothing more worthy of rejoicing for. And there is nothing better to hope for.

That hope that we have...that hope that Christ's work on the cross saved us...that hope that at the end of our days here we shall spend an eternity on our faces in the presence of the One True God...that hope is definitely worth rejoicing in.

So rejoice, Christian! Rejoice in the fact that you have access to the Grace of Christ! You have access to the very grace that saves and sustains and allows you to count Christ your treasure and Heaven your home.

Access that Grace every minute of every day...and rejoice!