![]() That may be the most powerful benefit Paul has mentioned, and he will talk more about it later in Romans. We have hope that will not disappoint, because God has already proved His love for us. We rejoice both in the hope of God's glory and in our temporary suffering. We have peace with God, and we stand in His grace. That makes God's promises powerful indeed.įinally, Paul adds as almost an afterthought that each person who trusts in Christ has been given God's own Holy Spirit to live in our hearts-in our inner being. Romans 5 begins by describing some of the benefits that come with being declared righteous by God because of our faith in Christ. Romans 5:34 The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) 3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character. It is because He cares about us, loves us, so deeply that each of us actually carries His love inside of us, through the Holy Spirit. We know that suffering creates endurance, 4 endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. It is not just that God is powerfully able to do what He has promised. In other words, God will always, always keep His promises to us because He loves us. Why can believers be so confident about our ultimate destination? Paul's answer reveals the very emotion of God toward us. We will never, in the end, be disappointed for hoping to receive God's goodness forever. By that, Paul means our hope will be fully vindicated. Now Paul concludes this chain by saying that our hope will never put us to shame. This, in turn, produces hope, where we experience growing certainty that our ultimate destiny is an eternity of good in God's presence. This produces character, meaning we more consistently choose to do what honors God. He began by showing that suffering produces endurance: a deeper, longer trust in God. It provides an opportunity to grow into the people that God is calling us to be. Instead, those who are saved-who have expressed faith in Christ-can declare to ourselves that this suffering is worthwhile. ![]() He did not mean by this that anyone should necessarily feel happy or enthusiastic about hard circumstances. Paul introduced a challenging idea in the previous verses: that Christians can see suffering as a cause for rejoicing.
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