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Read Romans 5:1-12
Note: Please don’t read or do the attached exercise until reading the passage and answering the questions.
1. (v.1-2) List all the benefits which justification brings for us to enjoy?
2. (v.9-10) How secure is the future for a Christian, and why?
3. (v.3-4) How does Paul answer the question: “What good is all this if we suffer?” Why does he say we should rejoice in our suffering, not for them? How can we rejoice in suffering?
4. (v. 5-8) By what two ways can we know that God loves us?
5. (v.12) What are the signs that you are rejoicing in your reconciliation?
EXERCISE
Read the following questions and answers.
Trials and the Gospel
1. (v.3-5) How does Paul tell us suffering can change us?
Remember that Paul is telling us how suffering affects a person who knows he or she is justified strictly by grace, not works. In that case, Paul says suffering begins a chain reaction:
1. Suffering leads to “perseverance” (v.3). This is a word that really means single-mindedness. Suffering makes us “focus” — it helps us focus on what is really important. It makes us remember what really is lasting, helps us to re-align priorities, and so on. It removes distractions.
2. “Perseverance” leads to “character”. This is a word that really means “testedness”. It is a quality of confidence that comes from having been through an experience. It only comes from following through, and doing your duty despite it all. But the result is a growing poise only comes from the experience. For example, a sports team new to the championship playoffs may play poorly because they have not been in the position before. But a “tested” team will have no jitters. They perform well because they have been there before. Notice that without the first step, the second step won’t happen. Suffering, if it first leads you to focus on God and proper priorities, will lead to greater confidence as you come through it.
3. All this leads to growth in “hope”, which is a stronger assurance of one’s peace, access and future glory. Paul’s addition of v.5 right after v.3-4 seems to mean that Christians who a) focus single-mindedly on prayer and obedience to God, and who b) grow in confidence, will c) experience more of his love during suffering. “Poured out his love into our hearts.” Many Christians testify that they feel more of God’s presence and love during suffering, because it makes them focus and trust in him more. Here’s the amazing assertion of Paul. When he shows that suffering starts a chain reaction that leads to hope, which is one of the fruits of justification, he is saying that the benefits of justification are self-propagating. They are not only not diminished by suffering, but they are enlarged by suffering. In other words, if you face suffering with a clear grasp of justification by grace alone, your joy in that grace will deepen, but (as he implies) if you face suffering with a mindset of justification by works, the suffering will break you, not make you.
Consider how persons takes suffering who are trying to be justified by works. Selfjustifiers are always insecure at a deep level because they know they aren’t living up to their standards, but cannot admit it. So when suffering hits, they immediately feel they are being punished for their sins. They cannot take confidence in God’s love (v.5). Since their belief God loved them was inadequately based anyway, now suffering shatters them. Suffering drives them away from God rather than toward him.
2. Now consider some specific difficulty or trial you have experienced as a Christian. Did you see it doing in you what Paul describes? Why or why not? Here are some things to consider as you are analyzing your own “case study”.
A. Did it lead you to focus — to single-mindedness? Did it help you sift out the unimportant from the important? Did it help you focus attention more on prayer and on what God has done for you?
B. Has your sufferings produced testedness? Did you follow through despite fears? In other words, did it bring a kind of maturity and confidence that comes from having been through it all? Are you a less jittery person, a less fearful person?
C. Did it lead you to actual deeper experience of his presence and his love? Did you find a greater closeness, a sense of nearness? If your sufferings did not lead to this, analyze why:
1. Was it failures of the will? Did you simply fail to spend time with God in worship and reflection? Or did you disobey him in some way to escape the hardness of the situation?
2. Was it a failure of understanding the gospel? Did the suffering make you doubt God’s love? That is a natural response, but did you eventually shake that off? The speed with which you do that is an indication of the degree of your understanding of justification. Remember that God can use suffering to “awaken” a person to some sin — as a kind of “intervention”. But interventions are only done by people out of love. God can and will treat you roughly if you need it, like a loving parent will do with wayward child — but all out of deep concern. If you are a Christian, God has sent all your punishment on to Christ. All his wrath for you fell into the heart of Jesus and was swallowed up and absorbed there — it disappeared
Copyright © Timothy J. Keller, and Redeemer Presbyterian Church 2003
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