AMEN AND AMEN

  Romans 5:1-5

(1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

(2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

(4) and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

(5) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

"Hope" appears three times in these verses, and it is tied to justification and the doors that open to us. In verse 2, hope motivates us to rejoice that we can look forward in positive expectation of God's glory!

What an awesome opening that is to us! It is not the glory of a perfect human or even of angels, but of God!

This is so hard for us to imagine because it almost sounds blasphemous. Is it any wonder that Christians can be optimistic about life in the face of all the evil we are aware of?

The goal is so great that it is worth more than all the burden of being human, dealing with our sins and the repercussions of others' sins.

Our hope does not disappoint or bring us to shame because it is based in the reality of God and His promises.

The common hopes of man may or may not come to pass because they are fragile and frail at best and in many cases utterly false.

Yet, the believer's hope is no fantasy because it is firmly anchored in the person and promises of the Creator God.

As mentioned earlier, the activity of God among us produces hope.

This is drawn in part from verses 3-4, where Paul says that trials, borne while God is part of our lives, produces perseverance, character, and hope.

Because of this hope a person is never embarrassed through failure because God, who is our hope, never fails.

God loves us, and He communicates His love to us through His instruction, fellowship, and discipline.

Through these, we come to know Him and His faithfulness. As our admiration for Him grows, these things motivate us to purify ourselves to be like Him (I John 3:1-2).