3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character,
hope. 5 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. 6 You see, at just
the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very
rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly
dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:3-8)
Suppose you were to notice an advertisement in the newspaper offering a wonderful
opportunity to make a lot of money. Described in the ad is a job opportunity with a
starting salary of one-half million dollars per year. That kind of ad would certainly
catch anyone's attention. And suppose you fit all of the qualifications for the job. You
would, no doubt, be excited. Then you come to the last paragraph in the advertisement.
There you find it stated that one of the qualifications for this position is that the
applicant must be able to endure prolonged and intense physical pain and suffering. It
goes on to detail the kind of pain and suffering that prisoners of war have had to
experience undergoing intense torture. Still interested?
It is probably safe to say that no normal person likes pain. Pain and suffering are
things we like to avoid. Even moderate pain is something most of us like to avoid although
we may know that it will do us some good. No doubt you have seen the little slogan
concerning exercise that says "No Pain - No Gain." My response to that slogan is
"No Pain - No Pain." You may feel the same way.
But the truth is that we all must face a certain amount of pain and suffering in life.
Suffering has been and will always be a part of living. We don't like it very much, but
this is the reality of the situation. It should be said, however, that suffering has
always been a problem for us. We do not understand suffering. And this problem can be
especially difficult for the believer in God. We do not understand why God would allow us
to suffer. Indeed, unbelievers have used this very question to dismiss God.
You are probably familiar with the philosophical arguments that have been used by
unbelievers along these lines. C. S. Lewis states the argument well in his book, The
Problem Of Pain: "If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures
happy, and if God were almighty He would be able to do what He wished. But His creatures
are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness or power or both." It is
interesting that Boston Rabbi Harold S. Kushner sees the problem in this same way. In his
book, When Bad Things Happen To Good People, he attempts to solve the
problem by abandoning the omnipotence of God. In other words, God must not be almighty.
And then he advises us to love God and "forgive Him despite His limitations."
It seems to me, however, that the argument is just a little too neat. It assumes that
the question is only one of God's love or His power. It also assumes that the ultimate
good is served by a lack or absence of suffering. And while the problem is a real one,
most thoughtful people are not willing to accept such a simple solution.
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character,
hope. 5 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 5:3-5)
Let's restate the problem. The problem is that we do not understand why we are
suffering. While we are suffering, there does not seem to be any point to it. It doesn't
make any sense. And it especially does not make any sense if it seems to serve no purpose.
And if you don't believe that God is there to somehow make sense of suffering, then what
are the ways in which you can respond?
There are three ways the non-Christian can respond to suffering. The first response is
despair. Life is tough, so you may as well just give up. This, of course, is the response
of hopelessness. And many people do despair. You may know people who have been overwhelmed
by their suffering. It has rolled over them like a bulldozer. Seeing no purpose, they have
abdicated the search.
The second non-Christian response is Epicureanism. This comes from the name of the
Greek philosopher Epicurus (342-270 B.C.), who taught that life always contained some bad
experiences which could not be avoided and the way to handle them was to load life with
more pleasure than pain. To paraphrase a more popular beer commercial, you may state it
this way: Life is tough, so grab for all the gusto you can get. This is a popular
philosophy of our day in handling life. Since we cannot make sense out of the pain, we try
to offset the pain with pleasure. Someone described this kind of living as "qualified
hedonism." And all of us have certainly met many people who live this way. And
without God, it is not an unreasonable lifestyle.
The third non-Christian response is Stoicism. Stoicism would say that life is tough, so
you must defy it. This was the philosophy developed by a body of Greek philosophers called
Stoics. The Stoic would face life squarely and refuse to whimper and cry because of the
situation he faced. We have popularized Stoicism in our day. We have all preached its
philosophy in various phrases or slogans. We know them well. "Take it like a
man," is one well known admonition. Our English friends have popularized the saying,
"Keep a stiff upper lip." And, of course, there is the old standard, "Grin
and bear it." These represent the Stoic outlook to suffering. You look it in the eye
and stare it down.
What should be the Christian response to suffering? Often, we respond much like the
non-Christian. But we should not. Unlike the non-Christian, we believe that the answer to
the problem of suffering is to be found in God. And here is the point: We will understand
the why of suffering when we know what God is doing through our suffering. Romans 5:3
tells us that we can rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
something positive in us. The key here is what we know.
If we understand God's purposes in it, suffering doesn't have to be a waste. Suffering
accomplishes something good in us. If you do not understand and know God's purposes in
using our suffering, then suffering will be for you a waste. You will waste your sorrows
because you will not respond to them in a way that benefits you. And how we respond is
essential.
Knowing God's purposes determines how we respond. It enables us not to waste our
sorrows, and even rejoice in what God is doing.
Let's look briefly at the purposes of God outlined in our text. We see here some of the
benefits suffering produces in us. The first is perseverance. This word is translated in a
number of ways. Some translate it as "patience," others "endurance,"
and still others as "patient endurance." The idea is that through suffering,
rightly responded to, we gain the ability to hang in when the going gets tough. The word
used for suffering is a word in the Greek language which conveys the idea of pressing
something down. Among other things, it was used of crushing olives to extract their oil or
crushing grapes to press out the wine.
The word in Greek translated perseverance is a word made up of two parts. The prefix
means "under" or "below." The rest of the word means a "living
place." The whole word simply means to "live under something." Perseverance
means that we have the ability to endure. And what is the benefit of perseverance? It is
this. It makes us steady under fire. And I don't know about you, but I want to have that
kind of person around me when I am going through the spiritual battles.
The second benefit is character. The word in the Greek language is based on a word that
means "tested" or "approved." Character is something that comes from
our experience of going through the fire. When we have withstood the test and responded
well, we become approved or qualified. Character - it makes us qualified as a person of
worth.
Think about the kind of people who have made a difference in your life. The kind of
people we respect are those people who are people of substance and depth. These are people
who have experienced life and learned from it. These are people who have something to say
because they have gone through the valley. They have gone through the fire. Think of
survivors of Auschwitz, the German concentration and extermination camp. Could they speak
with a depth of understanding about suffering? When you go through the fire without
getting consumed, you become a person of worth, a person of character. These are the kind
of people who make a difference.
A third benefit is hope. Because we believe in God, we can have hope for the future. We
know that God is at work. We know that God is doing something, even when we do not
understand what that is. Hope is a conscious decision to trust in the sovereignty of God.
And we need hope. It make us optimistic that God is doing something eternal in us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though
for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his
own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans
5:3-8)
The key to dealing successfully with suffering is not only knowing God's purposes but
also trusting God's love. You see, this is a very important point. Unless we trust in
God's love, we will become bitter through suffering.
Many people become bitter in their suffering because they have not come to the place
where they truly believe God loves them and has their best interest at heart. There are
many reasons for this, too many to detail now. The result, however, is that they become
angry at God. What they need to really comprehend is the depth and breadth of God's love
for them. And this is nowhere shown any better than in Christ' death on the Cross.
When Jesus died on the Cross in payment for our sins, He was displaying the most
radical love that anyone had ever seen. Whatever else the Cross means to you, it should
stand as a constant reminder that God loves you. And if God loves you, then whatever comes
into your life will be used by Him for your good.
This is the point made by Paul in Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose." God takes even the bad things that come our way and uses them to
change us into the image of Jesus. In verse 29 of Romans 8 we read: "For those
God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son."
This is the purpose of God being worked out in all of our lives.
We can trust that God is making us better through suffering because we see His love for
us demonstrated in Christ's suffering and death for us. This is the key to trusting in
God's love.
When did Christ die for us?
When we were powerless.
When we were ungodly.
When we were sinners.
Why did Christ die for us?
Because God loves us!
If you trust in God's love for you and know His purposes in your suffering, then you
can rejoice - not in the pain, but in the results - perseverance, character, and hope.
Copyright (C) 1996 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
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