The result of justification (5):
Having assurance of hope
“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)
Even when we Christians face sufferings for our faith (of course, even when there is no sufferings), we should hope for the glory of God and rejoice. Like the church in Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation (Rev.3:7-13), our church must keep the word of the Lord and not deny His name even though it is a crucible of suffering with little strength (vv. 8-10). We must keep our faith in times of sufferings. For this too, God must give us grace, the Holy Spirit can help us, and the Lord must hold us. How, then, can we rejoice in sufferings? How can we rejoice when Satan knows that his time is short, fervently tries to deceive and overthrow even those who are chosen by God? Satan deceives us because we are no longer children of the devil, but children of God who are being saved. Look at Philippians 1:28 – “without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God.” As the saved children of God, being deceived by Satan is the evidence of destruction to our adversaries, but the evidence of salvation to us. Therefore, even if we suffer persecution and tribulation because of our adversaries, we can rejoice (Rom.5:3) because it is the evidence of our salvation (Phil.1:28). Look at Acts 14:22 – “strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.” Because the way to heaven is a narrow road, a thorny road, and the way of the cross, there are tribulation, persecution, and suffering. When we are faced with such sufferings, we must look to Jesus, who went ahead of us. We should be thankful and rejoice as we look to Jesus who walked the way of the cross with faith and meditate on the sufferings of Jesus. The reason we should be thankful is because participating in the sufferings of Jesus is the grace of God (Phil. 1:29). The reason we should rejoice is because there is a reward in heaven (Mt. 5:11-12). When we believe and are certain of this, we can rejoice in sufferings and finally be victorious. The reason Paul suffered sufferings was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to do missionary work (Ref.: 2 Cor.11:23-27). The Holy Spirit told Paul that sufferings and hardships await him in each city (Acts 20:23; 21:11). Knowing this, Paul did not hesitate and, even though he knew that he would face hardships and sufferings, according to the Lord’s call, with a sense of mission, he prepared for martyrdom and devoted himself to spreading the gospel (20:24). And he continued to rejoice in sufferings. He said in prison, “And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice” (Phil.1:18) because Christ is preached. Not only Paul, but also the other apostles rejoiced in sufferings. Look at Acts 5:41 – “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” How could the apostles rejoice in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ? The reason is because they knew that preaching the gospel was the infinite glory of God. Those who were enemies of God (Rom.5:10), and in Paul’s case, the chief among sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), were reconciled to God through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and were given the ministry of reconciliation. What a joy it is to preach the gospel on behalf of Jesus because He has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor.5:18-19).
Knowing that it is an infinite glory to preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ only by the grace of God. Even though we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we pastors often feel ashamed and apologetic even after preaching. Nevertheless, when we see among the believers who have listened to the sermon, understand the word of God, accept it by faith, and being transformed, we cannot but said that it is God's grace because it is His work. This work of God is like what happened to the Thessalonian church members who welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit in spite of severe suffering, and became not only imitators of Paul and his co-workers, and the Lord, but also became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thess.1: 6, 7). Moreover, the Thessalonian church members waited for his Son from heaven, whom God had raised from the dead (v.10). Like the Thessalonian church members, we must also receive the word of God with the joy of the Holy Spirit and become imitators of the Lord. And we, like them, should hope for the second coming of Jesus. Since we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, when a soul is saved by God's grace by believing in Jesus Christ, the joy of God and the joy of heaven will become our joy. We must look at the joy of evangelism and the reward of evangelism. We must share the gospel of Jesus Christ with this joy while looking at this reward. Even if there are hardships and sufferings, we should prepare well for the second coming of Jesus with the assurance of hope to see the glory of God. We need to be alert and sober, praying, and devote ourselves to the Word of God. I hope and pray that we will be victorious in the midst of sufferings while remembering the word of God given today.