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Romans 5:3
Paul continues in chapter 5 of his letter to the Romans in that not only have we been justified through faith in Christ Jesus and have peace with God through Him (Romans 5:1), and have access by our faith through Jesus into God’s grace and have hope in His glory (Romans 5:2), but that we also, “glory in tribulations” (Romans 5:3, NKJV). Okay, I know that most of you are saying to yourselves, “No I don’t! Glory in tribulations? Not me.” But there has to be a reason Paul would say such a thing, so if you will bear with me for a moment, let’s see if we can find out why Paul would make such an upside-down statement. In Romans 5:3b, the second half of verse 3, Paul tells us, “knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;”. So our focus goes to persevering, but what exactly is perseverance. Merriam-Webster describes perseverance/persevere as, “to persist (as in an undertaking) in spite of difficulties.” Okay, so perseverance is a good thing. It reminds me of the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” We buckle down and dig our heels in; we don’t give up – we keep on truckin’.
But we still have to address the question of, “Why tribulation?” In gaining a little bit of information about perseverance we find the answer: if we never face any tribulations, we never have to persevere; it would not be necessary. But perseverance is very important in our walk with Jesus in this sinful world. Without perseverance, no one would ever stand tall for Jesus – we would just all give up whenever Satan tricks us in trials and temptations. There would be no possibility of showing our faith in Jesus by our works (James 2:18). I believe this is the best explanation (or at least the best one I developed) of our responsibility in “works” that shows our role in our salvation through our faith in Christ Jesus in “works.” We do not gain salvation by or through our works, but show/prove our salvation in Christ Jesus by our works that are reflective of Him in our new lives through the gift of salvation that Jesus has provided for us, and we have opened our hearts to Him in our faith in Him that is our justification giving us access into His grace which causes the rejoicing in our hope of God’s glory (Romans 5:1-2). It’s not the tribulations that we so much glory in but the perseverance that is produced through the tribulations that we face – and seek the guidance of Christ Jesus to help us through – that is the glory in tribulations – that we persevere through them – in Christ!
This is a promise of perseverance gained through tribulations faced – in Christ!
Jesus stood tall and persevered for us when He took our sins to the cross and paid our price in death. But in His perseverance, He arose on the third day victorious for all of us who will put our faith in Him. We too should stand tall in the face of tribulations and persevere – in Christ.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to see that tribulations are not the end result of going through them, but it is the perseverance – in Christ – that is the take-away in growing in our relationship with You through our Savior Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.