Scripture: Romans 5:1–8
5:1Therefore, being set right through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus the Anointed. 2Through whom, also, we have access to this gift, to stand and exult in the hope of God’s glory. 3Not on this alone, but also, we exult in the trials. We know that trials produce persistence; 4and persistence- maturity, and maturity- hope. 5Now hope does not dishonor us, because God’s love is poured out in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit which we were given. 6Yet while we were helpless the Anointed came and at that time died because of the ungodly. 7Rarely does one die for the righteous, yet perhaps for a good person someone might dare to die. 8But God demonstrates divine love to us that while we were guilty the Anointed died for us.
Questions
- What does it mean to you to be set right, and how does faith relate to that?
- What does it mean to stand and exult in God’s hope?
- How does suffering work in this passage, does it always lead to maturity or does Paul have something more in mind?
- Do you ever feel like your hope in Jesus brings dishonor or shame? If so how do you restore your mindset to reflect Paul’s in this passage?
- When you consider being enemies with God how do you understand that concept, and how does it impact your idea of God that Jesus died while we were enemies?
Background
Related Scriptures: Genesis 18; Psalm 22:5; Isaiah 32:17; Joel 2; 2 Corinthians 5
Origen: The word rejoice is sometimes used positively in Scripture and sometimes negatively.… For if someone rejoices in his wisdom or strength or riches, he is wrong to do so, but if he rejoices in knowing God and in understanding his judgments of mercy and righteousness, he is right to do so. In this case, Paul says that he rejoices in his sufferings, not as an end in themselves but because they lead to various virtues of the soul.… If suffering produces patience and patience is one of the virtues of the soul, then there is no doubt that suffering must be called not evil or neutral but definitely good. [1]
Basil: For those who are well prepared, tribulations are like certain foods and exercises for athletes which lead the contestant on to the inheritance of glory. When we are reviled, we bless; maligned, we entreat; ill-treated, we give thanks; afflicted, we glory in our afflictions.[2]
Ambrosiaster: If Christ gave himself up to death at the right time for those who were unbelievers and enemies of God … how much more will he protect us with his help if we believe in him! He died for us in order to obtain life and glory for us. So if he died for his enemies, just think what he will do for his friends![3]
Reflection
What are the limits of your love for others? How far would you go to reconcile with someone who has wronged you and become an enemy? Would your give this person multiple chances to make things right? Would you initiate conversation with them? Would you actively pursue reconciliation? Would you even be open to a new relationship with that person? Now consider what Paul says about Jesus in these verses. We were enemies of God and Jesus died for us. Our state was enemy and Jesus saw us as helpless. We were unrighteous, yet Jesus treats us as one morally upright person might treat another righteous person. We who deserve death are given life, by the person we have wronged.
I think it is worth pondering what kind of love God shows us that “the right time” for Jesus was when we were helpless and at war with God. God did not wait until we started to get our act together. Jesus’ ministry was not timed because we showed we wanted to make up. Rather Jesus comes to us when we are at our lowest ebb and furthest from God.
I love how Paul weaves together the ideas that humanity is an enemy of God and helpless. We are both caught in the snare of sin and willful participants working against God. Like an army indoctrinated by propaganda we are both deceived and caught, and bear our own blame. Jesus recognizes this, he understands that we have willfully made ourselves enemies of God and that we are helpless because we do not understand the full implications of this stance. And it is at this point that Jesus lays down his life to find us. This is God’s gift to us that in his love we have Jesus live, die, rise, and ascend to show us how to live and to provide us a way to live in God. And this is our glory and boast, not that I am so good that Jesus came for me, but that God is so good that God would not let me go. My boast is not in my success or honors, but in the fact, Jesus is so good I get to experience who God is.
It is precisely because we boast in a God who comes to the depths to find us that we can rejoice in the midst of trials. If we understand God’s love that sent Jesus while we were enemies then we know that now that we are God’s family even the most difficult trial will be a time when God works through us and draws closer to us. Trials then result in maturity because if we have learned how to experience and accept God’s love then we understand how much God comes to us in the darkest moments and we begin to look for this presence. As we look for God’s presence in dark times, we find God in the darkness and suddenly instead of seeing the trial we see God’s hope. And seeing God’s hope we begin to respond to our situation as God would and that is the definition of maturity.
So, for Paul our trust begins in understanding who we are as enemies of God and helpless at the same time. Understanding this we begin to understand God’s love for us and as we begin to think about this concept it should lead us to praise for discovering someone who loves us enough to overcome our evil to demonstrate that love. When we learn to boast in this, we learn to see God’s presence more deeply in the difficult times. When we learn to see God with us in difficulties we learn to respond to the difficulties as God does and not out of the spirit that makes us enemies with God. And as we respond to our trials with God’s character, we begin to love even our enemies the way that God loved us. This is the cycle that God uses to bring us fully out of a state of enmity with God and in a state of allegiance. This is how God uses even the smallest kernel of trust and expands it into a full constancy that mirrors the faith Jesus displayed. As we experience the maturity of God and revel in the hope that God supplies, we cannot help but reflect God’s love to the hurting world around us. And as people see the hope that we have experienced through our trials they too will hopefully begin building their own life with God.
[1] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 124.
[2] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 124.
[3] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture 126.
Squinting in the Light 
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