Gaining Endurance: Romans 5:3-4

Introduction

In previous articles, I have written about Paul’s view on suffering and how the Church is to handle times of pain and trials. What we can understand from what Paul tells us, and from our own experience, is no one escapes suffering in this life. We all have had pain or opposition in our lives and that is unavoidable, especially for Christians. At times it can seem odd that the servants of a loving God experience pain and troubles. Even the greatest of Christ’s servants suffered, and they tended to suffer even more! Paul in 1 Corinthians gives a fairly extensive list of suffering that he and the other apostles have gone through: hunger, thirst, “brutally treated”, homeless, “verbally abused…persecuted”, and lied about. As he says, they were “the world’s dirt and scum”. (1 Cor 4:11-13)

I can imagine that we all want to avoid this in our lives, but Paul called others to take part in suffering for Christ and he even described it as a gift of God. When writing to the Philippian church, Paul tells them that the opposition, the suffering, that they are facing has been “granted” (Phi 1:29) to them by God. This must have surely confused the Philippian church or any unbelievers at the time, and it is confusing to some even today. After all, why would God, who is supposed to be loving, allow his servants to suffer? The fact of the matter is, however, that we are called to suffer for Christ’s sake at times. We are even to imitate Christ in his suffering.

Philippians 2:5-11 gives us a hymn describing Christ’s life, eventual death on the cross, and his resurrection and glorification. The hymn beautifully describes how Christ “humbled himself” (Phi 2:8) to the point that he would die out of obedience to God. In verse 5, just before the hymn’s opening line, Paul tells the Philippians that copy Christ’s attitude in their interactions with one another. We are to humble ourselves, and sometimes like Christ, we may have to obey even when it leads to suffering. Why should we do this? First, because we are told to imitate Christ. Second, it sanctifies us, making us more like Christ. Third, in suffering we gain endurance.

Paul’s Path to Hope: Romans 5:1-11

In the middle of Romans, Paul writes out a stunning sentence, "Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope." (Rom 5:3-4) This is shocking and backward to our culture today which chases after comfort and happiness to the grave. Why in the world would I celebrate when I am suffering? Before we can understand this one sentence, we must look at the passage as a whole and the surrounding context.

In the previous chapter, Paul gives a long discourse on the idea of justification by faith alone through the example of Abraham. The chapter ends with the description of Jesus being sacrificed and raised from the dead so that we could be justified. Paul then begins chapter five stating that we have been justified, or declared righteous, by faith. Our justification then gives us peace with God, through Jesus. Paul writes that it is also through Jesus that we “rejoin in the hope of God’s glory.” (Rom 5:2) This seems to be best understood as the hope of our future glorification at the end of time, as that is the promise given to those of us who are justified.

Now looking at verses 3-4 again, we may be able to understand it better. Paul tells us that we “rejoice in our sufferings”. Why do we rejoice? It is not because we love pain and suffering. The joy we have in suffering is aimed at the sure result of the suffering. The end result is both gaining endurance and our future glorification. Paul then tells us that endurance produces character. This is the Greek word dokimē which can be translated as “proven character”. The point is that by enduring suffering, we are changed; we are sanctified. This change in character, the proving of our character, then produces in us hope. Why hope? Because that change within us, that inner sanctification, is evidence of our justification and of the promise that we are given, it is in a sense the first fruits of our future glorification. This hope is then further strengthened by the love of God given to us through the Holy Spirit, and by the very act of Christ’s death on the cross.

Enduring in Suffering

The question then becomes, how do we endure? How do we gain this quality, this strength? It is important to acknowledge right away that it is only through God sustaining us that we can endure through every storm in life. Paul makes this evident in his letters to the Philippians and the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul tells how he was given a “thorn” to keep him humble.  It is God’s response to Paul that should guide and comfort those of us who are suffering now. “My grace is enough for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he writes the famous verse, “I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.” (Phi 4:13) Paul, in this verse, is communicating that it is through the strength of Christ that he can not only survive but be content in any circumstance whether good or bad. He writes, “whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing”. (Phi 4:12) It is by Christ that we can endure the sufferings and trials of this life, not our strength which carries us only so far.

We should also seek out the help and comfort of our church; God gave us the church for this very reason. The author Hebrews writes that we are to meet with and encourage one another. (Heb 10:24-25) James tells his readers to pray for those who are suffering or sick and to bring them to the elders. (Jam 5:13-16) The point is that we are supposed to support and help one another in times of need and in times of celebration. We must also remember that just as it is the responsibility of other believers to comfort and care for us, it is our duty to pray and care for them. Some may just need encouragement and prayer, but others may need more. This is not meant as any sort of a command or a rule that we must follow, but Spirit is important; we should be willing to help other believers with material matters as well, not just spiritual. That does not mean that it must be you every time or that you must do so, but we must have this attitude because there may be a time when you need more than just prayers and encouragement.

Spiritual Disciplines

The tradition of Christianity also gives us many spiritual disciplines that we can practice to help us endure. These practices often serve to encourage us to lean more on God and to remind us of the hope we have in him and the future. Praying is by far the most important discipline one can practice in a time of suffering. I do not mean a quick prayer in the morning or before dinner, but an intentional time of prayer set aside each day at the same time. Maybe you pray for 30 minutes or even just 5 minutes; it does not matter where you start, so long as you are devoting the time to communicating with the Lord. This is where we find true comfort. This is where we find the strength of God that sustains us.

Reading scripture regularly is another great practice; this particularly reminds us of our hope in God, for there is no better reminder than to read more about God’s character. Memorizing scripture is helpful as well; memorized verses will often come to mind throughout the day and if you choose the passages carefully, they will be truly encouraging. Meditating on scripture is another important practice. This is not the Eastern meditation where you empty your mind, instead, it is thinking deeply about a passage, idea, or theme from scripture. This is a way to internalize the truth of scripture into your heart; it brings the knowledge from your head to your heart. The final practice that can help is practicing solitude. Every other discipline mentioned above can be practiced during a time of solitude and silence. The purpose behind solitude is to devote a special time to God during the day.

For those of us who are currently enduring suffering, God bless you; and may you remember our hope in God and the future glory that awaits us. For those of us who are not in a time of trial or suffering, let us devote time to encouraging and loving our brothers and sisters who are. “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.” (2 Cor 1:3-4)