Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, April 28, 2024.
Sermon text: Romans 5:1-5
We find joy in the blessings brought by justification
—peace with God
—access to God’s grace
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
—hope of the glory of God
“Christian hope is not uncertain, like our ordinary everyday hopes about the weather or our health; it is a joyful and confident expectation which rests on the promises of God, as we saw in the case of Abraham. And the object of our hope is
the glory of God (2), namely his radiant splendor which will in the end be fully displayed.
—John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans
We can even find joy in our sufferings
“Various kinds of sufferings will come to us, but we can rejoice in them when we recognize that they serve a purpose: to develop our Christian character. In verses 3b–4 Paul shows how a godly response to suffering can initiate a series of virtues, culminating, strikingly, in hope. Note, however, that Paul is not saying that we should rejoice
because of suffering. Evil things are still just that—evil—and we never should be happy about them. But by looking beyond the suffering to its divinely intended end, we still can rejoice in the midst of them.”
—Douglas J. Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans
—suffering produces endurance
“We know this, especially from the experience of God’s people in every generation.
Suffering produces perseverance (hypomonē, endurance). We could not learn endurance without suffering, because without suffering there would be nothing to endure.”
—John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans
—endurance builds character
—character gives us confident hope
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