As I’m sure you know, I had major surgery 23 days ago. This is my first day back in the pulpit in what SEEMS like quite a while and I don’t want to complain but I need to tell you that for the last month or so I’ve experienced a lot of SUFFERING. In fact, it began weeks BEFORE my actual surgery when my urologist performed a biopsy on my prostate—and anyone who has been through that procedure will tell you—it is a test you definitely SUFFER through. Then as I said, 23 days ago—they wheeled me into the operating room over at Montgomery General and gave me a shot of something that made me almost completely carefree. I fell blissfully asleep—but the next thing I knew I woke in a fog of NAUSEA and PAIN. After a bumpy ride that aggravated this “fog,” they got me up to my room and no sooner had they given me medication to deal with my discomfort than my room-mate arrived and moved in. He was a poor demented older gentleman who spent every night ranting and raving for hours on end…making it impossible for me to rest—which of course increased my suffering. I was discharged four days later…and the next couple weeks at home I went through other forms of suffering…the pain of healing…the constant discomfort of the catheter…trying to learn to sleep in odd positions…not to mention the suffering that is endured by anyone who has nothing better to do than watch day time TV!
Now—I know that MANY people endure a great deal more pain than I have and for a lot longer than I did—but the fact is I have had to go through several weeks of out and out suffering. Feel free to say, “Awwww!”
I bring this all up—not to complain or to elicit more of your sympathy—but because in the next portion of Romans Paul deals with the subject of SUFFERING. In fact, I must say, the timing of this particular message is very interesting. As many of you know, I have felt that part of God’s vision for this year was for me to preach through Romans and I carefully planned out my preaching schedule as to which text to preach on each Sunday, a long time ago. Of course when I was diagnosed I had to re-do my preaching plans and it “just so happened” that this—the first sermon since my surgery—wound up focusing on this particular text. Take your Bibles and turn to Romans 5:1-11. When I felt good enough to start studying for this message and re-read these verses I literally FELT the Holy Spirit’s timing. Let’s read it together and maybe God will give you a goose-bump or two like He did me when I realized this would be the text for this particular Sunday morning.
1 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 – through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
3 – Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4 – perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 – And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us.
6 – You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7 – Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8 – But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 – Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!
10 – For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
11 – Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received reconciliation.
This is the Word of the Lord…Thanks be to God.
Now—one thing we need to admit at the onset of our study of this TIMELY text is that suffering is something ALL people have to endure. No one is exempt from it—not criminals or crime-fighters, not the old OR the young—not even bald Baptist preachers can avoid this uncomfortable fact. The painful rains of life do indeed fall on the just and the unjust. Living in a fallen world means that everyone SUFFERS. And mankind at least begrudgingly acknowledges this. In fact, their RESPONSE to the inevitable suffering of life takes two basic forms. See if you can relate to either:
(1) First, there is EPICUREANISM.
If you remember your history, then you know this response comes from a Greek philosopher named Epicurus who lived three centuries before Jesus was born. Here’s his “picture.” Epicurus taught that life is a mixture of good and bad experiences, and that since there are always some bad experiences, which we cannot avoid—well, Epicurus said the best way to handle suffering is by LOADING life with more pleasure than pain so that when you add it all up at the end, the bottom line is positive. This particular response to suffering is called “qualified hedonism” and it is still popular today. It’s the “go for the gusto” approach that says, “Life can be bad so, get all the good you can!”
You may not realize it but this is your rationale behind getting that piece of apple pie covered with ice cream and hot caramel to eat before you go to bed so as to increase the pleasure of watching some late-night sitcom. You tell yourself, “I know it’s late. I know this is full of fat and calories that I don’t need…but I’ve had a hard day—so I might as well enjoy this pie!
Life is tough so why not have a little culinary fun!?”
Anyone out there practice this form of Epicureanism from time to time?
(2) Another popular response to suffering is STOICISM.
This came from the Greeks as well—a group of philosophers known as the…Stoics…and we don’t have any pictures of the stoics from thousands of years ago but I do have a picture of a famous stoic from the late 1960’s. [SPOK] The stoics answer to the suffering of life is what we might call “the stiff upper lip approach.” It’s looking at life with sort of a “grin and bear it” mind set. I’m reminded of one of the comedy routines of Mark Lowery. Lowery said that when he was a kid his parents had a rule that if you lived in their house, you always went to church. The only way to get out of going would be for you to be sick and the only way to prove you were sick would be for you to be so nauseated you couldn’t keep anything down. Lowery said that one day he honestly told his dad he had the flu and was too sick to go to church and when his dad began to question him as if to prove that his malady was real, nausea took over and Lowery ran to the bathroom where he lost the contents of his stomach. When this happened his dad said, “There—don’t you feel better?” When Lowery nodded “yes” his dad said, “Good—then get dressed. We’re going to church.”
Well, in our text Paul advises mature Christians to embrace a different option in their response to suffering.
He says that when the inevitable difficulties of life come our way, instead of embracing the philosophy of the epicureans or the stoics. Instead of going for the gusto or keeping a Mr. Spok-like stiff upper lip…we should learn to REJOICE. Now—Paul is not talking about spiritual masochism—you know, taking some sort of twisted PLEASURE in our pain—like the woman who told her pastor one Sunday, “That was a GOOD sermon pastor! I really enjoyed your message because it made me feel so BAD!” Paul’s not talking about feeling GOOD about the BAD in life. Neither is he talking about putting on a plastic smile and PRETENDING everything is wonderful when it’s not. I mean, he’s not advocating our saying, “Oh happy day! I’m going bankrupt!” or “This is great! I have cancer!”
In fact, I would pause and remind you that God expects us to be honest at all times and USUALLY when suffering comes our most HONEST initial response is to lament at least a little bit. I mean, it’s normal—HONEST—to cry out in pain, bewilderment, and even anger when suffering comes our way. I’m reminded of another woman who was complaining about her troubles to HER pastor. She went on and on about all of her sufferings and finally the pastor stopped her and said,“Sister, you really shouldn’t complain so. The Bible says that Christians are to rejoice in their tribulations.” The woman said, “I know that pastor. But I think that when God sends us tribulations, He expects us to tribulate a bit.” And I would agree—“tribulating a bit” is a normal, honest, initial response to suffering. But maturing believers don’t stay there—they don’t continue to “tribulate.” I mean, they don’t wrap their arms around their anger or grief. No—growing Christians admit their honest emotions but then they let it go and decide to move on and instead wrap their arms around their faith in the character of our Heavenly Father. The peace they experience when they do this—and they do experience PEACE…even amidst the difficulties of life—this peace comes from their deep sense of security in God. They know God loves them. They know that as Paul affirms over and over in our text, God’s love was proven once and for all on the cross. And they also know that our loving Heavenly Father is omnipotent and sovereign—in other words they know He is BIGGER than their suffering no matter how horrible it seems.
In C. S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian, the second volume of The Chronicles of Narnia, when Lucy re-enters Narnia, she has not seen Aslan—the lion who represents Jesus—in a long time. Of course, they have a wonderful reunion and Lucy says, “Aslan, you’re bigger now.” And Aslan says, “Lucy, that is because you are older. Every year that you grow you will find Me bigger.”
Well, that’s the way it is with maturing Christians…the older they become—that is to say the more their relationship with God grows over time…well, the more they see God’s power and love and faithfulness—so, the more they age spiritually the “bigger” He becomes…and the smaller their suffering seems in comparison.
And this is what Paul is saying here. We should REJOICE when suffering comes—because we know God is greater than our problems. In fact, we know He is BIG enough…wise enough, powerful enough…to use the BAD in life for our GOOD. In other words, maturing believers know that SUFFERING can be productive…beneficial.
I don’t know about you but all three of our kids came into this world in the midst of PAIN intense suffering Sue was willing to endure because she knew it would be productive…and it was and still is! No wonder the population on this planet keeps increasing! That’s the way mature believers look at the difficulties of life. They know that God can “BIRTH” amazing good from even the BAD-EST times in life. They can say with Paul in verse 3, “…we rejoice in our suffering because of what we KNOW…” about it! We have learned—we KNOW—that in all things our loving God works for the GOOD of those who love Him.
However—the sad fact is many Christians aren’t mature enough to understand this very important principle of spiritual health. They don’t KNOW this. Let me put it this way…they are more than ready for the glories of Heaven but they are not ready—they are not prepared for the sufferings of earth. And because of this, as someone once put it, they are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. They seem to think that simply BEING a Christian should excuse them from troubles and that suffering is a sign that something is wrong. Some even go so far as to say that since God is good His children will not have to endure any form of suffering. But that assumption is flawed because it assumes no GOOD can come from difficulty.
Well, Paul says here that the mark of a Christian who has grown to maturity, the mark of a growing believer…is that he accepts EVERYTHING that happens to him without exception as coming into his life from the loving hand of God, and because of that he genuinely rejoices—even amidst times of hardship and difficulty.
And by the way, PAUL is not the only one who says this.
- The Apostle Peter puts it this way, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
- But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
- The Apostle James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” (James 1:2)
- And Jesus Himself said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
So Paul is saying that SUFFERING can be productive in that it brings special blessings. Well, what are they? What are the BLESSINGS of SUFFERING?
(1) The first thing we need to realize is that suffering is a blessing when it is CORRECTIVE.
This is the kind of suffering that God allows to come in order to nudge us away from the path of rebellion and sin and back on the path of righteousness. When suffering causes us to come to our senses like this, we realize it was indeed a blessing. This is what the Psalmist is getting at when he says, “It was good…it was a blessing…for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees.” (Psalm 119:71)
This is one of the lessons we can take from the story of the prodigal son who, in the midst of—and I think BECAUSE OF his own suffering—finally realized how foolish he had been and then went home and repented and was restored to his father. I’m sure that in hindsight he would say,
“It was a blessing for me to suffer…it was good for me to be so hungry that I considered eating the slop I fed those pigs because that was the only thing that would correct my selfish, hedonistic thinking. That level of hunger was the only thing that made me hunger to be made right with my Father.”
The fact is, many times God’s great love for us is seen in the blessing of CORRECTIVE suffering. This is what the writer of Hebrews is saying when he writes, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son…” (Hebrews 12:5-7)
I start with this form of suffering because I think the first thing we should do when suffering comes our way is to stop and ask God whether or not it is intended by Him for our correction. Well, what about it? Could it be that you are going through some corrective suffering right now? Have you been involved in selfish, foolish, rebellious behavior and are suffering because of that?
No need to raise your hand. In fact, let me ask it in another way…have any of you ever looked back on some suffering that you endured and said, “Thank you God. Thank you for disciplining me like that.Thank You for loving me enough to let me go through that time of affliction. I know now that it was the only way a hard-headed guy like me would learn! Thank You for the BLESSING of Your corrective suffering.” I know I have prayed this prayer numerous times!
(2) And then suffering is also a blessing when our response brings God GLORY.
In fact, whenever we go through tough times and we realize it’s not due to our sin—one of our first prayers should be that we would respond to suffering in a way that points people to God. Let me put it this way. Our suffering can be a blessing to others if our response shows them that our faith in God is well-placed. In tough times our prayer should be, “God, enable me to respond to this time of difficulty in ways that bring You glory—rather than me sympathy. Let this suffering make others hunger to know You as I do. Use this to let me show them how precious my relationship with You really is.”
A few weeks back I listened to a three part Focus on the Family broadcast that featured Diet Eman, a Christian woman who lived in Holland during WWII and like Corrie Ten Boom, helped hundreds of Jews escape the Nazi holocaust. Here’s a current picture of Diet. Well, it was a very moving story. Diet told of all the danger she went through to help those people and in spite of all the steps she took to protect herself she was eventually found out, arrested, and put in a concentration camp…where she endured intense suffering at the hands of Hitler’s henchmen. Her fiancé whose name was Hein had worked with her in helping rescue the Jews and he was also arrested. Here’s a picture of the two of them before the war. Well, after the war she learned that the pain and suffering Hein went through was even worse than hers. He went through years of working in a series of concentration camps enduring brutal beatings, disease, torture….working in the cold without sufficient clothing or food. This made her angry with God. She thought, “We were willing to give our lives for You God…why did Hein have to go through so many camps…so much suffering…for all these years? If You weren’t going to save him God, then why not just send a bullet to end his life the moment he was arrested? Why did he have to go through YEARS of horrible suffering?”
A few months later in what proved to be an answer to her honest “tribulating” prayer, Diet began to get letters from people she never heard of saying things like, “I met your fiancé. Hein was in the same camp with me and he was a light in the darkness. He told us all about Jesus and God’s promises. He taught us to sing even in our deepest misery.”
The letters showed that apparently hundreds of people in the camps came to faith in Jesus because of Hein’s witness. Well, Diet understood then why God had allowed him to suffer for so long—to bring Him glory by leading other hurting people to faith. After the war Diet got one last note from Hein—written before his death on a small piece of toilet paper that he had taken from the Red Cross packets. Feign had been on a train being transported to yet another camp and he took this one sheet of toilet paper and wrote a note on it…folded it carefully several times, wrapped it in a smaller piece of paper with her address…and threw it out of the train. Now understand, this was in October and there was a great deal of rain—but it didn’t disintegrate. It fell in tall grass but miraculously it was found and sent to Diet. It said, “Diet, we will never be sorry for what we did because we will see each other in heaven again…we will never be sorry for taking this stand. We’ll never be sorry for our suffering…”
Well, let me ask—have you ever endured a time of suffering in a faith-LESS way…such that you WERE ashamed of your response…sorry for your suffering? No need to raise your hands on this either. But, listen, our brother Hein was right—if we trust in God and show our faith in the way we respond to the difficulties of life—we will never be SORRY for those difficulties. In fact, one day we’ll look back and rejoice for the times we faith-FULLY let God use our suffering for His glory—the times our witness pointed others to Him.
In that same line, another way, our response to suffering brings God glory is when we allow it to melt our hearts toward others.
If we let it, suffering has a way of molding us into Godly empathetic people. We see others going through the same difficulty we did, and God’s love fills our hearts for them. Think of it: Who can minister to an alcoholic better than a recovering alcoholic? Who can help a mother who has lost a child better than another mother who has been through the same nightmare? Who can minister to a brother who is going through a painful divorce better than someone who has been there himself? Who can encourage someone who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer more than men who have been through the testing and the surgery themselves?
In verse 5 Paul says that God has poured His love into our hearts through His Holy Spirit—and when we see others suffer as we have…it can be the release valve of that love as we help people whose shoes we have walked in…by reflecting the love of God with our actions.
So suffering can be a blessing when it is corrective and when our response brings God’s glory.
(3) But the fact Paul underscores in our text is that suffering is a blessing when it is PRODUCTIVE for us personally.
In verse 3 Paul says SUFFERING can produce three wonderful things in our lives.
a. First, it produces PERSEVERANCE.
The Greek word here literally means, “…to remain firm under pressure.” You know, the pressure that hard times bring is uncomfortable on several levels and it is something we usually want to get out from under but if we let Him God uses suffering to teach us to stand firm under pressure. Another word for perseverance is STEADINESS in that our trials can make us more mature, stable, and steady under pressure. Do you remember when Jesus and the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee in a fishing boat and a storm arose? While Jesus slept in the back of the boat, the disciples panicked. They shook Jesus and said, “Don’t You know we are about to perish?” And Jesus stood up and told them, “Don’t panic!” Then He commanded the wind and the waves to be still, and the storm immediately ended. Jesus had a purpose for that storm in the lives of His disciples. He wanted them to learn that with His presence they could be STEADY under pressure. And our Lord wants you and me to learn the same lesson. This is one thing that SUFFERING does. It steadies us and teaches us not to panic.
It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster. I remember the first time I rode the Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens I was terrified. The longer I stood in line the more afraid I became. Then it was my turn—and as our car clanked up that first incredibly steep hill my terror increased. Then we flew down the hill and did the two upside down deals and before I knew it we were rolling into the station. The next time I rode the Loch Ness I was still afraid but not as much…and it got better every time…so now when I ride it I do so with no fear at all. In fact, I can take a nap on that ride.
That’s the way it is with the trials of life. The first one is scary but then in the midst of that “ride” we see that Jesus hears our prayers and helps us. And as we face trial after trial and experience His presence and power each time we become stronger in our faith. With each new trial we learn and grow a little more. Our faith becomes more and more resilient. In time we find that we are handling challenges that we never imagined we could withstand. That’s how suffering produces perseverance. It’s like lifting weights. The more you lift—the easier it is to do so. Suffering PRODUCES this kind of faith-fueled steady reliable strength—a firm trust that God is bigger than the storms of life.
b. Suffering also produces CHARACTER.
Now—when we use this word it’s not always a compliment. For example, have you ever been house hunting and the real estate agent says, “I’ve got a great property for you to look at. It’s an older home, but it has CHARACTER.” That’s like saying a blind date has a “good personality.” Well, the word Paul uses here is much more positive than this. He’s saying suffering can produce proven, reliable character QUALITIES. He’s saying if we let God, He will use the difficulties of life to make us into proven, reliable PEOPLE…the kind of people who have weathered the storms of life…and shown by their response that they can be relied on by others.
There is a motto that comes from one of the Scottish clans that says, “I grow under the burden.”
And the fact is, we do. If we led Him God can use suffering to make us stronger…better…more reliable…more productive disciples…known for their Christian character. Harry Emerson Fosdick, one of American’s great preachers from an earlier generation tells about a visit he made to the apple groves in the state of Maine. He saw apple trees so loaded down with fruit that their branches had to be propped up to keep them off the ground. When he asked the apple grower why those particular trees were so loaded with fruit, the farmer told him to look at the trunks of the tress near the ground. He did and he noticed that the tree had been severely wounded with deep gashes that had healed over The apple grower then explained the reason for the gashes. He said, “We have discovered that when an apple tree begins to run to wood and leaves and not to fruit, if we will gash it deeply it will almost always produce more apples. We don’t know everything about how it works, but we know that the more the tree is bruised, the more it seems to produce.” In Romans 5 Paul says the same thing: suffering in the life of a yielded believer produces a character of the highest quality.
c. Finally Paul says that suffering produces HOPE.
Now…when he says this he’s not talking about a wish or a possibility but rather a certainty—the certainty that God is using our sufferings to make us more and more Christlike. He’s saying we are even now being rebuilt—changed to become more like Jesus…as we grow in Christlike love, maturity, wisdom and patience—and all the fruits of the Spirit. For many years John Cox and his wife, Wendy, did their best to provide a home for themselves and their three daughters. John was an itinerant youth minister, and she was a nurse. At times they both worked to get ahead financially, and then for a time Wendy would stay home to care for the girls. They shopped in thrift stores and reclaimed furniture from dumpsters and the sidewalk. After years of renting, a new job gave them the opportunity to buy a house of their own, to provide some stability and build some equity for the future. The only house they could afford was a run-down fixer-upper in suburban L.A. It was hardly a dream house. It was so unusual, and painted such a strange shade of blue that the neighbors called it “the Smurf house.” About the only thing the house had going for it was the address. It was located on Hope Street. As it turned out, the house needed even more work than they had originally anticipated. The pipes were rusted and leaking, and toxic black mold was growing in the walls. John and Wendy had neither the time, nor the skill, nor the money to make the repairs that the house so desperately needed. The family joked that the only way they’d get their dream house was for some rich guy to come along and fix it all up for them. And that’s exactly what happened. One day, the Cox family awoke to the sound of a bullhorn blaring, “Good morning, Cox family!” It was Ty Pennington and the crew of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, who had shown up to work their magic on the Cox’s dilapidated house. As you knowevery week on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Ty and his crew of experts select a needy, deserving family like the Coxes, kick them out of their house for a week,
move in with their tools, and transform the family house into a place of beauty, functionality, and joy. For families that are struggling with health issues, physical disabilities, grief, and financial strain, Extreme Makeover provides them with more than just a new home. They get a new lease on life; a fresh start; an opportunity to move beyond their hurts and hardships and begin to realize their dreams. And that’s exactly what it meant for the Cox family. On the seventh day, what the show calls, “Reveal Day,” the family returned to find their ugly, decrepit, toxic house transformed into a place of promise and possibility. They squealed and giggled and cried with delight. Someone had done for them what they could never have done for themselves. Truly, they were living on Hope Street. Here’s a before and after.
Well, what Ty Pennington and his crew did for the Cox family is something like what God wants to do in every person’s life—in your life. He wants to transform you from the inside out. You see Jesus didn’t just come to save you from death. He came to transform your life. He wants to make you over into the person he created you to be, the person that deep in your heart you have always longed to be. He wants to make you more and more like Him.
Now, if the EMHE crew were to show up on your front lawn tomorrow, I’m sure you would waste no time in putting them to work on some home-improvement project you have always dreamed of. But suppose the Holy Spirit was to show up on the doorstep of your soul, what would you want Him to work on? What changes would you want Him to make in your life, your relationships, your walk with God? What kind of person would you like to become, with God’s help?
If you are going through a time of suffering right now…would you simply raise your hand? Thank you. Search your soul…and if you can honestly see that your suffering is corrective—that is to say God is allowing this hard time in your life to push you back to the path of righteousness, I encourage you to take a few moments to Thank God for His loving discipline. And then, if you are going through a hard time whether it is health related or work related or whatever but it’s not corrective and you sincerely want to respond in a way that brings God glory, talk to Him about that. Ask God for the power to change your focus from self to others to show your peers how precious your faith in God really is. If you are going through a difficult time and your is to let it break you and melt you and remold you into a more mature believer—if you want to develop steadiness and character and Christlikeness…would you raise your hand? Thank you! I’d like us all to take a few moments now and talk to God about our suffering. In a moment I’ll close our prayer time.
Father God…
We praise You for Your love—for demonstrating that love by sending Your only Son to earth to save us—at just the right time. Fill our hearts with Your love—so that we never doubt it—even in the midst of life’s hardships. We praise You for your power…help us to REST in our faith that there is NOTHING You cannot do. And now Father…for the suffering that we are even now enduring. Help us to respond in ways that make people look to You. Use it to sanctify us…and make us more and more like Jesus. Produce His character in each of us.
I ask this in His name. AMEN
As we stand and sing, I invite you to respond publically as God leads. Come and profess your faith in Jesus. Come and join this church. Come and ask for prayer.
BENEDICTION:
Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.