HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US
June 11, 2006 - PENTECOST 1 - Romans 5:1-5
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
How many of you have ever been disappointed? It would not take us much thinking to think of a disappointment or two that has come into our life, maybe in the past 24 hours, probably in the last week or so. Why is there disappointment in our life? As believers, we are told to always be happy and joyful and rejoice. Still we often face disappointment. There always will be disappointment on this side of heaven. For many of the things that we think, many of the things we say and many of our actions are tainted by sin. We cannot escape the effects of sin. Sin clouds our thinking. It covers up our good speech. Sometimes it betrays our righteous acts with evil actions. Because of that, there is going to be disappointment upon disappointment upon disappointment.
Yet, what do we find in our text? Paul says: "Hope does not disappoint us." In the midst of this earthly life and in the midst of suffering hope does not disappoint us. We may disappoint our families or ourselves. Or they may disappoint us. The world is a disappointing place, but hope does not disappoint us. Today, we are going to study that fact--the fact as Paul writes in Colossians later on: "Faith and love that spring up from the hope (that) is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you" (Colossians 1:5,6a). We have come near to hear God’s gospel. We have come to hear why hope does not disappoint us. Paul mentions two things that we are going to study. Using Paul’s words as our theme,
HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US
I. We boast about God’s glory.
II. We boast in our sufferings.
I. WE BOAST ABOUT GOD’S GLORY
The believers at Rome, the Christians that were gathered there, were anxious to see the apostle Paul. He hadn’t come to visit them. Many things stood in the way, and travel was much more difficult than our day and age. So Paul writes them a letter. They needed to hear more about justification, and how they were saved by faith, by grace. Hopefully, you caught this beautifully defined doctrine in our text today--the fact of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Paul has previously discussed salvation and the righteousness of God. Now in chapter 5 Paul writes: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Justify is one of those long words in Scripture has been beautifully defined for us in our text. Justified--Paul says: "We have peace with God." He was reminding these believers that though they lived as enemies of God, though they were born as enemies of God and though they thought and spoke like enemies of God, now they had peace with God. They are justified. Then so they would make no mistake about it, he reminds them that their peace with God does not come from within themselves as they are trying to live like a Christian. That is not where peace with God comes from. That is not their justification, but he says, "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Time and again, as you read Paul’s letters, you realize that in every letter and almost every chapter he mentions the resurrection of Christ. Paul is going to mention the fact that Christ lived, died and rose again. This was the Messiah who had been promised long ago and now came and fulfilled what God had promised. Now Paul says the believers have peace with God, not because of their works, their good intentions, but through Jesus Christ. He goes on to explain that: "Through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand." Paul was writing a letter to them, and the believers at Rome were standing really at the end of the known universe. They stand in faith in God’s grace, by faith. How did that happen that these believers who had not been in Jerusalem or who had not seen Jesus put to death and only heard about Christ coming back to life now stand in faith? Paul gives the clue--by grace. It is the same God the Father who created the heavens and earth and who promised his Son and who came, Christ the Savior. They had forgiveness by grace.
How did that all get into their lives, their hearts? At the end of our text, he says: "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." You may remember when Jesus ascended into heaven he told the disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the gift that he promised: The Holy Spirit. Last Sunday was Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was the beginning of the tremendous growth of the Christian Church. Here we have God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These people believed by grace. They had faith because of God’s gift to them.
Then he says: "We rejoice (boast) in the hope of the glory of God." In the NIV it translates this Greek word as "rejoice" which is the last definition to choose from. A better definition can be "boast". 38 times that word is used and 23 times are used to talk about "glory" or "boasting." We boast in the glory of God. They were not to be ashamed even though they lived in the pagan city of Rome where there were many gods. But they were to boast in the glory of God.
We boast (or rejoice) in the glory of God. The original actually says, "We glory in the glory of God." Boasting sometimes it seems to have no place. In our society as believers, we hear that word, we don’t feel real comfortable with it. The word boasting is so connected with the wrong kind of boasting. The world is quick and anxious to boast about its accomplishments. People around us boast about what they have done or what they might do. We, too, may get caught up in that. It is not wrong to boast. Listen to this: "’But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:24). Jeremiah says to boast about the fact that the Lord has shown you kindness, justice and the righteousness. Christ covers up all of your sins once and for all so that now we stand unaccused and unashamed before God’s throne of grace. If you are fortunate enough, you may get to boast about that with your words. More than likely people watch your actions and see if you are a contented, joyful person. Once they catch on in your life that you are a contented, joyful person because of everything that God has done, it may give you and opportunity to tell them why you are so content in the midst of discontent, so joyful in the world of sadness. We say, "Because of what God has done." We are able to boast in the glory of God.
Paul wrote: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14). Paul used to boast about the fact that he was the best of the Pharisees. He had studied so hard and knew all the laws. He used to boast that he was on the way to persecute those who were straying from the church and bring them under church discipline. But that all changed, and he boasted about the cross of Christ. Sometimes we can be like the old Paul or Saul as we boast that we know the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed and everything else doctrinally. We might forget that our real boast is the cross that covers up our sins. There are all too many in this world that need to hear that message.
Many need to see it first of all that the glory of God is around us all the time. It is in nature. God’s glory is in the hearts of believers as human kindness and generosity and forgiveness. People are searching for that whether they realize it or not. Sometimes our friends are searching for that whether they realize it or not. They are looking for answers, and they want to know in this life what is the meaning. They want to know maybe about the future. What is the hope and what is the future for them? Peter says: "But in your hearts set apart Christ the Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). In our society a lot of people are uneducated in the ways of Christian faith. There are not as many people as used to be who believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life; and the only Way, Truth and Life to heaven. So we have to with gentleness and respect and patience deal with those who don’t know.
Our text says, "Hope doesn’t disappoint us." Hopefully, others see that so that they can be reminded of the hope that God gives them and doesn’t disappoint them. We can boast about God’s glory. We rejoice or boast in our sufferings.
II. WE BOAST IN OUR SUFFERINGS
Paul goes on: "We rejoice or boast in our sufferings." Paul knew suffering, and sadly these people were going to know suffering. The Christians at Rome were growing and becoming a big church. It is a good thing, isn’t it? But not if you are the Roman government, because the Christians stood opposed to the false idols and the false gods. The believers stood opposed to the wickedness and sexual immorality of the day. Because of that, it wasn’t long after this that the Christian church faced great persecution. Nero came and burned Christians at the stake, using them at night to light the road. That is suffering. Paul knew they were going to face that. Paul also knew he was going to face suffering and go to jail in Rome. But he continues: "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
Remember, Paul builds all of them up in their Christian faith reminding them that the sure foundation is the fact that Christ lived and died and rose again. The sure foundation is that God the Father had created the heavens and the earth. Their sure foundation of faith was the fact that the Holy Spirit worked faith in their hearts. He says, "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings." I am sure that many there as well as today say, "Not me. I am not going to be happy in my sufferings. Why should I be? Why should I want to suffer?" We would rightly think that if we stopped there. But Paul doesn’t stop there. God doesn’t stop there, does he? Paul says, "We rejoice (boast) in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." He says perseverance = patience, and suffering teaches patience. Patience builds up Christian character. Then he says that there is hope for those who have a Christian character, a believing heart, faith and eternal life.
God through Paul writes to these believers and to us today: "We boast in our sufferings, because perseverance, character and hope." Then he says: "And hope does not disappoint us." He tells us why: "Because God has poured out his love into our hearts." When there are people around us who are struggling in this life and wonder what is next, we are reminded that hope does not disappoint us. We are reminded that God does pour out his love into our hearts. If we study hard and long enough, we come to the same conclusion of the apostle Paul. We boast in our sufferings. Paul very seldom mentioned the fact of the sufferings and persecutions that he faced. In 2 Corinthians he gives us the list: shipwrecked, beaten and left for dead a couple of times, put into prison, lost at sea, and the list goes on. But in the end he rejoices in his sufferings. We in the midst of our sufferings may find that hard.
Again, we have Paul’s example. He had a thorn in his flesh. We don’t know what that was, malaria, bad eyesight or whatever. He prayed that the Lord would take it away, but the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you." God likewise answers us, "My grace is sufficient for you." He says we shouldn’t be so concerned about our aches and pains (even they are hard not to notice that they are there). We should focus on God’s grace and the hope that is our future. Paul concludes as we come to the godly conclusion in suffering: "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). How true that is. In the midst of our weakness and the depths of our suffering, whether it is pain and sorrow, anguish or heartache, sickness or troubles, our strength is the Lord and in the Lord. Our hope does not disappoint us.
There are lots and lots of verses in Scripture that talk about this very thing of rejoicing in suffering. Joyful suffering can be a difficult thing to grasp; like the teaching of the Trinity: There is only one God, but three persons. We believe it because God says so. In the midst of suffering we believe it is for our good, because God says so. All things work together for our good. In James: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4). Perseverance or patience is what we always need especially in our fast-paced society of today. Another good section to read is chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians that says: "Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks always for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
We are to be joyful and pray continually in the midst of suffering and sorrow. Why? God pours his love in our hearts. Why? God’s hope is not disappointing. Why? We are stronger because of it. God does not have plans to harm us but to prosper us and to help us. Job was one who suffered great loss, absolutely and positively everything. He lost buildings, herds, flocks, and family. Job still realized he was kept safe in God’s hands. He says these words in chapter 5: "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal" (Job 5:17,18). We are always in the hands of God, which is the best, and not in the hands of men. It is the best to be in the hands of God and not in our own hands, because God knows what is best. Our Lord God almighty gives us hope, a hope that does not disappoint us.
In this life we often do sell ourselves short. We are caught up in the things of this world. We see with a very shortsighted earthly vision. That sells us short rather than having a farsighted heavenly vision. We can become disappointed in this life often -- because it is full of sin. But when we look ahead with the farsightedness of heaven, hope does not disappoint us. We boast in God’s glory, and we can even boast in our sufferings, because they are meant for our good. Hebrews 3: "But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast" (Hebrews 3:6). Today God says, "Hold on to the courage that God has given you. Hold on to the hope which does not disappoint us." Boast with your lives and with your words in God’s glory. Then you will also boast and rejoice in your sufferings. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
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Pentecost 1 readings: 1 SAMUEL 6:1-8; ROMANS 8:14-11; JOHN 3:1-17
