And Hope Does Not Put Us To Shame
“1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame…” (Romans 5:1-5a)
These verses claim that Christians have something invaluable: hope. Not a run of the mill kind of hope. Not the kind of hope you can get from a lottery ticket or a “We’ll see…” from a superior. This is hope that “does not put us to shame.” In other words, Christians do not have misplaced hope; our hope is assured.
What is that hope? According to verses 1-2, our hope is that through faith in Jesus we are made righteous, we have peace with God, and we have access to God’s immeasurable grace. Paul says nothing can put this hope to shame, not even sufferings. Surprisingly, God actually uses these sufferings to build our hope: “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope.”
And this hope, rooted in the promise of God and built up by sufferings, is sure. No one who trusts in Jesus, loves him, and endures until the end will be put to shame. In the last day, they will receive all of these promises in full and they will be with Jesus and rejoice.
Paul doesn’t say, “Trust me on this.” He gives us two assurances for hope. The first assurance is the subjective experience of God’s love: “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (5:5).
Biblical Christianity is supernatural Christianity. It is the experience of God’s love supernaturally poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Paul once hated Jesus, then God supernaturally poured his love into Paul’s heart and it transformed him. Now he loves Jesus and worships him and is ready to give his life for him. That’s a real proof, and it testifies to the supernatural power of God’s love poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Do you feel God’s love for you? Do you feel love for God? Do you feel a decreasing love for sin and an ever-increasing love for God’s commands and glory and mission in the world? That’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
In 5:6-8, Paul drills down deeper to the objective assurance of God's love, “6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus died for the ungodly. He did not die because we were deserving of his love. In verse 10 Paul calls us God’s “enemies.” Sin is our active fighting against God. It is our rebellion against and refutation of his governance and glory and goodness.
And this is precisely how God objectively shows his love, the kind of love that does not allow our hope to be put to shame: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If Jesus died for me because I was at one time worthy of his love, then that means my hope is based on my ability to maintain worthiness. There’s no hope there. I know myself. I could not maintain worthiness for one minute, let alone a lifetime. What a despairing thought.
Paul’s hopeful logic is this: If Jesus died for me while I was still a sinner, then my hope will not be put to shame because it is based on God’s love, not my worthiness. Jesus’ death is the objective assurance that God delights in showing steadfast love to sinners who believe in him.
His resurrected life is also an objective assurance of God’s love for us. In 5:9-11 Paul says, “9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Jesus lives as our Priest and Intercessor, keeping us and strengthening us until the day he raises us to be with him forever (John 6:39).
Armed with the subjective and objective assurances of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, keep believing, keep worshiping, keep obeying, and keep rejoicing: for this hope will not put us to shame.
These verses claim that Christians have something invaluable: hope. Not a run of the mill kind of hope. Not the kind of hope you can get from a lottery ticket or a “We’ll see…” from a superior. This is hope that “does not put us to shame.” In other words, Christians do not have misplaced hope; our hope is assured.
What is that hope? According to verses 1-2, our hope is that through faith in Jesus we are made righteous, we have peace with God, and we have access to God’s immeasurable grace. Paul says nothing can put this hope to shame, not even sufferings. Surprisingly, God actually uses these sufferings to build our hope: “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope.”
And this hope, rooted in the promise of God and built up by sufferings, is sure. No one who trusts in Jesus, loves him, and endures until the end will be put to shame. In the last day, they will receive all of these promises in full and they will be with Jesus and rejoice.
Paul doesn’t say, “Trust me on this.” He gives us two assurances for hope. The first assurance is the subjective experience of God’s love: “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (5:5).
Biblical Christianity is supernatural Christianity. It is the experience of God’s love supernaturally poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Paul once hated Jesus, then God supernaturally poured his love into Paul’s heart and it transformed him. Now he loves Jesus and worships him and is ready to give his life for him. That’s a real proof, and it testifies to the supernatural power of God’s love poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Do you feel God’s love for you? Do you feel love for God? Do you feel a decreasing love for sin and an ever-increasing love for God’s commands and glory and mission in the world? That’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
In 5:6-8, Paul drills down deeper to the objective assurance of God's love, “6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus died for the ungodly. He did not die because we were deserving of his love. In verse 10 Paul calls us God’s “enemies.” Sin is our active fighting against God. It is our rebellion against and refutation of his governance and glory and goodness.
And this is precisely how God objectively shows his love, the kind of love that does not allow our hope to be put to shame: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If Jesus died for me because I was at one time worthy of his love, then that means my hope is based on my ability to maintain worthiness. There’s no hope there. I know myself. I could not maintain worthiness for one minute, let alone a lifetime. What a despairing thought.
Paul’s hopeful logic is this: If Jesus died for me while I was still a sinner, then my hope will not be put to shame because it is based on God’s love, not my worthiness. Jesus’ death is the objective assurance that God delights in showing steadfast love to sinners who believe in him.
His resurrected life is also an objective assurance of God’s love for us. In 5:9-11 Paul says, “9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Jesus lives as our Priest and Intercessor, keeping us and strengthening us until the day he raises us to be with him forever (John 6:39).
Armed with the subjective and objective assurances of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, keep believing, keep worshiping, keep obeying, and keep rejoicing: for this hope will not put us to shame.
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