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NASB | Romans 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 5:4 and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. |
Bible Question: Can someone please explain this scripture a little more? I get the basic meaning but am looking for more understanding. |
Bible Answer: Leonore, this is a fantastic scripture, one of my favorites. For starters, turn to Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." (Mat 16:24) Jesus made Himself a living sacrifice for us, but what sounds here like a rallying cry for us, His followers, is also a warning that following Him requires sacrifice. But what kind of sacrifice? Are we to suffer as we become like him, or in order to become like Him? Does His prescription for our lives involve real physical pain? I’m not sure I like that conclusion. What kind of self-denying sacrifice is Jesus talking about? Listen to this: “By your endurance you will gain your lives.” (Luke21:19). Jesus has just told his disciples they will be persecuted and betrayed severely, to the point of death, but that if they persevere they will be given “utterance and wisdom..” (15) by the Holy Spirit. An example of this promise is Stephen before the council: “And fixing their gaze on him, all…saw his face like the face of an angel.” (Acts 6.15). Stephen persevered and received utterance and wisdom which none of his opponents could “resist or refute” (Luke 21:15). As he suffered, the Holy Sprit was released in power. He died in glory for his faithful endurance. This also squares with Romans 5.5, the verse following your citation: “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” The Holy Spirit has been given to us for those brutal times to enable us to endure suffering and to become like Jesus, who “learned obedience through the things which He suffered.” (Heb 5.8) The obedience of faith seems to require the obedience of suffering. Paul tells us, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom 8:16-17) “…If indeed we suffer with Him…” is a scripture I don’t particularly like, frankly. I want to cut it up into the commonplace suffering of ego-loss, the daily paring of my carnal desires through prayer, that Holy Scalpel God uses to slice and dice me into something worthwhile. But in the face of these verses, I can’t deny that Christ’s redemptive sacrifice must also be the physical fact of my life if I’m to receive the Holy Spirit in power, as He did, and to be glorified with Him. I’m afraid of these verses, but there is also a timid part of me that wishes for my mettle to be tested. Is that natural? I have a friend who endured torture and the horrible murder of his friends in Ghana. At one point his kidnappers put a gun to his head, shot and missed. I asked him how he endured when all they wanted was his renunciation of Jesus. “The Spirit wouldn’t let me,” he said. “All I could think was how great that I was suffering like Jesus.” Really, that’s what he said. OT Israel seems to have been more afraid of suffering than of sin, and it showed in her character. If sin separates us from God, then it must be suffering that unites us to Him through Christ. That’s the good news and the bad news contained in Romans 5.4. I hope this helps. It helped me. Colin |