Glorifying God in Our Faith and Tribulations
What things do you glory in? That's not a widely used expression today. To glory in something means to feel great pleasure or joy because of something. Maybe you glory in your favorite team winning the Super Bowl or winning an exceptionally difficult video game match.
In Romans 5:1-5, Paul explains what he glories in. He tells us our faith has justified us before God and because of this we have peace with God. No longer are we at war with our Savior, no longer are we His enemy. Because of our faith in Jesus we have gained access to grace and "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
Paul adds that we also glory in tribulations. What an odd thing to say. What Paul means is that we don't find pleasure in enduring bad things for the sake of those things, but when we endure trials and tribulations because of Christ, for His sake, that is when we can glory in them. Tribulation endured often helps transform people.
He explains that this is so because these tribulations, these hard times, produce the fruit of perseverance or endurance. To persevere means to continue on in the same course of action even in the face of great difficulty. In Hebrews 10:36, we are told that we have a need for endurance, "so that after we have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." We learn to totally trust in Jesus and desire His will. We learn to run our race with endurance. By persevering we produce character.
Character is the trait that should distinguish us as Christians. Do we choose good over evil? Do we love as Christ did? And finally, he says, these traits produce a hope that does not disappoint. A hope that says we will live with Christ forever. He says this is true because the Holy Spirit has filled our hearts with the love of God. Now we can glorify God because we have changed from enemies to His beloved.
Glorifying God: From Enemies to Beloved Children
The Christian life is full of contrasts from our life before: hope v no hope, love v hatred, peace v fear and anxiety, justification v judgment, friends with God v adversaries of God. Does the world seem unjust to you? Without faith and belief we can't understand the world we live in. The world of fear and anxiety, judgment and hate simply has no hope.
That world can't understand what evil really is and how God is a God of transformation, a God who brings hope out of darkness, a God who becomes my beloved friend and not my enemy. To look in the mirror and admit, this unjust world is because of my sin, is hard.
Our faith has brought us to this wonderful place where we have peace with God, we have been justified, received grace, and we can rejoice. As Billy Graham once said:
“Faith literally means ‘to give up, surrender, or commit.’ Faith is complete confidence.”
And in whom does our confidence lie? To whom do we surrender? Jesus Christ!
Before Faith: Our Fallen State
But what about before? Before we had all this, before we had faith and peace with God what did we have? In Romans 8:7-9, Paul explains what we were like.
He explains that the carnal mind is enmity against God. Enmity is the opposite of peace. It is a hatred, an antagonism, of things pertaining to God. To be carnal is to be concerned with things of the flesh, sinful actions or desires. When we were like this it was impossible to please God.
James 4:4 agrees with this. Here James tells us, "...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." This is what we were like, enemies of God and instead, friends of the world.
We don't often think of non-Christians as enemies of God. Before we became a Christian, it is unlikely that you ever thought of yourself as an enemy of God. Colossians 1:21 says that our evil behavior caused us to be enemies in our minds. Proverbs 15:26 tells us that God hates the thoughts of the wicked. Paul explains in Romans 12:2 that it is God that must renew our minds so we can think thoughts that are good. We may have talked like we weren't an enemy but our actions said something different.
It is only through Christ that we can be reconciled to God. In other words, our faith in Jesus restores our broken relationship with God. We glorify God when we are renewed and transformed from enemies to beloved children.
We Must Be Renewed
Our faith caused us to go from being an adversary of God to being His child and a friend. Before this we had no great joy, no "glory in hope." Instead of glorying in tribulation, rejoicing in suffering for Christ, we may have been the one causing Christians to endure hardship. As a beloved child, however, we now have a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). Our job is to show the world the love and the hope that God has placed in our hearts. The world should be able to see the transformation God has done in us.
How to Treat the Enemies of God
How should we treat the enemies of God? Jesus is our role model. When Jesus suffered at the hands of his enemies He did not strike back. He did not curse them or even complain. He trusted the One who would judge them justly for their sins. 2 Timothy 4:1 says that Jesus Himself will judge the living and the dead when He returns. Psalm 92:9 tells us the fate of God's enemies. They will perish and all evil doers will be scattered.
Grace Through Unmerited Mercy
Yet grace is offered to the world in spite of our evil hearts. In the song, Marvelous Grace of our Loving Lord by Julia Johnston (1910), the refrain goes like this:
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
No matter how evil our hearts were or are, God offers His grace. Grace is undeserved mercy. None of us can say that we were saved because we deserved to be. Just as a murderer waiting for execution receives a stay of execution at the very last moment—not because he was worthy, but because someone offered him undeserved mercy—we too have been given grace greater than all our sin. As her song continues, she says this grace is "freely bestowed on all who believe." We glorify God for this grace we have received.
The Call to Faith and Commitment
Do you believe? Do you have faith? Hebrews 11:1 tells us that "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen." Do you long to have the character of a true loving Christian and the hope that only comes from belief in Jesus Christ? If so, ask Him, seek Him. He offers boundless grace that pardons even those who hate Him. Then, you too, can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
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