Can Suffering be Any Good? (Romans 5:3-5)

Paul has reminded his readers that when they believed in Jesus they were accepted by God into his presence as justified. This acceptance was the commencement of a life-long experience of God that could be known even though there was intense opposition. Paul deals with some aspects of that experience in these three verses from Romans 5.

One common objection that people have to the Christian faith is the existence of suffering. Of course, suffering covers a wide range of experiences, although mainly the Bible refers to physical suffering when mentioning the topic. Suffering is a difficult topic to speak about because it involves what we can call the three Ds – distress, dread and dilemma. There is distress because suffering involves emotional upset and sometimes shattered hopes; there is dread because we find ourselves in the grip of something we cannot control, or it may bring about a permanent disability or even our demise; and there is the dilemma of why does suffering happen.

Does the Bible have anything to say about suffering? It does, and it speaks about it in different ways from other attempts to assess it. First, it tells us about the origin of suffering, which it connects to the presence of sin at the beginning of time, and says that it extends to the whole of creation. Second, it describes a God who experienced human suffering in Jesus. Third, it promises a future in which suffering is unknown in the new heavens and new earth. Fourth, it indicates that God speaks to us in our own suffering and in the suffering of others – C. S. Lewis said somewhere that God whispers to us in our pleasures and shouts at us in our pain. Fifth, it tells us that we can pray to God to heal or to mitigate sufferings. Sixth, it commands us to help those who are suffering. Seventh, it says that sometimes suffering can be a form of divine judgement on a society, for example a war or a plague.

The Bible also speaks about suffering in the lives of Christians. One of the frequent examples of Christian suffering is that connected to persecution and there are many verses that could be cited. Another aspect of suffering mentioned in the Bible is its connection to personal sanctification. Perhaps the best known example of this is Paul and the thorn in the flesh that was given to him so that he would be kept from becoming proud of his spiritual experiences. Of course, Paul had much more sufferings connected to his role as an apostle. Some were caused by persecution, some were caused by physical weaknesses (bad eyesight), and some were the outcome of arduous service for Christ.

A further aspect of such suffering is Paul’s comment in Philippians 3:10 that it can be a means of fellowship with Jesus. It is debated what Paul means in that comment about but it points to some kind of shared participation by Jesus with his people. Paul himself had been told by Jesus on the Damascus road that he was persecuting Jesus at that time even although he had not seen Jesus. The words of Christ are very clear in saying that Jesus was involved in what was happening to his people. In what ways would he be involved? In asking this question we have to remember that Jesus is involved in our lives by the Holy Spirit, who is the link between him in heaven and his people on earth. Through the Spirit, Jesus sympathises (feels), succours (strengthens) and stimulates (encourages) his suffering people. The Spirit enables his people to benefit from what Jesus conveys to them.

There is a real pathos here in Paul’s reference to the suffering of his readers. Within a few years, the Christians in Rome were blamed by Nero for the fire that destroyed the city and which he had begun himself in his madness. Their punishment was that they were covered in tar, attached to poles, and set on fire. Maybe the next time we read the names mentioned in Romans 16 we will stop and ask were some of them the victims of Nero.

Surprises in Suffering

We may be surprised by what Paul says is the response of his readers to their sufferings. Note he includes himself in the mutual rejoicing. In fact, all that he mentions in verses 3-5 is mutual, and since it is mutual it means that he is describing the normal Christian life. But their rejoicing, which we will come back to later, is not the only surprising aspect. Here are some more.

First, Paul’s words give the impression that suffering for Jesus is normal. Later on, towards the end of his life, he wrote to Timothy and said that all who desire to live godly lives will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:18). That is a very challenging verse because we at the moment face little physical opposition. It is a very comforting verse in many parts of the world today for God’s suffering church.

Second, Paul’s words indicate that suffering contributes to the process of sanctification. There is a story told of an old Highland worthy who was concerned about his patience. So he went and spoke to a friend and asked him to pray that God would work in his life and produce patience. He was rather perturbed when his friend began to pray that God would send suffering to him. Immediately he asked the petitioner why he was asking for such requests. His friend referred him to this verse as it is translated in the Authorised Version and says that tribulation worketh patience. Leaving aside the issue of translation, we can see that sufferings contribute to the process of sanctification.

It is obvious that the grace of endurance only exists in situations of difficulty. I have never heard of someone who, in normal circumstances, had to endure a pleasant situation. How can I know that I will be loyal to Jesus? The answer is that I will confess him in times of opposition. How can I know that I will be loyal to Jesus frequently? The answer is that I face frequent situations in which there would be a temptation to say nothing about my faith in him. But as we move on through those times of difficulty we discover that he has given to us the grace of endurance.

But endurance also has effects, and the outcome of endurance is character. I suppose the essential feature of character is authenticity, which is the opposite of shallow. To have character in a Christian sense, there must be consistency that is the outflow of consecration. And we can see how consistency and consecration are connected to perseverance in times of trouble.    

The next outcome that Paul mentions is hope. As we know, in the New Testament, hope is concerned with the future. It is the expectancy that believers have that they will yet experience what God has promised. This is a reminder that in sanctification we are being taught to look ahead to the fulfillment of God’s great and precious promises.    

Third, Paul indicates that times of suffering are occasions when we can experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit as he gives to us joy from heaven. Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit, so the rejoicing of the Romans was his work in their hearts. Paul is not the only New Testament writer who stresses that great joy can be experienced while going through intense opposition. Peter reminds us, ‘In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls’ (1 Peter 1:6-9).

The question arises, why were they joyful? They were joyful because they were being sanctified in the present and they were anticipating glory in the future. Holiness was their priority as far as life in this world was concerned. And as they looked ahead, they focused on what Jesus had promised in the Beatitudes when he said, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you’ (Matt. 5:10-12).

Strength in suffering (v. 5)

I did not know whether to call this section ‘strength in suffering’ or ‘solace in suffering. Paul mentions here the fact that their persecutions did not put them to shame because of the living hope that was strong within them. Why does he mention shame? This is only a suggestion but I think he is making a contrast between those who suffer for Jesus and those who suffer for wrongdoing. From the point of view of the authorities, both groups were being punished. We are not surprised that wrongdoers would be ashamed because they would have realised that they deserved the penalty they had received.

With God’s people, it was different. Instead of feeling shame they were experiencing something very profound within them. They were enjoying a rich sense of the love of God in their souls. The apostle uses a beautiful picture in describing how they were given this experience. When they were converted, they were given the Holy Spirit as a sign that they belonged to God. What did the Holy Spirit do when he came? He began to pour into their inner lives the sweet awareness of divine love. Paul uses a perfect tense (has poured out), which indicates an event in the past that had or has ongoing consequences. The event was our conversion and the consequences are ongoing experiences of divine love.

There are three deductions that we can make from this statement by Paul. First, hostilities of the world cannot in themselves prevent believers having a strong sense of the love of God. Second, God himself does not want his people to be without this strong sense of the love of God. Third, when a believer loses this sense of the love of God, he should ask himself or herself why this has happened?

With regard to the individuals Paul is speaking about here primarily, they would lose a sense of the love of God if they ceased to continue in the path of sanctification. If they ceased to endure, they would grieve the Spirit and would then lose that awareness that God loved them. Similarly, if we engage in any sinful activity we will lose this sense of the love of God and as long as we persist in it the Spirit will refrain from giving us this empowering and sweet sense that God loves us. It does not have to be what some term a big sin. Sins such as failing to love another Christian or doing activities that are dubious will grieve the Spirit if we do not repent of them.

As Christians, a very important question to ask ourselves is, ‘Do we have this awareness in our hearts that God loves us?’ If we don’t, are we content to live without it, perhaps using silly reasoning to persuade ourselves that we don’t need to have it? The wise thing to do if we have lost this sense of divine love is to repent and the wise thing to do if we have this sense of divine love is to treasure it.

Justification is God bringing his forgiven people into a status of permanent security. From it flows precious blessings that can be experienced in this life even if we suffer for the faith. We can discover a dedication we did not think we could have, we can develop a character we did not think was possible, and we can possess a hope that transforms us in the midst of trials. In it all, we can know the rich ongoing sense of God’s love through the work of the indwelling Spirit. All this and more is connected to the wonder of justification.