Would you take your Bible and turn with me, please, to the fifth chapter of the book of Romans. We're looking at the blessings that justification by faith brings to us. Last week in verses 1 and 2, we noted three of the blessings that we enjoy because we are rightly related to God by faith. To be justified simply means to be declared righteous in God's sight. because of our faith in Jesus Christ. It's a legal position that we enjoy. It's not one that we have earned or deserved,
but it's one that we receive as a gift. We receive it when, by faith, we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior. We turn to him alone for the salvation and the keeping of our souls for all of eternity. The first three blessings of justification that we've noted are peace, with God, access to God, and the glory of God. Now beginning in verse 3, we're going to read down through verse 8, and we'll note two more blessings which the Holy Spirit unfolds to us through the Apostle Paul.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope. 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. But while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone We'll dare even
to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now, Father, we pray that the Spirit of God who inspired these words and has preserved them for us inerrantly will now teach us and illuminate our hearts so that we may understand what has been written. and so that it may be applied to our lives practically today. We commit these minutes to you as we wait upon you alone
to be our teacher. In Jesus' name, amen. The first blessing of justification that we see in our text today might be phrased this way, the working of God in our lives. I can hear someone say, oh, that's great, because I want to know God's working in my life. That means miracles and success and prosperity and good health and all those fun things. Well, as a matter of fact, it may mean some of those things, but that is
not what our text says. The Bible says there's one thing we can count on, and that is that when we are justified by faith, God is going to work in our lives. Through troubles and tribulations. That is the working of God. Now do you want the working of God? Well, if you're saved, you've got it anyway. And God is using your troubles and tribulations to accomplish something. It's interesting that three times the apostle says in these first verses of chapter 5, we boast
in something or we exalt. In verse 2, he says, we exalt and we boast in hope of the glory of God. That means the consummation of our faith, our salvation, when Jesus comes again. And we are completely transformed to be like him in the body as well as soul and spirit. In verse 11, he says, we boast in God. But here in our text in verse 3, he says, we exalt. In our tribulations, as well as in the hope of the glory of God. What are tribulations? A word very simply means pressure.
It refers to anything which burdens. It can be the pressure of circumstances, or it may refer to the antagonism of individuals. The apostle himself suffered tribulations. And he testifies of that a number of times in his writings. For example, in Philippians chapter 1, verse 17, he honestly testifies to this. He writes about those who proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, and he says their motive was thinking to cause
me distress in my imprisonment. The apostle knew, as all of us who are believers know, pressures from both individuals who oppose us, as well as from circumstances in life. Warren Worsby has pointed out in his book on Romans, our English word tribulation comes from the Latin word tribulum. In Paul's day, a tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain,
and it separated the wheat from the chaff. And so it's that kind of a rake that is in mind here as we think of tribulations. This same word is used elsewhere by the Apostle Paul in referring to the future punishment or retribution of the wicked. It was used that way back in chapter 2, verse 9, if you want to look at it with me. It says, There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil. of the Jew
first and also of the Greek. So he says there's a day coming for those who are evil when there will be tribulation and distress. And he has in view there that future punishment of the wicked. He uses the same word in the same way in 2 Thessalonians 1 .6 when he says God is a just God and he is going to send tribulation to those who are troubling you. Referring to their future. eternal distress and pressure when they are separated from God
for all of eternity in hell. He uses this term also to express the want or the need that he had in his ministry. He writes to the Philippians to thank them for supplying in this time of distress or tribulation in his life, Philippians 4 .14. The same word is used elsewhere by the Apostle John, for example, to refer to that time to come at the end of this age, which is referred to as the Tribulation. Those last seven years on the clock of Israel, which are waiting to be
ticked off. That period of time known as Jacob's Trouble, the Tribulation. The last half of that is referred to in Revelation 7 .14 as the great or the intense tribulation. Same word as the apostle uses here. That does not mean that you and I are going through the tribulation now, but we are going through tribulation in the general sense. And Jesus told us that this would happen. He said, in the world you shall have what? Tribulation. pressures, distress, troubles, trials, John 16
.33. Again, in 1 Thessalonians 3, in fact, it would be good for us to turn there to see the Apostle's words. He reminds us that we are appointed to these things. Now, how much rather we would be appointed to pleasant things. to joys, and we do have appointment to those things. But we're reminded here in 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 3, that we have appointment to afflictions as well. He says, I'm writing so that no man may be disturbed by these afflictions, for you yourselves know
that we have been destined for this. For indeed, when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance, that we were going to suffer affliction, and so it came to pass as you know. Verse 7, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and afflictions, we were comforted about you through your faith. So the apostle says, we've been going through it, folks, and I know you've been going through it there. Just keep in mind that we are appointed to tribulation. Now let's
be honest about it. Sometimes you and I bring troubles on ourselves. We do that through our own disobedience or foolishness. The Christian who goes down the road speeding at 75 miles an hour and he gets pulled over and fined 50 bucks for doing that can't say, well, I'm rejoicing in the tribulations. God is sending my way. You see, that tribulation, that trouble was the making of his own disobedience. And we can't blame anyone for those kinds of tribulations but ourselves.
But you know the blessed thing? God even uses those to bring about good in our lives. God is so great that he can take our stupid mistakes and work them out for good. That's the promise in Romans 8 .28 in part. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. God takes the foolish, disobedient things that we do, that we may suffer trouble for them. He will bring them out for good, and he'll teach
us something by them. You get a ticket for 50 bucks, I'll bet you God's teaching you something. Forbade a speed limit, if nothing else. Tribulations, keep in mind, cannot separate us from the love of God. Over in Romans 8 .35, he says, What shall separate us from the love of Christ? He says, shall tribulations or distress, and it goes on. Then he says, in all of these things we are over
-conquerors through him that loved us. There are some people who have the idea that when troubles come, it's a red flag in the king, God is angry with me. And we go into depression or we feel guilty saying, why has God mad at me? Why am I going through this pressure? No. Tribulations are not evidence that God is angry with us. Nothing
can separate us from the love of Christ. When you and I are going through a tough time, God is just as real and just as concerned and just as loving toward us as he is when we're going through the mountaintop experience. We are overcomers. Or actually he says over -conquerors through him that loved us. How can we be over -conquerors in our troubles? I think the answer to that is that we become over -conquerors in our troubles by focusing on God's purpose in our troubles.
To realize that he in fact is working in us as our text. says that he is. It says tribulation works or brings about certain things. That phrase or that verb brings about means to work out or to achieve or to effect something. It's talking about maturing or developing or even purifying that tribulum that those ancient Romans used in their threshing process purified the crop. It separated the chaff from the wheat. And you see, sometimes tribulation does that to us. It
purifies us. It gets the chaff out of our lives. It serves to mature and to develop us. You and I can be over -conquers in our troubles and our trials when we realize what God's ultimate end is. His ultimate end is that you and I may realize our hope of being like the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that God uses our tribulations to cause us to focus on the world to come, on what our real hope is, so that we don't tend to focus upon the things of this world. But we do that
naturally, don't we? It's easier for us to set our affection on things below, not on things above, because we see these things below. They're very real to us, and so we set our goals and our hopes and our visions in this world. You see, through our tribulations and our sufferings, our troubles here, God causes us to refocus our faith so that our faith and our vision is focused upon the world, the things which are to come. Now there's a certain process involved. He explains
what that is. He says, tribulation, pressures that is, bring about perseverance or patience. The word here means to abide under. When I think of this word, I think of an ox. Or perhaps a donkey. A beast of burden of some kind that carries on its back a load. That beast is equipped to do that. God has developed that beast. So it is a beast of burden. It is able to bear up under the load that is on it. You see, God uses our tribulations to make us stronger so that we can
bear up. Abide under our troubles. That is the patience that is in view. It refers to a brave perseverance in attitude and in works. And it goes on to say that this patience or this perseverance affects proven character or experience, as it is in the King James, or a provenness. In other words, as we go through our troubles and as we learn patience and perseverance, it develops in us a proved character. It gives evidence to
the fact that we pass the test. The mark of genuineness is about us as children of God as trouble brings about its work in our lives. And then he says that this proven character brings about hope. That the approveness of our character, the passing of the test, is ground for our hope. And he says nothing can rob us of our hope. He says that our hope will not disappoint us. He says in verse 5, hope does not disappoint. In other words, all the trouble we're going through is simply
developing patience in us. And that patience is causing us to pass the test. We are approved by God. It enables us to focus on the hope. And that hope that is coming, he says, will not disappoint us. It will be brought to pass. It will be realized in its glorious fullness. We go through some trials that seem small and some that seem big. I want us as a church to remember the family of Pastor Ron Bolt over at Calvary Baptist down
the road from us. Their son Jeff was prepared to go to college this last week, just a young man, I suppose 18 years of age, and had some symptoms of some problems. They took him into the hospital. And as a result of the test that he was given, they have discovered multiple tumors of the brain and a tumor on the lung as well. Can you imagine the pressure that that brings to a young man expecting to go to college this
last Friday and instead in the hospital? And the outlook, initially at least, very, very grim for his life. What kind of pressure would that bring to a mother and father? Tribulation, pressures in this life, produce in us perseverance. That perseverance causes us to pass God's test so that we are approved, we are experienced. And as we go through that, then our focus is on the hope more and more. and less and less on this life. I think the Apostle Paul himself testifies
to this process in 2 Timothy. Would you turn back there with me? In 2 Timothy chapter 4, keep in mind that the Apostle Paul is in prison. He was imprisoned once before under house arrest, essentially, chained under guard, but had freedoms. Apparently, he was then released for a period of time, two, maybe three years, and then was thrown back into prison, but this time in the dungeon prison, the Mamertine prison, which was
a hole in the ground, literally. There was a small opening to this prison, and people were dropped. into a pit in which they were kept until the time of their trial or their execution. It is that place that the Apostle Paul was as he wrote the book of 2 Timothy. It is the last inspired letter that he penned. In this letter we see Paul looking over his life and looking to the
future. In the fourth chapter, amidst some very personal remarks, he says in verse 16, At my first defense, that is at his trial, no one supported me, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished. and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the lion's mouth. Did he mean that literally? Possibly, but probably metaphorically, the lion
being the mouth of the woman government. And he says in verse 18, The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. to him be the glory forever and ever. Does that sound like a man who has been sentenced to death? A man who says a few verses before, I'm just about to finish my course? Does this sound like a man who, according to tradition, was about to face the sword of
the executioner to be beheaded? But here's a man who's gone through life walking with God. He has been through tribulation, and here at the end of his life, after leading countless thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ, after nurturing and discipling who knows how many personally, when it comes to his trial, when his life is on the line, everybody leaves him. And he was left alone, humanly speaking, to stand before the judge to defend himself.
Not one disciple, not one convert dared to come with Paul into the court. That was pressure, don't you think? Do you suppose there may have been the temptation to say, well, God, here I have served you all my life, and this is the way it's going to end? I have poured out my life in service as a sacrifice upon an altar for these people, and they're not here. I'm alone. I am sure Paul went through tribulation and pressure
on that occasion. But you see, that pressure worked additional perseverance in him, patience. He says, but I don't want this to be held against them. He says, my testimony is that nonetheless, though no man stood with me, the Lord stood with me, and he strengthened me so that I was able to abide under the load. And what else did that do? Well, it caused him to have an approved character. Instead of being bitter and resentful, he was forgiving of those who failed him in this test.
I thought that the result of all of this process, it was the fact that he was focusing his eyes on what was to come. He says, the Lord's going to deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Tribulation worked patience, and patience approved character, and that approved character hope, and Paul knew that that hope was not going to disappoint him. Let me apply this in a couple of ways that I
think are kind of practical to our lives. In the first place, you and I need to believe every minute that God is at work in our lives. Now that's easy to do when we're up on the mountaintop or we're sitting in the service and we sense God feeding us or convicting us. We know God is working, but God is equally working in your life, friend, when you're going through tribulation. God is at work all the time in you. Not just
the good times, the bad times as well. Believe that God is at work this minute in your life because he is. I don't know what the pressure is in your life right now. Maybe it's the lack of money for college or perhaps it is a problem in your marriage. Maybe it's something with your children or At work, you're going through a tough time. Perhaps it's a matter of a job. You're
looking to provide for your family. Whatever that pressure is in your life, whether it be circumstances or people, just believe that God is working through it because he is. He has not forsaken you. He is with you. He is maturing you. He is sending you through a process, the ultimate end of which is to keep your eyes focused on the hope that is going to be brought to pass
when Jesus comes. Second application, specifically for those who are parents or for those who work with others in discipling, and I hope that's most of us. Immolate God in helping others to mature. Imitate what God is doing in your life in helping your disciples to mature, in helping your children to mature. How do you do that? A couple of suggestions. First, don't overprotect
them from troubles. There are some people who have what they think is a real heart of love, and out of that love for those they are seeking to bring up, they overprotect them. They hate to see those people that they love under pressure, and so they try to intervene in some way. Don't do that. God loves you too, but he allows you to pass through the troubles because he knows that's what it takes to mature us. We need to learn that for our children or for those that
we're trying to disciple in the faith. Let them pass through the troubles. Stand with them as the Lord stood with Paul. Let them know that you love them, but let them face the pressures of it so that they will mature and develop. The emperor moth hides away in a cocoon that is flask -shaped. It has a very narrow opening out of
which that moth must come. Through the hours and hours of struggle and pressure, the juices in that insect are forced out into the wings so that when that moth emerges, it is able to fly. There was a man one time who was watching this process and out of what he thought was compassion, for the moth. He took a pair of very sharp snippers and he snipped the opening to that cocoon so that the moth would not have to struggle so hard
to get out. But the tragic result was that the moth quickly died because that pressure did not become great enough. so that his wings were developed and he was able to fly. Instead of flying through the air like a rainbow, he was condemned to crawl through his brief existence. The application is obvious, isn't it? There are times that you and I try to reduce the pressures. But in so doing, we are short -circuiting God's full purpose in that time of tribulation. A second suggestion.
As you are working with people who are going through trials, help them to keep their focus on the long view of things. That helps. I suppose, that that moth is encouraged by the fact that up ahead of him he sees a little bit of daylight. And perhaps it is that which keeps him struggling so that he finally emerges from that cocoon. As you and I are going through trials, it helps if we keep our focus on the long -range view of things instead of focusing on the immediate
circumstances. If we can do that, it will strengthen us in the time of trial. As you work with your children, that's good for them. As they're going through the pressure perhaps of learning to have new friends after a move or starting school, which is a frightening experience, especially for parents. As they go through those kinds of pressures and expansions in life, and they come crying, or complaining because of the circumstances, the troubles, which are very, very real, and
we should take them that way. With our comfort and our love, we need to help them to keep their focus on the long -term results. Honey, it's tough right now, but you know that's going to help you grow up so that you can get along better with people and appreciate different kinds of people. Find out what that long -range purpose would be in the trial and help them to focus on it. And that way we'll be emulating what God does as he helps us mature through our trials.
Part of growing up is learning through experience the kind of character and actions which God approves. That's what trials do for us. There's a terrific parallel passage to all of this over in James. Would you turn there with me? James chapter 1. Let's see, James is still after Hebrews, isn't it? Yes, here it is. James chapter 1, verse 2. We have another writer with a different perspective. But he says essentially the same things about
trials. He says in verse 2, Consider it all joy, my brethren, When you encounter various trials, this is a different word than tribulations, but the end result is the same. They say, why count it joy? Because in verse 3 we know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And there is the same word as Romans 5. Patience. And let endurance have its perfect result. that you may be perfect or mature and complete, equipped,
lacking nothing. In other words, he says, let these trials produce the perfect result in your life. How do you do that? How do you know how to respond to a trial so that the full purpose of it is accomplished? There's only one way. That's knowing the wisdom of God. What is the wisdom of God? Well, he says in verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach,
and it will be given him. Let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed. by the wind. Let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double -minded man and stable in all of his ways. What is he saying here? Well, he is saying simply that as you and I pass through the trials of life, we are to enjoy them. Not endure them. He says enjoy them. Count them joy. Count your
trials a privilege. Because it is part of the blessing that comes with your justification. It means that God is working in you. He is teaching you patience. He wants to bring about a developed, equipped believer who is focusing on the hope to come and who is able to help others along through the process of life. That's God's purpose. He says if you don't know how to respond to your trials, then ask God for wisdom and he will show you how to respond so that God's purpose will
be accomplished. That's a great promise, isn't it? That's a great purpose. I thank God for James' insight into this. My friend, God is working in your life so that every grace, of Jesus Christ may be in you and brought to maturity. We're close to Hebrews 12, so turn back a page or two and look at verses 10 and 11. These verses are about discipline. He compares the discipline of God to that of our earthly fathers. We earthly parents can learn a lot by reading these verses.
But he says in verse 10, For they, our parents, our fathers, for they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. But he, God, disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness. You see, God is perfecting us. God is maturing. He is purifying us. Verse 11, all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, there's the process, patience, approvedness. For those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields
the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Can you believe this morning that God is working through your troubles? Will you believe it? Will you count on that as a fact? Remember this basic principle, that power is produced through pressures. Consider the steam locomotive. As the pressure builds up in that boiler, power is produced so the train can move. The same is true of the hydroelectric
dam. The pressure of millions of tons of water come against that dam and all that pressure is channeled through a few turbines resulting in electricity power. Dear friend, all of that... that God is bringing into your life. Maybe it's the pressure of going through some stretching right now as you take on some new responsibilities. Maybe it is the pressure of affliction or the pressure of physical uncertainty because of an
illness. Whatever that pressure is, remember the more intense it becomes, the more powerful you potentially become in God's service. That's why we need to rejoice, rejoice in our troubles. Oh, we would much rather have a lot of power without going through troubles, but such is not the case. Pressure produces results. The result is power. The brook would lose its song if the rocks removed from it. So thank God for the rocks that you're brushing up against this morning
as you go down the stream of life. And listen to the music of it because what it is saying is you are a child of God because you've trusted his son. And these troubles, these tribulations that you're brushing and bumping against are simply proof that you're his child. God is working in you. Rejoice. Is your attitude today one of resistance or rebellion, griping and complaining at God because of what he's allowed to come and
stop it? Realize that is a sinful response. And thank God for the blessing of justification, which is God working in you through your tribulations. Let's pray. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, and as the Spirit of God brings to the point His working in our hearts this morning, I wonder how many Christians there are here who by an uplifted hand would say, Pastor, I am going through troubles. I am facing tribulations. Perhaps these are such severe tribulations that you never
thought you would have to go through them. Maybe it's more pressure than you've ever faced in all of your life. Dear child of God, will you understand that God is working through them? Will you believe that? Will you allow him to produce power in your life? You say you're weak? Well, it's in weakness that his strength is made perfect. By an uplifted hand, will you say, Pastor, I'm going through those troubles, and by the grace of God, my uplifted hand means that I am
trusting the Lord? to accomplish his purpose in my life. This uplifted hand means that I am believing him to be working in my life this minute. I am thanking him. I purpose, I determine to enjoy my trials so that God can equip me and perfect me and mature me. I see a number of hands. Will you join them? Yes. It's a great testimony. Thank God for that. Perhaps as a Christian here, I would say quite honestly, you know, I'm going through it too, but I am not at the point yet
where I can say, thank you, Father. There is in me anger and bitterness at God. I'm not proud of it. I don't like it, but it's there. And I'm not yet ready to deal with that, but I want prayer. Would you, by uplifted hands, say, Pastor, pray for me? I'm not ready to deal with it yet, but I sense the Spirit of God is working, and I need prayer today. Will you lift your hand honestly? I'm not going to point you out or embarrass you, but I would like to know for whom I'm praying.
Could I pray with you? It may be that you're not a child of God at all. Dear friend, the tribulations and troubles you're going through may well be the working of God to try to get you to focus on your soul's needs. The greatest need that any of us has in this world is to be justified in the sight of God, to be right with God. The only way we can be right with God is through faith in his Son. Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today? Will you trust him alone
for your salvation, Father? Lord, I pray that you will bring to fruition your working in our lives. For those who need to be saved, may they trust the Savior today. For the children of God who are desiring to step out by faith and to conquer, to be an over -conqueror in this time of tribulation, The child of God who is determined today to rejoice in the tribulation, give strength
and victory, we pray. For those children of yours who are struggling and inside are unwilling to yield to your lordship, oh, I pray that today they will nonetheless give over all that they are to you. Work in our lives and bring us to those decisions we need to make. that we may walk obediently and faithfully in Jesus' name. Amen. I'd like for us to close by singing number
326. And if today there is a spiritual decision that you would like to make public, perhaps a decision for membership or baptism, perhaps you want to come today to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and openly confess that before men. Maybe as a child of God you want to come and say, I've been out of God's will and today I'm repenting of where I've been and I'm turning to the Lord and I want to confess it and let God's people know that I'm in business with the
Lord. I'm going to walk with Him. The Spirit of God is urging you within and we know when He is that we urge you and invite you to come as we sing this great hymn, 327. Children of the Heavenly Father, safely in his bosom gather. A great hymn of comfort. Let's stand and sing it as we close.