Articles
Faith Triumphs In Trouble
Faith Triumphs In Trouble
Scriptural Text: Romans 5:1-5
Peace Is The Product Of Faith (Romans 5:1) - We are justified by faith. Justified means to be proven just or right. So, we are proven righteous by our faith. So, what is faith? Listen to your Bible! In Romans 4:16-17, the Bible reads, “Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things that be not as though they were.” God calls those things that are not as though they were. If we do the same, then this pleases God, which is called faith. So, we are proven righteous by calling those things that are not as though they were. Now if we remain justified by faith, then we have peace with God. Look at yourselves versus others who do not have faith in God during a time of crisis. Those with faith in God have peace. I’m not saying that Christians don’t have problems. We have problems! But our faith in God gives us peace during and through the storm.
Grace Is Accessed By Faith (Romans 5:2) - This verse is simply telling us it is because of Jesus we have “access.” Access means the right to enter. We have the right and the privilege to enter by faith into this grace. What grace? God’s grace. Grace is God’s unmerited favor. We don’t deserve it; we didn’t earn it, but He gives it to us anyhow. Since Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we have the right to enter, as a result of our faith in God, into God’s favor wherein we stand. Every individual who has obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ has displayed faith. As a result of our faith, we are standing in grace. This is just the first product of our faith. Grace is a good thing because we are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), but the second product produced as a result of our faith in God is we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. What does it mean to rejoice? Rejoice means to be exceedingly happy. We can be exceedingly happy in the hope of the glory of God. What is hope? Hope is feeling what is wanted will happen; it is an expectation. Since we have faith, we are happy due to the fact we expect something. What do we expect? What do we hope for? We look forward to the glory of God. We anticipate God’s glory. Our faith causes us to rejoice in God’s great splendor and beauty. Now, we have not seen God. We can’t begin to fathom the thought as to how awesome our God really is, but with faith, we have the hope of being in His omnipotent presence some day.
Tribulation Produces Patience (Romans 5:3) - Now we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, but we also rejoice in tribulations. Listen to your Bible! In Acts 5:40-42, the Bible reads, “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” My question is “Why did they rejoice?” It is because this day additional proof was given verifying that they were children of God. In Matthew 5:43-45, Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” When we are going through something, our response as a result of our trial will be an indication where we stand with God. We do not have the option of being pessimistic because Christ commanded otherwise. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” We might be going through a storm; the waves of life are raging high. We might be at the point we are too mean to live, but not fit to die. All our friends have probably turned their backs on us, but we know never to let go of the hand of the man who can still the waters. We know to hold on to the faith we have in the one who overcame the world because faith in God will always triumph in trouble. The Bible says, “Knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” How many of us have prayed to God for patience? Without tribulations in our lives, patience will never exist. Anybody can be cool, calm, and collective when things are going good, but what happens when things are not going so well? What happens to the cool when the heat is on? What happens to the calm when the mighty wind blows? What happens to the collective when the chips are down? Patience is something we must labor to receive. Patience is the product of one’s life being tried by fire. A person who has patience is someone who has been through something.
Patience Produces Experience; Experience Produces Hope (Romans 5:4) - Have we ever noticed when we are going through something and we know God answer prayers, but we still yearn for human assurance? We know what the Bible says, but we’re still looking for somebody to relate to our situation. We are in search of an individual with experience. We want the advice of somebody who has been through the valley of the shadow of death numerous times, but still fears no evil. We need to hear somebody say, “I know how it feels to lose my job. I know how it feels not to make ends meet, but don’t give up on God, for He will bring you through every time.” That’s experience talking. When our spouse walks out on us or they begin to act as if they are possessed by demons, we need someone to tell us, “Trouble don’t last always because God is still in the business of converting husbands, transforming wives, and changing lives.” That’s experience talking. When young folks make the mistake of thinking it will never happen to them and weeks later, they find out they’re pregnant, they need somebody to let them know “What you did was wrong. God doesn’t like it, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Abortion is not the answer, but Jesus is the answer. God will provide for you and your child, just never let go of God’s unchanging hand.” That’s experience talking. It is this experience that brings about such optimistic hope knowing God is still on the throne.
Hope Removes Shame (Romans 5:5) - The expectation of divine intervention, the hope that we have maketh not ashamed. We should never feel guilty about having faith in God. We should never feel shame or embarrass about the fact we are children of God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:17, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” We have hope because of the cross. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It is by the cross God reconciled both Jew and Gentile into one body (Ephesians 2:16). It is a Biblical fact there is but one body (Ephesians 4:4) and the body is the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). Jesus is coming back to save His church (Ephesians 5:23) and His church is the church of Christ (Matthew 16:18). Men everywhere should believe this, but men everywhere don’t believe the word of God. Therefore, let us continue to study the Scriptures daily and strengthen our faith, for faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Let us not lose faith in God for faith triumphs in trouble. Our faith produces the patience, experience, and hope we need to tell others about the love of God because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.
