Romans part 29 - (5:1-5) Peace, Patience, and Hope
Three Main Ideas
Today we are staying in the first five verses of chapter 5. We find three major ideas present in this passage, they are peace, patience and hope. The first two are fruits of the Spiriti in Galatians, and the last one seems to be a byproduct of the first two, and it is the natural outcome of faith in a resurrected king who was both an agent of peace and someone who became familiar with sufferings (all ideas to be discussed in this passage). So lets move through the text and look at what is reveals about these ideas.
Peace
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Romans 5:1 (NIV)
What we take from verse 1 is a product of the lens through which we read the text. Those who read Romans through the Traditional lens provided to us by the reformers in the 16th century will read this verse as a description of our relationship with God that is made possible through Christ. It says that, because of what Jesus has done, we have peace with God. Of course, all of this is true, Jesus does bring us back into at-one-ment with the Father. But because the traditional lens gives such a narrow view, the message we receive from reading through this lens is incomplete.
It is only when we take into account the division between the two parties in the church that we find what I will call the Contextual lens. In her commentary on Romans, New Testament Scholar Sarah Lancaster points out a textual problem with verse 1. Some manuscripts use different injunctions for the phrase we have peace. This means that some translations will say we have peace, indicating that our peace is between Us and God (no doubt true). But other manuscripts will say “let us have peace,” indicating that the peace that Paul speaks of is between the Jewish Christians, the weak, and the Gentile Christians, the strong.
Reading Romans contextually (what we call Reading Romans Backwards) takes the theology of salvation and opens it up, revealing to us how the Gospel of Jesus brings peace between our enemies and ourselves. It helps us to understand the social aspect to Christian belief. It says that whatever God is doing in the space between myself and the Divine, God is also doing between my enemy and the Divine.
“There are social implications for the theological reality that we claim. How many times do the people who follow the Prince of Peace have to be encouraged to live in peace among themselves?”
~ Sarah Lancaster, Romans, 88
Our theology and our interpretation of the text has real world consequences, it can either make us turn inwards, towards our own wants and desires, or ourwards, towards loving and creating space for our enemies, either ideological or otherwise. Paul’s message of peace in his letter to the Romans has one major point: The same thing that joins us inseparably to God also joins us inseparably to each other.
Patience
We also celebrate in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patience
Romans 5:3 (N.T. Wrights Translation)
The word used here is Hypomonē, and it can be translated patience, persevereance, or even long-suffering. All three variations are often used in translating this word. The NIV says “we know that suffering produces perseverance.” Patience and perseverance are two very different words, and this happens because some translators understand that what Paul is getting at here is not patience as we understand it today. We use that term in a way that is centered on chronological time. It describes someone’s ability to wait for something good.
But the true weight of the word Paul uses is found in the word long-suffering more than anything else. What Paul says here is that suffering produces long-suffering. Suffering produces what Isaiah refers to as a man familiar with sufferings (Isa 53:1), Isaiah claims that this is the one that God will use to bring salvation. So it can be assumed that, as a Christian becomes more Christlike, then she will also become familiar with suffering. This doesn’t mean her own suffering, though that is included as well, but rather, a student of humanity. Someone who draws near to those in need, those who are suffering themselves, and becoming familiar with what it means for them. It means listening and watching and paying attention to whatever God might be doing in the lives of others through transforming suffering into resurrection, the work of the cross.
Those who have faced an incredible challenge and come out the other side understand this transformation. It is something that cultivates a certain braveness. After traversing so much danger, the things that used to be daunting no longer scare you. You have received the reward of long-suffering: peace, bravery, and a hardening of resolve. The difficulties of life, if endured in faith and trust, have a way of shaping us.
The table of fellowship, the sacred meal that the Christians would take part in every week, is where they became familiar with each other’s sufferings. Familiarity with suffering involves listening to what everyone at the table has experienced as suffering. When we give others the space to tell their stories in this way, God works to reveal all the ways he is bringing salvation.
Hope
Perseverance has a purpose. It is never just perseverance for the purpose of surviving. It forms us and cultivates fruit in us. It is a part of our salvation story. Paul tells us in V4-5, that:
Perseverance produces a well-formed character, and a character like that produces hope.
Romans 5:4-5 (N.T. Wrights Translation)
It is on the other side of suffering that we learn, not just that we can endure suffering, but that God is working through that suffering to bring us divine gifts, things that can only be received through suffering. Paul says that these are the kinds of things that produce hope.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
~ MLK Jr.
Where Does Hope Come From? It comes from experiencing the unknown, the scary, the daunting things of this world. For hope to grow inside a person, these things don’t necesarily need to be experienced first hand, hope can come from the journey of others; loved ones, the community, even from reading third hand accounts of the suffering of others. It also comes from meditating upon the cross of Christ, and working to embody it in our own lives. And as MLK Jr hinted at in the quote above, it also comes from perseverance in faith, trusting that even the present and growing evils taking root in our worlds will experience a day of judgement, when the seeds that they have been planting are finally harvested, and the planters of evil must reap what they have sewn.
Many brothers and sisters, like Dr. King, can attest to God's work in this world to bring justice, healing, reconciliation, and restoration to both the victims and the doers of iniquity. He points out that, yes, the arc is long (meaing slow), but God has not abandoned his work, and love will win in the end.
With age comes perspective. These days, when I see people planting the seeds of evil, I no longer think they will go unscathed. I no longer worry that the unrighteous will flourish. They will not. We sew and we reap, and God will use it all to bring glory to all that is good.
Let’s close out with verse 5:
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Ro 5:5).
The Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, said that “tribulation does not make people impatient, but proves that they are impatient. So everyone may learn from tribulation how his heart is constituted” (Luther, Commentary on Romans, 91).
Trials and difficulties reveal where we are lacking, thus providing us with hope that we can become even more sharpened now that we can see where we are dull. Verse six reminds us that in the church there is no shame. When our faults are revealed, where the world might see shame, the church see’s hope. We don’t stand on our accomplishments before others and God, we stand on grace.
The cross transforms shame into hope.
When we realize the extent of Gods love for us, that is the start of faith.
When we realize that God loves your enemy with that same divine love, that is the start of peace.
When we become familiar with suffering in this world, that is the start of patience.
When we take endure in faith long enough to see God working, that is the start of hope.
Discussion Questions
Peace and Unity: How does the concept of peace in Romans 5:1 extend beyond our individual relationship with God to encompass peace within the Christian community? What practical steps can churches take to promote peace and unity among members with differing backgrounds or viewpoints?
Patience and Suffering: The text suggests that suffering produces long-suffering or patience. Can you share a personal experience where enduring suffering led to personal growth and increased patience? How can we support one another in our journey to become more Christlike through suffering?
Hope and Transformation: How does the idea that perseverance through suffering forms character and produces hope resonate with you? What are some examples of individuals or movements that have drawn hope from enduring suffering and adversity, and how did this hope drive positive change?
Community and Sharing Sufferings: Why must communities create spaces where people can share their struggles and suffering? How can we cultivate such environments in our churches and social groups?