Sermon: The Long Faithfulness
Scripture Text: Romans 5:1-15
Quotes for Reflection
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us. We ‘have all we want’ is a terrible saying when ‘all’ does not include God. We find God an interruption. As St Augustine says somewhere, ‘God wants to give us something, but cannot, because our hands are full—there’s nowhere for Him to put it.’ Or as a friend of mine said, ‘We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it’s there for emergencies but he hopes he’ll never have to use it.’ Now God, who has made us, knows what we are and that our happiness lies in Him. Yet we will not seek it in Him as long as He leaves us any other resort where it can even plausibly be looked for. While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable we will not surrender it to Him. What then can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible source of false happiness? It is just here, where God’s providence seems at first to be most cruel, that the Divine humility, the stooping down of the Highest, most deserves praise.
Dan Doriani, Romans
Our response to trials reflects our heart’s condition. Whether troubles come through illness, poverty, or slander, they can produce hope because they teach us to rely on God. Trials can seem like random evils that befall us. But the Lord oversees them, so they create character and hope.
John Calvin, Commentary on Psalms
We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.
Application Questions
1. Where are you being called to persevere in this season of life? How do you understand what God is doing in you through these circumstances?
2. Why can Paul say that we rejoice both in the hope of the glory of God and in our sufferings? How has God used suffering to deepen your understanding and experience of his love?
3. What needs to change in your life to cultivate a long obedience to Christ here in Portland?