Whenever you come across a "therefore" in Scripture—or any kind of reading for that matter—the question ought to pop immediately to your mind, "What was the author writing about before?" The "therefore" points to something stated earlier. In this case, from our "therefore" at the beginning of chapter 5 in Romans, the previous topics addressed by Paul are found in the personal pronouns he uses. In the beginning of his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote about the foundation of his faith using the first person singular, "I." For example, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes," (Romans 1:16). In the second half of chapter 1, Paul begins to use the third person plural, "they," referring to those who have turned away from God, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened," (Romans 1:21). Then Paul begins to address a plural "you," moralizers and Jewish leaders who put their trust in the law, which is inherently inferior to grace. More than that, they live by a double standard. "So when you, a mere human, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment," (Romans 2:3)?

Now, however, Paul begins to use the first person plural, "we," speaking of those who are united together because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Having identified our common heritage in faith through Abraham, Paul then delivers this pivotal line that begins our Scripture reading for today, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have…" and Paul goes on to list several benefits that are ours through faith in Jesus Christ. Everything hinges on that transition. From his singular stance in faith, Paul moves through the tragic plurality of those outside of faith, through the hypocritical plurality of those living double standard lives in opposition to God’s merciful standard, to, now, the shared bonds and benefits of fellow believers. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith. Everything depends upon that. And because we have been justified through faith, Paul tells us, we enjoy three specific benefits to that faith: "...since we have been justified through faith, (1) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom (2) we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…(3) we also glory in our sufferings."

I suspect the first two of those benefits come without a lot of controversy or questions. Oh, we may wonder a bit at exactly how we have peace with God or have gained access into grace, but peace and grace sound like good things and things we would want to have. It’s the third "benefit" that raises eyebrows. Glory in our sufferings? That one we’re not so sure of. So, let’s take a moment and touch upon the first two, then spend a bit more time on the third.

First of all, we have peace with God. Living outside of God’s will places us in opposition with God. Left to our actions alone, we come into conflict with God’s will for us. Our wills at war, if you will, with God’s will. Inevitably, we fall short of meeting God’s standards for our lives. Only through Jesus Christ can this conflict be removed. Christ takes our shortcomings, our sin, to the cross and removes the conflict between us and God. Our past is forgiven, we have peace with God. And everyone wants peace with God.

In the same way, we have "gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand." Through Christ, our past is forgiven and we have peace with God, and our present is made more sure because we stand in God’s grace. We have not earned this position of honor, this "standing" in God’s grace. Christ has brought us access to it. And our standing is sure. The image of "access" is one of being granted an audience with a king. However, here, in the way Paul uses the phrase, it is not a temporary access granted, it is a permanent standing in the presence of the king. Through Christ, we’re allowed to live in the palace! We’ve "gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" and that, too, is a good thing, something everyone wants.

It is the "glory in our sufferings" that raises questions. Most of us would prefer to avoid sufferings rather than glory in them. Yet, we also know the realities of life. Life sometimes brings suffering. No one escapes it. Some cannot endure it and it brings great tragedy and despair to their lives. But through Christ, we can glory in our sufferings. We can do so, for at least two reasons: (1) It is the pathway to glory. (2) It is the pathway to maturity.

First, suffering is the pathway to glory. That was the pathway for Jesus to his glory—the suffering of his passion and crucifixion; the glory of his resurrection and victory over sin and death. Only through Jesus can we attain glory and if his pathway to that glory was through suffering, it will be the same for his disciples. No, we won’t experience passion and crucifixion like Jesus, but we will experience suffering. We endure, however, knowing of the future glory that will be ours. Later in his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul expresses it this way, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us," (Romans 8:18). With eyes looking to the future glory that is ours, we endure through the sufferings of the present time.

Second, suffering is the pathway to maturity, and so, we can also glory in our sufferings "because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance [produces] character; and character [produces] hope." Christians live in hope. With our past forgiven by the grace of God, our present strengthened because we stand in the presence of the King who granted us this grace, we persevere through the sufferings of this life because we know our future glory is made sure by this King of kings.

It is a tragic thing to see people who have reached the end of their hope. People do desperate, careless things when they are without hope. We have seen too many tragic stories where people without hope have ended their lives and the lives of innocent people around them. For whatever reason, their lives have become lives void of hope and they see no purpose in living.

A few years ago, I attended a Presbyterian conference on evangelism. One of the speakers was from California and he talked about how the death of Marilyn Monroe so many years ago, some 30 years previous to the time of the conference, motivated his evangelism. He was haunted by the image of Monroe’s despair and her death literally within the shadow of what should have been a source of hope for her life, Hollywood Presbyterian Church. Why didn’t the message of hope proclaimed at that church reach Marilyn Monroe just a few blocks away? It was a question that still haunted him and fueled his passion to share the hope-filled good news of Jesus Christ.

I was struck even more by that image of Marilyn Monroe’s death and Hollywood Presbyterian Church when I came across Arthur Miller’s words in his autobiography, Timebends, about his relationship with Monroe. Miller, of course, was married to Monroe for four years, the last of her three marriages. He also wrote the screenplay for The Misfits, Monroe’s last film. By the time of the filming of The Misfits, their marriage had ended and Monroe was starting her descent into depression and despair. On the set for the filming, Miller observed what was happening to her. In his autobiography, he writes of that time, "I found myself straining to imagine miracles. What if she were to wake and I were able to say, ‘God loves you, darling,’ and she were able to believe it! How I wished I still had my religion and she hers." Interesting that Arthur Miller would identify the best hope for Marilyn Monroe being the Christian faith she grew up with.

Christians live in hope. The answer for those who find themselves at the end of their hope is Jesus Christ. He is the source of all hope for our lives. Through Jesus Christ, our past is forgiven, our present is strengthened, and our future is secured and made sure. As the words of the great hymn remind us, "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."

Yet, for some reason, we get sidetracked in what we hope for and hope in. We hope for fame. We hope for fortune. We hope in various types of ground that turns out to be sinking sand. And our lives begin to unravel. The only sure hope, the hope that does not disappoint us is Jesus Christ.

So when suffering comes your way, hold tight to the hope that is yours in Jesus Christ. If something from your past rears its ugly head and tries to drain you of your hope, telling you you’re no good and beyond the reach of God’s love, remember that your hope is found in Jesus Christ and nothing can take that away from you. You have been justified through faith and now have peace with God. If life today brings seemingly unbearable suffering, remember that your hope is found in Jesus Christ and nothing can take that away from you. You stand in the presence of God’s grace, given access to that present condition because of Jesus Christ. Instead, rejoice in your sufferings because you know that a future glory is yours and the present sufferings are not worth comparing to that future glory. As painful as the present experience might be, so much more glorious is our future with Jesus Christ. And rejoice in your sufferings because you know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. And that hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

To the one who is without hope, give to them the hope that is forever ours in Jesus Christ. When you feel that you’ve come to the end of your hope, know that God has an endless supply of hope for you. And nothing can take that away.

Let’s take a moment of hope-full silent reflection.