Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance character; and character, hope. (5) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The letter to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul who has devoted the first four chapters of the letter to Christian doctrine. But in our verses today Paul addresses application of doctrine; believers are justified in Christ as fact and the faithful are no longer cut off from God because of sin. We have access to God in Christ and are at peace with God – not a feeling of peace but a fact of peace. By faith in Christ we are justified (saved/redeemed) and this is entirely a gift of Gods grace. In faith we can know this; If we add a system of works to faith in Christ we cannot have this hope and assurance of salvation. There is nothing man can ever do to earn salvation. It is not Christ AND – our salvation is undeserved favor and through Christ alone.
In our new standing in Christ, the faithful should know that if God is for us nothing and no one can be against us. Our eternal salvation is assured but we still have to live in this present evil world and trials are a fact in this fallen world. – we need to know how to handle them. Our verses today tell us that, sealed with the Holy Spirit at the moment of faith, we are being tested and proven in preparation for heaven and learning joyful living which is not an automatic but a learned response. Through our inevitable trials we grow in endurance, character and hope. We have been transformed at the moment of faith and now we live with God in us.
Paul is not denying the reality of our life in this world – he is not denying the pain of trials but he is saying that we now know we have certain hope of eternal life and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. We can see the decay of our outer man/woman, but our inner person is being renewed daily. The weight of glory is in things not seen but unseen – not in temporal things but in eternal glory. And the foundation for our certain hope is the resurrection of Christ Jesus; we either have hope in Christ or no hope at all. But our hope will not disappoint. We are called according to God’s purpose.