Perseverance

As we continue to study perseverance this week, I hope these two truths given by John Piper are helpful in understanding Romans 5:3-5. Thanks for following Chalk Talk!

Matt

1. Tribulation brings about perseverance.

Romans 5:3 says, "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing [that is, because we know] that tribulation brings about perseverance." Another word for "perseverance" is "endurance." In other words, if something happens in your life that is hard and painful and frustrating and disappointing, and, by grace, your faith looks to Christ and to his power and his sufficiency and his fellowship and his wisdom and his love, and you don't give in to bitterness and resentment and complaining, then your faith endures and perseveres. It becomes stronger. How is it stronger? It's stronger the way tempered steel is stronger: it takes more to break it. Tribulation is like the fire that tempers the steel of faith. So when Paul says, "Tribulation brings about perseverance," he means that the fiery tests of trouble are meant by God to make your faith unbreakable.

That's the first truth that grace uses to make us into joyful people who exult in tribulations and love others. The second truth is this:

2. Perseverance brings about proven character.

Romans 5:3-4a, "We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance [brings about] proven character." The focus here is on this word "proven" (dokimen). The idea is that when you put metal through a fiery testing and it comes out on the other side persevering and enduring, what you call that metal is "proven" or "authentic" or "genuine." That's the sense here. When you go through tribulation, and your faith is tested, and it perseveres, what you get is a wonderful sense of authenticity. You feel that your faith is real. It has been tested. It has stood the test with perseverance. And it is therefore real, authentic, proven, genuine.

We Exult in Our Tribulations Nov. 14, 1999 – John Piper

Perseverance

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

It is not our nature to enjoy pain. Both physical and emotional pain can be unbearable at times, so I have heard but thankfully never really experienced. Sometimes I try to put myself into the shoes of someone else, because there is no way to know what the next hour, day, or year has in store for us. I think about families in Haiti and what it must be like to lose parents, children and friends in the blink of an eye. The world we live in can change instantly. Some of you might be in the midst of trials right now. On the outside you may look fine, but deep down there is pain and suffering.

Happiness is fleeting, but joy is rooted deeper. Thankfully we do not have to pretend to be happy when we are experiencing unbearable trials. However, we are told to find genuine, enduring joy that is found only in Jesus.

Last week we learned together that someday we will “reap, if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).” It is encouraging to know that we will be rewarded for our genuine obedience. The trials that we face, both big and small, will only last a short time. In 1 Peter 1:6-7 it says, “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith… may be found.” When we are faced with trials, our faith is what we fall back on. If anyone is going through a trial, I pray that joy will carry them through. If now is not a time of trial, than let us search our hearts for what we have put our faith in. The question is not whether we will be tested, but rather is our faith rooted in a God strong enough to persevere when we are tested.

- Matt Simmonds