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Romans 5:3–5 (NKJV):
> “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
> and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
> 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.”
Romans 8:9 (NKJV):
> “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
> Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”
The central theme is very clear: the believer is called not merely to endure suffering but to rejoice in it, because God uses it as a divine process to form Christlike character and to release a sure, unshakable hope—anchored in the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
This runs completely against natural thinking. The natural man complains in suffering. The carnal Christian merely grits his teeth. But the spiritual believer, who understands what God is doing, can rejoice in the midst of problems and trials.
The lyrics you have set out follow the spiritual progression that Paul outlines:
1. Tribulation (problems and trials)
2. Produces endurance (perseverance)
3. Endurance produces character
4. Character produces hope
5. Hope is secured by the love of God poured out through the Holy Spirit
This is not an emotional mood. It is a spiritual process governed by the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit of God.
“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
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The Epistle to the Romans was written by the apostle Paul to the believers in Rome—Jews and Gentiles. These were not believers living in a Christian culture. They lived in the capital of an empire steeped in idolatry, immorality, and brutality. Many of them would later face persecution, social rejection, economic loss, and even martyrdom.
Romans 5 stands at a turning point in Paul’s argument. In chapters 1–3, he shows the universal guilt of humanity—Gentile and Jew alike—under sin. In chapter 4, he shows that we are justified by faith, not by works, using Abraham as the example. Now in chapter 5, he begins to unfold the results of justification.
Romans 5:1:
> “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
From that foundation, Paul moves to the benefits:
So, the context is not casual Christianity. It is the outworking of justification in a hostile world. Paul is preparing the believers in Rome for a life that will include real suffering, but he gives them the correct interpretation of their suffering.
Romans 8:9 appears in another crucial section. In Romans 8, Paul contrasts life in the flesh and life in the Spirit. He is answering a pressing question: How can a justified believer actually live a righteous life in daily experience? The answer: only by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
By the time he reaches verse 9, he draws a clear line:
> “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
So Romans 5:3–5 tells us what God uses suffering to produce. Romans 8:9 tells us who enables us to walk this out: the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Without the Spirit, suffering tends to embitter us. With the Spirit, suffering refines and transforms us.
We must place ourselves in the position of those Roman believers:
Surrounded by pressure. Misunderstood. Tempted to fear, compromise, and discouragement. And into that pressure Paul speaks a divine logic: Your suffering has purpose. It is part of God’s training.
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### 1. “Tribulations” – *thlipsis* (θλῖψις)
Romans 5:3:
> “We also glory in tribulations…”
The Greek word is thlipsis. It literally means pressure, affliction, being squeezed or crushed. It is not a minor inconvenience. It is the kind of pressure that tests the reality of our faith.
In the ancient world, *thlipsis* could be used of the crushing of grapes or olives. The pressure releases what is inside. Applied spiritually: tribulation reveals what is truly in the heart. Under pressure, the flesh reacts one way, the Spirit another.
So when we read “problems and trials” in the lyrics, do not think merely of small annoyances. Think in terms of pressure—financial, relational, spiritual, physical—through which God intends to release a fragrance that is of Christ, not of our old nature.
### 2. “Endurance / Perseverance” – *hypomonē* (ὑπομονή)
Romans 5:3:
> “…knowing that tribulation produces perseverance…”
The word is hypomonē. It is formed from two parts:
So *hypomonē* means “to remain under” pressure without running away, without collapsing, without compromising. It is steadfastness, constancy, staying power.
It is very important to see: God does not promise to remove all pressure immediately. Instead, He uses pressure to construct endurance—spiritual staying power. Many believers want instant deliverance but do not value endurance. Yet in the New Testament, endurance is essential to the Christian life.
Hebrews 10:36:
> “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”
Now, when the lyrics say, “they help us develop endurance,” this is not a psychological coping mechanism. It is the formation of *hypomonē*—the ability to remain under God’s hand, under God’s dealings, until His work in us is complete.
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### [Verse 1]
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.”
This is a paraphrase of Romans 5:3. Notice two key phrases: “We can rejoice” and “for we know.”
1. “We can rejoice…”
This is not automatic. It is not natural. It is a faith response based on revelation. The world complains in trouble. The believer, taught by the Word, chooses to *rejoice*.
James 1:2–4:
> “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
> knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (*hypomonē*).
> But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Notice the parallel: trial → endurance → maturity. The attitude is the same: joy in the midst of trials, not because pain is pleasant, but because the outcome is precious.
2. “…for we know…”
Rejoicing is rooted in knowledge—specifically, in revelation knowledge of God’s purpose in suffering. The Greek has the sense of “we know with settled understanding.” Without this knowledge, suffering seems random, cruel, or meaningless.
Theologies that do not acknowledge suffering in the Christian life leave believers unprepared and disillusioned. Paul arms believers with truth: “Tribulation produces perseverance.”
Spiritually, the equation is this:
> No tribulation → no endurance
> No endurance → no proven character
> No proven character → no mature hope
God does not send pointless pressure, but He does use pressure to produce spiritual stamina.
### [Chorus]
“And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
Here we come to the heart of the process: endurance → character → hope.
1. Endurance develops “character.”
The Greek word used in Romans 5:4 is dokimē (δοκιμή), meaning proven character, that which has passed the test and been approved. It was used of metals that had been tested by fire and found genuine.
So this is not mere natural temperament. It is character forged in the furnace of affliction. Many Christians have untested gifting, but God looks for tested character.
1 Peter 1:6–7:
> “…you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise
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