Catchpole, Richard: The Boast Of The Christian

I'd like you to turn to what I'm sure is a very well-known passage, to Romans chapter five, and we're reading at verse number one. Romans chapter five, verse number one. We're going to read from verse one down to verse number eleven. Romans five and verse number one. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. And we look to God to bless to us the reading of that lovely section of his word. Now I want to begin by really just posing this question. Is it right for a believer to boast? And I guess our immediate response to that would be, well, it doesn't sound a particularly Christian characteristic. But having said that, actually three times in these eleven verses, the Apostle Paul uses a Greek word that means exactly that. In our good authorized version, each time it is translated in a different way, although it is, as I said, the same word that is used in the Greek text. In the New International Version, the word is translated on all three occasions by the word rejoice, and it is a Greek word that means to boast, to exalt, and to glory. Now it comes in verse number two, where the apostle says we rejoice or we boast in hope of the glory of God. It comes in verse number three where Paul says we glory or we boast in tribulations. And it comes again in verse number eleven when he says we joy or we boast in God. So the apostle is indicating that there are matters in which the believer will boast. Now, those three references are perhaps the more striking, in that in the earlier chapters of this epistle, Paul has spoken of a boasting that is wrong. In chapter two, for instance, in his indictment of the Jews, he says at verse number seventeen, Behold, thou art called a Jew and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God. Now he is indicating that the Jew gloried in the fact that he had the law, and because he possessed the law, he boasted that it made him one of God's people. Even before chapter two concludes, Paul says at verse twenty three, thou makest thy boast of the law, though breaking the law, or through breaking the law, dishonorest thou God. So in chapter two, Paul has spoken of wrong boasting on the part of the Jew. When we come into chapter uh three, having established in that chapter that justification is on the principle of grace, verse number twenty four, Through the blood of Christ, verse twenty five, And by faith in Jesus, verse twenty six. He then says in verse twenty seven, where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law of works? Nay, by the law of faith. And of course, the apostle is simply saying that those who are saved, they have no ground for boasting that they were saved because of some personal work, because of some personal merit. Salvation is entirely on the basis of faith in the work of God's Son. So again, chapter three touches upon a boasting that would be wrong. Coming into chapter four, Paul says, what shall we say then about Abraham? And in verse number two, if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory or to boast. But, says the apostle, he doesn't have any ground of boasting before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. So you'll notice that in those earlier chapters, Paul has been speaking of a boasting that is wrong. Things that we might suggest sinful men might be prone to boast in. But when we come into chapter five, the apostle brings before us a boasting that is right, and he is speaking, we've noted, of the boasting of the child of God. And I want just this evening to briefly look at the three things that Paul says the believer boasts in. Now, we've noted the first thing comes in verse number two, where Paul says, we rejoice or we boast in hope of the glory of God. The very expression will certainly remind us that a tremendous transformation has taken place in the believer's life. We remember, for instance, in chapter three verse 20, Paul says that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, verse number twenty three. But whereas in that verse he says we've sinned, we've come short of the glory of God, now he will tell us that the believer boasts in hope of the glory of God. Now you might say, what does he mean in respect of that? I suppose on the bottom line, we would say, well, the glory of God, we boast in the fact that we have before us the prospect of heaven. We should perhaps just mention the significance of this word hope. We know that men will often, in normal conversation, they will use the word hope in reference to something that might or might not take place. Someone might say, well, I hope tomorrow it's going to be a really hot and sunny day. Well, it might be, but again, it might not. But that, of course, is not how Paul uses this word. When the apostle uses the word hope, there is a note of certainty to it. And the apostle is indicating to us that the believer boasts in hope of the glory of God. But when, of course, we come to think about what's embraced in this matter of the glory of God, we have said, well, it is certainly embrace the fact that we have a home and a destiny in heaven. But, you know, there are many aspects to the glory that is yet to be the portion of the child of God. We discover, for instance, when gathering up some of the verses, that what we're thinking of here is an eternal glory. In one Peter five ten, the apostle says, or he speaks of the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. Not only is it an eternal glory, but it embraces, of course, the fact that we shall be with Christ, and we shall be like Christ. You remember John in his first epistle, chapter three, He says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear, it's not yet been manifest to the world what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And other verses touch, of course, upon a similar theme. The glory in which the believer boasts. It is an eternal glory. It will embrace him being with and like the Lord Jesus. Again, we can say it embraces the believer being fit for the glory of God to be in his presence. And so in Jude verse 24, unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. We have a place in heaven, an eternal glory, a place with and like Christ, a place before the very throne of God. But even then, it doesn't finish there. This glory, of course, will embrace our participation with Christ when he is manifest to this world in all his glory, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, to be admired in all them that believe. And again, we might say that this glory, it embraces our participation with Christ in the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus. Now we might say, isn't that something to boast in? We boast in hope of the glory of God. Ah, but we might say, Paul, who is it who boasts in hope of the glory of God? Well, of course, it is those who are identified in verse number one, Those who are spoken of as being justified by faith, and those who have peace with God, and who in verse number two are spoken of as having access by faith into the grace wherein we stand. These are the people who boast in hope of the glory of God. We could think of the statements that he makes. Therefore being justified by faith. You know, often preachers might say justified means, well, it denotes as if I'd never sinned. You know, really, that description is most inadequate. For the fact is, we have sadly sinned. And actually, this word justified, it is conveying to us, Paul is gathering up the teaching of the preceding chapters, and this word justified, it actually embraces being accounted righteous by the judge himself. That is a tremendous thing. When we remember that, say, back in chapter three, Paul has spoken of every mouth being stopped and of all the world being guilty before God. When in those opening three chapters, Paul has established the heathen in chapter one, the hypocrite, chapter two, one to sixteen, the Hebrew from chapter two, verse seven, that all are sinners before God. What a tremendous statement. To think now that they can be justified. Justified by faith. Justified on account of the work of the Lord Jesus. And we're reminded, aren't we, in chapter four— chapter three, is it, that through the work of the Lord Jesus, God can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Simple statement that God can justify the man, the woman who believes, and God can be seen to be righteous and just in doing that. What a tremendous thing that is. To be able to say tonight that we are those who are justified. The judge himself has pronounced us as being righteous in his sight. Ah, but we're not just justified. He says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we need to understand exactly what he's saying. You know, later on in Philippians chapter four, Paul in verse seven will speak of the peace of God keeping or garrisoning our hearts and minds. But that's not what's in view in Romans chapter five and verse one. It is not really a sense of peace in our heart that Paul has in view. What he is actually describing here is our, our position, our standing before God. And the idea is this, we have peace with or towards God. Paul is saying that, look, all hostility has gone. All enmity has been removed. Every barrier has been taken away. And we've now been brought into a vital union with God. We belong to God. And we're now in right relationship toward God. Great thing to be justified. Great thing to have this peace toward God. Ah, but Paul says there's even more. By whom also we have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand. I want you to notice that the apostle speaks in this verse of the grace wherein we stand. So he's obviously speaking again of our standing, our position before God. When we come to the end of the chapter, he will speak about grace reigning. And basically what he's saying is this, that we are standing in a sphere, a sphere where, uh, everything toward us, where there is no other thought than that, than that of divine grace and favor toward us. Now just think of that. We've just divi- accounted righteous. We've now a right relationship towards God. But here's something more. In relation to our standing and position, we are in a sphere where every thought toward us is one of divine grace. And Paul says we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. Now, just developing it. You know, a man might be accounted righteous by a judge, but he doesn't necessarily have free access into the presence of the judge. But the apostle is saying that's not so for the believer. The judge has accounted him righteous, and actually he has free access into the presence of the judge, into this sphere of divine grace wherein he stands. Now it is these people who can say that they boast in hope of the glory of God. My, what a privileged position is ours. In fact, if you break the statements down, we might say they cover the past, they touch the present, and they go on to view the future. The believer can boast in hope of God's glory. We might say, do we do that? Do we have before us? How often do we have before us the fact that our destiny is in heaven, our destiny is glory. So we boast in hope of the glory of God. But then there's a second thing in which we boast. And so the apostle says now, verse number three, and not only so, but we glory or boast in tribulations also. Now, you know, looking at that, we might think, well, could there be a greater contrast? At the end of verse number two, Paul, we might say, has taken us to the heights, to the glor- thoughts of glorious prospect before us. But immediately in verse number three, the very next statement, he brings us right down to earth with a bump. And instead now of speaking about glory, the apostle turns our attention to tribulations. We might say, Paul, what an anticlimax. We might say, Paul, what a disappointment. Now, if that doesn't shock us, what the apostle is now about to say surely will. Not only do we boast in hope of the glory of God, but we boast in tribulations also. Now, what does he mean by that? Does he mean that we boast when the tribulations are over and we can look back upon them? No, he doesn't mean that at all. He actually is saying this, we glory, we boast in tribulations. Not when they're past and we can look back on them, but actually in the midst of them. We boast in tribulations. Now, what is Paul speaking of when he mentions tribulations? Could I suggest he's not thinking simply of, well, the little things that annoy us, but actually he's thinking of the trials that come into our life. And so we might say, well, wait a minute, Paul. How on earth can the believer boast glory in tribulations. We might say that's not something natural to me. That's not something that I find very easy. And yet the apostle says it, yes, we boast in hope of the glory of God, we boast in tribulations also. Now, how can we do that? Paul will tell us in what follows. He says, verse three, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. Now we're beginning to see, aren't we, why we can glory in tribulations. The believer can glory in tribulations because of what he knows. He says, know. And the idea with the word, the Greek word, is clearly perceiving, fully understanding. And it is a knowledge that is rooted in the fact that we're justified, that we have peace with God, that we've got access into the grace wherein we stand, that our prospects, they're linked to heaven. But why does he boast in tribulation? Well, he knows that he belongs to God, and he knows that he's in a sphere where the divine thoughts are entirely of grace towards him, and that being so, God can have nothing but his interest at heart. And so he knows this, that tribulations might be painful. Tribulations might indeed be, in a sense, unwelcome. But when he looks at it from the divine standpoint, he begins to appreciate that actually God permits them for his ultimate blessing and his ultimate benefit. Now you might say, well, what benefit, what blessing can there be from tribulations in our life? But Paul tells us, doesn't he? Tribulation worketh patience. He says this, it is really teaching us to endure, to be steadfast in the face of adversity. And patience works experience. And the idea is this, it puts us to the test and proves us. I suppose we could develop it like this, that tribulation worketh patience, and patience develops our character. character And and experience experience. hope. We can say that those tribulations, the development of our character, it weaves us from the things of earth, strengthening, reinforcing our hope, our anticipation of the glory of God. And it's a hope, Paul says, that will not disappoint us. Won't leave us embarrassed. Won't leave us ashamed. How do we know that? Hope make us not ashamed. Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. And when Paul speaks of the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts, it is actually God's love for us, and through the working of his spirit in our heart, the believer is filled with the sense and the experience of his love toward us. And knowing that God loves us, we can conclude that God is for us. And since God is for us, tribulations must have our ultimate benefit in view and our hope of glory. It will not be disappointed. A great thing, you know, when a believer can look at his tribulations in such a positive way, appreciating that as unpleasant as they are, in the hand of God, they're actually a means of character development. And knowing that, he can surely glory in tribulations. So then we boast in hope of the glory of God, number one. Yes, we boast also, says the apostle, in tribulations. But there's something else the believer boasts in, and it comes down at the end of the little section, verse number eleven. We also, not only so, but we also joy or boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter two seventeen, the Jews we saw boasted in God. But actually it was a false boasting. But there's nothing false about the boasting now in chapter five verse number eleven. But in what sense do we boast in God? In what sense do we glory or exult in God? Can I suggest a number of ways? One, indeed, in this chapter. We can boast in his love. Paul has mentioned we've seen God's love shed abroad in our hearts, but our knowledge of God's love is not confined, of course, to our subjective experience. His love, we know, has been fully displayed in Christ. And don't we see that, verse six, verse eight: When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Verse eight: God commend us his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We could, of course, develop that. But yes, we boast in God, we boast in God's love. We boast, we might suggest, in his wisdom. If you look for a moment at chapter eleven and in verse number thirty three, the apostle says, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past, finding out. You know, chapters nine to eleven, Paul has been setting out God's ways with both Jew and Gentile. And it almost seems, when we come to the end of chapter eleven that having set that all out, that the consideration of God's righteousness, the consideration of God's mercy, it has so touched the apostle's heart that he cannot but give voice to his praise to God. He's already said, chapter ten, verse twelve, the Lord is rich unto all that call upon him. Now in chapter eleven verse thirty three, he speaks of the depths of the riches, the depth having in view what is unfathomable, inexhaustible. And then he goes on to mention the wisdom, knowledge, judgments, and ways of God. The wisdom that form God's counsel and purpose. The knowledge as to how to implement and fulfill that purpose. The judgments, the decisions and decrees embraced in that purpose, ways past finding out his providential dealings in working out those decisions and decrees, movements beyond the ability of men to trace out. We boast in God. We boast in his love. We boast in his wisdom. Anything else we can boast in? Well, certainly there is. We can boast in his salvation. Remember Romans one sixteen? Not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And he speaks of it, doesn't he, as being the power of God unto salvation. We boast in hope of the glory of God. We boast in tribulations. We boast in God. And I want to just conclude tonight with a man who indeed boasted in God. When we come to the end of Habakkuk in chapter three, the prophet says, verse seventeen, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall be fruit be in the vines. The labor of the olive shall fail. The field shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. You remember in the earlier chapters, God has revealed to the prophet the judgment that's going to come at the hand of the Chaldeans. And Habakkuk's describing a scene that is absolutely waste. And then he says this, there might not be any of those things, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hind's feet. He will make me to walk upon mine high places. And you see the lesson. Nothing whatsoever to rejoice in, as far as this scene was concerned. But the man still had something to rejoice in, and that was his God. You'll notice how in the letter to the Philippians, a letter, you'll remember, written by Paul from prison. He says, rejoice in the Lord. And again I say, rejoice. And you know, that is a rejoicing that is independent of our circumstances here. And whatever our circumstances here, Paul is saying, the believer has a ground for rejoicing. And that's in the Lord. We might think it's wrong for believers to boast, but Paul says, no, no, no. There are things we can boast in. Hope of the glory of God. Tribulations, and with joy we boast in God. As the days get increasingly darker, might we be found boasting in the things that we have through grace. Our God and our Father, we would thank thee this evening for thy word. We would thank thee for the encouragement that such verses bring to us. We acknowledge that we are a people blessed of thee, and our God, we thank thee there are no limits to those blessings. But we recognize it is one thing to read these verses, one thing to speak of them, but our God, it would be something different to live in the good of them. We do pray that thou would just help us, that we might not only appreciate the glorious destiny before us, and might not only appreciate all that we have in thee, but we pray also, God, help us in the dark days to look positively at our trials and tribulations, that we might even boast in those, realizing there is a divine purpose behind them for our good. We do ask thee then that thy word might just impart to us encouragement tonight. Pray again for those at camp. We would ask thee thou would bless them, and we pray that young lives might be touched through the teaching of thy word. Pray for Martin and Margaret Baker in Serbia. We commit them to thee. We pray thou would bless them in their ministry for thee, and grant to them journeying mercies in the travels in which they are engaged. We do then now just commit ourselves to thee, thanking thee for the assembly and seeking thy blessing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.