No Compromise

Perseverance is a word of great significance in the New Testament.

Romans 5:1 ¶ 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.

Did we just read that right? Did Paul just say, we glory in tribulations?

What could there possibly be about tribulations that could cause a believer to glory? It tells us clearly. Tribulations produce perseverance;

Perseverance. That word is hard to spell and hard to pronounce and difficult to live out. There is nothing about the word perseverance that would rank it at the top of the list of most favored among words. Lazy people despise the word even more.

But Biblically it is a well favored word, a cherished and prized word for the fruit it renders in the life of a believer.

But isn’t it ironic that this unpopular word tandems with another well despised and avoided word, tribulations.

The word tribulation by itself is enough to scare the soul, but here it is put in the plural sense. You know what that means don’t you?

There is more than one! To the world tribulations are never intended to produce anything good in us they are simply inconveniences that are designed to make our lives more miserable than they already are.

But to a devoted follower of Christ tribulations are the fertilizer of perseverance. No tribulations, no perseverance.

But why is this thing of perseverance so all consuming important?

Because perseverance is what God uses to work into and out of us the life of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work forming Christ in us. In other words developing right character in us.