Justified by faith–marks a beginning with new desires, new direction, new orientation
All this “newness” brings about our commitment to God
Access into his grace–through Christ’s work we are brought into a gracious relationship with God
Rejoice in Hope of the glory of God
Prophetic past tense here, like Isaiah 53, “he WAS despised, he WAS rejected…” referring to Jesus but written 700 years before Christ
That means this hope is a sure hope–just like what Isaiah prophesied was surely going to come to pass, the hope which is the object of our rejoicing is ABSOLUTELY SURE
Rejoice/glory in our sufferings–sufferings produce perseverance, perseverance produces character
Sufferings are for our growth in character
Character can be characterized as “not double minded” (James 1)
Keep to the doctrine of the “One thing”, Php. 3:13, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Character produces hope
This is a Happy Certainty–we stake our whole eternity on it
And we’re never disappointed as God fills us with his Love
Pray for hearts enlarged by God’s grace and love!
Invest more in the faith
Intentional service in the mundane things of your faithful life is key
PRARR:
Pray
Read the Bible
Apply what you read
Repent from your sins
Repeat