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Sermon #3068

Glory in Tribulation

A Sermon on Romans 5:5

Originally preached Dec. 6, 1957

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Scripture

Romans 5:5 ESV KJV
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (ESV)

Sermon Description

What is the place of tribulation in the life of the Christian? Often times, people see hardships as nothing more than obstacles to their happiness and joy. They see no deeper purpose in the hardships. But in this sermon titled “Glory in Tribulation” on Romans 5:5, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows how Scripture paints a different picture of what hardships are about. For those that trust in God and who have His Holy Spirit, suffering is a means of becoming more like Jesus Christ. It is a means of deepening and strengthening one’s faith in God and to grow in holiness. As Christians go through these trials, they come to a greater assurance of who they are in Christ. So then, there is great hope for those that suffer as followers of Christ. This sermon holds out a great hope for all who are in the midst of trials and tribulations because it displays how Christ is working in His people in and through life’s hardships. This sermon is a call for all to repent of their sins and come to Jesus. It is a call to return to God the Creator and seek His glory. This is the only life of true and lasting joy.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon is preaching from Romans 5:5 which states "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."

  2. The first point is that "hope maketh not ashamed" means that the Christian's hope will never disappoint them or make them feel ashamed. This hope refers to the present life, not just the future.

  3. Examples of this are seen in 2 Timothy 1:12 and 2 Timothy 1:8 where Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel and Timothy should not be ashamed of Paul's imprisonment.

  4. The second point is that "the love of God" refers to God's love for us, not our love for God.

  5. The third point is that "shed abroad" means poured out or overflowing. The love of God is poured into our hearts abundantly by the Holy Spirit.

  6. The fourth point is that this is not something we deduce or reason to, but rather something the Holy Spirit directly shows us. It is an internal, experimental knowledge.

  7. Examples of this direct knowledge of God's love are seen in the testimonies of Henry Venn, Charles Simeon, and Richard Roberts. They speak of the love of God being directly shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit.

  8. The fifth point is that not all Christians have this experience of the love of God poured into their hearts, but all can seek it. We should ask God to manifest His love to us in this way.

  9. The sixth point is that those who have the love of God shed abroad in their hearts can truly rejoice in tribulations and hope in the glory of God.

  10. In summary, we should seek to have the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit so we can have unshakeable hope and joy.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.