Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Fifteen
HOPE, JOY, PEACE
Scripture Reading: verse 13
Paul’s conclusion in Romans 15:13 is a kind of benediction on the heads of the church at Rome, “The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
A whole epistle is contained in this one verse, and if Christians would listen to its magnificent admonition, the testimony of the Lord Jesus in this sad world would be revolutionized overnight.
Unfortunately, the testimony of the Lord Jesus has too often been reduced to a system of religious doctrines whereby men have regulated themselves in rituals, traditions and ceremonials. Such regulations always have a tendency toward bondage, and bondage crushes happiness in the human heart. The reason is a misconception of the intent of the Christian faith.
Keep in mind, as Paul points out in this chapter, it is “the gospel of Christ” that the Epistle to the Romans declares. Moreover it is the Gospel of “the blessed God.” The word “blessed” literally means “happy.” It is the glad tidings which God, in the superabundance of His happiness to bless us, has declared in order that we might share in that happiness in fellowship with Himself. Heaven is overflowing with joy. The first miracle the Lord Jesus wrought when He came into this world was changing water into wine. It was not only a fact that He did so, but it was an emblematic gesture indicating that the first miracle He would like to work in our lives is to make us happy. There is only one cure for unhappiness: to be filled with blessing from a source outside ourselves. If our lives are clouded by a sense of bondage or restraint, then we must be brought into a sense of the richness of God’s generosity. This must happen before our hearts will be cheered and our souls filled with joy. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
We are living in an age of despondency among far too many Christians and there is a growing number of preachers who are propagating a kind of fatalistic view concerning Christian concept. Innumerable so-called preachers are pouring into the ears of suffering saints of God the somewhat cruel intimation that they are going through trial because they have not properly surrendered to the Lord. There is a constant harping on this word “consecration” or “surrender” as if, in the last analysis, we were all a marching army of rebels against our Lord. However, we believe this to be a wrong attitude. It may be spoken in a whining, pathetic voice as if it were all said sympathetically, but it is bombarding the ears of the sick and suffering among the Lord’s people so interminably that it has the distinct and sad tendency toward turning them in on themselves. Thus, they are impelled to study the imperfections of their own heart, believing that God has a constant controversy with them, as if He desired to keep them miserable.
May we suggest, particularly to those who are shut in and passing through seasons of trial, that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who sent His Son to die for us, is not taking pleasure in such predicaments. He teaches us many needful lessons in child training and discipline, but God’s one desire for all of us is that we be happy in the sense of His unchanging love, knowing that even the most grievous trial is tempered with unspeakable loving-kindness. It has been our observation that the most surrendered, most consecrated Christians are those who suffer most. We have also observed that God deals out to these same sufferers a larger measure of happiness and real heavenly joy than is experienced by most Christians who are sailing calm seas under fair skies. God’s one burning desire for each of us is that we might be happy, and so, as he winds up this marvelous legal document, the Epistle to the Romans, Paul impresses on us: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The intent of the Epistle to the Romans is not to make us exacting legalists or expert theologians. It is to fill our hearts with joy. To those Christians who are suffering: let no one persuade you that your physical ills or mental anxieties are forced on you necessarily because of your lack of consecration. We have no grandiose ideas about the pleasure of pain. “No trial for the present seemeth joyous, but grievous.” We sincerely hope and pray this verse (Romans 15:13) might be branded indelibly on the spirit of every Christian. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Joy, peace, and hope; these are the keynote words of this great Epistle. The real reason we have such a small measure of them in our souls is that we believe so little of the teachings of the Epistle. If we would lay hold on the magnificent truths of the Epistle to the Romans, we would surely be unfettered from the bondage of religious systems, narrow sectarianism, petty ideologies, and come to the realization that God’s first intent in the Gospel is to fill us with hope, joy, and peace. This is the heritage left behind by the Lord Jesus Christ.
All three of these are gathered together excellently in John’s Gospel from the lips of our Lord Himself. In John 14:1:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
That is hope – “the blessed hope.” Then, in the same chapter, verse 27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” That is peace. Then in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” That is joy. Hope, peace and joy – these are the heritage of every Christian if we will only believe and obey the things our Lord has commanded. And this shall be done not through our own feeble might, but “through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
