Series: The Justified
Message: Boasting
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Japhet De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Becky De Oliveira
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 5:1-11 in the New International Version (NIV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Paul specifically uses three examples of boasting. The first is in Verse 2 and alludes to Isaiah 40 which tells us that everyone will see that God is in us. This will be a powerful experience for those observing. Imagine if our Church lived the new life described all through Romans Chapters 5-8. It would be a place of healing and reconciliation. Imagine if it were to become a place where we could access God—a place of relationship with God. This idea is one of those overarching elements straight from the Garden of Eden. God wants to dwell with us again—He has wanted this from the very beginning.
The second example is in Verse 3 where Paul encourages us to boast in our sufferings. When you first read this verse, you might think Paul is suggesting that we are to celebrate the fact that we suffer. This is not something anyone would likely relish—and it isn’t what Paul is suggesting. He is saying that God never lets go of us through our suffering. We can boast about that. God is with us. He does not create suffering. He does not create pain. He works through that pain. What follows, at the end of Verse 3, is the beautiful work that God is producing in us while we are suffering—Endurance to Character and then Character to Hope.
This results in a powerful hope that does not disappoint. It does not bring any shame. All of this is possible because of the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the first time Paul mentions His name in this letter—preparing us for Romans 8. Of course, if you are a perfectionist or a legalist, you would probably find this passage really hard to take. Suffering would be misunderstood by you. You would be thinking within your suffering that you had sinned—and so suffering would drive you away from God.
The third and final example of boasting is in Verse 11, which says that we boast in God that we have been reconciled. Reconciliation is the ultimate final full result of salvation, when the whole universe is reconciled with God again. That is worth sharing.
Recalibrate: What role do hope, suffering, and reconciliation play in helping you trust God more?
Respond: Pray for space to experience God in new ways today.
Research: Compare Philippians 3:7–10 with this passage.
Remember: “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” (Romans 5:5, ESV).
Japhet is senior pastor at Boulder Adventist Church in Boulder, Colorado, and was co-founder of the One project. Originally from southeast London, he served in the South England Conference for nine years—as a pastor and later as conference youth director—before moving to the United States in 2006. He is married to Becky and they have two sons, Joshua (18) and Jonah (14).
Read the Words to Remember with your child. If they are old enough, let them draw out what they think those words say or look like. Help them understand the big words. If they are younger, draw the picture yourself and show it to them, explaining the things you drew. Pray over your child’s life, that they always feel God’s love poured into their hearts.
Make a picture with your Words to Remember for this week. What are some of the things you could draw in this picture? The first sentence says, “Hope doesn’t put us to shame.” That means that hope doesn’t let us down—we can always count on it! The next part says, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” What do you think the Holy Spirit looks like? Show your picture to your parents and explain why you drew what you drew!
A few years ago, when my oldest son was about four years old, we went out for our annual New Year’s Day hike (in this case it was only a three-mile walk since I was pregnant and he was little). We were walking in freezing rain in Seattle and my son began to whine: “This isn’t fun!” “This is the Pacific Northwest,” I said. “The unrelenting misery is the fun!” In my family, we did boast about misery—and still do. Surviving a particularly miserable camping trip just made the excursion all the more boast-worthy! I’ve always felt pride in surviving or getting through things. I don’t know that I’ve ever thought about praising God for suffering though. What do you think?