Romans 5:5, commentary and pictures

Hope that does not put to shame is the hope of sharing God's glory, held by faith and not by feeling, which never ends in disappointment.
It stands in order after being justified by faith with peace with God and access into grace, and after glorying in tribulation that works patience, and patience proven character, and proven character hope.
It does not fail because God's love and the constraining love of Christ is poured out and kindled in the heart, making an end of sin within and opening free access to God.
That pouring is done by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ sent to all, who is given to believers and received by faith in answer to earnest united prayer.
Where that love enters it banishes hatred, selfishness, envy and strife, fulfills the law in supreme love to God and love to neighbor, and works out in practical godliness and tender service to others.

Surrounding Context

The verse stands in the order of being declared right by faith, having peace with God through Jesus Christ, having access by faith into the grace in which believers stand, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. That hope comes after also glorying in tribulation, with tribulation working patience, patience working experience or proven character, and experience working hope, and this hope does not disappoint or put to shame because the love of God is poured out within the heart by the Holy Spirit who has been given. It belongs to those justified by faith and not by feeling, who draw support from Christ as living stones joined to the chief cornerstone so they can serve acceptably, and who personally appropriate Christ as a risen Lord whose life is quickening power.

It marks where the true experience of the child of God begins, and it is also the end and fullness of blessing in Christ that justification by faith gives. It completes the blessing as the believer's emancipation papers presented in the face of the enemy, proving mastery over Satan and over self and freedom from bondage to sin and from every entanglement through the ransom Jesus paid. As blood propelled from the heart circulates through the body, so truth received into the heart diffuses through the inner man, and when the honest heart sees Christ's sacrifice, feels conviction for sin, and prays, the Spirit sheds light so the Word is seen as never before and indwelling love brings thoughts, affections, and powers into obedience as the heart is submitted to His will.

The chapter around the verse binds law and gospel together in a perfect whole whose united testimony must go throughout the world. It is precious scripture to be impressed upon every heart opened to receive it, giving light and understanding to the simple who are contrite in heart. It leads those who receive Christ to power to become sons of God, not by mere nominal faith or legal religion but by believing to a purpose that appropriates the richest gifts of God, pleads for the gift in order to give to others, and receives of His fullness grace for grace.

When faith holds, trials work patience, experience, and hope in believers, but when unbelief separates from God the same trials instead produce faultfinding, censuring, and accusing of brethren. Receiving the blessing therefore requires steady, persevering right habits and right thoughts kept under God's control, not good resolutions or fitful feeling, and wrestling with God in prayer until the Spirit lifts a standard against the enemy. Growth through tribulation to patience to experience to hope is evidence of being God's children, and temptation in trials need not lead to discouragement or defeat for those who look to God for support and strength, while speaking doubts and discouragement reflects unbelief.

Hope That Does Not Fail

The hope is the hope of sharing God's glory, held by faith and not by feeling, and it does not end in disappointment or shame nor put to shame. It comes in order after tribulation works patience, patience works experience or proven character, and experience works hope, for those justified by faith who have peace with God through Jesus Christ, have access by faith into the grace in which they stand, and rejoice in that hope and glory even in tribulations. It gives rest and peace and relief in Christ alone, assuring forgiveness and acceptance whether felt or not, calling to live in the sunshine of Christ's presence by faith not sight, to stop thinking of self, and to dwell on God's mighty grace and Christ's compassion until the Saviour is precious. It means not flying into impatience or speaking harsh unkind words when feeling is lacking, since believers stand before heavenly intelligences with Christ's pierced hands showing they are graven on His palms.

This is a tested proven hope formed through endurance in tribulation that marks genuine religion, unlike faith that falters in adversity. It belongs to a steadfast religion that can endure hardship rather than depending on favorable circumstances, sustaining laborers through hardship so they do not faint or become discouraged. Together with verses 3-4 it describes a faith that can glory in tribulation, with tribulation producing patience, patience producing experience, and experience producing hope.

The hope is the full assurance belonging to a higher life with clearer views of heavenly things. Rising to it is slow and difficult even with earnest struggling, because the flesh wars against the Spirit and discouragement often comes. It is guarded by not letting common cheap earthly things engross the mind lest the presence of Jesus be withdrawn. It is lived as life communicated from Christ to the church, by working in harmony with His life-giving power in self-forgetfulness to build one another up in the most holy faith.

Keeping faith and patience with this hope brings the richest experience, making believers lights to the world whose good works glorify the Father. It reaches to the kingdom of glory where faces illuminated with God's glory reflect the image of Jesus, where all sorrows are ended in true freedom, and where there is no more sorrow and sin but eternal joy through eternal ages. It is the only hope that will never disappoint the seeker, held fast by walking in the light on the pathway Christ marked out through the strait gate to the city of God, leading to the mansions prepared for all who love and serve Him with all capabilities of heart and mind and soul.

The hope is gained by striving with all God-given powers and energies by beholding Jesus until the beholder is changed. It is sustained in daily duties by living faith, trust, and love for Jesus giving each task motive and strength so work is done to God's glory, with living faith running like threads of gold through little daily duties and minute details of daily life to promote Christian growth. It rests on certainty that Jesus loves and never forgets self-denial, self-sacrifice, and consecration, and is made one's own as a Christlike experience at home and abroad, in health and sickness, in the world and in the sanctuary, with bold, gentle, holy, unselfish gospel labor without deceit, uncleanness, guile, flattering words, covetousness, or seeking glory from men, gentle as a nurse cherishing her children, willing to impart not the gospel only but one's own soul, laboring night and day to be chargeable to none, behaving holily and justly and unblamably, and exhorting and comforting others to walk worthy of God who calls to His kingdom and glory, with fidelity testified in the heavenly record and every trial patiently endured rewarded when Christ gives every man as his works have been.

The hope gives rest, peace, relief, and assurance in Christ alone to the one who has confessed sin and surrendered to God. It is known by personal experience bringing an education in faith, new conversion, freedom of soul, forgiveness, assurance of God's favor, Christ dwelling within, tenderness and sorrow for sin, joy mingled with tears, delight in the Sabbath, and a burden to preach the crucified and risen Saviour, making Jesus precious to the soul. It belongs to those joined to Christ as living stones to the chief cornerstone drawing support to serve acceptably.

The hope belongs to those who personally appropriate Christ as a risen Lord whose life is quickening power. It belongs to those who become spiritually minded, redeemed by sovereign grace, drawn closer to Christ, who stop managing matters themselves to throw themselves on His mercy who gave His life to save them, rise with noble purpose to honor God, and in His strength redeem a past full of mistakes. It is present in Christ formed within and belongs to a life lived in dependence on God.

The hope is to be held in faith when trials and tribulations come by laying hold of God's promises, trusting trials are sent for good to give renewed strength and increased humility so God can safely bless and support and uphold. Trying hindrances prove a blessing to those who refuse to lose hold, for God is proving His people and giving opportunity to redeem the past, and lessons well learned always bring help in due time, so courage must not fail for the Christian always has a strong helper in the Lord, those who cast burden on the Lord and trust His promises will never be failed, and when He has fully proved His workers He will bring them forth refined as gold tried in fire.

Difficulties and conflicts are certain and are the very means ordained or suffered of God to perfect Christian character unto eternal life and to strengthen spiritual life. Each must bear his own burden instead of having others shoulder it and giving God no room to work, and these difficulties bring believers into the audience-chamber of the Most High to seek counsel of One infinite in wisdom. Trials well borne develop steadfastness of character and precious spiritual graces, with the perfect fruit of faith, meekness, and love often maturing best amid storm-clouds and darkness. Opposition and trouble are an advantage because they develop faith, patience, forbearance, heavenly-mindedness, and increasing trust that seldom grow in prosperity and sunshine but blossom amid darkness, storm, and tempest, like a lone forest tree exposed to fierce wind striking roots deeper and spreading branches more beautiful and strong, as the believer cut off from human sympathy learns to reach up to God and hang the helpless soul on the Redeemer, with heaven sending exactly the help needed. Heavy trials, opposition, bereavement, and affliction are valuable because Jesus passed through them all, and through patience, faith, and hope character is formed for everlasting life with advantages reaching into eternal ages, for everything works together for good to those that love God, leaving believers in a more favorable position in right relationship to God with minds centered on privileges through Christ, qualified and fitted through Christ's righteousness to enjoy His presence in the heavenly kingdom without complaining, while difficulty and perplexity help those connected with Christ learn His will more fully as prayer and believing exercise and increase faith.

The hope belongs to subjects of the kingdom who do not vindicate and justify themselves but have a living experience of grace and truth and make it known as living epistles. It gives cheerfulness in tribulation and power to rise above despondency because God's power quickens the heart. Assurance that God hears prayer strengthens to stand the test of trial, as Christ endured.

Love Poured Into Heart

Hope does not disappoint because God's love and the constraining love of Christ is poured out, shed abroad and kindled in the heart by the Holy Spirit given to believers, and that indwelling love received through faith makes an end of sin in the heart, brings the sinner to the fountain prepared at infinite cost to wash character white, and secures open access to God. The hope developed through tribulation working patience and patience working experience will not disappoint or put to shame, for Christ has made every provision for spiritual strength by giving the Spirit to bring His promises to remembrance, so that keeping the eyes fixed on the Saviour and trusting His power fills believers with peace, forgiveness and security with Christ's righteousness as their own. This hope is present in Christ formed within and belongs to a life lived in dependence on God, and as believers partake of the divine nature the Spirit quickens spiritual life so that love leads to right actions and to working as Christ worked.

That love is shown and made clear in that while people were weak, ungodly and yet sinners, God commended His love toward them and sent His Son to save rather than condemn, with Christ dying for the ungodly and through His blood the justified saved from wrath. This death for sinners grounds justification by faith and gives grounds for hope in His love, and it gives Christ matchless charms that draw love to Him and move believers to want to be like Him, to glorify His name, to give themselves to God and to obey Christ. The love of God in giving His only begotten Son is the means by which Christ in humanity grasped divinity, and through faith human nature having overcome is able to grasp the divine nature.

As blood propelled from the heart circulates through the body, so truth received into the heart diffuses through the inner man. When the honest heart sees Christ's sacrifice, feels conviction for sin, comes to God in prayer and receives light on the Word, the Spirit sheds light on the convicted mind, the meaning of the Word is seen as never before, and the love of God shed abroad in the heart brings thoughts, affections and powers into obedience as the heart is submitted to Christ's will, and there the true experience of the child of God begins. To know Christ by experience in true conversion through this love is to know Him as peace, joy, strength, shield, Guide and Counsellor, the source of all comfort, all and in all.

The poured love satisfies those who long for God and hunger and thirst for righteousness, filling the heart with joy so that worldly riches, honors and pleasures become less attractive. It brings deep joy and praise with a vivid sense of God's glory and the loveliness of Jesus, and received by faith it begins eternal life and flows out in blessing to others, so that those in whom the Spirit dwells will live forever with Christ. This living experience may be falsely condemned as delusion or an evil spirit by professed believers who are spiritually cold, yet those whose hearts are filled praise and glorify God by His power.

That love joins the believer to Christ as one with Him and makes Jesus precious, with the heart like a sacred harp sounding praise and gratitude to the Redeemer sent to take away sin. It gives grace to be patient, grace to be trustful, grace to overcome restlessness, warmth of heart, reviving in weakness, courage, peace and assurance, enabling staying in confidence upon God, rolling all burdens upon Him and leaning the whole weight upon Christ through suffering as pilgrims seeking a heavenly home. This precious light of God's love and Christ's freely given righteousness is full and abundant for each one personally, even for hungry, starving souls in ignorance who have never seen it before. The love is known by personal experience making Jesus precious, giving an education in faith, new conversion, freedom of soul, forgiveness, assurance of God's favor and Christ dwelling within in peace. It produces tenderness and sorrow for sin, joy mingled with tears, grateful delight in the Sabbath and a burden to preach the crucified and risen Saviour, and it is the source of all strength and of the earnest desire to live for God and please Him, nerving and sustaining under heavy burden as in Christ's submission in Gethsemane.

The love taking possession of the renewed heart works a grateful, benevolent, devoted affection with intensity of desire and kindled love toward the Author of redemption. It does not come by accumulated deeds of legal obedience but by the heaven-born principle of faith in His blood and righteousness, by lifting and bearing the Redeemer's cross, with self subdued and fallen on the Rock and broken and melted until dross is consumed. Works of selfishness bind the soul in bands of steel until justice, mercy and love can make no impression, and only when the heart is renewed and possessed by this love is the selfish bond broken, which alone fits for entering the city of God. Rejoicing in this hope is rejoicing in the hope of God's glory, not in feeling, and it means not flying into impatience or speaking harsh, unkind words showing Satan's attributes when feeling is lacking, remembering believers stand before heavenly intelligences and that the marks of crucifixion show they are graven on His palms.

Holy Spirit Given

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ sent to all to give sufficiency, is the means by whom the love of God is poured, shed, placed and kindled in the heart. Jesus came to impart this Spirit with His constant teaching and influence to make believers complete in Him, and that imparted love is the living principle of brotherhood and the force and power of every message for God, making words fruitful and leading to right actions as partakers of the divine nature work as Christ worked. The Spirit is given to believers and received by faith.

That shed love is sought and given in answer to earnest, united, effectual prayer by those who feel their spiritual need and cry to the Lord for unction to overcome their own infirmities and weaknesses and to be fitted for saving others. When the Spirit is sought, the love flows as a rich current from the throne of grace pressed effectually into the heart, and then spreads outward from the heart in kind words and deeds of tender compassion, so that co-laborers with Christ bring His pleasantness into practical life and do the work He did in this world. It is the great need of every church today, and it cannot be obtained by human power but only as God is sought, for it is the golden oil of grace that keeps believers spiritually supplied and ready to meet the Lord.

Those fixed in unchangeable ideas, whose doctrines are all stereotyped and unchangeable, who walk after human traditions and commandments as the Jews did in the time of Christ, cannot be endowed with the Spirit and cannot receive this gift. Christ made every provision for spiritual strength by giving the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance all the promises He has made. Keeping the eyes fixed on the Saviour and trusting His power fills believers with peace, a sweet sense of forgiveness, security, and Christ's righteousness as their righteousness.

The love placed by the Spirit accompanies the grace of Christ, replenishes spiritual life, strengthens religious experience, and turns the heart heavenward toward heavenly things, so that like the wise virgins those who receive Him keep their lights burning and work to seek and save the lost. The Spirit's influence accompanies the heart-searching, confession and repentance through which believers are softened and sanctified, kindling the love of God in the heart. The Spirit is to work in those who teach God's Word, and they are not to try to direct or manipulate Him.

His presence and the love poured through Him give grounds for joyful confidence and praise, expressed with true, unselfish, clean and honest lips. God refreshes His people by the gift of the Holy Spirit, baptizing them anew in His love and shedding His love abroad in every heart, so there is no need for dearth of the Spirit in the church. The gift comes in fullness and power upon waiting, praying, believing disciples as after Christ's ascension, and it is to be given again when the earth is lightened with the glory of God, when a divine influence goes forth from those sanctified through the truth to encircle the earth with an atmosphere of grace as the Spirit takes the things of God and shows them to men.

Transformed Life and Service

The love poured into the soul drives out all hatred, selfishness and envy and draws the obedient affections out after God, leaving no dissension or strife among those who look to Jesus and encourage and serve one another. It works through obedience to the perfect law that converts the soul, bringing health in obedience to God's law. It is the prescription for cheerfulness that creates a healthful atmosphere in the home, without fretting, complaining, harsh speech to children, or any word of repining. Given to the sick and suffering who look to Jesus the great Healer, this love brings health.

By the refining, purifying sanctification of the Spirit this poured love burns out every vestige of the desire to rule and dominate. It gives a religion entirely different in character from that shown by many professed Christians and manifests the lovely flavor of Christ's character. Unless those lacking this love change decidedly they will never be welcomed into the gates of the city of God.

The shed love causes discovery that God's law is holy, just and good, bringing delight in the law, love for its requirements, and obedience rendered from the heart. That love produces supreme love to God and love to neighbor as self, which comprehends the whole duty of man and is the fulfilling of the law, working no ill to neighbor. It cleanses malice, hatred, jealousy and selfishness from the soul temple and fills the vacuum with kindness, patience, longsuffering, benevolence and love, so that the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in believers. In this way the image of God in man is renewed and he is made partaker of the divine nature as a branch grafted into the true Vine through Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, redeemed from all iniquity and purified a peculiar people zealous of good works and brought back to loyalty to God's law. This love carries the life of God's law and makes it possible for God to dwell with people and for them to dwell with Him.

The shed love is the life of Jesus Christ in the soul, an active principle of love that alone makes the soul fruitful unto good works. It makes words fruitful and is the force and power of every message for God that ever fell from human lips. It belongs to the true and only religion of the Bible, which teaches forgiveness only through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour and advocates righteousness by the faith of the Son of God, and it is needed to come into the unity of the faith.

The love received into the heart works as an active power in the Christian's life, as seen in conduct under trial and affliction. Its presence is revealed outwardly, for the influence of God's love is shed abroad in a life through practical godliness and daily actions. Flowing as a rich current into the heart through earnest prayer pressed effectually to the throne of grace, it then spreads outward from the heart in kind words and deeds of tender compassion. So co-laborers with Jesus Christ bring His pleasantness into practical life and do the work He did when in this world.

Those who have this unfailing hope deal tenderly with others who are striving for the crown of life, helping souls in need in love and tenderness. They give compassionate words of hope and courage when others need help as they themselves once needed it, bearing each other's woes and encouraging the young to seek earnestly for a deeper experience in the Christian life. God's love is the source of the tender compassion and Christlike love needed in dealing with others.

Where that love enters, what is objectionable in character is cleansed and purified by the love of Jesus. All selfishness is expelled, and envy and evil-speaking are rooted out. A radical transformation makes the person a new creature bringing forth love, joy, peace and all the fruit of righteousness. It is given in answer to earnest, united prayer by those who feel their spiritual need and cry for unction to overcome their own infirmities and weaknesses and to be fitted for saving others, and it is the great need of every church today.

When the light of truth shines into the mind and the love of God is shed abroad in the heart, the mind is enlightened and the affections purified. This love results from faith in Jesus Christ lived out in obedience to God's word, and the peace and joy it brings belong to the self-denying path of obedience, not to passing feelings treated as sanctification. It enlightens, ennobles by virtue, and carries forward in mental, moral and spiritual dignity until intelligence and purity of character are but little lower than the perfection and purity of angels. Though a fallen son of Adam, reclaimed by the truth of God's word, ennobled by looking to Jesus and believing in Him, and made a partaker of the divine nature through Christ's merits, he may become an heir of immortality with thoughts elevated and ennobled, heart purified and conversation in heaven, so that what he may become and what great work God can do through him can hardly be conceived. Through faith people receive Christ's character, and by His merits and through cooperation with divine agencies, with Christ's grace enabling resistance to sin and growth in purity and virtue, they can keep growing mentally, morally and spiritually in grace and knowledge to represent Him to the world, making constant advancement possible and requiring continual improvement rather than anchoring on old experience.

This poured love enthrones Christ in the heart as an honored Guest and makes Jesus the center object of contemplation. It softens and subdues the spirit, gives strength to be more than conquerors, and causes the daily life to represent Christ in spirit and action and to reveal having been with Jesus and learned of Him. It marks the distinction between a true heart and a false heart, for the streams flowing from a false heart are tainted and corrupt.

God's love is to dwell richly in the heart, filling children's hearts in answer to prayer. When God's Spirit is sought, God's love is poured into the heart as the golden oil of grace that keeps believers spiritually supplied and helps them be ready to meet the Lord, which they cannot obtain by their own power.