Romans 5:3

And not only so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh stedfastness; and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope.

The basis of the glorying considered in the preceding verse was revealed as the ultimate glory which Christians shall share with God himself in the final day, and therefore, invisible, far removed from the present time, and having nothing to do with the prosaic affairs of everyday living; but, in these verses, the basis of glowing is revealed as the very adversities through which Christians pass. Again, from Sanday:

The Christian's glorying is not confined to the future; it embraces the present as well. It extends to what would naturally be supposed to be the very opposite of a ground for glorying - to the persecutions that we have to undergo as Christians.[18]

A comparison of what Paul wrote in these verses with what he wrote in Romans 5:2 reveals a circle: hope-tribulation-stedfastness-approvedness-hope, thus showing that the attainment of the glorious final hope depends upon the soul's response to tribulations. What a sacred light this sheds upon the sorrows and disciplines of the Christian's earthly pilgrimage! All of the misfortunes, sorrows, calamities, and bitter disappointments of Life are not meaningless tragedy to the Christian, but are luminous through their connection with the ultimate goals of faith in Christ. Here is the explanation of why Jesus said,

Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:11).

Paul's words in these verses harmonize with the rule of life he followed for himself. He said,

I will glory in the things which concern my weakness. ... I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Corinthians 11:30; 12:10).

Thus, here is revealed the secret of what was written of the apostles when they:

departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name (Acts 5:41).

Here also appears the ground of Peter's admonition to

Think not the fiery trial strange, but rejoice (1 Peter 4:12,13).

The sequence of the words in the "circle" mentioned above is climactic, in which higher and higher degrees of Christian strength and loyalty are indicated. The great utility of Christian tribulations is that it does for the child of God what combat does for the soldier, making him to be no longer a novice, but a veteran. Paul's stress of the required Christian response to tribulation is further proof that faith, in order to save, must be active and obedient. Moreover, the great theme of Romans, which is the righteousness of God, is very evident in passages such as this. The eternal God could prevent human suffering; but he does not do so, not through caprice or indifference to human misery, but because even the sufferings and tribulations of life are designed to contribute to the development of the child of God, leading at last to the full realization of his hope of the glory of God.