Session 13

If There’s Jesus, There’s Hope

From Understanding and Applying The Bible

Romans 5:1-5

5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 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.

You might not know...
The person who wrote this letter (Paul) was stoned, arrested for no good reason, and shipwrecked all while following Jesus.

What Does it Say?
If you have been saved then, because of Jesus, God forgives you for your sin. That means you have a relationship with God which is worth getting excited about. Now that you're a Christian, you can even rejoice in bad times because you have the hope of Jesus. 

What does it Mean?
Because you have a relationship with Jesus you can always have hope. That means your circumstances can't tell you how you have to feel. You can have hope no matter what happens because of Jesus. Even when bad things happen Jesus turns it around and makes it good somehow.

What does it mean to me?
With Jesus there isn’t one thing that happens to me that is a hopeless situation. Not only can I see tough situations for what they are, but I can also grow and mature through them. God uses tough situations to show us how much we need Him. So next time something isn’t going my way I can stop and ask Jesus what He wants to show me through it.