If you are following along in the Navigator's Bible reading plan with us in 2025,

you know that we're in the book of Romans right now, and we're reading Romans 5 together right now.

And in that reading, Romans 52 stands out to me.

There Paul models a life for us that is rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

Rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. Our present rejoicing is a hoping joy, an anticipating

joy, a desiring joy, a joy that's felt now, but a joy in something to come, something we don't have yet

in hand, a hope, a hope in a future glory that sustains our joy right now.

We've revisited this precious truth often on Ask Pastor John in a lot of different cases.

For me, it just recalls the time

that you were asked one time, Pastor John, is John Piper happy? Is John Piper happy? And your answer

was rooted in this very text. Yes, John Piper is happy, even amid life's very painful sorrows.

Why largely drawn from Romans chapter 5 verse 2. And you can see how that works

for him in the Ask Pastor John book if you have a copy handy on pages 306 and 307. A glorious text

like Romans 52 prompts questions from listeners like this one from Chip, who writes in to us from

Georgia. Pastor John, hello, Christian hedonism seems to say that our deepest

longing in this life can only be satisfied by God, and that only in him can we be truly happy.

If God makes us happier than people who pursue this world, why does Paul say that we are to be

pitied most of all men if there is no resurrection? In 1 Corinthians 1519. Isn't our life even now more

satisfying than that of a non-Christian? I'm smiling real big. I love sharp, biblically rooted

questions. So I've asked this. In fact, I've spoken on it. Years ago, I spoke to

the Wycliffe folks in Cameroon on this very question. So I was trying to remember what I said.

It is a really important and good question rooted in 1st Corinthians 15. So let me just bring Chip up and the rest of us to where I'm

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