Today we focus on Romans 5:3-5, Paul's comments about suffering. A word study shows that the primary kind of suffering Paul is referring to here is what is often translated as "affliction". The New Testament context for the word "affliction" is persecution. In other words, the suffering Paul is referring to here is the suffering caused by being a follower of Jesus in the Empire. That suffering includes what happens to us, but it also includes how we, as followers of Christ, take the suffering of the world upon ourselves.