Charles Ellicott Commentary Romans 5:4

"and stedfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope:" — Romans 5:4 (ASV)

Experience. This is “Approvedness,” the quality of being tried and approved. The result of patient endurance is to test, confirm, and refine the better elements of faith. Out of this, in turn, grows hope. Hope began and ends the circle. It is the knowledge of what is in store for him that, initially, strengthens the Christian to endure. That endurance, being prolonged, gives him the steady, calm assurance no longer of the novice but of the veteran.