Hope

/ Christopher Terry

Hope is a simple word that most people think they understand. Hope encourages. Hope inspires. People want it but do not possess it. Most have no idea where to find it. Some are looking for hope in possessions or material wealth. Others are looking for hope in the approval of people or success. Yet, all of these things can be taken away. We need to find a source of hope that cannot be taken away. We need hope that does not wane.

The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ provides hope that can never be taken away (Rom. 8:31-39; John 10:29-30). It provides hope that does not wane (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 5:2). The gospel provides the hope of eternal life and peace with God (John 3:16; Rom. 5:1). Charles Spurgeon once preached, “When a man is at peace with God, then he has the desire to draw near to him. When he is justified, he has the right to draw near; so that, being justified, and having peace, we have ‘access by faith;’ and this is not a transient privilege, but the grace into which we have access is a grace in which we stand. We abide in it; the Lord has given us, through our justification, a permanent standing near to himself.”[1] This standing, this justification, provides us with hope that cannot be found anywhere else. So, the person who desires hope that is certain and enduring must find it in Jesus (1 John 5:11-13; Acts 4:12).

  • Where else can one find forgiveness of sin? It is found in Christ alone (Acts 2:38; Col. 1:4).
  • Where else can one find peace with God? It is found in Christ alone (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:1-10).
  • Where else can one find eternal life? It is found in Christ alone (John 10:27-30; 1 John 5:12).
  • Where else can one find freedom from and victory over sin? It is found in Christ alone (Rom. 6:1-23; 2 Cor. 5:15).
  • Where else can one enter into a covenant relationship with God? It is found in Christ alone (Heb. 9:11-28; 10:12-39).
  • Where else can one find adoption as sons? It is found in Christ alone (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15).
  • Where else can one find a heavenly inheritance that will never pass away? It is found in Christ alone (1 Peter 1:3-9; Eph. 1:11-12).

These are just a sampling of the blessings we receive in Christ. Meditating on these truths should encourage us and cause us to rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4-5; 3:1a). Scripture is clear, “but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:24–25). Regardless of what may come tomorrow the hope we have in Christ is secure. In Christ, we have hope.

We should not be under the illusion that we will live trouble-free lives as believers. The Lord Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33; cf. 1 John 5:1-5). God’s people experience loss and trial (ex. Job). The prophet Habakkuk wrote, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments” (Hab. 3:17–19). [2] Take note, this was a song to be utilized in Israel’s worship. Despite trouble, despite difficulty, the Lord is still our confidence. He is the One we look to when everything else seems to fall apart. In Christ, we have hope.

There are several professing Christians who are distraught over the actions of our current President and his administration. I would also ask you to consider if you were just as distraught over the actions of the last President and his administration (i.e. advocating for abortion on demand; the “transing” of kids; the unhindered flow of people crossing the border illegally). As Christians, we should use equal weights and measures. This is a time to consider where our hope and confidence are found. The proper answer is that our hope and confidence should be in Christ. As the book of Daniel teaches us, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Dan. 2:21). We are called to, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). We are called to pray in this way for our leaders, regardless of whether we voted for them or not. Why are we supposed to do so? God commanded us to do so. Secondly, as God answers our prayers for our leaders then we as Christians can live peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way. Jesus is building his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). God’s kingdom will come, and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10). In Christ, we have hope.

I will close with an extended quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

“’But,’ someone may say, ‘surely you can’t claim that there is any hope in the Gospel either, because it has been tried now for 2,000 years and has obviously failed quite as much as the various other things to which you’ve referred.’ The only reply to that is the one that was given so perfectly by the late G. K. Chesterton when he reminded us, ‘Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.’ That is the simple truth. The world, speaking generally, has never tried Christianity. It has talked a lot about it, but it has not really tried it. So I argue that this is still the only hope for the world. Therefore it is urgent that we should ask what Christianity is. Or, to put the question another way, what is the Christian church? What is her business, and what is her message? It can be put like this: Why am I, or why is anyone else, a preacher of the Gospel? There is only one answer to that question. I am a preacher because I believe I have been called; because in my little way God has given me a burden; because I know by personal experience, by the experience of others, and by experience garnered from the reading of history that there is nothing under heaven that can enable men and women to conquer and to master life and to have a hope that cannot be dimmed except this Gospel. Therefore, the most urgent task in the world today is to make the Gospel known to men and women. And this is the function of the Christian church.”[3]

As Paul writes, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16–17). In Christ, we have hope.

[1] C. H. Spurgeon, “A Door of Hope,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 47 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1901), 516.

[2] Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[3] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Christianity—The Only Hope,” in Authentic Christianity, 1st U.S. ed., vol. 1, Studies in the Book of Acts (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 5–6.