Christian definition of hope

1. The Christian Hope – 9th January 2016
“May the God of hope fill youwithall joyandpeace as you trustin him, sothat you mayoverflow with
hope bythe powerof the HolySpirit”(Romans15:13).
What doeshope meanto the Christian?Hope isessential to the believerforjoysoit’scritical to have.
Let usfirstconsiderwhatHope is not.Whenone says “I hope myteam winsthe cricketmatch” or “I
hope I geta raise”isnot the ChristianHope we thatwe are talkingabout.Because Biblical hope isnot“I
hope-so”butitis “I know-so”.Itisn’twishingforthe best.Itisn’twaitingtosee whathappensandhope
that itturns out well.Hope isnota feelingoran emotion.Hope isthe knowledge of facts.If someone
saysto you that “I hope youhave a good day,”there isno guarantee thatthe daywill gowell.Tohave a
biblical hope istohave a sure anchor of the soul,nothopingforrain because the forecastsaysthat
there isa 60% chance of rain andyou hope thatyou getyour gardenwatered.Thatisnot hope…thatis
wishful thinkinganditisutterlyundependable andhasnopowertobring anythingtopass.Human hope
palesincomparisontobiblical hope,aswe will come toknow throughthispresentation.
A Christian’sdefinitionof hope isfarsuperiortothat of the world.Insteadof wishingorhopingfor
somethingtohappen,abelieverknowsthattheirhope issolid,concreteevidence because itis
groundedinthe Word of God and we know that God cannot lie:“Goddidthisso that, bytwo
unchangeable thingsinwhichitisimpossible forGodto lie,we whohave fledtotake holdof the hope
setbefore usmay be greatlyencouraged.19 We have thishope as an anchor for the soul,firmand
secure”(Hebrews6:18- 19); We can geta furtherunderstandinginNumbers23:19,“God isnot human,
that he shouldlie,nota humanbeing,thathe shouldchange hismind.Doeshe speakandthennot act?
Doeshe promise andnot fulfill...?Therefore the Christianhasahope that is“…the assurance of things
hopedfor,the convictionof thingsnotseen”(Hebrews11:1).It isa hope that islike faith…afaiththat
cannot be movedbycircumstancesorwhat the eyessee because anunseenGodisseeninHis
faithfulness.
The apostle Paul givesusthe bestexample of hope inRomans8. Wheneverwe encounterhopelessness
withdoubtsabouttheirsalvation,IusuallydirectthemtoRomans8:24-25 where Paul tellsthe believer,
“For inthishope we were saved.Nowhope thatisseenisnot hope.Forwho hopesforwhathe sees?
But if we hope for whatwe do not see,we waitforitwithpatience”Moreoverwe canlearnfrom
Romans8 because…“If God isfor us, whocan be againstus” (Romans8:31)? Evena Childwould
understandthat“if God is onyour side”how can one loose?The importfactis “how sure is yourHope!I
believethateveryChristianhasgone throughorwill gothrougha dark nightof the soul where deep
doubtsand fearsflare upbut extinguishingthose fearsisassimple asstayinginthe Bible faithfully,day
by day.
We can readof a situationwhenthe apostle Peterspoke tothose whowere experiencingterrible
persecution,tohave hope throughthe resurrectionof JesusChrist.Peterwrote “Accordingtohisgreat
mercy,he has causedus to be born againto a livinghope throughthe resurrectionof JesusChristfrom
the dead,to an inheritance thatisimperishable,undefiled,andunfading,keptinheavenforyou,whoby
God’spowerare beingguardedthroughfaithfora salvationreadytobe revealedinthe lasttime”(1
Peter3:3-5). We have thisassuredhope because Jesuswasalsoraised;We can readin 1 Thessalonians
4: “For the Lord himself will come downfromheaven,withaloudcommand,withthe voice of the
archangel andwiththe trumpetcall of God, andthe deadinChristwill rise first.17 Afterthat,we who
are still alive andare leftwill be caughtuptogetherwiththeminthe cloudstomeetthe Lord inthe air.

2. Andso we will be withthe Lordforever.18 Therefore encourage one anotherwiththesewords”(1
Thessalonians4:16-18).
As Christianswe canask ourselves“Whenwasthe lasttime I encouragedabrotheror sister,forthat
matteranybody,witha promise of thishope?We maycome to know of a fellow Christians
problems…butwhatactionhave we takenevenwhile having aclearmandate fromGod. We live
regardless.AsChristianswe know thatChristdiedforoursake andwas buriedbutrose againaccording
to the scriptures:“…that he wasburied,thathe wasraisedonthe thirdday accordingto the Scriptures”
(1 Corinthians15:4).In the same passage inverse 20 we can alsolearn:“But Christhasindeedbeen
raisedfromthe dead,the firstfruitsof those whohave fallenasleep”.Therefore asChristianswe are
requiredtoencourage one anotherwiththistruth…thatthrough theirHope andfaithinJesusChrist,
salvationandan eternityinheavenismade possible.
There isno hope inmankind,circumstances,orinanyotherthingin the universe but“we have ourhope
seton the livingGod”as we can readin1Timothy4:10, “That iswhywe laborand strive,because we
have put our hope inthe livingGod,whoisthe Saviorof all people,andespeciallyof those whobelieve’.
JesusChrististhe “Saviorof all people,especiallyof those whobelieve”.Because “JesusChristisour
hope”as we can learnfrom 1Timothy1:1, “Paul,an apostle of ChristJesusbythe commandof God our
Saviorand of ChristJesusour hope”.We can learnwhenPeterspoke of thisfaithbyquotingDavidwho
wrote “Therefore myheartisgladand my tongue rejoices;mybodyalsowill restinhope”(Acts2:26).
That is exactlythe reasonPaul toldthe Romanbelieversaswe canlearnfromRomans 5:2,“…through
whomwe have gainedaccessby faithintothisgrace in whichwe now stand.Andwe boast inthe hope
of the gloryof God”.
“Maythe Godof hopefill you with all joy andpeace as you trust in him,so that youmay overflow
with hopeby the power of the Holy Spirit.”(Romans15:13).