Hope

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV)

How many times have we used the word “hope” to indicate something that may or may not happen? Sometimes people hope that their favorite sports team wins a game, people hope for snow on Christmas, people hope that there is no snow on Christmas, people hope for all sorts of things to take place, but when “hope” is used in this way there is always the chance that the thing hoped for will not take place. A Biblical definition of the word “hope” would be “expectation coupled with desire”. There are things that a person can desire to happen and expect these things to take place. Jesus Christ has provided the Christian a living hope, and those that obey the Gospel and remain faithful, can desire heaven and expect this desire to come to fruition. Let’s notice what the Bible has to say about hope.

The Bible states that there are some that have no hope. Those that are outside of the body of Christ have “no hope” (Eph. 2:12). As the church at Thessalonica was told about the Day of Judgment, there was comfort given to the church and they were able to “sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Who are these which have no hope? The individual that sins and comes short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), has no hope. The individual which transgresses God’s Law (1 John 3:4) has no hope. The individual that refuses to obey the Gospel (2 Thess. 1:8-9), refusing to do the will of the Father in heaven (Matt. 7:21-23) has no hope. These individuals may have a desire to have an eternal heavenly reward but cannot have that expectation to come to fruition as they have not obeyed the commands of God. If an individual was hospitalized for an illness and undergoing medical treatment but was told by the medical staff that there was “no hope’, that individual would fully understand the severity of their illness. Such is the case with the individual that is outside the body of Christ and these individuals should understand the severity of their situation before it is too late, obeying the Gospel while there is still an opportunity to do such. The life of sin is a life that has no hope but is a life that leads to eternal destruction and despair. As terrible as it may be to hear that there is no hope for a physical illness, the thought of having no hope because of spiritual sickness is far worse.

It is not God’s desire that mankind go through life having no hope but rather it is His desire that all repent (2 Peter 3:9) and be saved from their hopeless situation. We are told that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and if the verse ended there it may appear to be hopeless but the verse continues by giving hope, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). There are those that are outside of Christ, having no hope, but now those that are in Christ have a living hope as He has abolished the enemy and has provided peace and reconciling us to God (Eph. 2:12ff.). Jesus Christ was sent to this earth in order that man might have hope in this present life and although there was a time when we had no hope, now because of the blood of Christ, which was shed for the remission of sin (Matt. 26:28), we can have hope of eternal life with the Father. We do not have to go through life in a state of hopelessness and depravity, but we can obey the commands of God, be added to the body of Christ, and have the hope because we are the people of God and heirs according to the promises given in His Word (1 Peter 2:9-10; Gal. 3:26-29).

Just as we can have hope in this present time, we also have hope for the future. How many have been hopeful that 2021 will be better than 2020? How many have stated “I hope things get better soon” while still thinking that things might get worse? The Christian can have desire and expectation for the future because of Jesus Christ. Jesus gave hope that He will come and receive us unto Himself (John 14:1-3). Those that continue in the faith can have hope that their labors will come to an end and they will be able to enjoy an eternal rest and reward (Rev. 2:10; Rev. 14:13). Death is not an annihilation of the soul, but when death comes, the faithful can have hope for the eternal reward (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Jesus is able to provide rest to the faithful (Matt. 11:28-30), and those that are faithful will be able to inherit the kingdom of God (Matt. 25:34). Jesus gives us a living hope of resurrection (1 Peter 1:3), and just as Jesus was raised from the dead, there is a day coming in which all that are in the graves and those that are alive will stand before Him in judgment (John 5:28-29; 2 Cor. 5:10), and those that have been obedient to the commands of God can hope for eternal rest in heaven.

What do you hope for? Are you able to say with all confidence that you desire and expect to be in heaven? If you will obey the Gospel, putting Christ on in baptism (Mark 16:16; Gal. 3:27), and are faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10), then you can expect to receive an eternal reward. Do you have hope, or are you outside of Christ and have no hope?