As I mentioned in Part 1, the Bible speaks of Hope as having a confident expectation and trust in God’s goodness and His promises. Biblical Hope is not “wishful thinking,” but a steady expectation of God’s faithfulness.
As in the Old Testament which we reviewed last week, the New Testament is filled with words of Hope. Last week, we saw that the writer Hebrews tells us that Hope is intimately connected with faith:
“Faith is the confidence in what we hope for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Furthermore, we found that biblical Hope is not seen with the physical eyes, but with our spiritual eyes as we put our trust in God’s promises. As Paul said,
“Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait patiently for it” (Romans 8:24-25).
Furthermore, we find that along with faith and love, Hope is an enduring virtue of the Christian life and one of the top three “Christian Virtues,” as Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth,
“Now abiding faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
And interestingly, even though the greatest of the virtues is love, Paul makes an interesting statement to the Christians in Colossae, saying,
“…faith and love spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:5).
Wow! The Christian virtues of Faith and Love are “activated” by the Hope that we have in Christ who grants us eternal life, stored up for us in heaven.
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy that,
“…Christ Jesus is our hope” and that “we put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 1:1 and 4:10).
We must realize that the foundation of all of our hope is in “the living God,” and in His Son, Christ Jesus who is the Savior of all mankind.
The writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers regarding their faith in Christ and the salvation of their souls,
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19).
It was their Hope in the promises of God that formed the “anchor” for their souls, an anchor that was “firm and secure.” And, of course, that is true for us as well.
Finally, let’s remember that our faith is grounded in the promises of God. The writer of Hebrews says,
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
After reading this passage, I asked myself the question: “WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF THE HOPE THAT WE PROFESS?” The answer to this question is more than we can cover in today’s blog, because after surveying the New Testament, I found that there are actually FIVE different aspects of Hope for the New Testament saints, and for us as well. In next week’s blog, I will share with you the results of my search, and I am confident that you will be blessed by what God’s Word reveals. I “hope” you will join me.
Blessings to you all,
Sincerely, Jim Price
