Extending Hope: God's Part (Part VII)

The Blood-Empowered Word
What is it about the Word of God that is able to give me such hope? It is the message of the gospel, the good news of the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:9, Paul said, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." The blood of Christ has the power to justify and to save. Why do I need justification? Because I have sinned and God reveals in His Word that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). There is a penalty to be paid for my sins . . . but Jesus paid that penalty for me and I can stand justified before God. If I stand justified, then I can have salvation.

In Ephesians 1:7, Paul says, "In Him [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Those who have been obedient to the gospel of Christ have been redeemed through His blood. The idea of redemption is of "buying back." All those who are lost in sin have sold themselves into slavery to sin (Romans 6:16). Through the blood of Jesus Christ, one can be "bought back" out of that slavery and receive the forgiveness of those sins.

So how does one come to know about the life-saving power of the blood of Christ? God is not going to reach down and "zap" someone with the knowledge of how to be saved from sin. It is only through the Word of God and the preaching of that Word that one can come to that knowledge.

When God made the gospel available to the Gentiles in Acts 10, Peter acknowledged that "God is no respecter of persons" (verse 34). In the context, he was saying that God had made the gospel available to all people. The same is true of the method by which God has chosen to disseminate that gospel. Consider:

• Jesus told his disciples in Mark 16:15 to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature."
• In Acts 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch was searching for the truth, God did not "zap" him with knowledge, he sent him a preacher (Philip).
• In referring to the Jews' need to hear the gospel in Romans 10:14, Paul asked, "How shall they hear without a preacher?"
• In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Paul refers to the preaching of the gospel as "foolishness" to those who perish, but as "the power of God" to those who are saved.

It is abundantly clear that God has done much in extending hope to mankind. The next logical step is to examine man's part in laying hold of that hope.

Extending Hope: God's Part (Part VI)

A Power Unto Salvation
Just how powerful is the lasting record that God has given to mankind? Consider what Paul says in the beginning chapter of his letter to the Romans: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). The word of God has the power to save my soul.

As Peter preached to the multitude of Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), what was it that caused them to cry out to the apostles, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" It was the words that Peter spoke through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for it says "when they heard this, they were cut to the heart . . .". (Acts 2:37). Those were some powerful words that Peter spoke.

Later, when the doors of the kingdom were opened to the Gentiles, Cornelius was told by an angel of God that Peter would tell him "words by which you and all your household will be saved" (Acts 11:14). It was the power of the Word of God that led to their salvation.

In Acts 28, as Paul was speaking to the leaders of the Jews in Rome, he told them, "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” (Acts 28:28). What salvation was this that they would hear? Verses 30-31 tell us: "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him."

But is the written word as powerful as those words spoken by the apostles? Absolutely, and the Scriptures bear witness of this. In 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul told Timothy that his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures (those things that were written) were "able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Consider how Jesus responded to Satan as he was being tempted in Matthew 4. How did Jesus answer each and every temptation thrown His way? "It is written . . ." And what was the end result? "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him" (Matthew 4:11). You see, Jesus knew the power of God's Word, whether spoken or written. If an "it is written" is powerful enough to make the devil flee, how much more is its power to save my soul from the clutches of the devil?

Extending Hope: God’s Part (Part V)

A Lasting Record:
As Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21). Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to aid the apostles in preaching the Gospel to their generation and to inspire them to write it down for generations to come.

Until the Word could be provided in written form, the apostles were to preach the gospel to any who would hear it. Jesus told them in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” As the apostles preached the Gospel and people responded, these new converts would in turn spread the Gospel to others (see Acts 8:1-4). How wide did this word-of-mouth preaching of the Gospel spread? Paul tells us in Colossians 1:23 that “[the Gospel] was preached to every creature under Heaven.” This means that, at the time Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians, the Gospel had been preached in all the known world.

So what about those of us who did not have the benefit of the words directly spoken by the apostles? God made provision for us, as well, by giving us a written record of their teachings. In Ephesians 3, Paul makes reference to his having received the “mystery of Christ.” What was this mystery? He goes on to say that it was “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). I can’t speak for all who read this, but I know that applies to me since I am not a Jew. How could the Gentiles learn about this “mystery of Christ”? Paul tells us that, too, if we go back and read verses 1-4 in their entirety (emphasis mine): For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) . . .”. This same principle applies to all of the writings of the apostles since they all wrote of the same hope that is available through Jesus Christ.

How comforting it is to know that I have a lasting, God-breathed record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even more comforting is the hope that this record gives me because of its power to save.

Extending Hope: God’s Part (Part IV)

Comfort and Truth:
I can only imagine how frightening and sad it must have been for Jesus’ disciples when Jesus revealed to them that, after His resurrection, He would be leaving them again. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus reminded the apostles over and over that He would soon be going back to the Father (John Chapters 14-16). However, Jesus also reassured them that they would not be alone. Jesus was going to send another of the Godhead to them to comfort them and to help them complete their work. Who would this be?

In John 14:15-18, Jesus refers to this Person as a “Helper” (KJV – “Comforter”) and as the “Spirit of truth.” Again, in John 14:26, Jesus says this person would be “the Helper,” and He reveals that this Person would be the “Holy Spirit.” So then, we come to understand that after Jesus’ ascension, He would send the Holy Spirit to the apostles. What would the function of the Holy Spirit be?

To Teach and Remind:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

The “all things” Jesus was referring to here is made clear by Peter in 2 Peter 1:3, where Peter tells us that through His divine power, God as given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Furthermore, the Holy Spirit would remind the apostles of all things that Jesus had said. This would serve two purposes:

• So that they could write them down for you and me
• To serve as a foundation upon which all other Holy Spirit-revealed instruction would be based.

Note that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be sent “in My name.” What does this mean? It means that the Holy Spirit was sent under the authority of Jesus. Therefore, the Holy Spirit could not reveal anything to the apostles that was not based upon the words of Jesus. Jesus reinforces this in John 16:13-15: “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”

To Testify:
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26).

The Holy Spirit would provide further proof that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. He would do this through the miracles performed by the apostles and through the words that He would reveal to them.

To Convict:
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:7-11).

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin “because they do not believe in Me.” The words that the Holy Spirit would speak through the apostles would have the power to convict each and very individual on earth of their sin. There would be one of two responses to this:

• Like those in Acts 2:37, their conviction would lead to repentance
• Like those in Acts 7:54, their conviction would lead to more sin

Jesus also said the Holy Spirit would convict the world of righteousness “because I go to my Father and you see me no more.” The Holy Spirit would testify that God had raised Jesus from the dead and that He ascended into heaven where He “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High” (Hebrews 1:3). He would testify that God kept His promise to provide a means of redemption for mankind . . . that He is a righteous God.

Finally, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of judgment “because the ruler of this world is judged.” Jesus resurrection from the dead gave Him the authority to become the judge over the world: “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). He was given this authority because His resurrection proves that He has overcome the power of the “ruler of this world” (Satan): “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus death, resurrection, and ascension have given Him authority over all principalities and powers, thus giving Him the power to judge them (Colossians 2:15). The Holy Spirit would testify to all these things through the words and deeds of the apostles.

To Guide:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth . . .” (John 16:12-13).

The apostles weren’t ready yet to handle all that would be required of them and all that needed to be revealed. Jesus would, in His time, allow all truth to be revealed. How would the Holy Spirit do this? First, by giving them the words to speak when the time was right (Mark 13:10-11, Acts 2:4). Secondly, by revealing to them the words to be written down: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

How does all this give ME hope?
How does the fact that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles give me hope? Remember that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, remind them of His words, and guide them into all truth? He did just that and the beauty of it is that they wrote down all of those things so that I can learn all things . . . so that I can see all that Jesus said . . . and so that I can know all truth.

Jesus also said that the Holy Spirit would convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Through reading the words breathed by the Holy Spirit, I can be convicted of my sin and my need for the saving power of Jesus Christ. I can be convicted of the righteousness of God. I can be convicted that Jesus will return again to judge the world, rewarding the faithful and condemning the unbeliever (Matthew 25:31-46).

The Holy Spirit guided the apostles into ALL truth. This means that I don’t have to worry that God “left something out” with regard to any aspect of my life. I don’t have to worry that some “latter day revelation” will come along to lead me to question my relationship with God. I don’t have to worry about the legitimacy of the so-called “lost gospels” that have been recently discovered. I don’t have to wait for a “personal revelation” from God to tell me what to do with my life. The Holy Spirit has already revealed ALL truth in the Word of God.

THAT gives me an even greater hope!

Extending Hope: God’s Part (Part III)

Victory:
The death of Jesus was indeed a victory for mankind. The perfect sacrificial lamb had been offered to save us from death. In fact, Paul refers to Jesus as “our Passover” who “was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the body and blood of the Passover lamb saved the Israelites from the death of their firstborn, the body and blood of Jesus Christ can save mankind from spiritual death. Peter builds on this analogy in 1 Peter 1:18-19: “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” However, God took that victory one step further. Not only did He sacrifice His Son for the sins of mankind, He also raised Him from the dead.

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us?

It Further Proves that Jesus Was Who He Said He Was
What was the purpose of the miracles that Jesus performed while he was on earth? Certainly He performed miracles of healing out of compassion. Yet there is a deeper significance reason to Jesus' miracles: they confirmed that He and the words He spoke were from God. Jesus Himself tells us this in John 5:36-37: “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me . . .”

On Pentecost, Peter referred to Jesus as “a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst” (Acts 2:22). Jesus was proven to be from God by the miracles that He performed. Also, John tells us in John 20:30-31, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

What better way for God to prove that Jesus was the Messiah than to raise Him from the dead?

It Manifests the Power of God and of His Word
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:4 that Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God: “For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God . . . .” Just as the other miracles of Jesus were a manifestation of God’s power, so the resurrection of Jesus’ shows us how awesome and powerful is our Creator.

Additionally, Jesus’ resurrection proves the power of the Word of God and the surety of His promises. The resurrection of Jesus was prophesied in the Old Testament by (among others) David (Psalm 2:7, 16:10) and Isaiah (Isaiah 55:3). Jesus Himself also prophesied His own death and resurrection in Matthew 16:21 and John 2:19. The fact of Jesus’ resurrection manifests the power and immutability of God’s Word.

It Gives Us a High Priest and Advocate Before God
Under the Old Testament Law, the High Priest was responsible for presenting the blood of the sin sacrifice to God in the Most Holy Place. Since Jesus was the perfect sin sacrifice, there had to be a High Priest to present His sacrifice to God. If the perfect sacrifice was offered, there also had to be a perfect High Priest to present it to God. The writer of Hebrews tells us that that High Priest was Jesus (emphasis mine):

For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever (Hebrews 7:26-28).

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption(Hebrews 9:11-12)

Through this we understand that without Jesus’ resurrection, there would have been no High Priest worthy to present His sacrifice to God. Without His sacrifice being presented to God, there would be no forgiveness of sins, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:16-17: “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”

Furthermore, the High Priest was the one appointed to make intercession for the people before God. Again the Scripture reveals that Jesus was raised to perform the same function for His people:

• Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34).
• Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
• My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

It Gives Us a Hope of Our Own Resurrection
In overcoming death, Christ became “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20); that is, Jesus was the first of those who belong to God who was raised never to experience death again. Jesus' resurrection gives us a hope of our own resurrection, never again to experience death. How will this be accomplished?

In the resurrection, our natural bodies will be replaced with an incorruptible body: “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body . . . And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 49).

Not only will this new and incorruptible body be given to those who have died, but also to those Christians who are still living when Jesus comes again:

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory, O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55)

Peter tells us that that those who receive these incorruptible bodies will receive an incorruptible inheritance in heaven. How is this made possible? It is because of the living hope we have been given through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-4).

How wonderful to consider that this life is just a way-station before the next life . . . to realize that this life is just a blink of an eye in comparison to the eternity that awaits God’s people . . . to think that God manifested His love by overcoming death for us through the resurrection of His Son . . . to think that He has prepared an incorruptible body for me . . . to think that Jesus has gone to prepare a place in Heaven for me . . . to know that Jesus is in Heaven right now interceding for me before the Father. How could I NOT have hope?

And yet, as wonderful as God’s sacrifice and His victory over death are, He didn’t stop there in manifesting His love for me.

Extending Hope: God's Part (Part II)

Sacrifice:
The greatest manifestation of God’s love for man was His sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Through his sin, man was in a state where he could not save himself . . . nothing he could do on his own would reconcile him back to his Creator.

It is true that God had commanded the Israelites to make sin sacrifices under the Old Law. However, these sacrifices served only as a reminder of sins from year to year, they could not take way the sins of the people:

“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1-4)

The other thing about the sin sacrifices is that they were part of a covenant with a specific people: the Israelites. Even if these sacrifices could take away sins, they would only do so for those who were under the covenant.

In order for man to have the forgiveness of his sins and to have the hope of an eternity with God, it would take a perfect sacrifice. It would take the sacrifice of a man, a perfectly sinless man.

Why did the forgiveness of sin require such a sacrifice? Paul tells us why in Romans 6:23, when he says “the wages of sin is death.” While it is true that we have a loving God, we tend to forget that we also have a just God. God has decreed that the penalty for sin is spiritual death. Since each and every accountable human being on earth has/does/will sin, spiritual death is what we deserve. Again, something that humbles me about God is that He is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). This means that God not only requires that the penalty for sin be paid, but He also provided a way for it to be paid without requiring the death of every sinner on earth.

Consider several passages that sum up the beauty of God’s sacrifice:

• For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)


• Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
  “ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
  But a body You have prepared for Me.
  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
  You had no pleasure.
  Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
  In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
  To do Your will, O God.’”
  Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them ” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:5-10)


• And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28)


• Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)
  

If God had stopped manifesting His love at the sacrifice of Jesus, that would have been more than enough. However, Almighty God, whom Paul refers to as “He that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), didn’t stop there.

Extending Hope: God’s Part (Part I)

Obviously, when one hopes for something, there has to be effort on the part of the giver to extend that hope to the one who receives it. This is no less true in the hope that God has extended toward mankind. God made (and continues to make) an effort to extend that hope to a lost and dying world. The next few posts will examine how God extends hope. We will follow that up with an examination of man’s part in laying hold of that hope.

Love:
This is the motivation for God extending the hope of salvation to mankind. The beauty and humbling factor in God’s love is that it was not expressed as a result of man first showing his love to God. In fact, God extended His love toward man even though man had made himself the enemy of God: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). John tells us much the same thing in 1 John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

How is true love manifested? It is not manifested through words alone. Consider what James said in regard to faith: “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17). He tells us that true faith can only be manifested in action. The same can be said of true love . . . it, too, can only be manifested in action. It was through the actions of God that His love was manifested to mankind.

What action did God take to manifest His love to mankind?

Who Needs Hope?

Now that I understand what hope is, I must decide “Do I need to have hope?” To a person who lives in a nation where there is an abundance, this an especially important question. In an “instant gratification” society where we have our needs met and our wants fulfilled so easily, it is easy to forget that this world is not all there is. It is easy to forget that we have a need (and should have a want) for hope.

In Titus chapters 2 and 3, Paul instructs Titus to encourage Christians to live righteously before God. Why?

• Because they had been “redeemed from every lawless deed” and purified by Jesus Christ so that they might be “His own special people” (Titus 2:11-14)
• Because before they had known Christ, they had been “foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Titus 3:1-3)
• Because those who engage in such things (i.e. SIN) cannot be “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7)

So Paul reveals that those who have not been saved through “the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) cannot be partakers in this hope.

Who are these outcasts Paul is talking about? He is talking about those who are lost in sin. Who is included in this? Paul said that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This means that every single individual from Adam to me has sinned . . . except One, Jesus Christ. Paul also tells us that through sin, man lost all hope of eternal life: “Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

This does not mean that every person after Adam “inherited” Adam’s sin. To say so is to contradict the teachings of the Scriptures. For example, consider what God says in Ezekiel 18. Ezekiel, speaking for God, says that if a man commits all manner of sin and yet has a son who walks in the statutes and commandments of God, the son shall not be held accountable for the sins of his father. Note especially verse 20 (emphasis mone): “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” I am no more responsible for or guilty of the sin of Adam than my son is for the sins that I commit.

No, Paul says death spread to all men because all sinned. I lost my hope and was separated from God when I committed my first sin. We do not inherit the sin of Adam, but we do suffer the same consequences of sin that Adam suffered . . . spiritual death, which is the opposite of “the hope of eternal life.”

Paul goes on to reveal in Romans 5:17-19 how the hope of eternal life was restored (emphasis mine):

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

So, who needs hope? Each and every individual on this earth . . . past, present, and future. We have all sinned, so we have all lost the hope of eternal life. Yet how wonderful it is that God Almighty has provided a Way that our hope might be restored: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

What Is Hope?

Some variant of the word “hope” (hope, hoping, hoped) occurs approximately 70 times in the course of the entire New Testament. This would lead one to believe that hope is quite an important topic in the life of the Christian.

Peter admonishes us to “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). However, before I can defend the hope that is in me, I need to define hope.

The standard definition of hope that I have always heard is that it is “desire plus expectation.” It seems that this differs somewhat from our modern usage of the word. Today we often use “hope” just as an expression of desire without much expectation (e.g. “I hope to be rich someday”). Yet the usage of “hope” in a Scriptural context should always carry with it both the idea of desire AND expectation. Why? Because a Christian’s hope is tied to the Promises of God.

If you search the Scriptures diligently, you will find that God has made many promises to man over the years. Here are but a few examples:

• He made a three-fold promise to Abraham: to make of him a great nation; to give his people a land of their own possession; and to bless all nations of the earth through the seed of Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3)
• He promised to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land (Exodus 3:7-10)
• He promised to preserve a remnant of His people when they were led into captivity due to the sins of the nation (Isaiah 10:21-23)
• He promised to offer salvation to those of all nations who will hear His voice (Isaiah 2:1-3)

The beauty of these promises is that God kept each and every one of them. He kept His promises to Abraham, to the Israelites, to the remnant of Judah, and to all of mankind. So, we learn that when God makes a promise, we can be assured that He will keep it. God has promised a home in Heaven to those who will put on the name of Christ, work to please Him, and strive to bring others to Christ. God kept all of these promises because God cannot and will not lie (Titus 1:1-3).

Who would not have the desire to spend an eternity where there are no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering, and no more death (Revelation 21:4)? Not only can we have the sincere desire for such a place, but we can have the expectation to receive that reward if we serve the God who cannot lie.

Hope for the Christian encompasses both the desire and the earnest expectation to receive the blessings of a merciful, gracious, loving, and just God.