“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Job asked the question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). The subject of eternity holds universal interest to every human being
Sophocles wrote, “Not to be born at all – that is by far the best fortune; the second best is as soon as one is born, with all speed to return thither whence one has come.” There is not much hope in that statement! Christianity offers hope, hope that goes beyond temporal optimism
to a living hope
Hope in the Bible means confident expectation. It means to be confident about the future (Romans 8:24,25). It means to anticipate the good (Titus 1:2; 1 Peter 1:21). The New Testament uses hope with the concept of resurrection:
Acts 23:6, “the hope and resurrection of the dead.” The two ideas are regarded as one. The resurrection defines our hope.
Hope is also used with the idea of promise:
Acts 26:6,7, “the hope of the promise.” This means we expect God to fulfill his promises.
Galatians 5:5 uses hope with righteousness: “the hope of righteousness.”
This hope (confidence) is our assurance that we will stand in the righteousness of Christ at his coming. We will stand in complete conformity to God’s will at that time because of Christ.
Colossians 1:23, “the hope of the Gospel”
This is the hope of the fulfillment of all the promises presented in the Gospel.
Romans 5:2, “(the) hope of the glory of God”
This is the confidence that we will be in the presence of God.
Titus 2:13, “the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Colossians 1:27).
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “the hope of salvation”
This is the hope of the rapture of believers when Christ comes back to earth.
Ephesians 1:18, “the hope of His (God’s) calling”
This is the prospect of those who respond to His call in the Gospel
Ephesians 4:4, “the hope of your calling.
Our hope here is regarded from the point of view of the called.
Titus 1:2; 3:7, “the hope of eternal life”
This is the full manifestation and realization of that life that is already the believer’s possession.
Acts 28:20, “the hope of Israel”
This is the expectation of the coming of the Messiah.
Romans 15:13, “the God of hope”
God is the Author, not the subject, of hope.
PRINCIPLE:
The Christian has a hope beyond the grave.
APPLICATION:
Do you have confidence in your eternal future? If you are a Christian, you should anticipate eternity with confidence.
