Why Do Christians Have Hope?
Our God is the God of hope (Rom 15:13). He has given us His Word, the Scriptures, from which Christians derive encouragement, perseverance, that we might have hope (Rom 15:4). In other words, our hope is in Him (Rom 15:12) because, in hope, we have been saved by Jesus Christ (Rom 8:24), who is our only hope (1 Tim 1:1).
We rejoice in hope (Rom 12:12), even though hope does not allow us to see (Rom 8:24). Through suffering, trials, and divine chastisements, the believer has hope within (Rom 5:4). Hope does not disappoint us because it is a gift of God, who has poured out His love, and given us His Spirit (Rom 5:5).
The pledge of God constrains us, so that we exult in hope for the glory of God (Rom 5:2). Hope assures us we will see Him face to face, and God has promised to make us like Him. Therefore, we boast of our hope in Christ (Heb 3:6), who is our surety that hope will continue until the end (Heb 3:6; 6:11).
People outside of Christ Jesus are without God and without hope (Eph 2:12), but we have a better hope, through which we draw near to God (Heb 7:19). The Spirit of Christ continues to realign the Christian’s focus to Christ, his mind to the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and to fire his affections for Christ. The soul of the believer is anchored to Christ in hope (Heb 6:19), the hope the Spirit ever sets before us (Heb 6:18).
Christians are people of conviction, holding to things unseen (Heb 11:1), and we hold fast our confession of our hope (Heb 10:23) because we have One who is faithful and true to His Word, being God who is true despite the fact that every man is a liar (Rom 3:4). Unbeknownst to the unbeliever, the Spirit of God has caused us to be born again to a living hope (1 Pet 1:3), and our hope is fixed completely on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:13).
God raised Jesus from the dead, so our faith and hope are in God, alone (1 Pet 1:21). Our resurrection hope (1 Pet 1:3) is the hope for which we give an account when anyone asks us (1 Pet 3:15). In other words, we have hoped in Christ for more than this present life (1 Cor 15:19).
Hope abides (1 Cor 13:13), and so in hope, we labor as unto the Lord (1 Cor 9:10). Our hope is grounded, come what may (2 Cor 1:7), for we know that God will deliver us (2 Cor 1:10). This is why Christians are bold when we speak of Christ Jesus, our Lord (2 Cor 3:12), who alone is the hope of Israel (Acts 28:20).
We need hope because we live in a fallen world of sin, with a devil who looks to destroy us, and we can only wait for the hope of righteousness (Gal 5:5). We are called to this hope by God’s Spirit (Eph 4:4), and together with all the church, we anticipate the riches of the glory of His inheritance, reserved for us in heaven (Eph 1:18; Col 1:5).
Christians hear the Gospel over and over again, and it bolsters our hope (Col 1:23). We cannot deny the hope given to us, by grace, because Christ in us, the hope of glory, is our life (Col 1:27). We have died with Christ, and we have Him living in us, His body, the church (Gal 2:20). This is the very reason our hope remains steadfast (1 Thess 1:3). We share this hope together until Christ comes again for us (1 Thess 2:19).
Our last enemy, death, is subdued by hope, which is why Christians do not grieve, nor mourn as others (1 Thess 4:13). We have the hope of eternal salvation (1 Thess 5:8), which is a good hope by grace (2 Thess 2:16). Grace fixes our hope on the living God, who is our Savior (1 Tim 4:10). The hope of eternal life is from Him (Titus 1:2), and this is why Christians look, in hope, for the appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus (Titus 2:13).
Christian, rejoice in hope for the promises God has made to us are always, “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ. Friend, if this hope is not yours, it is our earnest hope that you will understand by these Words what God has given to us in Christ. Repent and believe this hope, and we will share in it, together. There is nothing else.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
November 2, 2021
