Part 4: The Conduct of Hope
Notes
Transcript
Our Memory Verse
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Our Definition
Hope is the confident expectation of a better future
[Introduction]
A Living Hope
A Living Hope
3 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, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
A Living Hope
Our hope is not, and can not die. It is as alive as our Savior who is the basis of our hope.
through the resurrection, 3 Jesus arose to demonstrate that He had defeated sin, death, and Hell for us
to an inheritance, 4 Paul describes our inheritance (our better future) using the words incorruptible, undefiled, unfading, reserved. We should confidently expect a better future.
for salvation, 5 literally safety, but in the future
A man on a ship falls overboard. He can swim but not for long; his situation is dire. Someone sees him in the water and throws him a life ring with a rope that is attached to the ship. He grabs ahold of the life ring and is saved, even though he has not yet reached the safety of the ship. The one who threw the life ring begins to pull him to the ship. Eventually he is pulled aboard the ship and is saved. He was saved when he grabbed ahold of the life ring, but he didn’t reach the safety of his salvation until he reached the ship. That’s how salvation works.
A Resting Hope
A Resting Hope
There are two aspects of our resting hope:
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
A Resting Hope
Grace - The first aspect of our resting hope
Lliterally receiving what we do not deserve, but this will be in the future “at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. Because our better future is secure and we have hope, we rest in the assurance that our future will be better.
But he continues...
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
A Resting Hope
Works - the second aspect of our resting hope
works, for want of a better term, for the present
obedience: children born into a new family, 14
holiness: called—literally invited—by a holy God, 15-16
fear:
because our actions will be judged, 17
because our person has been redeemed by something precious, 18-19
People often get confused by the idea of redemption, but they shouldn’t we participate in the process every week. Every time you buy a soda, you pay a 5 cent deposit. To get your nickel back, you must return the can. Where do you return the can? To the redemption center. To the state, the aluminum of the can is more precious than a nickel. And to you, at least theoretically, the nickel is more precious than the can. In that scenario, each party redeems, or buys back, what they want. Our process is a trade. We had nothing to trade with a God who wanted us, so He traded Jesus for us, providing both sides of the equation.
On the surface, it may seem strange to list works under a resting hope, but it isn’t. The works that we do are a result of our hope, not an attempt to earn it. We work because we have hope, not to achieve it.
We, as believers, have a living, resting hope. No matter how bad, or how good, the present looks for you, the future looks better. That is the nature of hope, it is the confident expectation of a better future; and ours is. So we should live with hope. The world around us, does not have any expectation of a better future—and nor should they—so they have no hope. That is what we offer them when we offer salvation.
Do you have hope, or have you believed the lied that the future won’t be better?
Do you know anyone who needs hope but has none?