We gain eternal life through salvation. That also brings eternal hope. This daily devotional looks at different aspects of eternal hope.
Nuggets
- Because of Jesus and what He has done for us, we have hope for not only this life, but the next.
- There is a progression of hope that come from navigating the Sanctification Road.
- Grace gives us eternal hope.
Devotions in the What Is Hope? series
Hope is great for this life. However, being a child of God brings us eternal hope.
Let's Put It into Context
Hope is where we desire for something pleasant in the future that we believe is obtainable.
Our foundation is built on the blessings of faith, hope, peace, joy, comfort, and glory. It is only through Jesus’ love that we have hope.
If Jesus is not Lord of our lives, we do not have hope. If Jesus didn’t justify us, we wouldn’t have hope.
We show God’s merit when we give Him reverence. When we respond in humility, we show that we agree that He is higher than us. Our trust, love, and hope show how much we believe in His love and provision.
Because we have the hope, we believe in the ultimate triumph of Truth. That will be Jesus’ second coming.
We Have Eternal Hope in Jesus
“Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead’” (Ac. 23: 6 NIV).
Paul was on trial — again. Oh, he didn’t really mind. It gave him the opportunity to preach the gospel.
Back when he was Saul, he had been a Pharisee. Paul, however, had cut ties and now preached against their doctrines and practices.
Still, Paul wasn’t above using the point of contention between the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin: can we be resurrected? He wanted to distract and divide.
Resource
Paul may have had the Pharisee’ belief in resurrection before. Now he had belief because of hope.
Well, yes. Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road. In a way, it was sight.
But it also was hope. All Paul got was light and a voice (Ac. 9: 3-4). It was enough to convince Paul that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
Burn cautioned us about the differences between hope and resurrection. He wrote, “‘The hope,’ which should be distinguished from ‘the resurrection,’ was unquestionably the advent of the Messiah which Paul had proved had taken place, inasmuch as Christ had appeared unto him (Acts 22: 6-10).”
Resource
What Burn was getting at was Jesus’ resurrection was just a portion of the hope. This hope had been present throughout the Old Testament and included salvation and the establishment of God’s kingdom.
Glossary
What is evident here is that Jesus is the Hope. Because of Him and what He has done for us, we have hope for not only this life, but the next.
We Have Eternal Hope through Sanctification
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (I Pet. 1: 3-4 NIV)
There is a progression of hope that come from navigating the Sanctification Road. It goes from new birth to a living hope to inheritance.
We’ve talked about the bookends before. When we ABCD, part of regeneration is being changed to a new creation. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
Glossary
Our reward for being obedient and ABCDing is becoming children of God. That means God adopts us and makes us His heirs.
Glossary
Did you trip up on living hope? Solomon defined living hope as “an indivisible, inalienable part of his new life, and it cannot exist in any other heart than that of the spiritually transformed man — the man who is ‘begotten again.’”
Resource
If we put our hope in this world, it is a dying hope. This world will be destroyed. “… Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them” (Rev. 20 11 CSB).
Those who put their hope in this world will remain spiritually dead. Their story doesn’t end well. “And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 15 CSB).
Disciples have a living hope because their names will be found in the book of life. That will be our inheritance. “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away” (Rev. 21: 3-4 CSB).
Solomon contended that our living hope is the inheritance. He argued it is all wrapped up in salvation and sanctification.
Salvation is deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with eternal life and good. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
We’ve talked a couple of times of the confidence we have in this hope. We have God’s assurance that things will happen as He says they will.
Eternal Hope while Disciples Wait
“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (I Pet. 1: 13 NIV).
Yes, we have been justified. “[S]o that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Ti. 3: 7 NIV).
Yes, we are having to wait for Jesus’ second coming. “[W]hile we wait for the blessed hope — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Ti. 2: 13 NIV).
No, we are not called to sit here and twiddle our thumbs. We can’t just ride along on the hope train, thinking we’ll be good.
We have to work the sanctification progression from conversion to righteousness. We have to grow from milk babies to steak adults.
That is part of our disciples’ job description. We have to work out our salvation.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #2
Work Out Our Salvation (Philippians 2: 12)
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
We are also called to be sober. Sober is a character trait distinguished by self-control, genuineness, and sound moral judgment. It is a calm and temperate disposition.
How do we do that? We’ve talked before how we need to be ready because we don’t know when or what trials are going to happen. We have to clear our minds.
We have to sit back and let God take the lead, but we have to be ready for action. God is generally going to ask us to do something in the trial.
Our minds need to be focused on Him — not on us. We have to be prepared in the way that imitates Him. Well described that as righteousness, faithfulness, and truth.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Spurgeon linked having alert minds and being sober to hope. He wrote, “Let us hope to be sustained, and sanctified as the result, and let no unbelieving fear cast a cloud over our sky.”
Resource
Hope comes from effort. We have to believe in God. We have to put our faith and trust that His Word is true.
Bright described hope this way. He wrote, “Christian hope, being rooted in faith, is, like faith, vivid, positive, and definite.”
Resource
It has to be definite. Think about when we face trials. Think about when face something that is true — and we really, really want it not to be. Think about when we are facing God’s discipline.
Think about when we are facing the seemingly endless days of waiting.
Where is our hope set? On grace. Grace is a free and unmerited gift from Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ that enables salvation and spiritual healing to believers by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Grace gives us eternal hope. Maclaren talked about the many types of hope in Scriptures. They are all dependent on the hope we have because of grace.
Resource
This is the grace that brought us the Plan of Salvation. It is only through Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection that we can have eternal hope.
Making the Connections
We said in the last devotion that we have salvation because of hope. We only have salvation when we are able to submit our will to God’s.
That means we can’t have unrealistic confidence in ourselves. We have to acknowledge that God is in control.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Hope is dependent on our relationships with God. That means we need to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18).
How Do We Apply This?
Disciples of Christ are to be
- Courageous
- Genuine
- Sincere
- Moderate
- Clear-headed
- Thoughtful
- Earnest
- Prepared
- Determined
Resource
Oh, yeah, Some of those is going to take work for some of us. It is all about imitating God and having His character.
Loving Father. It comes back again and again to Your grace. It is Your love gift to us. We did nothing to earn it. You decided You wanted a way for us to be restored to You. In doing that, You have given us hope — hope for this life and for eternal life. Thank You, Sovereign God. Amen.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
Related Links
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
Don’t know what your spiritual gifts are?
Take this Spiritual Gifts Inventory
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
It Was Enough
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.