We think of hope being an attitude or a choice, but we generally do not think of it as a virtue. This daily devotional looks at how disciples of Christ are to grow their hope until it is part of them.
Nuggets
- Our hope is to build on the acknowledgement of Jesus.
- We form hope as a virtue through obedience.
- Our hope grows as we grow to be more holy.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Moralities Lead to Godliness series
Our last look at Bird’s sermon entitled Christian Morality before we get back to Manton’s The Moralities of Christianity looks at hope as a character trait. We’ve looked at hope before but as assurance of future expectation.
Resources
But think about it. Hope is to be so engrained in us that is drives who we are and how we act.
That is deep. But what does that actually mean?
We are going to do things a little differently today. Instead of using the verses as the foundation, we are going to use three sermons. (Each sermon, though, is tied to the same passage.)
Hopefully, they can give us enough information to get us to the deep end. Let’s dig in.
Let's Put It into Context
“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things” (Phil. 4: 8 CSB)
The definition of moral, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.” Morality, then, is “a doctrine or system of moral conduct.” When it is the plural form — moralities — it is a “particular moral principles or rules of conduct.”
Resources
Our morals determine our character. Character, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.”
Resource
Hope is a future expectation, called a living hope, based on the confidence that our names will be found in the book of life. Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
Glossary
Hope as a Product of Grace
“Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1: 13 CSB)
Resource
Our hope is to build on the acknowledgement of Jesus.
I can see what Pierson was saying. He wrote, “When we speak of the grace that is revealed we think of what is already manifested, of Golgotha with its Cross, of Gethsemane with its agony.” 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.
Oh, yeah. We even go back further than that. We think of God’s infinite grace through which He devised the Plan of Salvation that made Jesus our Redeemer in order to forgive us of our sins.
Occasionally, we might even acknowledge the grace God shows us as we are navigating the Sanctification Road. We need that gift to keep forgiving us as we still break God’s laws and commandments as we learn to be like Him.
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. 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
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
Oh, yeah. That road will wind. It definitely will not be a straight shot.
Remember a couple of devotions ago, we equated our success in navigating the Road to the coming and going of the tides? The ebb and flow of our obedience makes our Sanctification Road as curvy as that street in San Francisco.
But how many times does it sink in that God isn’t done yet? “… set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1: 13 CSB).
There is still grace to come. God will really show us His grace when Jesus comes back.
You know what is running through my mind? We can all picture a little kid at Christmas. The excitement, the boundless energy, the anticipation.
What if God is that excited, has that much anticipation, at the thought of finally seeing us face to face? What if He is expending that energy to get all of the ducks in a row that need to happen before Jesus can come?
What if God is leaning over and whispering in Jesus’ ear? “Get ready. It is going to be soon. Is Your cloud handy? Have You oiled the sickle lately?”
Then, for the rest of eternity, God will be able to shower His grace on us firsthand. Thank You, Heavenly Father!
But that is what hope is, right? It is a future expectation. We have living hope because our expectation is that our names are written in the Book of Life.
Fun Fact
Jesus riding His cloud and judgment day are future occurrences. But how is hope a virtue?
Unlike the worldly hope, disciples can truly believe that the object of our hope is permanent. It will last throughout eternity.
Since we can rely on God’s grace being given to us forever, that makes us a totally different person. We have the peace and confidence to calm our inner spirits.
Pierson put it this way. He wrote, “But, blessed be God, the point at which human hopes are utterly blasted is the point at which Christian expectations only arrive at their consummation.”
That becomes our foundation.
Hope as a Product of Obedience
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance” (I Pet. 1: 14 CSB)
Resource
We form hope as a virtue through obedience.
Chaunter gave us some very good … hope. He said that hope can grow, just like faith.
Hope is different than faith. Faith is the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives.
Hope is an expectation. Faith is a conviction, a belief.
Chaunter described the difference this way. He wrote, “Faith relates to all things which Almighty God has revealed in Scripture, bad as well as good; whereas hope has only to do with the good things of our Heavenly Father.”
We hope in the good things.
I can see the difference. Faith includes a self-reflection piece so we can decide what we truly believe. Hope takes that look outside of us and focuses on what God will do for us.
Oh, yeah. Uncertainly is an element of the hope.
But it is countered with a big dose of assurance. Assurance is having security in our beliefs.
Okay. I have to process this. Chaunter wrote, “You believe with full assurance, and it is a matter of faith that the righteous go to heaven. But that you individually are righteous, and shall finally go to heaven, is the subject of hope.”
It is easy to say the righteous go to heaven. Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
We say God can and will forgive us of all of our sins except the unpardonable sin, which I think is unbelief. The reward for living under His moral laws is heaven.
Glossary
But how many times do we say to ourselves, “That doesn’t mean me.” “That doesn’t mean this sin.”
That is where the hope comes in — the expectation. “I don’t see how or why God will forgive me for this sin, but He has promised that He would if I asked. So, I am asking. Now, I have certainty that He will do what He promised.”
Chaunter talks about the power of that hope. Oh, yeah. We see it.
I saw it when I lost my job. We see it when a friend is cured of cancer. We can see God navigating us through a wide variety of circumstances. He is right there, pulling us through.
No, we may not be pulled through like we are expecting and hoping. Instead, Chaunter wrote, “He had no certainty of deliverance, but his hope was of sufficient power to make him persevere until he found the path, or was discovered by others and rescued.”
The “… all things work together for good …” (Rom. 8: 28 ESV) does focus on the good. Good, in the biblical sense, is the workings of God within His people.
God is working to save us and change our character to be like His.
We have to grab onto this hope. We do that by doing anything and everything that God asks us to do. We are obedient to Him.
Hope as a Product of Being Holy
“But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy” (I Pet. 1: 15-16 CSB)
Resource
Our hope grows as we grow to be more holy.
What does it mean to be holy? Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure. Holiness is more than a character trait; it is purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to being set apart. The perfected state indicates the combination of the graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness. Purity means we are without the stain of sin.
Oh, no. God doesn’t flip a switch and conversion, and we are suddenly perfect and pure.
This is something we grow into as we navigate the Sanctification Road.
When talking about how a king, prince, or nobleman grows to understand his position, Howe wrote, “… as he comes to understand his quality, his spirit grows with his hopes of what he shall attain to; his very hopes greaten his spirit, ennoble him, and make him think of living like one that expects to be in such a state as that to which he is born.”
As a child of the King, we need to grow into being His prince and princesses. We learn what all that means and how we are expected to accomplish the transformation. It makes us aspire to growing into princes and princesses.
Making the Connections
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the end times and the persecution that disciples will be called to endure.
Chaunter wrote, “When the Christian soldier has taken his oath of service to Jesus Christ, and calmly considers the duties which are necessary to his reward, when he thinks of the enemies who encompass him, and of his own frailness and alienated affections, what can lead him to the contest and keep him undismayed? What but a sure and certain hope of Christ’s continued assistance?”
We have hope through the good times and the bad times. God is in control.
Resource
How Do We Apply This?
• We’ve got to grow our faith. If we grow in faith, we will grow in hope.
• We have to make decisions based on that hope. We begin making it a habit. Eventually, it will be character.
Gracious Heavenly Father. You have given us promises for the future. That gives us hope for future. Let this hope be so much a part of us that it is part of our character. We want to be solely, wholly focused on You. Amen.
What do you think?
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