WHAT BIBLICAL HOPE IS NOT

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Chuck Swindoll writes in one of the few books in the last 100 years to specifically address the subject of Biblical "Hope":
 

"(Hope) is something as important to us as water is to a fish, as vital as electricity is to a light bulb, as essential as air is to a jumbo jet. Hope is basic to life....Without that needed spark of hope, we are doomed to a dark, grim existence. How often the word "hopeless" appears in suicide notes. And even if it isn't actually written, we can read it between the lines. Take away our hope, and our world is reduced to something between depression and despair....hope is more than wishful thinking.

Hope is a vital necessity of life--a gift that God wants to give to you. And in a world that regularly writes dreams off as foolish and drains the hope from the heart with dark pessimism" (Biblical hope) "is a voice crying in the wilderness...a word of enthusiasm for life in the midst of any difficult situation you are in....If you want to smile through your tears, if you want to rejoice through times of suffering, just keep reminding yourself that what you're going through isn't the end of the story...it's simply the rough journey that leads to the right destination...Solid, stable, sure hope. Hope to press on. Hope to endure. Hope to stay focused. Hope to see new dreams fulfilled"  Charles R. Swindoll in his book (click link) "Hope Again: When Life Hurts and Dreams Fade"

The world says...

I hope...this or that will happen...this type of "hope" is why the lottery system is thriving in many states!

And so often when we use the word "hope" in casual conversation, it has a wavering, uncertain sound. (cf Lu 23:8, Acts 24:26 - neither Herod's nor Felix's hope materialized).  Most people live in hope that things will improve for them and that they will finally be satisfied.  One of the frightening observations of our day is that there are so many, particularly the young, who have no hope. Suicides are on the increase annually, and a recent poll said the majority of teens in our day have no hope for the future. And so we see so many of our young living recklessly hoping to find satisfaction in the present moment. Our  society is characterized by a pervading sense of  hopelessness. Unfortunately the Church is not immune to this hopeless feeling. Many who claim to be born again believers in Jesus Christ are searching for fulfillment in life. The truth of Scripture is that we were not made for the present, and the present was never intended to satisfy us. "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied" (1Co 15:19)
 

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The atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared shortly before death that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would tried to convince himself by saying...

“I know I shall die in hope.”

Then in profound sadness, he would add...

“But hope needs a foundation.” (devotional)

The atheist Sartre was hopeless for he had refused to believe in Jesus Christ, the only source of genuine, eternal hope.
 

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G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of a man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table which he set up in the charred remains of his store and upon which he placed the sign,

Everything lost except wife, children, and hope.
Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning.

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A W Tozer wrote that...

Hope is a word which has taken on a new and deeper meaning for us because the Savior took it into His mouth. Loving Him and obeying Him, we suddenly discover that hope is really the direction taken by the whole Bible. Hope is the music of the whole Bible, the heartbeat, the pulse and the atmosphere of the whole Bible...Hope means a desirable expectation, a pleasurable anticipation. As men know this word, it often blows up in our faces and often cruelly disappoints us as human beings. Hope that is only human will throw us down and wound us just as pleasurable anticipation often turns to discouragement or sorrow.

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Only a small percentage of the Biblical uses of "hope" refer to 'hope' as the world defines it...for example we read of a the fading hope of survival of those on a storm tossed ship in the Mediterranean Sea...

Acts 27:20

Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm was assailing us, from then on all HOPE of our being saved was gradually abandoned.

Webster's says that:

Hope implies little certainty but suggests confidence or assurance in the possibility that what one desires or longs for will happen.

In sum hope, as the world typically thinks defines it, is a desire for some future thing which we are uncertain of attaining.

The majority of secular thinkers in the ancient world did not regard HOPE as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion. Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world. Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death. People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope from the other side, but there was none...

Seneca Rome's leading intellectual figure, tutor of the nefarious emperor Nero and contemporary of Paul defined hope as “an uncertain good” the exact antithesis of a believer's hope! What a difference the new birth makes in one's perspective.

Bildad the Shuhite, one of Job's "friends" had this to say about hope...

So are the paths of all who forget God and the hope of the godless will perish Job 8:13 (cf Job 27:8, Pr 10:28)

Bildad gives an accurate description of the hope of those without God and without Christ...in the end they will "perish". The Hebrew word for "perish" is  "abad" which means be lost and in a state of ruin and destruction. It refers not so much to annihilation as to that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. Men and women created in the image of God, with their purpose to glorify Him, lose all hope of ever achieving that purpose.  No wonder cynics like H. L. Mencken quipped that

hope is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible.

Ephesians 2:12, 13 (note)

Paul exhorts the Ephesian Gentile believers to...

remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

The unsaved sinner is “without hope” and if he dies without Christ, he will be hopeless forever.  Likewise those who trust in works to save them are like the Jews who had "set (their) hope" on Moses (keeping the "The Law" ~ good works) (Jn 5:45) (Devotional: Future prospects bring present joys)

The  Italian poet, Dante, in Divine Comedy, penned this inscription over the world of the dead...

 “Abandon all hope,
you who enter here!” 
 

One might paraphrase Dante's dismal declaration...

Life without Christ is a hopeless end
but life in Christ is an endless hope
 

‘Hope’ is biblical shorthand for unconditional certainty. (Blanchard)
 

Viewing hope from an unsaved person's perspective, a Greek philosopher wrote...

One must not tie a ship to a single anchor nor life to a single hope
 

The world hopes for the best, but Jesus Christ offers the best hope. (J W White)

In Proverbs 13:12 Solomon writes that...

Hope deferred (long drawn out ~ delayed) makes the heart sick (depresses) but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

In other words, hoping for something that does not come to pass grieves the heart  while fulfilled desire vitalizes one like a tree of life that bears fruit.

Someone has quipped  that

In the present, there are various forms of “false hope” being peddled, most of which should be spelled HYPE, not HOPE.

The blessed hope is the absolute certainty that God will do good to us in the future and includes the idea that we are looking forward to this hope.

Our blessed hope is the desire of some good with expectation of obtaining it.

Our blessed hope is the totality of blessing that awaits the Christian in the life to come

Our blessed hope in the NT is an expectation of something good to come but it is something we must wait patiently for.
 

Our blessed hope gives us confident expectancy

The nature of hope is to expect that which faith believes. (R Sibbes)
 

Hope is a "confident reaching out for the eschatological future."

Hope according to the Baker Evangelical Dictionary means
 

To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future

Hope is indispensable for survival and this is especially true when people are confronted by misfortunes, uncertainties, and bitter disparities in life.

Hope is faith holding out its hands in the dark.

Joseph Addison wrote that the blessed hope...

"not only bears up the mind under sufferings but makes her rejoice in them."

Isaac Watts wrote that ...

Hope thinks nothing difficult; despair tells us that difficulty is insurmountable.

G K Chesterton said

Hope means expectancy when things are otherwise hopeless.
 

Jeremy Collier said that our blessed hope...

is a vigorous principle; it sets the head and heart to work and animates a man to do his utmost.

The Puritan Thomas Manton wrote...

What an excellent ground of hope and confidence we have when we reflect upon these three things in prayer — the Father's love, the Son's merit and the Spirit's power!
 

Gabriel Marcel  said,

Hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism.

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines our blessed hope as...

"Trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God's promises. Biblical hope is the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God's guidance. More specifically, hope is the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future. This contrasts to the world's definition of hope as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen.” Understood in this way, hope can denote either a baseless optimism or a vague yearning after an unattainable good. If hope is to be genuine hope, however, it must be founded on something (or someone) which affords reasonable grounds for confidence in its fulfillment. The Bible bases its hope in God and His saving acts."

John Piper writes about the blessed hope declaring that...

"This confident hope gives us the encouragement and enablement we need for daily living. It does not put us in a rocking chair where we complacently await the return of Jesus Christ. Instead, it puts us in the marketplace, on the battlefield, where we keep on going when the burdens are heavy and the battles are hard. Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a spiritual blood transfusion."

A study of concentration camp survivors found that those prisoners who were able to hold onto their sense of hope (‘things are going to get better’ or ‘we’re going to get out of here one day’ ) were much more likely to survive. Hope then is not optional but for these prisoners  proved to be a matter of life and death.

FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE

Hope is one component of this great triad. In (1 Corinthians 13:13) we read...

"But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love"

See discussion of "faith, hope and love" in next column (This triad also in 1Th 1:3; 5:8; Gal 5:5, 6; Eph 1:15-18, Eph 4:2–5; Col 1:4, 5; Heb 10:22–24; 1Pe 1:21–22).

Faith and hope are inseparably linked.
We believe and so we hope

Hope is a confidence born of faith. When we have faith in God, we claim His promises, and they give us hope for the future. This blessed hope is an exciting expectancy because God controls the future. When Jesus Christ is your Savior and your Lord, the future is your friend. You don't have to worry.

Easton's Bible Dictionary  defines hope as...

"an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity (see notes 1 Peter 3:15; Hebrews 10:23 -- click sermon on Hebrews 10:23 by Piper)." (See hope in International Std Bible Encyclopedia)

From 1 Peter 3:15 (note) it follows all believers have a responsibility "to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence"

G. K. Chesterton surely described our blessed hope when he wrote that...

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude. It is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength." (Devotional)

 Titus 2:11-14 

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing (disciplining, child rearing) us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for (word study) the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." (see notes Titus 2:10; 11; 12; 13; 14) (Click sermon by Piper)

Spurgeon sums up this passage in Titus 2 writing that...

The discipline of grace, according to the apostle, has three results - denying, living, looking. You see the three words before you.
 

Believers are to be actively, anxiously, eagerly, continually (present tense = our "lifestyle") looking for (word study) the Blessed Hope - the return of the Bridegroom to sweep His bride, the Church off of her feet (so to speak)!

Stated another way, believers are to be anticipating a hope which blesses, which is certain to occur, which is imminent  and which is glorious (see John's reaction to the "appearing of the Blessed Hope" in Rev 1:13-18 [see notes]). In short, the believer's hope is not some ethereal concept but is an eternal Person, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf 1 Timothy 1:1 "Christ Jesus Who our hope"). This is sound doctrinal truth which should stimulate transformation (toward the likeness of our Hope, Christ Jesus), not conformation (to the world which is passing away)!

Notice also that the description of the Blessed Hope and the appearing of the glory are not 2 separate events but describe one event, and ultimately one Person, our glorious Lord Jesus.

Most commentators feel the event described by the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus is the Rapture of the saints (see word study of "rapture" and related notes 1Thes 4:13; 14; 15; 16; 17)

Others include such respected expositors as John MacArthur feel this event describes the triumphant return of Jesus Christ  at the end of the Great Tribulation (the last 3.5 years of Daniel's Seventieth Week described in Daniel 9:24; 25; 26; 27 and Mt 24:30). (Click for collection of Scriptures related to the Second Coming).

1 Peter 1:3;1:4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope (and why is it a "living" hope? Read on...) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (our living hope has the firm foundation of a living Redeemer) 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable (word study) and undefiled (word study) and will not fade away (word study), reserved (word study - perfect tense = speaks of permanence of this reservation) in heaven for you (see notes 1Pe 1:3;1:4) (See sermon by John Piper) (Devotional A Living Hope - Christians can cope with their past because of their hope in the future.)

How can one "hope" or be confident that God will work for them and make their future bright?

Clearly the answer is the new birth in which God gives us a new, "circumcised" heart (see note Col 2:11). Now, because of it's qualitatively new (see discussion) nature our heart has the desire and the power (see note Phil 2:13) to hope in God.

Peter emphasizes that this is a living hope not  a dead hope. Compare Peter's teaching to James who describes a dead faith (James 2:17, 26) which he says is useless (barren, fruitless, unproductive) (James 2:20). It follows that a "living faith" and  a "living hope" is fertile, fruitful, productive.

Living hope is hope that gives a motivation and power to produce changes in one's life. Stated another way, a living hope is dynamic, energizing and capable of stimulating a strong confidence in God, which in turn has the power to affect one's daily conduct. Right doctrine should lead to right thinking which in turn works itself out in right conduct. Correct creed should always lead to correct conduct.

Has this "living hope" had this supernatural effect in your life?
Or are you living as if you had a "dead hope"?

The best that the world can say is,

Where there’s life, there’s hope.

Peter teaches that the truth is exactly the opposite for where there is genuine Biblical hope, there is real life and the potential for abundant, victorious life!

Peter shows us how it it possible to obtain this Godward hope - we must be born again. Without the new birth one cannot experience this new quality of living hope. The Spirit quickens the heart, giving spiritual life so that faith is born and a living hope springs forth from what was once dead, dry soil.

Living hope is an
integral component of saving faith.

Living hope as a fundamental religious attitude was unknown in Greek culture. For example, the Greek writer Theognis gave the following advice...

As long as you live by honoring the gods, hold on to hope!

But the Grecian "gods" were dead gods while Jehovah is the Living God (be encouraged by meditating on the 28 occurrences of "Living God") Who is faithful and immutable. (see note on this attribute) And so our hope is not dead but alive and life giving.

Because of this life giving hope no believer need remained trapped in their past (no matter how awful) but can be confident of their future. In other words, if you have a living hope you can cope with a painful past because you have the certainty of a glorious future:

We can cope with our past

By hoping in our future

Warren Wiersbe writes that...

No Christian life, then, is complete which does not include in it this forward look of joyous certitude toward a bright future, for hope as a grace is not a mere spirit of what we call hopefulness, or a natural buoyancy of temperament. It is a distinctly Christian virtue, the result of union with God in Christ; and it has for its immediate object the Lord Jesus at His glorious appearing, and for its ultimate, eternal and exhaustless substance the glories of heaven and God as our all in all. (Bible Exposition Commentary)
 

Romans 4:18 (note)

In hope against hope he believed, so that  (introduces purpose clause) he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE. (Click note) (Devotional: Seeing With Hope) (click  sermon by Piper)

What does Paul mean by hope against hope?  I like Kenneth Wuest's explanation that...

Abraham’s faith is described. It was both contrary to hope (as far as nature could give hope) and rested on hope (that God could do what nature could not).” (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament)