What is Our Greatest Hope?

Introduction

This is week 7 of our catechism sermon series!

Last week we talked about the church, the body of Christ.

We talked about the church’s purpose, and that is to maintain worship, to build each other up, and to bring the world to faith in Christ.

But as Christians, we know that there is a life beyond this one - we have the hope of spending eternity with God.

Today, we will be looking at the question, “What is our greatest hope?”

Bodily Resurrection

To answer the question, “What is our greatest hope?” We have to go back to the greatest event in human history, and the very foundation of our faith: Jesus’ resurrection.

Remember back to when the disciples were at their lowest point: Jesus had died on the cross, their hope in the Messiah was gone, and they were hiding in a home together wondering what to do next.

As the women go to the tomb, to do what women do - take care of the body, they are wondering who will roll the stone away for them.

But to their surprise, the stone is rolled away and an angel sits on top of it!

He tells them, if you are looking for Jesus, he is not here - he is risen, just as he said!

As the women go back to tell the disciples, they encounter the risen Jesus himself.

They fall to their knees and worship him.

Jesus is not dead, like they had supposed. He was raised from the dead - by God himself!

So why is Jesus’ resurrection so important for our future hope?

We talked about this briefly a few weeks ago when we took a close look at Jesus.

Paul gives us the answer in his first letter to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 15:20–22 NIV

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Death came through a man: this man was Adam. Death came through him when he and Eve ate of the fruit in the Garden.

The resurrection of the dead comes also through a man: this man is Jesus. When Jesus rose from the dead, he also gave us resurrection from the dead.

The scripture says, “for as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive!” This is the key verse - we will all be made alive in Christ!

This is our greatest hope!

That we will not be subject to death as the end of the human story, but that we will be made alive in Christ.

This is the first part of our greatest hope: our bodily resurrection from the dead, just as Christ’s body was raised from the dead.

First, Jesus was raised from the dead as the “first fruits” of those who have died. Then Jesus will come back, then we will be raised to life as he was raised.

1 Corinthians 15:23 “But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

Because Christ had a bodily resurrection, we will also have a bodily resurrection.

Now, let’s talk about that for a second.

How is this going to work? We know that our bodies, when they die, they decay. They are no longer the body we had when we were alive.

We also know that some of us will be cremated. Does this mean God can’t put us back together to raise our body?

No. Paul tells us that our natural, human body is like a seed.

The seed is our life on earth.

When we die, the seed is planted.

When it is raised, or it germinates, or when it comes to life, it will be something new.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:44-46

1 Corinthians 15:44–46 NIV

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

When our bodies are raised to life at the last day, then they will be raised as a spiritual body, an eternal being.

We don’t know what we will look like, but we know it will be different than our natural body was in this life.

A final word on what kind of body we will have:

1 Corinthians 15:51–54 NIV

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 

Now, although it is fascinating to consider what our resurrected bodies will be like, it is not as important as the hope we have because of our resurrection:

Because our perishable bodies will be raised imperishable, we will have eternal life.

Instead of enduring this life, with all of its difficulties, pain, evil, and death, and then finally dying, and that being it, we will die in this life and be raised eternally in the next.

Eternal Life

The second half of our greatest hope is eternal life with God himself!

Not only will we be resurrected as Jesus was resurrected, those who believe will be given eternal life in heaven with God.

The age to come will be ushered in by Jesus’ second coming.

Acts 1:10–11 NIV

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

This happened right after Jesus’ ascension back to the Father. We are told that Jesus will come back to us.

Philippians 3:20–21 NIV

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Jesus is coming back because his work is not yet finished.

God is giving all the opportunity to be saved, because he cares for the lost.

But there will come a day when it will be too late.

I don’t want to go into the end times too much, and do a Revelation study like Richard is already doing!

But I do want to talk about judgment.

When Jesus returns, every single person on earth will be judged for what they have done in this life.

Revelation 20:11–15 NIV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

There is only one way to heaven and to be judged righteous: to believe in the Lord Jesus, and obey his commands.

Believing he exists is not enough!

We must do what he says!

That is how our name gets written in the book of life.

What we do in this life matters!

We must make every decision with an eye to eternity.

Everything is at stake for us!

Now, I know that most likely, everyone in this room knows where they will be spending eternity.

But are we living like that will be in heaven? Are we obeying Christ?

Are we spending so much time and energy on our comforts, our pleasures, our money, that we have not thought about eternity like we should?

Paul gives Timothy some wise words in

1 Timothy 6:17–19 NIV

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

“So that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Putting our time and energy into wealth and comfort is not really life at all.

Our time on earth is the training ground. The work and obedience we put in today will pay dividends in the life to come.

A wealthy man once hired a trusted builder to construct a house. He gave the man generous funds and told him, “Build it well — use the finest materials.” Then he left on a long journey.

The builder saw the opportunity for profit. He used cheaper wood, lower-quality stone, and cut corners wherever he could. From the outside, the house looked fine — but beneath the surface, it was weak and poorly made.

When the wealthy man returned, he inspected the finished home. Smiling, he handed the keys to the builder and said,“You’ve served me faithfully all these years. This house — it’s my gift to you.”

The builder froze. His heart sank as he realized: the home he had built carelessly was the one he would have to live in for the rest of his life.

This life is the house we’re building — the one we’ll live in for eternity. The choices we make, the faith we build, the love we give — those are the materials. Build carefully, because you’re building for forever.

Conclusion

I want to close with the hope on which we stand, in fact, it is our greatest hope:

Revelation 21:1–7 NIV

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”  for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’  or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

This is our greatest hope.

All things restored, including ourselves.

A new life in and WITH Jesus, without end.

This is what awaits us, friends.

Let us look through the lens of eternity in all we say and do, today.

Amen!