20071209 – Hope

Text: Romans 15:4-13

verse 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Grand vision from Isaiah 11:1-10

What was the context of Isaiah’s prophecy?

Isaiah’s message is presented against the background of Israel’s greatest period of prosperity after the “Golden Age” under David and Solomon.1

What is their situation? Are they at war? Are they under siege? Or are they already conquered and enslaved?

Prosperity, agricultural and commercial success, and military success were accompanied by immorality, excessive drinking, idolatry, oppression of the poor, greed, and the presence of false prophets who pandered to the desires of the people. In response to this situation, Isaiah stressed (1) salvation by faith (7:9; 28:16; 30:15), (2) the holiness of God and the need for ethical living (6:1–8; 37:23), (3) the offense of human sin and the certainty of divine judgment (chs. 1–35), and (4) the assurance of redemption for a repentant remnant (1:9, 19; 10:19–22; 46:3, 4; 65:8–10).2

Hope

2 Main Senses in which Hope is Mentioned in the Bible

Object

Refers to Christ
Eschatological – all that His final coming implies

Attitude

Hoping
Earth-bound/in the now

Believer’s Response

Forward-looking to the resurrection of God’s people and arrival of God’s kingdom
Backward-looking and having confidence in the fact that Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom and has been raised from the dead

Expression

Worship

Forward: Prays “your kingdom come”
Backward: Celebrates the Lord’s Supper in anticipation of the heavenly banquet

Reason: Christ’s death and resurrection opened the way to the Kingdom (I Cor 11:26)
Community

Forward: the Spirit is the foretaste of God’s Kingdom (II Cor 1:22)
He expects to be like Christ in the end, he seeks to be like Christ now (I Jn 3:2-3)

Piety

Longs for a “better country” (Heb 11:13-16), adopting the attitude of a pilgrim
Walks by faith (II Cor 5:7) since he lives in hope rather than in the fulness of the Kingdom
A life marked more by suffering than by triumph (I Cor 4:8-13; II Cor 4:7-18)

Benefits of Hope

Liberated from fear abut his own future in order to care for the fears and struggles of others

Implications of Hope

Not a private matter because the scope of God's Kingdom is universal.
There exists a broader socio-political dimension of hope
Eschatological focus - message of Jesus regarding hope in human experience vis-a-vis theologies/philosphies of despair

An eschatology of victory as the basis for social action in the view of the redemptive nature of the Christian witness, and Christ' & the Church's ministry on earth.

NOT a cyclical view of history, therefore progress in history IS possible in the Christian view of reality -- we expect new things to happen (II Cor 5:17)

Characteristics of God's future kingdom

justice
peace
community
love

Meaning

to look forward expectantly for God’s future activity

the ground of hope is God’s past activity in Jesus Christ (we qualify that it is not just any past divine activity but His activity in Christ)

it is Christ who points to God’s purposes for His creation.

Meaning that there must be a reason why God promised a Saviour right after the Fall. Why bother if Creation is expendable in the eyes of God? He can just destroy everything (He has proven His ability to do this) and start over.

982 בָּטוּחַ, בָּטַח, בָּטַח [batach baw·takh] v. A primitive root; TWOT 233; GK 1052 and 1053 and 1054; 120 occurrences; AV translates as “trust” y103 times, “confidence” four times, “secure” four times, “confident” twice, “bold” once, “careless” once, “hope” once, “hoped” once, “ones” once, “sure” once, and “women” once. 1 to trust. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to trust, trust in. 1a2 to have confidence, be confident. 1a3 to be bold. 1a4 to be secure. 1b (Hiphil). 1b1 to cause to trust, make secure. 2 (TWOT) to feel safe, be careless.

1680 ἐλπίς [elpis el·pece] n f. From a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); TDNT 2:517; TDNTA 229; GK 1828; 54 occurrences; AV translates as “hope” 53 times, and “faith” once. 1 expectation of evil, fear. 2 expectation of good, hope. 2a in the Christian sense. 2a1 joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. 3 on hope, in hope, having hope. 3a the author of hope, or he who is its foundation. 3b the thing hoped for.3

CLOSING

Highlight Advent Season as a Season of Hope.

Opportune time to reflect on the Hope (Christ our Lord) and the hope we have in Him (presence, promise, preservation).

20071209-The Christian's Hope