Rejoice in Hope!

Read Romans 5:1-8

We are just spending a little time on hope as it is so intertwined with love and faith, in both of which we have invested much time. 

Here is a provocation that I want you to think upon this morning and this week.  If God sacrificed his own Son for us while we were his enemies, how much more does he have in store for us now that we are reconciled to him?

Seldom will one person sacrifice their life for another.  I have known a culture—many would call it a cult—where that’s a way of life.  In that culture, Marines have no intention of sacrificing their lives for their enemies, but do so for their buddies often without a second thought.

So it happens.  People sacrifice their lives for someone they care about.  But for their enemies?  That’s another story.

But Paul said:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

While we were still powerless, helpless, without hope of getting right with God on our own, Christ died for us.  Jesus, who by his very nature is God, stepped out of heaven, humbled himself as a servant, lived a life without sin, and went to the cross as a Lamb without blemish.

For whom?  He did it for people who did not love him.  He did it for us.  Now, we say that we love him now, but humankind was in a very sorry state of affairs when Christ died for us.

Who are we that he died for us?  The answer is that we are those who God made for relationship with him.  In spite of our rebellion, he made a way for us to come home.

Despite our hearts that turn to the world over God again and again, God does not give up on us and does the things that we are powerless to do.

We have been justified by our faith.  That sounds a lot like a man you have read about called Abraham.  God chose Abraham and told him that he would be the father of many nations.  He did this when Abraham was already old and every year that went by made the possibility of he and Sarah—the were Abram and Sarai at the time—less and less likely.

But God does what only God can do and God fulfilled his promises to Abraham.

He was the father of many nations.  Through his seed came Jesus Christ and the way to bless and redeem the entire world.  Land promised to his decedents was delivered.  Enemies crumbled or ran before these sons of Abraham.

Abraham could accomplish none of this on his own, but he could have and did have faith. 

We can’t make ourselves right with God but we can have and I believe most here do have faith.  In that faith we receive grace and we have peace with God.

Because of what God has done for us through Christ, we have hope.  We can boast in and celebrate the glory of God.  God did this for us!

Do we get that?  Really, do we comprehend what God has done for us?

He didn’t just say, “Let there be people.  Good luck, guys.  See you at the judgment.”

When we as humankind had strayed so far away from God that we were classified as his enemies, God spilled his own blood to save us.  God made the sacrifice for us.

Look at the religions of the world some time.  Do your best to find one where their god or Buddha or state of Nirvana does anything like that for you. 

Let me know when you find one.  I won’t be holding my breath.

Only the one true God loved us while we were his enemies.  He loved us so much that he made us right with him.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  He loves us today.  He loves us with an everlasting love.

None of this is breaking news to anyone here.  We know the story.  We sing the story.  We share the story of God’s love.

So what does this have to do with hope? 

Jesus did not go to the cross because people were getting better, but because they were not.  While we were as far from God as we can get in this life, he brought us home.  He did it.

Now that we are reconciled to him, do we think that he will ever stop loving us?  Do you think he will ever give up on us?  If he loved us enough to die for us when we were his enemies, how much more is our assurance of his love now that he has reconciled us to him?  We are now a friend of God, a brother or sister to Christ, and living in the favor of God.

But we still have suffering.  We still have trials.  Life didn’t suddenly get extra easy when we professed our faith.  Consider Paul’s words on this subject once again.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

And hope does not disappoint!

Hope does not put us to shame because we realize how much God has demonstrated his love for us.  We rejoice in our hope.

When we realize just how much God loves us, we cannot avoid being people of hope.  We rejoice in our hope.

Hope does not disappoint.

Amen!