Plainly Speaking Bible Study
Title: Our Living Hope
by Pastor Karl Forehand
Our Living Hope
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 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an
inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through
faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Thomas Grey said:
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that
beauty, all that wealth e’er gave….
Awaits alike the inevitable hour,
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Isaiah 40:6 says, “For all flesh
is like grass, all the glory of man like the flower of grass.”
It’s a
humbling thought to think of our lives as simply a journey to the end of
our physical lives. As we feel the years slip by, we realize our lives will
be over and many of the things we cherish will perish with us. Our passage
stresses something about the hope we have in Christ – it is not perishing
(like we are), it is a living hope. Why is it living? I’m glad you asked.
1. It is grounded on the living Word of God.
In verse 23 of the same chapter,
Peter says, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable
but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding Word of God.”
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is “living.” It unlike other
books that we eventually could exhaust. It is living and active.
2. It
is made possible by the living Son of God.
All others prophets and so-called
Messiahs are dead. Jesus Christ is alive. He was with God in the beginning
and now sits at the right hand of the Father.
Many times, on the internet,
we hear people spouting their beliefs. A few months later, we notice that
they have totally different beliefs – why? It is because they are putting
their trust in something that is not alive. If something has life, it grows.
Our hope becomes more glorious every day, because it is living. Their hope
is eventually exhausted.
Notice, in the passage, that it says it has “caused
us to be born again” into this hope. We were first born into a terminal
existence. Then we were born again (anothem = “from above.”) We have a living
Savior and we are re-born into a living hope.
I want to suggest that it
is time for the church to live. We often resemble a morgue. We are not sure
if we want to get excited. We are possibly afraid that we will be disappointed
or that our hope will fade. Remember, our hope is alive – it will not fade
or diminish – it should grow more and more glorious with each passing day.
OUR LIVING HOPE
1. It is incorrupt
Our hope is not corrupt, but it is
also incorruptible. The meaning of this word is literally, “exempt from
wear, waste and final perishing.” I often wonder if some TV evangelists
started out good. I assume that many of them became corrupted by the power
and influence that God gave them. But God Himself cannot be corrupted. He
cannot be influenced to lower His standards for popularity or money.
2.
It is undefiled
Our hope is not “polluted.” We have air pollution and
water pollution and the even more serious soul pollution. Our mind, emotions
and will have been polluted by sin. But God cannot be defiled by sin. Not
only will He not change His mind, but He won’t change His standards.
3.
It is unending
Literally, our hope “fadeth not away.” Think about your
gardens and how those beautiful plant start to lose their beauty and eventually
wither and die. The saying, “all good things must end” is really incorrect.
The really good things – the eternal things – do not end. Our hope does
not fade at the first frost. It does not go out of style – it is forever.
Why does it not fade away? Thanks for asking – the answer is in verse
five--It
is protected by the power of God.
We have said that we have an incorrupt,
undefiled unending hope. If we truly understand that principle then we must
stop living like God is going to stop being God. Too often we live with
a cautious fear that something will change – but God does not change. I
know that people let us down. I know we are not all as successful as we
thought we would be. How do we live like we have a living hope?
1. We
have to learn to trust Him.
Even when God seems to be slow, we have to
trust Him. Even when people let us down we have to trust Him. True trust
is built in the times that we have no physical evidence to do so. It is
very easy to trust God when He is providing. When He seems to be silent
is the point we must learn to truly trust Him.
2. We must learn to rejoice.
God never changes. We have a home in heaven. People spend millions trying
to find what God lavished upon us. We MUST rejoice about that. If we don’t,
the rocks and hills will do it.
3. We must learn to look forward with
anticipation
To do this we may have to look past our circumstances. Satan
puts obstacles in our way and makes them seem bigger than they are. We must
learn to look forward to our living hope.
Karl J. Forehand, 2001
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