Faith, Hope & Blessing

Faith, Hope & Blessing

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Faith

Faith takes a man / or a woman out of himself / or herself, and puts him / her in Christ.  It is the New Testament expression frequently used of Christians, being “In Christ.”  This experience may also be referred to with the term “Faith-union with Christ.”  It suggest not simply a belief that carries an intellectual assent, but one wherein the believer cleaves to his Savior with all his heart.  The man who believes in this sense abides in Christ and Christ in him.  John 15:4 declares, “Abide in Me, and I in you.”  “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  Faith is not accepting certain things as true, but trusting a Person, and that Person is Christ.

Faith is clearly one of the most important concepts in the whole New Testament.  Everywhere it is required and its importance insisted upon.  Faith means abandoning all trust in one’s own resources.  Faith means casting oneself unreservedly on the mercy of God.  Faith means laying hold on the promises of God in Christ, relying entirely on the finished work of Christ for salvation, and on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God for daily strength.  Faith implies complete reliance on God and full obedience to God.

Hope

Where there is a belief in the living God, who acts and intervenes in human life and who can be trusted to implement His promises, hope in the specifically biblical sense becomes possible.  Such hope is not a matter of temperament, nor is it conditioned by prevailing circumstances or any human possibilities.  It does not depend upon what a man possesses, upon what he may be able to do for himself, nor upon what any other human being may do for him.  There was for example, nothing in the situation in which Abraham found himself to justify his hope that Sarah would give birth to a son, but because he believed in God he could “in hope” believe “against hope.”  Romans 4:18 states, “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

Biblical hope is inseparable therefore from faith in God.  Because of what God has done in the past, particularly in preparing for the coming of Christ, and because of what God has done and is now doing through Christ, the Christian dares to expect future blessings at present invisible.  2 Corinthians 1:10 declares, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.”  “On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.”  The goodness of God is for Him never exhausted.  The best is still to be.  His hope is increased as he reflects on the activities of God in the Scriptures.  Romans 12:12 states, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”  Christ in him is the hope of future glory (Colossians 1:27).  His final salvation rest on such hope.  Romans 8:24 declares, “For in this hope we were saved.”  “Now hope that is seen is not hope.”  “For who hopes for what he sees?”  This hope of salvation is a “helmet” an essential part of his defensive armor in the struggle against evil.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 states, “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”  Hope, to be sure, is not a kite at the mercy of the changing winds, but a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul penetrating deep into the invisible eternal world (Hebrews 6:19).  Because of his faith the Christian has an assurance that the things he hopes for are real (Hebrews 11:1), and his hope never disappoints him.  “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Blessing

When God called Abram to go to the Promise Land (Genesis 12:1-3), He promised to bless him, make his name great, and through him, to bless all the families of the earth.  The blessings here are plainly associated with happiness and welfare, both for Abram and others.  The passage also points up the faith of Abram, and teaches that faith obeys God.  Abram was middle-aged, prosperous, settled, and thoroughly pagan.  The word of the Lord came to him though it is not known exactly how and he responded by faith and obediently left everything to follow God’s plan.

A blessing is a statement of good will and happiness that is said about another, aw well as the condition that fulfills those good words.  God’s original design in creation was for His creatures, including mankind, to experience prosperity, peace, and fulfillment, but that design was ruined when sin entered the world.  Statements of blessing are a wish for God to restore His favor on others or a declaration of His inherent goodness.  The ultimate blessing that God has given is the new life and forgiveness that comes through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  The material blessings we enjoy from day to day are temporary, but the spiritual blessings available to us in Christ encompass time and eternity, as well as material and immaterial things.  As the Psalmist declares, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5).  God Bless You All!