Editorial
January/February, 2000
Volume 35, Number 1
If you are reading this issue of the Witness, it means that you have crossed over into a new millennium, and you are still alive. You will likely have some comments to share about how the Y2K bugs either crawled out of their closets and tormented you, or rode off into the sunset and didn’t even make an appearance or leave a trail. The world has all kinds of ways to try and get us to worry needlessly. In the book of Romans we are told that we are saved by hope (Romans 8:24). Indeed, hope is a significant spiritual anchor that serves the people of faith well in times of uncertainty. God alone has complete knowledge of the future, because only He knows everything. And God’s Word gives more accurate information about the future than any book on earth. On the day-to-day level of living, we still have difficulty in accurately predicting tomorrow’s weather.
One of the ways by which we can be people of hope, is to encourage one another in the faith. Believers have always needed encouragement, but it is especially important in times of uncertainty and fear. In Old Testament times, the Bible says, Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another” (Malachi 3:16). In the early church, believers continued in fellowship with one another, even on a daily basis. We are helped in our own faith journey by what slides off the experiences and testimonies of fellow believers. Keep on encouraging others. Join others on a regular basis for worship and mutual encouragement. This is especially important as we see “the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). We can be a people of hope by seeking to influence rather than control A person who is out to control others, is often frustrated with the lack of progress. The desire to influence is usually more acceptable with others who may differ with us, than is the desire to control. God will issue the commands and mete out the penalties in time and in eternity (Romans 12:19).
Another means of hope comes from keeping our attitudes as clean as our doctrines. Some people are about as sharp at defining proper doctrine as a barbed wire fence, and they are about as difficult to be around too. You would think some were born during crab apple time and baptized in pickle juice. It is interesting to watch a congregation sing a song like,’There’s a sweet, sweet spirit in this place; there’s a sweet expression on each face”–and then observe how many of those who are singing such sweet words, have faces where the corners of their mouths have almost dropped into their hip pockets. The command is to “look up.”
We can be a people of hope by knowing that God’s kingdom is on schedule. It is easy to get impatient when the church seems to spend so much time on trivia, or seems to be in neutral. We need to be encouraged because we know that God is calling out a Bride. He is making up a people. The books are getting full. One day judgment will determine each person’s just due. It will all happen on time, as God decrees. God is never late.
A final way to indicate hope is to display loyalty to the Church of the Brethren. Within the emphases of the Church of the Brethren, there remains a climate conducive to maintaining the important values of our Anabaptist and Pietist heritage. We are challenged, in an increasingly violent world, to bear testimony to the biblical imperatives of nonresistance and peacemaking. God continues to need a people who are Christ centered in their understanding of salvation; New Testament centered in their understanding of Christian discipleship; ordinance centered in the symbolic expression of faith–and filled with hope for the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ and His saints.
One day a traveler stopped to chat with a New Englander who was building a stone fence around his farm. He was intrigued to see that the fence was wider than high. “Yes,” the farmer said, “the winds get pretty strong up here, so I’m building the fence five feet wide and four feet high; that way if the fence ever blows over, it will be higher afterward than before.” That is an expression of living on the high ground of hope no matter what happens.
“Securing your future” is a common expression these days with regard to one’s finances. Sink your mind into the following article by Harold Martin on Christian hope based on the unchanging Word of God, and face the future with confidence. I was blessed recently by listening to a choir singing the song, “is that Wedding Music that Hear?” The reference for the song was based on Revelation 19 and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Marriage Supper will be the time when hope becomes reality. Even so come, Lord Jesus! What an anticipation-hearing the strains of that first heavenly wedding music.
God Provides Hope for the Future
By Harold S. Martin
One of the beautiful benedictions found in the New Testament is recorded in Romans 15:13…”Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV).
There are nearly 150 references to “hope” in the Bible. In Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you” is called “the hope of glory.” In Romans 8:22-25, there is a lengthy statement explaining that all creation hopes for redemption. In 1 Peter 1:13, we are told to set our hope “on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring” when he is revealed from heaven.
Hope is often looked upon as expressing a mere wish, or indicating a strong desire, or anticipating a good result. As it is commonly used, “hope” is merely a blind desire to have something happen. We hear it said, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.” Or, “I hope my sore throat will soon get better.” But genuine hope is not mere wishful thinking, nor is it a blind desire to have something happen. Genuine hope is a biblical conviction founded upon the promises of God.
For the committed Christian, there are an abundance of promises. There is the promise of salvation through the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5). There is the promise that the Holy Spirit will be an indwelling Presence (1 Corinthians 6:19). And for disciples of Jesus, there is the promise of peace which passes understanding (John 14:27). These promises for believers are certainties.
The concept of “faith” is related to “hope.” Faith is “the substance” of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is what makes our hope a certainty. Because God has kept His promises in the past, we know that He is going to do it again. Christian hope is a firm conviction that God’s promises will indeed materialize.
There is a distinction between faith and hope. Faith relates more to the past. Hope looks ahead to the future. We speak of hope for tomorrow; we never hope for yesterday. A little boy stood with his father, looking at a group of puppies in the window of a pet shop. Dad said, “Which one would you take if you had your choice?” One of the puppies was wagging his tail, and the little fellow pointed to that particular puppy, and said, “l’d like the one with the happy ending.” Hope has to do with the future and especially with a happy ending.
1. HOPE IN LIGHT OF AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
As we stand at the threshold of a new millennium, there is uncertainty about what the future may hold. This creates a constant need for hope. Earth is not Heaven. It suffers the effects of the fall in Genesis 3, just as human beings do (Romans 8:20-21), and therefore many “dangers, toils, and snares” are all about us. The humorist Erma Bombeck once said, “If life is a bowl of cherries, why am I always in the pits?” The Bible never promises a bowl of cherries, but we are given reasons for hope.
Most human beings long for something better. Hope is an essential ingredient for a balanced outlook on life. Take away hope from persons who meet with disappointment or tragedy, and they despair of life. Our bodies and minds are constructed to withstand enormous amounts of pressure. We can survive the heat of the tropics and the icy winds of winter. We can go through long seasons of illness and bodily pain. We can face financial reverses and material losses. We can face all these things if we don’t lose one ingredient–hope.
God grants the gift of hope to us so that we don’t need to despair. Cicero gave us the well known expression–“As long as there is life, there is hope.” Hope is a part of God’s image in man. It is a gift of God’s common grace. But in spite of that fact, most people do not have a solid basis for hope. They seem to think that because people are the source of man’s problems, people can also be the solution. And so the world hopes for better things by promoting the progress of mankind on the basis of human achievement.
Common hope is often “a dead hope” because it is based on flimsy foundations. For the unbeliever, hope lies in the changing circumstances of life, and in the solutions that man can offer. The philosophy is this: “Sooner or later, things will have to improve.” And, if you can hang on long enough, “things will have to change.
Christian hope is different. It is a “living hope” because it is based on the promises of Scripture. Christian hope is described as “an anchor of the soul, steadfast and sure” (in Hebrews 6:19). Christian hope centers in Jesus Christ. Christian hope is the hope which has seen everything and has endured everything, and still has not despaired. Christian hope is not hope in the human spirit, or in human goodness, or in human achievement. The Christian hope is hope in the power and sovereignty of God.
The sacrifice of Jesus gives hope. By solving the sin problem, Jesus removed the biggest negative influence on our lives. We can heartily sing the song, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
The resurrection of Jesus gives hope. Jesus showed that even death can be defeated. The Apostle Peter says that God “has given us a new birth” and a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3/NIV).
The promises of Jesus give hope. Think about the promise that He is preparing “a place for us” (John 14:2-3). It is great comfort to know that Jesus is taking our eternal destiny seriously. He is handling all the arrangements. He will be in charge of our homecoming.
Natural hope is flimsy because it is based on the changing circumstances of life, and on man’s attempts to solve problems. Christian hope is sturdy because it is based on the promises of God–and is guaranteed by the resurrection, ascension, and Second Coming of Christ. That coming, in Titus 2:13, is described as a “blessed hope.” Surely our hope is built on the atoning work which Jesus accomplished when He died on Calvary.
2. HOPE WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF BIBLE PERSONALITIES
When Abraham was about 75 years of age, and Sarah was 65, God promised that they would have a child, and that a great nation would grow from their offspring (Genesis 12:1-4). But years passed, and when Abraham was 99 years of age, the Lord appeared to him and informed him that in about a year his wife would have a son. Abraham had been impatient; Sarah had laughed. Their humanness showed through, but inwardly Abraham believed God (he hoped in God). Paul recounts the experience in the New Testament, and says that Abraham-even though there seemed to be no hope–“in hope (Abraham) believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken” (Romans 4:18). The obvious lesson is that when the answer doesn’t seem to come; when things don’t seem to add up; when life is unusually tough–hope should help us “to hang in” there. The promise to Abraham was that it shall happen “according to what was spoken.”
The book of Lamentations is the account of Jeremiah’s weeping over the city of Jerusalem after it had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Jeremiah sat on a hillside overlooking the City and wept for a longtime, but in the middle of the book of Lamentations, he says in essence, ‘Yet, there is one ray of hope; God’s compassion never ends.” He says “it is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:26).
The Apostle Paul was chained to a guard in a Roman prison, but he did not moan about his situation. Instead, he rejoiced in his sufferings because his hope was in God. The thing that kept motivating Paul was his earnest “hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed” (Philippians 1:20). Paul was confident that whether he would be released from prison, or face death, the cause of Christ would be advanced. Hope enabled Paul to accomplish great things for God.
Each of the persons just named-Abraham, Jeremiah, and Paul–had reasons to be discouraged–but because of their confidence in the promises of God, they were able to live victoriously above their immediate circumstances.
3. HOPE IN THE FACE OF CERTAIN DEATH
Otto von Bismarck once said, “Without hope of an afterlife, this life is not even worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning.” Christians do not have hope in this life only. Colossians 1:5 says that for believers, there is a “hope which is laid up for you in heaven.”
It is true that death is an enemy; it plays no favorites. Barring the return of Christ, death will come to everyone of us. People often try to avoid thoughts about death. Helmut Thieleke says, “Some people make noise to drown out the eerie sound of grass growing over their graves.” Many simply do not want to think about death. But by dying and rising from the grave, Jesus Christ destroyed the power of death, and “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). And because of this victory, we can say with Paul, “O Death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). For the genuine Christian, death is a transition, not a termination.
Three of the Bible words used for the death of believers indicate that death is a commencement, not a conclusion. The words are these: The word “sleep”: Jesus told His disciples that He was returning to the village of Bethany to wake Lazarus out of sleep (John 11:11). Dead saints are described as those “who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). Sleep is only for awhile. We expect to awake out of sleep, refreshed for a new day, and so it is with death for believers.
The word “exodus”: The Apostle Peter spoke of his own death and reminded his readers of truths which he wanted them to remember “after my decease” (2 Peter 1:15). The original Greek word for “decease” is “exodus.” Just as the Israelites passed through the Red Sea and left their enemies behind, so Christians pass through the waters of death, leaving their enemies behind forever.
The word “departure”: The Apostle Paul speaks of his death by saying “the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6). The word “departure” was used by the Greek sailors in New Testament times. It means literally “the loosening of an anchor.” When a ship loosens anchor at one port, it implies that it is setting sail for another harbor, and letting down its anchor there. When believers depart from this world at the time of their death, they will eat from the tree of life, in paradise, in the world to come (Revelation 2:7). A number of our hymns speak of “crossing the swelling tide,” and “landing safe on that beautiful shore.”
We lay the mortal remains of our loved ones in the cold earth, but God promises a resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52). They are absent from our family circle, but God’s promise is that they are with Him (2 Corinthians 5:8). Surely, with confidence, we can let our redeemed friends and loved ones in God’s hands when they die.
4. HOPE IN LIGHT OF THE LORD’S COMING
Someday Jesus will rend the skies and rescue this world from its present distress. His coming is called “that blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-13).
Our world is in a sad state. Nations stagger from one crisis to another. One fourth of the world’s countries are at war. Ten thousand people die of starvation each week. Missions are without enough medical care. Hopelessness abounds in many, many ways. But when Jesus returns in majesty and power, all nations will kneel before Him as He executes His rule on earth. Jesus will bring peace to this troubled planet (Zechariah 14:9; Revelation 19: 15).
There are more than 300 references in the New Testament to our Lord’s Second Coming. Nobody knows when He will return, but there are some major signs which say something about the nearness of His coming.
There is the sign of Israel’s restoration. The Jews today are back in their homeland. They have maintained their identity since New Testament times, and now they possess their own national state. Other nations are desperately trying to take it from them, and thus Jerusalem is becoming “a very heavy stone for all people” (Zechariah 12:3). Israel–once dead like a fig tree in winter–has begun to bud (Matthew 24:32-33).
There is the sign of spiritual indifference. In many places, the church has degenerated into a soup kitchen to serve dinners, when it should be a rescue station to save sinners. Like the days of Noah, many are going through the routines of life (eating meals, spending money, getting married)-but giving no serious thought to their eternal destiny (Matthew 24:37-39). Vast numbers of persons are almost totally indifferent to God’s name, God’s church, God’s Son, and God’s Word.
For faithful believers, the hope and certainty of Christ’s coming should have some significant effects. It should bring encouragement to troubled hearts. Jesus says, “I will come again and receive you unto myself” (John 14:1-3). The hope of Christ’s coming should also be an incentive to faithful service. Jesus said that the person is blessed, “whom his master will find at work when he arrives” (Luke 12:43/NRSV). The hope of Christ’s coming also is to be a motivation for holy and upright living (1 John 3:2-3). If we really believe that Jesus could come at any moment, we will want to live in a way that will not disappoint Him.
The future hope empowers the Christian to live without despair in the midst of the struggles and sufferings of this present life. We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know Who holds the future. If you were watching a video replay of your favorite football team that had won a championship game–you would not mind seeing all the team’s missed plays and fumbles. Why? Because you already know the score! Just so, we can be confident in this present life, because we already know its outcome. The Bible describes the “grand finale” in Revelation 11:15. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” To be on the side of the Lord Jesus, is to be on the winning side. The dawn of the new millennium is a good time to renew our purpose to persevere in the faith. Those who “endure to the end will be saved” (Mark 13: 13).