1 Timóteo 1

John Piper · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 Timóteo 1

Piper - Jesus totally took over on the Damascus road. He was not responding to anything Paul had done to win God’s grace. It was utterly sovereign—that means it was utterly free and unmerited and that it came with overwhelming authority and power. Whatever resistance Paul might have been able to put up against this sovereign grace gave way before the triumphant love of God. (Overflowing Grace for All Who Believe)

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Piper - We live in hope (a living hope). We wait to see our Lord face to face. We wait to have whole and healthy bodies which don't get sick any more. And we wait to have whole and healthy souls which don't sin any more. Hope firmly and securely anchors our soul in the midst of the storms of life - (Heb 6:19+) Hope is like an anchor, because our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms, but unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back. In other words what you’re going through isn’t the end of the story, but for hope teaches us that it is simply the journey (which may be rough) leading to the right destination, heaven (Php 3:20-21+). Hope gives us boldness - “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (2Cor 3:12+) Hope helps us to grow in patience - “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Ro 8:25+) Hope gives us confidence in God (Ps 78:7) which in turn is the spiritual fruit of teaching Scriptural truth. (See "teaching" in Ps 78:5, 6) THOUGHT - Are you teaching your disciples the Scriptures dealing with Biblical hope that they might have confidence in God's promises? (God gave Israel the Law to be taught from generation to generation so) that they might set their hope (NAS = put their confidence) in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. (Ps 78:7) Note the importance of teaching the next generation about Biblical hope that they might have confidence in God. Demarest says: In our weakness and failure, we need not despair. Christ is our hope! In the worst of times and circumstances, we need not despair. Christ is our hope! In the final moment of death, we need not despair. Christ is our hope!

1 Timóteo 1

Piper: The chief cause of joy in the Christian life is the eager expectation that we will see and share in the glory of God. Hope for God's glory is the heart of our gladness. (Called to Suffer and Rejoice For Holiness and Hope) Vance Havner: A seasick man was leaning in agony over the rail when a friend said, "Cheer up! Seasickness never killed anybody." "Don't tell me that," groaned the suffering voyager, "it's the hope of dying that has kept me alive!" The Christian's hope of dying does help keep us alive through the trials and tribulations of this present time, for it speaks of heaven and seeing our Lord and reunion with dear ones gone before. The hope, not the dread, of dying can be a tonic, an elixir to the tired traveler in these lowlands. The best is yet to be and we can't lose for winning! Now pause a moment and sing joyful praise to God for your glorious hope is sure (Play "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" Rejoice in glorious hope! Our Lord the judge shall come And take His servants up to their eternal home. Lift up your heart, lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice! -Charles Wesley Hope establishes our security and safety - (Job 11:18) Pulpit Commentary comment: Job, entering on this second period of prosperity, would be and feel secure; safe, i.e., from any return of calamity, because hope would once more animate him and be his predominant feeling. No doubt “hope springs eternal in the human breast;” and when Job’s prosperity was actually restored (Job 42:12-16), these anticipations had their fulfilment. Hope guarantees our eternal life (Titus 3:7+) “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5–7+) Hope as the world typically defines it is a desire for some future occurrence of which one is not assured of attaining. The ancient world did not generally regard hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion. Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world. Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death. People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope from the other side, but there is none outside of Christ. From Hebrews 3:6+ we learn that while holding fast to one's Biblical hope does not save a person, it is one evidence that an individual is truly saved. Gabriel Marcel said "Hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism." Indeed, a study of concentration camp survivors found that those prisoners who were able to hold onto their sense of hope (‘things are going to get better’ or ‘we’re going to get out of here one day’) were much more likely to survive. Hope then is not optional but for these prisoners proved to be a matter of life and death. Biblical hope is not "finger crossing", but is alive and certain because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Life without Christ is a hopeless end whereas life in Christ is an endless hope. Biblical hope is confident expectancy. Someone has put it this way "Hope is faith in the future tense." John Blanchard rightly says that "'Hope' is biblical shorthand for unconditional certainty." The Puritan writer Thomas Brooks says that "Hope can (allow us to) see heaven through the thickest clouds." Make us thy mountaineers We would not linger on the lower slope, Fill us afresh with hope, O God of hope. Amy Carmichael John Bunyan author of Pilgrim's Progress wrote that "Hope has a thick skin and will endure many a blow; it will put on patience as a vestment, it will wade through a sea of blood, it will endure all things if it be of the right kind, for the joy that is set before it. Hence patience is called "patience of hope" (steadfastness of hope 1Th 1:3) because it is hope that makes (enables) the soul (to) exercise patience and long-suffering under the cross, until the time comes to enjoy the crown. Hope is never ill when faith is well. F F Bruce gives this description of Christian hope...We are refugees from the sinking ship of this present world order, so soon to disappear; our hope is fixed in the eternal order, where the promises of God are made good to His people in perpetuity. J. Gresham Machen writes that...The Christian hope is the hope of a time when even the possibility of our sinning will be over. It is not the hope then of a return to the condition of Adam before the Fall but the hope of an entrance into a far higher condition. John Piper: Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God. For he is a God of matchless grace. He elects by grace. He calls by grace. He sanctifies by grace. He sustains faith by grace. And he will glorify you by grace. You cannot earn it or deserve it or merit it. It is free. Believe it. Rest in it. Delight in it. And it is yours. (Why Hope? Grace!) Unbelievers have no hope of a future resurrection to eternal life (1Th 4:13). Dr. Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, observed that a prisoner did not continue to live very long after hope was lost. But even the slightest ray of hope—the rumor of better food; a whisper about an escape—helped some of the camp inmates to continue living even under systematic horror (Man's Search for Meaning). The atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared shortly before death that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would tried to convince himself by saying “I know I shall die in hope.” His self deceptive maneuvers however left him hopeless and so in profound sadness, he would add “But hope needs a foundation.” (devotional) The irony is that Sartre was actually half correct - hope does need a foundation and here in First Timothy Paul says that the foundation is the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus our hope! The atheist Sartre was hopeless for he had refused to believe in Jesus Christ, the only source of genuine, eternal hope. Friedrich Nietzsche (surely in the spirit of antichrist 1Jn 2:18) made the foolish declaration that "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." Wrong! Hope has just the opposite effect of stabilizing and encouraging the life of the Christ follower! "The foolishness of God is wiser than men!" 1Cor 1:25 A HOPELESS DECEPTION - When Alexander the Great was setting out on his campaigns, he divided all his possessions among his friends. Someone said, "But you are keeping nothing for yourself." "O yes, I am," he said. "I have kept my hopes." A man can endure anything so long as he has hope, for then he is walking not to the night, but to the dawn. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible) Comment: Alexander's reasoning sounds plausible but it did not prove true for he suffered an ignominious end, dying at the young age of 33 without hope, without God! Seneca Rome's leading intellectual figure, tutor of the nefarious emperor Nero and contemporary of Paul defined hope as “an uncertain good” the antithesis of the believer's blessed hope! What a difference the new birth makes in one's perspective. Hopelessness is characterized by absolute despair with no expectation of good. The Bible refers to those who have only a hope that perishes...Bildad the Shuhite, one of Job's "friends" declaring "So are the paths of all who forget God and the hope of the godless will perish." (Job 8:13 cf Job 27:8, Pr 10:28) Bildad gives an accurate description of the hope of those without God and without Christ...in the end they will "perish", where the Hebrew word is "abad" which means be lost and in a state of ruin and destruction. It refers not so much to annihilation as to that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. The upshot is that unbelieving men and women who were created in the image of God for the express purpose of glorifying Him, will "perish" and lose all hope of ever achieving their purpose (see Eph 2:12-13+), cp the similar fate of those who "set their hope" on works to achieve salvation - Jn 5:45). Their end is tragic! No wonder cynics like H. L. Mencken were forced to quip that "hope is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible." THE SUSTAINING POWER OF HUMAN HOPE In 1965, naval aviator James B. Stockdale became one of the first American pilots to be shot down during the Vietnam War. As a prisoner of the Vietcong, he spent seven years as a P.O.W., during which he was frequently tortured in an attempt to break him and get him to denounce the U.S. involvement in the war. He was chained for days at a time with his hands above his head so that he could not even swat the mosquitoes. Today, he still cannot bend his left knee and walks with a severe limp from having his leg broken by his captors and never reset. One of the worst things done to him was that he was held in isolation away from the other American P.O.W.s and allowed to see only his guards and interrogators. How could anyone survive seven years of such treatment? As he looks back on that time, Stockdale says that it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day going home, that each day could be the day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would die in hopelessness, as others had done. Such is the power of hope that it can keep one alive when nothing else can. (1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching - arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively - Michael P. Green) Comment: Clearly hope is essential to our survival. If such is the power of human hope, how much greater is the potential for Biblical hope! When we don't feel like we can survive our current "prison like" circumstances, what effect can a vibrant Biblical hope potentially have on our outlook? If Stockdale's hope of going home, of one day being released from prison gave him the wherewithal to keep on living, beloved, but our great God promises that one day we too will be going home, and that one day we too will be set free, released from every struggle with sin (even released from the presence and pleasure of sin!), released from, every heartache, released from every pain and even released from every tear we've shed. Beloved, if that is our hope, can we not endure the "prison" of this present world, holding fast to that hope, firm until the end? Yes, but not by our might, not by our power but by the enabling power of the Spirit of Christ, through Whom we are more than conquerors in this life and the one to come! Amen! G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of a man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table which he set up in the charred remains of his store and upon which he placed the sign, "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."

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Piper says of the believer's hope that...Peter calls it "living hope." What does that mean? The opposite of a "living hope" would be a "dead hope," and that calls to mind a similar phrase in James 2, namely, "dead faith." "Faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:26+), James says. That is, faith is barren, fruitless, unproductive (Jas 2:20+). So "living faith" and, by analogy, "living hope" would be fertile, fruitful, productive hope. Living hope is hope that has power and produces changes in life. This is what "living' means in Hebrews 4:12+, where it says, "The word of God is living and effective." So Christian hope is a strong confidence in God which has power to produce changes in how we live. (The Power of Hope) HOPE IS "FUTURE FAITH"

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Piper summarizes Biblical hope with a series of questions and answers... 1. What is the definition of Christian hope? Answer: a confident expectation of good things to come (Hebrews 6:11+). 2. What is the ground of Christian hope? Answer: • the sovereign grace of God (2Th 2:16), and • the good news that Christ died for sinners (Col 1:23+). 3. What is the cause of Christian hope in the human heart? What brings it about and sustains it? Answer: • the work of God in regeneration (1Pe 1:3+), and • the promises of God in his Word (Ro 15:4+). 4. What is the content of Christian hope? What are we hoping for? Answer: • the appearing of Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13+), • the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23+), • the consummation of our righteousness (Galatians 5:5), • sharing the glory of God (Romans 5:2+), and • inheriting eternal life (Titus 1:2+; Titus 3:7+). Ray Stedman discusses the practical import of this doctrine (hope) to the integrity and vitality of the Church, the Bride of Christ who should be living in light of her Bridegroom's soon appearing... One of the great reasons the Church is so confused in this day, one of the reasons the Church says so little of true significance to the world, is that it has neglected and abandoned, by and large, the hope of the coming of the Lord. There are very few sermons preached on it. There is very little said about it. There is no time given to a consideration of what this hope means and why it is set forth so frequently and so clearly in the Scriptures. Great sections of the Scriptures that deal with the hope of our Lord's return are simply ignored by Christians. (Defense Against Defeat, Part 3 Ephesians 6:17) (Ed: Stedman's analysis begs the question - When was the last time you preached a series or even a single sermon devoted to the doctrine of the Second Coming?) BIBLICAL HOPE: ROOT & FRUIT Christ Jesus our Hope is our righteousness (Gal 5:5), our source of glory (Ro 5:1-2+), our promise of redemption (Ro 8:18-25+), our full assurance until the end (Heb 6:11+), our power for steadfastness (1Th 1:3+), our means and motivation for boldness (2Cor 3:12). Hope is possible because of Grace, because God Who gives us the grace so that we might even be able to hope and set our minds on the certainty of God's promises He will fulfill in the future! 2Th 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace Hope is possible because of the Gospel. Col 1:23+ if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Hope is possible because of the New Birth which gives us a new life and spiritual eyes to see and understand our living (not dead) hope... 1Pet 1:3+ 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 Hope is sustained by the Scriptures... Ro 15:4+ For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Hope is "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13+) Hope of His appearing engenders and energizes eager, expectant looking for that glorious day when He returns to take us all home forever and ever. (Titus 2:13) Hope is the certainty of the final redemption of our bodies and the full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death (Hallelujah!) Ro 8:23-24+ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope (of redemption of our body) we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? Hope will not disappoint us since the believer's hope is based on God's promise and the completion of His salvation in us is more certain by far than anything we see with our eyes! Ro 5:5+ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Hope is a truth which is like a helmet covering our head, protecting our prone to wander minds, stabilizing our sin tempted souls as we look forward to the consummation of the glorious coming of Christ, seeing Him face to face, hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant" and even receiving a grace-based reward from Him! That deserves an "Amen!" 1Th 5:8+ But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (Have you put your helmet on?) Hope of future good stimulates present joy!

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Piper writes that "Hope and faith are overlapping convictions. Faith is trusting a person, and when you trust that person for something they promise to do in the future, it is indistinguishable from hope." (Faith in Hope, Against Hope, for the Glory of God) And I would add that if you trust them, you are willing to wait patiently for the culmination/consummation of the hope which they promise! Therefore it is not surprising that in the OT Scriptures, the Hebrew word for "wait" is translated in some versions as "hope." (eg, Ps 25:5, 21 in NAS <> Ps 25:5NIV, Ps 25:21NIV, Ps 37:9 <> Ps 37:9NIV, Ps 39:7 <> Ps 39:7NIV, Ps 52:9 <> Ps 52:9NIV; Ps 69:6 <> Ps 69:6NIV, Ps 119:43 <> Ps 119:43NIV, Ps 119:74 <> Ps 119:74NIV; Ps 119:81 <> Ps 119:81NIV, Ps 119:114 <> Ps 119:114NIV, etc) Hope is a powerful motivation for a passionate pursuit of personal holiness (1Jn 3:3+) and diligent disciplining of one's self for godliness (compare 1Ti 4:7+ and 1Ti 4:10+). Living in the light of the reality of Christ’s future return (our Blessed Hope) makes (or at least should make) a daily difference in our present conduct. Since we someday will be like Him, a desire should be kindled within our hearts by His Spirit to become like Him now, growing in respect to salvation (1Pe 2:2+), growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2Pe 3:18+), being transformed into His image (2Cor 3:18+, Ro 8:29+). Similarly, the hope of Jesus' last words "Surely (Yes) I am coming quickly" (Rev 22:20+) (our Blessed Hope) should motivate us to lives of daily, moment by moment submission and surrender to His Spirit Who progressively makes us more like Him. In short, the hope of glorification keeps before us the motivation to passionately pursue purification and His predetermined plan for our life (cp Eph 2:10+). The great preacher F. B. Meyer once asked D. L. Moody, "What is the secret of your success?" Moody replied, "For many years I have never given an address without the consciousness that the Lord may come before I have finished." This may well explain the intensity of his service and the zeal of his ministry for Christ. Hope is the foundation and "inspiration" for our development of endurance (not a passive acceptance but a Spirit enabled fortitude in the face of opposition or difficulty) when circumstances are difficult (1Th 1:3-4, 5, 6 - NIV = "your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ", NLT = "your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord") Comment: Steadfastness of hope describes the steadfastness as being characterized by hope, inspired by hope (NIV) and sustained by hope in spite of set-backs and difficulties (Compare David's prayer to wait quietly which was based on his hope that came from God = Ps 62:5). In the context of First Thessalonians, where is the hope derived from? From the good news, the Gospel, the truth which turns an upside down world right side up and provides the assurance that true life is far more that this world calls "life". This hope includes the assurance that we one day will be saved from even the presence of sin and receive perfect glorified bodies ("future tense salvation") enabling us to have eternal unbroken fellowship with our Lord and His children. This is the hope that supernaturally inspires the believer to not just hold on in desperation but to press on with resignation, fully assured that the victory has already been won at Calvary. Indeed, this supernatural Spirit enabled steadfastness is not characterized by grim waiting but joyful hoping. Hupomone does not simply accept and endure but always has a forward looking aspect. For example, while the word "hope" is not used, even Jesus had a future hope which inspired present living (and dying). What was His "hope" in the following passage? Jesus "for the joy that was set before Him, endured (hupomeno) the Cross, despising the shame." (He 12:2+). Hope buoys up our souls when we are downcast, disturbed, in despair - Next time you are down, preach Ps 42:5 to your soul and follow through on the exhortation to hope in God. Indeed, hope is the antonym of and the antidote for despair. Charles R Swindoll tells a somewhat humorous story about hope and despair: a missionary was sitting at her second-story window when she was handed a letter from home. As she opened the letter, a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill fell out. She was pleasantly surprised, but as she read the letter her eyes were distracted by the movement of a shabbily dressed stranger down below, leaning against a post in front of the building. She couldn’t get him off her mind. Thinking that he might be in greater financial stress than she, she slipped the bill into an envelope on which she quickly penned “Don’t despair.” She threw it out the window. The stranger below picked it up, read it, looked up, and smiled as he tipped his hat and went his way. The next day she was about to leave the house when a knock came at the door. She found the same shabbily dressed man smiling as he handed her a roll of bills. When she asked what they were for, he replied: “That’s the sixty bucks you won, lady. Don’t Despair paid five to one.” (Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life) Hope enables us to praise God continually and in progressively increasing "increments" ("more and more"). The more we meditate on and "marinate" our heart and mind with the truth of our hope, the more the Spirit will enable our heart to praise our great King! But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise Thee yet more and more. (Ps 71:14)

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Piper adds “for the Christian things may go really bad right now and yet not rob him of his JOY. The JOY is the JOY OF HOPE. Christians set their hearts on how good it will be in the age to come and in the presence of Christ after death. This is why Christians can REJOICE in tribulation and not just in health and peace and security. Tribulation drives the roots of JOY down into HOPE. The future JOY streams back into the presence and lightens every load.” As someone has said, when we are filled "With the JOY OF HOPE we can sing as we suffer!" Matthew

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Piper says of the believer's hope that...Peter calls it "living hope." What does that mean? The opposite of a "living hope" would be a "dead hope," and that calls to mind a similar phrase in James 2, namely, "dead faith." "Faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:26-note), James says. That is, faith is barren, fruitless, unproductive (Jas 2:20-note). So "living faith" and, by analogy, "living hope" would be fertile, fruitful, productive hope. Living hope is hope that has power and produces changes in life. This is what "living' means in Hebrews 4:12-note, where it says, "The word of God is living and effective." So Christian hope is a strong confidence in God which has power to produce changes in how we live. (The Power of Hope) HOPE IS "FUTURE FAITH"

1 Timóteo 1:1-2

Piper summarizes Biblical hope with a series of questions and answers... 1. What is the definition of Christian hope? Answer: a confident expectation of good things to come (Hebrews 6:11-note). 2. What is the ground of Christian hope? Answer: • the sovereign grace of God (2Th 2:16), and • the good news that Christ died for sinners (Col 1:23-note). 3. What is the cause of Christian hope in the human heart? What brings it about and sustains it? Answer: • the work of God in regeneration (1Pe 1:3-note), and • the promises of God in his Word (Ro 15:4-note). 4. What is the content of Christian hope? What are we hoping for? Answer: • the appearing of Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13-note), • the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23-note), • the consummation of our righteousness (Galatians 5:5), • sharing the glory of God (Romans 5:2-note), and • inheriting eternal life (Titus 1:2-note; Titus 3:7-note). Ray Stedman discusses the practical import of this doctrine (hope) to the integrity and vitality of the Church, the Bride of Christ who should be living in light of her Bridegroom's soon appearing... One of the great reasons the Church is so confused in this day, one of the reasons the Church says so little of true significance to the world, is that it has neglected and abandoned, by and large, the hope of the coming of the Lord. There are very few sermons preached on it. There is very little said about it. There is no time given to a consideration of what this hope means and why it is set forth so frequently and so clearly in the Scriptures. Great sections of the Scriptures that deal with the hope of our Lord's return are simply ignored by Christians. (Defense Against Defeat, Part 3 Ephesians 6:17) (Ed: Stedman's analysis begs the question - When was the last time you preached a series or even a single sermon devoted to the doctrine of the Second Coming?) BIBLICAL HOPE: ROOT & FRUIT Christ Jesus our Hope is our righteousness (Gal 5:5), our source of glory (Ro 5:1-2-note), our promise of redemption (Ro 8:18-25-note), our full assurance until the end (Heb 6:11-note), our power for steadfastness (1Th 1:3-note), our means and motivation for boldness (2Cor 3:12). Hope is possible because of Grace, because God Who gives us the grace so that we might even be able to hope and set our minds on the certainty of God's promises He will fulfill in the future! 2Thess 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace Hope is possible because of the Gospel. Col 1:23-note if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Hope is possible because of the New Birth which gives us a new life and spiritual eyes to see and understand our living (not dead) hope... 1Pet 1:3-note 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 Hope is sustained by the Scriptures... Ro 15:4-note For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Hope is "the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13-note) Hope of His appearing engenders and energizes eager, expectant looking for that glorious day when He returns to take us all home forever and ever. (Titus 2:13) Hope is the certainty of the final redemption of our bodies and the full and final deliverance from sin, suffering, disease, and death (Hallelujah!) Ro 8:23-24-note And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope (of redemption of our body) we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? Hope will not disappoint us since the believer's hope is based on God's promise and the completion of His salvation in us is more certain by far than anything we see with our eyes! Ro 5:5-note and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Hope is a truth which is like a helmet covering our head, protecting our prone to wander minds, stabilizing our sin tempted souls as we look forward to the consummation of the glorious coming of Christ, seeing Him face to face, hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant" and even receiving a grace-based reward from Him! That deserves an "Amen!" 1Th 5:8-note But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (Have you put your helmet on?) Hope of future good stimulates present joy!

1 Timóteo 1:1-2

Piper writes that "Hope and faith are overlapping convictions. Faith is trusting a person, and when you trust that person for something they promise to do in the future, it is indistinguishable from hope." (Faith in Hope, Against Hope, for the Glory of God) And I would add that if you trust them, you are willing to wait patiently for the culmination/consummation of the hope which they promise! Therefore it is not surprising that in the OT Scriptures, the Hebrew word for "wait" is translated in some versions as "hope." (eg, Ps 25:5, 21 in NAS <> Ps 25:5NIV, Ps 25:21NIV, Ps 37:9 <> Ps 37:9NIV, Ps 39:7 <> Ps 39:7NIV, Ps 52:9 <> Ps 52:9NIV; Ps 69:6 <> Ps 69:6NIV, Ps 119:43 <> Ps 119:43NIV, Ps 119:74 <> Ps 119:74NIV; Ps 119:81 <> Ps 119:81NIV, Ps 119:114 <> Ps 119:114NIV, etc) Hope is a powerful motivation for a passionate pursuit of personal holiness (1Jn 3:3-note) and diligent disciplining of one's self for godliness (compare 1Ti 4:7-note and 1Ti 4:10-note). Living in the light of the reality of Christ’s future return (our Blessed Hope) makes (or at least should make) a daily difference in our present conduct. Since we someday will be like Him, a desire should be kindled within our hearts by His Spirit to become like Him now, growing in respect to salvation (1Pe 2:2-note), growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (2Pe 3:18-note), being transformed into His image (2Cor 3:18-note, Ro 8:29-note). Similarly, the hope of Jesus' last words "Surely (Yes) I am coming quickly" (Rev 22:20-note) (our Blessed Hope) should motivate us to lives of daily, moment by moment submission and surrender to His Spirit Who progressively makes us more like Him. In short, the hope of glorification keeps before us the motivation to passionately pursue purification and His predetermined plan for our life (cp Eph 2:10-note). The great preacher F. B. Meyer once asked D. L. Moody, "What is the secret of your success?" Moody replied, "For many years I have never given an address without the consciousness that the Lord may come before I have finished." This may well explain the intensity of his service and the zeal of his ministry for Christ. Hope is the foundation and "inspiration" for our development of endurance (not a passive acceptance but a Spirit enabled fortitude in the face of opposition or difficulty) when circumstances are difficult (1Th 1:3-4, 5, 6 - NIV = "your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ", NLT = "your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord") Comment: Steadfastness of hope describes the steadfastness as being characterized by hope, inspired by hope (NIV) and sustained by hope in spite of set-backs and difficulties (Compare David's prayer to wait quietly which was based on his hope that came from God = Ps 62:5). In the context of First Thessalonians, where is the hope derived from? From the good news, the Gospel, the truth which turns an upside down world right side up and provides the assurance that true life is far more that this world calls "life". This hope includes the assurance that we one day will be saved from even the presence of sin and receive perfect glorified bodies ("future tense salvation") enabling us to have eternal unbroken fellowship with our Lord and His children. This is the hope that supernaturally inspires the believer to not just hold on in desperation but to press on with resignation, fully assured that the victory has already been won at Calvary. Indeed, this supernatural Spirit enabled steadfastness is not characterized by grim waiting but joyful hoping. Hupomone does not simply accept and endure but always has a forward looking aspect. For example, while the word "hope" is not used, even Jesus had a future hope which inspired present living (and dying). What was His "hope" in the following passage? Jesus "for the joy that was set before Him, endured (hupomeno) the Cross, despising the shame." (He 12:2-note). Hope buoys up our souls when we are downcast, disturbed, in despair - Next time you are down, preach Ps 42:5 to your soul and follow through on the exhortation to hope in God. Indeed, hope is the antonym of and the antidote for despair. Charles R Swindoll tells a somewhat humorous story about hope and despair: a missionary was sitting at her second-story window when she was handed a letter from home. As she opened the letter, a crisp, new, ten-dollar bill fell out. She was pleasantly surprised, but as she read the letter her eyes were distracted by the movement of a shabbily dressed stranger down below, leaning against a post in front of the building. She couldn’t get him off her mind. Thinking that he might be in greater financial stress than she, she slipped the bill into an envelope on which she quickly penned “Don’t despair.” She threw it out the window. The stranger below picked it up, read it, looked up, and smiled as he tipped his hat and went his way. The next day she was about to leave the house when a knock came at the door. She found the same shabbily dressed man smiling as he handed her a roll of bills. When she asked what they were for, he replied: “That’s the sixty bucks you won, lady. Don’t Despair paid five to one.” (Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life) Hope enables us to praise God continually and in progressively increasing "increments" ("more and more"). The more we meditate on and "marinate" our heart and mind with the truth of our hope, the more the Spirit will enable our heart to praise our great King! But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise Thee yet more and more. (Ps 71:14)

1 Timóteo 1:1-2

Piper - We live in hope (a living hope). We wait to see our Lord face to face. We wait to have whole and healthy bodies which don't get sick any more. And we wait to have whole and healthy souls which don't sin any more. Hope firmly and securely anchors our soul in the midst of the storms of life - (Heb 6:19-note) Hope is like an anchor, because our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms, but unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back. In other words what you’re going through isn’t the end of the story, but for hope teaches us that it is simply the journey (which may be rough) leading to the right destination, heaven (Php 3:20-21-note). Hope gives us boldness - “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (2Cor 3:12-note) Hope helps us to grow in patience - “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Ro 8:25-note) Hope gives us confidence in God (Ps 78:7) which in turn is the spiritual fruit of teaching Scriptural truth. (See "teaching" in Ps 78:5, 6) Are you teaching your disciples the Scriptures dealing with Biblical hope that they might have confidence in God's promises? (God gave Israel the Law to be taught from generation to generation so) that they might set their hope (NAS = put their confidence) in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. (Ps 78:7) Note: The importance of teaching the next generation about Biblical hope that they might have confidence in God.

1 Timóteo 1:1-2

Piper: The chief cause of joy in the Christian life is the eager expectation that we will see and share in the glory of God. Hope for God's glory is the heart of our gladness. (Called to Suffer and Rejoice For Holiness and Hope) Vance Havner: A seasick man was leaning in agony over the rail when a friend said, "Cheer up! Seasickness never killed anybody." "Don't tell me that," groaned the suffering voyager, "it's the hope of dying that has kept me alive!" The Christian's hope of dying does help keep us alive through the trials and tribulations of this present time, for it speaks of heaven and seeing our Lord and reunion with dear ones gone before. The hope, not the dread, of dying can be a tonic, an elixir to the tired traveler in these lowlands. The best is yet to be and we can't lose for winning! Now pause a moment and sing joyful praise to God for your glorious hope is sure (Play "Rejoice, the Lord Is King" (Vocal) Rejoice in glorious hope! Our Lord the judge shall come And take His servants up to their eternal home. Lift up your heart, lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice! -Charles Wesley Hope establishes our security and safety - (Job 11:18) Pulpit Commentary comment: Job, entering on this second period of prosperity, would be and feel secure; safe, i.e., from any return of calamity, because hope would once more animate him and be his predominant feeling. No doubt “hope springs eternal in the human breast;” and when Job’s prosperity was actually restored (Job 42:12-16), these anticipations had their fulfilment. Hope guarantees our eternal life (Titus 3:7-note) “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5–7-note) Hope as the world typically defines it is a desire for some future occurrence of which one is not assured of attaining. The ancient world did not generally regard hope as a virtue, but merely as a temporary illusion. Historians tell us that a great cloud of hopelessness covered the ancient world. Philosophies were empty; traditions were disappearing; religions were powerless to help men face either life or death. People longed to pierce the veil and get some message of hope from the other side, but there is none outside of Christ. From Hebrews 3:6-note we learn that while holding fast to one's Biblical hope does not save a person, it is one evidence that an individual is truly saved. Gabriel Marcel said "Hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism." Indeed, a study of concentration camp survivors found that those prisoners who were able to hold onto their sense of hope (‘things are going to get better’ or ‘we’re going to get out of here one day’) were much more likely to survive. Hope then is not optional but for these prisoners proved to be a matter of life and death. Biblical hope is not "finger crossing", but is alive and certain because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Life without Christ is a hopeless end whereas life in Christ is an endless hope. Biblical hope is confident expectancy. Someone has put it this way "Hope is faith in the future tense." John Blanchard rightly says that "'Hope' is biblical shorthand for unconditional certainty." The Puritan writer Thomas Brooks says that "Hope can (allow us to) see heaven through the thickest clouds." Make us thy mountaineers We would not linger on the lower slope, Fill us afresh with hope, O God of hope. -Amy Carmichael John Bunyan author of Pilgrim's Progress wrote that "Hope has a thick skin and will endure many a blow; it will put on patience as a vestment, it will wade through a sea of blood, it will endure all things if it be of the right kind, for the joy that is set before it. Hence patience is called "patience of hope" (steadfastness of hope 1Th 1:3) because it is hope that makes (enables) the soul (to) exercise patience and long-suffering under the cross, until the time comes to enjoy the crown. Hope is never ill when faith is well. F F Bruce gives this description of Christian hope...We are refugees from the sinking ship of this present world order, so soon to disappear; our hope is fixed in the eternal order, where the promises of God are made good to His people in perpetuity. J. Gresham Machen writes that...The Christian hope is the hope of a time when even the possibility of our sinning will be over. It is not the hope then of a return to the condition of Adam before the Fall but the hope of an entrance into a far higher condition. John Piper: Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God. For he is a God of matchless grace. He elects by grace. He calls by grace. He sanctifies by grace. He sustains faith by grace. And he will glorify you by grace. You cannot earn it or deserve it or merit it. It is free. Believe it. Rest in it. Delight in it. And it is yours. (Why Hope? Grace!) Unbelievers have no hope of a future resurrection to eternal life (1Th 4:13). Dr. Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, observed that a prisoner did not continue to live very long after hope was lost. But even the slightest ray of hope—the rumor of better food; a whisper about an escape—helped some of the camp inmates to continue living even under systematic horror (Man's Search for Meaning). The atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared shortly before death that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would tried to convince himself by saying “I know I shall die in hope.” His self deceptive maneuvers however left him hopeless and so in profound sadness, he would add “But hope needs a foundation.” (devotional) The irony is that Sartre was actually half correct - hope does need a foundation and here in First Timothy Paul says that the foundation is the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus our hope! The atheist Sartre was hopeless for he had refused to believe in Jesus Christ, the only source of genuine, eternal hope. Friedrich Nietzsche (surely in the spirit of antichrist 1Jn 2:18) made the foolish declaration that "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." Wrong! Hope has just the opposite effect of stabilizing and encouraging the life of the Christ follower! "The foolishness of God is wiser than men!" 1Cor 1:25 A HOPELESS DECEPTION - When Alexander the Great was setting out on his campaigns, he divided all his possessions among his friends. Someone said, "But you are keeping nothing for yourself." "O yes, I am," he said. "I have kept my hopes." A man can endure anything so long as he has hope, for then he is walking not to the night, but to the dawn. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible) Comment: Alexander's reasoning sounds plausible but it did not prove true for he suffered an ignominious end, dying at the young age of 33 without hope, without God! Seneca Rome's leading intellectual figure, tutor of the nefarious emperor Nero and contemporary of Paul defined hope as “an uncertain good” the antithesis of the believer's blessed hope! What a difference the new birth makes in one's perspective. Hopelessness is characterized by absolute despair with no expectation of good. The Bible refers to those who have only a hope that perishes...Bildad the Shuhite, one of Job's "friends" declaring "So are the paths of all who forget God and the hope of the godless will perish." (Job 8:13 cf Job 27:8, Pr 10:28) Bildad gives an accurate description of the hope of those without God and without Christ...in the end they will "perish", where the Hebrew word is "abad" which means be lost and in a state of ruin and destruction. It refers not so much to annihilation as to that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose. The upshot is that unbelieving men and women who were created in the image of God for the express purpose of glorifying Him, will "perish" and lose all hope of ever achieving their purpose (see Eph 2:12-13-note), cp the similar fate of those who "set their hope" on works to achieve salvation - Jn 5:45). Their end is tragic! No wonder cynics like H. L. Mencken were forced to quip that "hope is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible." THE SUSTAINING POWER OF HUMAN HOPE In 1965, naval aviator James B. Stockdale became one of the first American pilots to be shot down during the Vietnam War. As a prisoner of the Vietcong, he spent seven years as a P.O.W., during which he was frequently tortured in an attempt to break him and get him to denounce the U.S. involvement in the war. He was chained for days at a time with his hands above his head so that he could not even swat the mosquitoes. Today, he still cannot bend his left knee and walks with a severe limp from having his leg broken by his captors and never reset. One of the worst things done to him was that he was held in isolation away from the other American P.O.W.s and allowed to see only his guards and interrogators. How could anyone survive seven years of such treatment? As he looks back on that time, Stockdale says that it was his hope that kept him alive. Hope of one day going home, that each day could be the day of his release. Without hope, he knew that he would die in hopelessness, as others had done. Such is the power of hope that it can keep one alive when nothing else can. (1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching - arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively - Michael P. Green) Comment: Clearly hope is essential to our survival. If such is the power of human hope, how much greater is the potential for Biblical hope! When we don't feel like we can survive our current "prison like" circumstances, what effect can a vibrant Biblical hope potentially have on our outlook? If Stockdale's hope of going home, of one day being released from prison gave him the wherewithal to keep on living, beloved, but our great God promises that one day we too will be going home, and that one day we too will be set free, released from every struggle with sin (even released from the presence and pleasure of sin!), released from, every heartache, released from every pain and even released from every tear we've shed. Beloved, if that is our hope, can we not endure the "prison" of this present world, holding fast to that hope, firm until the end? Yes, but not by our might, not by our power but by the enabling power of the Spirit of Christ, through Whom we are more than conquerors in this life and the one to come! Amen! G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of a man whose shop had been burned in the great Chicago fire. He arrived at the ruins the next morning carrying a table which he set up in the charred remains of his store and upon which he placed the sign, "Everything lost except wife, children, and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning."