The Christian Hope.

The Basic Problem: God’s Standard of Righteousness (The Bad News)
“… the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…. “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one” (Gen. 6:5; Psalm 14:2-3).

The Only Solution: Jesus Christ (The Good News)
[But] God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).

These are the extreme truths that make up the essence of Christian faith and hope. These are foundational truths that in themselves contain so much more, yet without these two extremes there can never be any real hope in life or after death.

And this is why HOPE is so important, because the hope we possess is not our own, nor is it dependant upon circumstances or conditions. We don’t depend on our own hope because we know that in ourselves we are completely incapable of changing anything; that we are in fact the problem and can never be, unassisted, part of the solution. We have no merit whatsoever in order to do good or become righteous. There is nothing in us that can guarantee even any reason to hope, let alone give us the assurance of hope.

Nor do we hope in circumstances, for we know that nothing in the world is certain; nothing unchangeable. In the world, all is nothing but shifting sand or chaff in the wind. Rather, our hope is founded upon the God of creation, Who is ever faithful and unchanging, and upon His inerrant Word. Because He is who He is and has accomplished everything necessary to guarantee our fulfillment in Him, we therefore are able to hope, knowing that with God nothing is impossible. The Bible says again “By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, so that no one may boast.” It is the unmerited favour of God which is grace, received by us through our faith in Christ, that makes our hope possible. Christ and Christ alone is the ground and reason for our hope, and our hope is certain and sure and not merely a desperate wish for something better, because it is grounded in a faithful God who loves us and who has given us His very own Son as surety of the promise of our salvation.

If you are reading these words but have not yet surrendered yourself to Christ as your only and fully-sufficient saviour, you have no part in hope. Your lot is rather one of increasing despair and hopelessness. The best you can ever expect is wishing for something better. True Christian hope, which is not wishful but certain and trustworthy, will ever be beyond your reach. The only answer is clear and evident. God is confronting you even now, to give yourself to Him. Do not hold back, you have nothing to lose but your eternal salvation!

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Soli Deo Gloria