Faith and hope are linked to a common foundation. The foundation for faith will be either one of truth based on fact or one of fiction based on fantasy. Faith that is based on fantasy supports the notion that if one wishes for something fervently enough, it will happen. Hope that is based on the fact that causes faith will be a certainty. Conversely, hope that is based on a faith that relies on I wish it will happen, is a vain hope which won’t happen.

The Hebrew writer said of faith and hope, the following: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 The writer has stated to the reader that faith rests on the assurance that what God has said is true. Not only did the believer of that day have reason to trust God, all of this day have the same reason to trust. The men of old were the witnesses to the truth of God and the salvation which is in Christ.

God spoke to Abraham the following: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:17-18) Abraham packed up his family and moved to Beersheba with the faith that God was correct.

The apostles placed their very lives and their eternal salvation in the hope found in Christ. In the letter to the Corinthians wherein Paul wrote about eternal life, we find the following concerning Christ rising from the dead:  19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians 15:19) Paul’s entire thesis to the Corinthians and the foundation for his belief is the unwavering belief that Christ rose from the dead. He met the Lord on the Damascus Road and Paul’s life changed forever, having no reason to doubt that he had indeed met the risen Lord.

The devil tempted Jesus (Matthew 4: 1-10) and Jesus said that life wasn’t just on this earth, but had a purpose that transcended the earthly existence. It is one that is for the service of God whose end is salvation, eternal life, an abode with God and Jesus at his return.  Paul wrote I Thessalonians 4:16-17: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Paul repeatedly wrote about serving God and the end of faithfulness is seen in the verse cited above.

In the first letter to Timothy, chapter 1:1 Paul wrote: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;  Paul leaves no doubt for his belief and for his preaching the gospel of Christ. Though Paul saw Christ, he told the Corinthians: (For we walk by faith, not by sight) II Corinthians 2:5) We can’t see Christ but our hope is in Christ who the men of old knew to be true. Christ is our faith, our hope, and our evidence on which faith and hope rests.

The questions that begs answers are simple ones. If God does not exist and if Christ did not rise from the dead, then what is the purpose of an existence that ends in death with no hope for a better day? What purpose is a life that isn’t built on hope that is real? Not only that, but what is the reason that we have laws to protect people and deal with the violence perpetrated by those who prey on others for personal gain? Without God and Christ, our society would be nothing but chaos such as the condition of the world described in Genesis chapter one before God brought order to the chaos.

 On whom and in whom does your faith and hope rest? If it isn’t Christ, then you need to repent and be baptized into Christ. Your eternal salvation depends on it.

© 12-18-2006 DEC

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