Sermon #1338                                  Miscellaneous Sermons

 

          Title:            The Reasons of My Hope

          Text:            1 Peter 3:15

          Reading:      Lamentations 3:1-33

          Subject:       The Believer’s Reasons For Hope In Christ

          Date:            Sunday Morning - March 21, 1999[1]

          Tape #         V-17b

          Introduction:

 

1 Peter 3:15  "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

 

          Do you hope to go to heaven when you die? Do you hope in the last day to hear the Lord of Glory call you saying, “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”?

 

Do you hope to escape the wrath of God in the day of judgment, and to be numbered among the white-robed throng of the redeemed? Do you have such a hope? If so, why? What is the reason of your hope?

 

Everyone says, “I have hope.” “I hope it will be all right at the last. I hope to go to heaven. I hope to be with the Lord.” But why do you have such a hope? What is the foundation of your hope? I fear that if I were to ask you to respond to those questions, many of you would be unable to do so. You hope you are saved. You hope to go to heaven. You hope to be accepted of God. But you have no reason for such a hope.

 

          If you and I are believers, we ought to be able to give some reason for our hope. If our hope is sound, we should be able to show why, and wherefore, and upon what grounds, and for what reason we expect to go to heaven when we die.

 

          Today, I want to talk to you plainly from my own experience about The Reasons Of My Hope. You have my text before you - “Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”

 

          Somewhere between proud presumption and dread despair, there is the believer’s hope. Somewhere between a fleshly familiarity with God and a slavish fear of God, there is the believer’s hope. Somewhere between modern dispensationalism and medieval mysticism, there is the believer’s hope.

 

          Someone has said, “We are hedged in on two sides in the Word of God! On the one hand, there are the promises of God, lest we should despair. On the other hand, there are his warnings, lest we presume.

 

When the prophet Jeremiah looked around him, he was compelled to weep. He had seen the desolations of Jerusalem. He had felt the bitterness, the wormwood, and the gall of God’s hard providence. But when all else is gone, there is the believer’s hope. The prophet looked up to his God, the fountain of all grace, wiped away his tears, and said, “The Lord is my portion saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

 

          What is our hope? It is defined by Charles Buck like this - “The hope of a Christian is an expectation of all necessary good both in time and eternity, founded upon the promises, relations, and perfections of God, and on the offices, righteousness, and intercession of Christ. It is a compound of desire, expectation, patience, and joy.”

 

In the Scriptures, the people of God are said to have “a good hope through grace,” a “blessed hope,” and a hope that is “sure and steadfast.” Hope is the anchor of our souls amidst the tempestuous trials, troubles, and heartaches of life. But a hope which anchors the soul must be a hope founded upon and established with good reasons.

 

Proposition:         If my hope is one “that maketh not ashamed” I must be able to give a reason for my hope.

 

          What is the reason of your hope?

 

1.   An old religious experience? - Saul had that.

2.   Great religious privileges? - Lot’s wife had that.

3.   Religious works and devotion? - The Pharisees had those.

4.   Religious acquaintances and friends? - Judas had those.

5.   Feelings and convictions? - Agrippa had those.

6.   Strict morality? - The Pharisees had that.

7.   An orthodox creed? - Diotrephes had that.

8.   Great sacrifice? - Ananias and Sapphira had that.

9.   Church membership? - Demas had that.

10. Miraculous gifts? - Simon Magus had those.

 

Divisions:   Let me give you The Reasons of My Hope. Perhaps you have hope for the same reasons that I do.

 

1.   Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of God (Matt. 16:16).

2.   Jesus Christ is able to save the chief of sinners (Heb. 7:25).

3.   The Lord Jesus Christ is able to keep that which I have committed unto him (2 Tim. 1:12).

4.   I have both heard and obeyed the Word of God (John 8:47).

5.   The Lord is my portion (Lam. 3:24).

6.   I have not yet been moved from the hope of the gospel (Col. 1:23).

 

I.      I have hope of eternal salvation, because I KNOW THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE CHRIST OF GOD (Matt. 16:16).

 

Matthew 16:16  "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

 

          This is the confession of my heart and mouth. It arises from what I have seen, read, and heard from the Word of God. It arises from my own experience - “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” What is the meaning of this confession? I simply mean to say that I believe what God has said concerning his Son. I so believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that I rest my soul upon him.

 

A.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is come in the flesh.

 

B. Living upon this earth as our representative, the Son of God perfectly obeyed the will of God.

 

C. The Lord of Glory voluntarily gave himself into the hands of divine justice to die in the place of sinners.

 

D. That very Christ who died, rose again in triumph over the grave, and ascended into glory.

 

E.  Why did he do all of this?

 

1.   It was his Father’s will.

2.   To fulfill his covenant engagements.

3.   To redeem his people.

4.   To win his throne.

5.   Because he loved us!

 

II.   I have hope of entering into glory, because I KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS ABLE TO SAVE THE VERY CHIEF OF SINNERS (Heb. 7:25).

 

          Because Jesus Christ now lives in glory and reigns as a Prince and a Savior, I know that he can save the vilest of men by virtue of his shed blood. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” I know that salvation is altogether a work of almighty grace, therefore, I have hope.

 

A.  Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

 

B. The Son of God has the authority to save sinners (John 17:2).

 

C. The Lord of Glory has promised to save all who come to God by him (John 6).

 

          I have done just that. I have come to God through Christ as a guilty, worthless sinner. I can do no more. Will you too come?

 

1.   Come in humiliation.

2.   Come in faith.

3.   Come now.

 

III. I have hope of eternal life, because I KNOW THAT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS ABLE TO KEEP THAT WHICH I HAVE COMMITTED TO HIM (2 Tim. 1:12).

 

          “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

 

A.  My heart’s faith is fixed upon a living Lord, who has revealed himself in me (v. 10).

 

          It is not what I believe that gives me hope, but whom I believe!

 

B. I have committed my entire being into the care of his hands; and I know he has the power to keep me.

 

1.   God committed his law and justice into the hands of Christ.

2.   God the Father committed his will into the hands of Christ.

3.   God committed his people into the hands of Christ.

4.   God committed the honor and glory of his name into the hands of Christ.

5.   Now, if he has kept what God the Father committed to him, he can surely keep all that I have committed to him.

 

·        He will preserve me in life.

·        He will comfort me in death.

·        He will raise my body from the grave.

·        He will keep me in the day of judgment.

·        He will lift me up when I fall (Psa. 37:25), and intercede for me when I sin (1 John 2:1-2).

 

IV. I have hope that I am a child of God, because I HAVE BOTH HEARD AND OBEYED THE WORD OF GOD (John 8:47). “He that is of God heareth God’s words.”

 

A.  What have I heard?

 

1.   I heard that God is strictly just.

2.   I heard that God is totally sovereign.

3.   I heard that God is full of mercy.

4.   I heard that God is willing to forgive sin.

5.   I heard that God has made provision for the salvation of sinners by the blood of Christ.

6.   I heard that God commands sinners to believe on his Son.

7.   I heard that Jesus Christ receives sinful men - The Harlot - Mary - The Samaritan - The Woman Taken In Adultery.

 

B. What did I do? I believed what I heard (John 6:29).

 

1.   God said come; and I came.

2.   God said look; and I looked.

3.   God said repent; and I repented.

4.   God said believe; and I believed.

 

V.  I have hope of eternal salvation, because THE LORD IS THE PORTION OF MY SOUL (Lam. 3:24).

 

          “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

 

          I have seen many turn from the faith of the gospel. But I cannot. I have no hope but this.

 

I am a poor sinner, and nothing at all,

But Jesus Christ is my all in all.

 

All other hope is gone forever.

 

A.  Our hope is in the Lord’s mercy (v. 22). - “It is f the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.”

 

          I have no hope but that God will deal with me in mercy.

 

1.   Eternal mercy.

2.   Redeeming mercy.

3.   Daily mercy.

 

B. Our hope is fixed upon God’s unfailing love (v. 22). - “His compassions, they fail not.”

 

C. Our Hope is in God’s faithfulness (v. 23). - “Great is thy faithfulness.”

 

1.   He is faithful to himself.

2.   He is faithful to his purpose.

3.   He is faithful to his covenant.

4.   He is faithful to his Son.

 

D. Our hope is in God’s goodness (vv. 25-26).

 

1.   God is good to those who wait for him.

2.   God is good to those who seek him.

 

·        They feel their need of him.

·        They have faith in him.

·        They seek him sincerely.

·        They seek him continually.

·        They shall be filled.

 

          “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul.” This is our hope! Today men talk of his pardon, but miss his presence. Today men talk of his blessing, but miss his being. Today me talk of his grace, but miss his glory. Today men talk of his place, but miss his person. Today men talk of his precepts, but miss his power. It is the Lord himself who is our portion. We hope in him!

 

VI. I have hope of acceptance before God, BECAUSE I HAVE NOT YET BEEN MOVED FROM THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL (Col. 1:23).

 

          Paul tells us that we are saved - “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.”

 

When any turn from Zion’s way;

Alas, what numbers do!

I think I hear the Savior say,

Wilt thou forsake me too?

 

Our Savior raises the question - “Will ye also go away?” And with Peter we respond, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”

 

·        Shall I return to the world? There is no hope there.

·        Shall I return to the law? There is no hope there.

·        Shall I return to the way of religious ritualism and self-righteous morality? There is no hope there.

 

          No, I must abide in the hope of the gospel. What is this hope?

 

A.  Substitutionary Redemption.

B. Imputed Righteousness.

C. Free-Forgiveness.

D. Salvation By Grace Alone.

 

Application:

 

1.   What do we hope for? - SALVATION.

2.   What is the reason of your hope? - CHRIST.

3.   You who have no hope, I counsel you to look to Christ.

 

1 John 5:10  "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."

 

AMEN.



[1] See Sermon #339 preached at Danville 6-14-81, 1-15-84, and 1-22-89.