"And take the helmet of salvation…" Ephesians 6:17
"But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ..." 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2
HOPE is the confident anticipation of an event that is sure to happen (Romans 8:24-25 & 1 Peter 1:3). It embraces the belief in the present goodness of Abba Father and the continual looking forward to the coming eternal world of incredible happiness and joy in the NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH.
We have peace with God and walk in hope as we understand and comprehend the glory of justification by faith alone by the work of Christ alone (present-day grace & future glory).
To daily remind ourselves of the glory of the gospel is an incredible and vital habit in the life of the child of God.
WE LIVE WITH HOPE:
I. Because of the finished work of Christ ( justification by faith alone) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
II. The believer stands with confidence and boldness because of the reality of the cross.
"Since then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright." Psalm 20:7-8
III. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
"And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:30
(Note that the redemptive message goes straight from justification to glorification or the hope of heaven)
LIVING IN THIS HOPE:
1. We have security in the midst of life's trials and failures.
2. There is rest in the goodness of Christ.
“How sweet it is to labor for God during the day and at night to lie down under his smile.” Sarah Edwards, (1710–1758 , wife of Jonathan Edwards)
3. Answering the accusations of the adversary in our conscience.
"Thus be my shield and hiding place!
That, sheltered near your side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him Thou hast died."
John Newton, (1807)
"And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." Revelation 12:11
4. The conquering, immobilizing fear of death is gone.
"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Hebrews 2:14-15
5. Trust in the future grace of the triune God.
"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." Proverbs 31:25
“We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ…If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth. …If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross; if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgement, in the power given to him to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion).” David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23, p.6