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What Do You Hope In? – A Topical Bible Study

A Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3 — “He has given us a living hope.”

Our hope is placed in Christ and He is alive! Our hope should not be set on anything in this world such as money, people, politics, luck, or fate. All of these things will disappoint. Neither should our hope be set on heaven or eternal life or a guardian angel. Rather, our hope is in Someone.

The disciples were actually disappointed for a couple of days. They placed their hope in Christ. They followed Him for three years, but then he died. They were crushed and couldn’t understand it, thinking that Jesus was the Messiah. But He died.

This reminds me of some movies I have seen where the heroes make a promise to their kids or wife. Although they are about to embark on the most dangerous mission in the history of the world they promise, “I will be back for you. Everything will be OK.” Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. In real life, those who rely people (or anything except for God) will eventually be disappointed.

But Christ did the impossible. He rose again from the dead. If He could defeat death, what can Christ not do? There is nothing impossible for Him (aside from sinning). Therefore, put your hope in Him and you will never be disappointed. Do not put your hope on any person or material thing.

When you place your hope in something in this world, there are only two possible outcomes. The first outcome is that you will never get what you hope for and be disappointed. The second outcome is that you will get what you hope for and still be disappointed, because it does not bring the happiness you expected. Set your hope on Christ because He alone can satisfy.

If we place our hope in things in this world such as materials, we may actually get a lot of them. But the happiness they bring is temporary, and they themselves are temporary. For example, the owner of Myspace was offered two billion dollars for his company. At that time, Myspace was the place to be on the internet. He declined the offer. That was right before Facebook debuted. Soon Myspace was irrelevant and faded into obscurity. The golden egg that was going to make him, his family, and all of his descendants rich, vanished. Sometimes riches will not fade that quickly, but the longest they will last is until death. Then the person who put their hope in these things will be disappointed.

As believers, we have an inheritance that will never fade, that will never disappear, and that will never diminish. John MacArthur describes this inheritance as “life, righteousness, joy, peace, perfection, God’s presence, Christ’s glorious companionship, rewards, and all else God has planned.” It is in short, paradise.

We are protected by God’s power. This ties back into the fact that we have a living hope. Our inheritance and our very souls are protected by Christ. We can trust in Him with confidence. Imagine Christ’s hand as the world’s first unbreakable safe. He holds us in His hand. Our heavenly inheritance and all of God’s promises to us are sure.

Application — Is there anyone to whom you are struggling to extend mercy? What do you need to do in order to show the same mercy to him that you have received from the Lord?

— From our Bible study on 1 Peter 1

Our Hope Is Fixed on God, Not on This World

1 Timothy 4:10 – For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

What are you hoping for? People hope for a lot of things. A promotion. A marriage. A house. A fat bank account. Early retirement. If you hope in things in this world there are two possible results.

You never get it. You don’t receive the promotion. You can’t retire early. And because you set your hope on it and didn’t get it, you are disappointed and unhappy.

Or you get it. You get what you hope for. But you find that this too cannot satisfy. Your marriage is not as perfect as you hoped. Early retirement leaves you with altogether too much free time. Your house isn’t big enough. So you are disappointed and empty.

We must fix our hope on God, the living God. He alone can fulfill us. He alone can give us the joy we long for. Like an adopted child waiting for her father to take her home, we wait for our Father. We know that one day we will see Him face to face. We know that one day we will be given a new body and made perfect like Him.

But this hope does not only effect our future, it effects our now. This hope acts as a purifying force on our lives. This hope helps us to “set our mind on things above and not on things on the earth.” As we do that, temptations in this world lose their power. Our love for the world fades as our hope in God increases. The lure of earthly riches will start to lose its luster. You will find yourself less interested in empty, worldly pursuits.

A child who knows his parent will soon be returning will be more likely to obey his parents’ instructions. Since we know we will face God, it effects our lives today. We want to be ready.

Application — So how can you increase your hope in the Father?

— From our Bible study on 1 Timothy 4:9-16

Suffering Produces Hope

Romans 8:18 – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Do you ever complain? Do you ever feel discouraged or depressed? Do you sometimes feel the world is too difficult and your life is too hard? Well, I am sure you do sometimes have these types of feelings. I sometimes do as well. This life is not always easy. We have many responsibilities and sometimes a lot of pressure. But you know what? All of this is nothing, NOTHING, if you compare it with the glory of the final stage. All of our difficulties are temporary.

After the fall of man, sin entered the world. God cursed the world and subjected it to futility. Creation is in a sense a slave of this sin and this curse. All of creation groans under this yoke. As creation, if it had a mind, longs for freedom of the curse in the future, so we as believers trapped in this body, also hope for the future. The pains of childbirth represent short term sufferings, which will eventually give way to great blessings. During childbirth it is very hard for a woman to think of the joy that will come because of the pain in the here and now. But those pains will pass and fade away when compared of the joy of having a new child. This is how it works for us as well. All of the present sufferings will fade when compared with what we will receive in the future when God culminates His plan for us.

We are already adopted as sons and daughters of God. We are His children right now. But we haven’t seen Him yet face to face and we haven’t received our whole inheritance or our new body. It is a little bit similar to a kid who has been formally adopted, yet hasn’t yet met his adopted parents. While he is legally adopted, he doesn’t completely experience what it means to be a son until he physically joins their family and lives with them in their home.

Slaves often groaned and moaned under their bondage. The world does this too. Many of these slaves had a hope that someday they would be free. This is what kept them moving each day. This is what kept them from becoming too depressed. It gave them the energy to keep on. Our hope is much greater. Do you hope for heaven? Are you eager for it? We can’t see it, but it is coming. So don’t become discouraged with the problems in your life. Instead remember your blessings and live eagerly, waiting for that final stage.

This is the hope that we have. It is not something we can see now, but it is something that we are hoping for in the future. Again, this hope is not like the worldly hope, which is uncertain and not guaranteed. It is certain; it just hasn’t yet come to pass. Two words grab my attention. The first is eager. We are to be eager for this day. We should be longing for it. If we aren’t, it is because we love this world too much. We should set our minds on heaven. However, we are not to sit around idly dreaming of being in heaven and how wonderful it will be. The second word is perseverance. Until that day we are to persevere. We are to persevere in the tasks that God has given to us, being faithful. This hope should give us energy to keep persevering in our service to God.

Reflect — What effect should the knowledge of this doctrine have on our daily lives? How should it change our attitude and our outlook?

— From our Bible study on Romans 8:18-39

Rejoicing in Suffering

Colossians 1:27 – To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul faced far more than his “fair share” of sufferings. But in the midst of these life-threatening sufferings Paul kept a good attitude. One reason he could do this was because he had the right perspective about this world and his place in it. He realized that his time on earth was temporary and while here his role was to be a minister and steward of the gospel.

This rejoicing doesn’t refer to a giddy silliness of a deranged person who laughs as he is beaten. Instead it flows from the heart. It flows out of an eternal perspective and an eternal relationship with Christ. It is only possible through the strength that Christ gives. The person who rejoices in suffering makes a conscious decision to maintain a good attitude and appropriate thanksgiving for God’s blessings even in the middle of serious trials. Even in the midst of the worst trial, we have much to be thankful for.

Application — What is the opposite of rejoicing? Perhaps it is complaining. When you suffer do you rejoice or do you complain? Do you remain thankful to the Lord for what He has done for you or do you grow bitter and resentful about the difficulties which you face?

When we look at Paul’s sufferings, we can find out that most of them could have been avoided. These were not natural disasters or hereditary diseases. The vast majority of his sufferings came about as a result of persecution because of persistence in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. There were scores of times in his life when Paul faced a clear decision: stop preaching the gospel and enjoy a life free of persecution or keep preaching the gospel and suffer. Every time he made the decision to keep ministering for the Lord and as a direct result faced even more intense persecution. Thus we can see the driving motivating force in Paul’s life: others.

Application — Are you willing to face suffering for the sake of the people around you? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for them? How specifically can you apply this principle in your own life?

— From our Bible study on Colossians 1:21-29

Full Assurance of Hope

The writer of Hebrews begins to encourage his audience. They needed a certain amount of humility. Now he seeks to build them up. He writes his belief and expectation that they can do better, that they will grow and live out a spiritual life filled with fruit as they should.

Correction requires first showing the error of someone’s ways. However, after that it requires showing them what they should be doing. This approach is sometimes termed the “carrot and the stick.” A parent/teacher needs to correct, but they also need to look optimistically at their children/students and push them forward in the hope that they can and will do better.

Hebrews 6:11 — “And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end.”

I believe it shows our responsibility towards God after salvation. The Bible teaches us that God is sovereign, He saves us, and cannot lose us. It also teaches us that we are responsible to respond to God’s message. We are responsible to confess our sins. We are responsible to obey God.

Imagine that this coming Easter you meet a person at church whom you have not seen before. After talking with them you realize they only attend church on Easter and Christmas. They tell you that they made a decision to trust in Christ 20 years ago and therefore are confident in their eternal destiny. Yet it is also clear that their lifestyle is not following the Bible. What would you tell them? You could use this verse to remind them to be diligent. Each one of us MUST be diligent to obey what God has revealed to us every day. Our hope hasn’t been 100% fulfilled yet. It will be when we face God and He says to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Until that moment, we need to be that good and faithful servant.

Hebrews 6:19-20 — “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

This hope is sure and steadfast. You don’t need to doubt. Nonetheless times of doubting may come. What should you do when you start to doubt? You could look through the Scriptures to see the many times God has been faithful to keep His promises. If He kept His promises the last 1000 times, He will do it again. Jesus Himself, upon whom we set our hope, has risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of God.

Jesus is our forerunner. Jesus rose from the dead, showing that God does have the power over death. He received His glorified body already. If Jesus rose from the dead, we will too.

Application — What is the key application you want to make based on the truth we have studied today?

— From our Bible study on Hebrews 6:9-20

The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 — “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Paul describes God as the “God of all comfort.” When you think about this statement it is clearly true that God is God of all comfort. There is no real comfort apart from God. The Bible tells us that every person is a sinner and will face judgment for that sin. Apart from Christ, each person will face an eternity in hell. What comfort can be shared with a person who is on their way to hell?

Now certainly in this world people would try to offer comfort to others. A person loses his job. “Don’t worry, you will find another one.” Someone gets a bad case of the flu, “It will pass.” But this is only temporal comfort. It doesn’t address a person’s real issues.

Think of it in this way. If a mother with cancer stubs her toe is it comforting to tell her that her stubbed toe will feel better soon? This isn’t her real problem.

In a similar way, many live in “ignorant bliss” about their spiritual destiny. They try to comfort themselves by ignoring the spiritual reality and repeating to themselves over and over, “everything will be OK.” But it won’t be OK. Apart from God, nothing will be OK. There is no real and lasting comfort apart from what God can give. And it is given only to those who experience salvation and have a relationship with Him.

Matthew 5:4 — “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

If you mourn over sin, you will receive comfort. God promises forgiveness of sins. There will be a final comfort for believers when every tear is washed away, every pain gone, every sadness turned to joy, and every sin confirmed to be paid for as we are made perfect forever in God’s presence. But there is also a comfort now to those who mourn for sin. God does not hold your sin against you. When you confess, He removes it as far as the East is from the West. There is comfort in the promise of forgiveness.

Reflect — Share various ways God comforts believers.

If you are facing trials or pain today and you are in God’s kingdom already, be comforted by this. And use it to comfort others.

— From Jason’s article “The God of All Comfort”

We hope you enjoyed this Bible study on hope. May God use His Word to speak into your life and give you strength to follow it. Please take some time to reflect on the questions below and consider leaving a comment with your key takeaway or insight.

Reflection Questions

• How would you go about becoming a more hopeful person?
• What do you look forward to about the future?
• How has God faithfully fulfilled your hope in the past?
• What are examples of some hopes that are misguided and will not be fulfilled?
• What is the key application you want to make based on the truth we have studied today?
• Do you hope for heaven? Are you eager for it?
• What can you do in the next week as a specific step to grow in hope?