Now Faith … is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion.

A little over a month before he died, the famous atheist Jean-Paul Sartre declared that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would say to himself, “I know I shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he would add, “But hope needs a foundation.”

Where is Your Hope

1 Peter 3:15? “Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Have you ever thought through that?

Woven through the entire letter of 1 Peter is the repeated call for a condition of heart, and a way of life, that makes sense only if we are absolutely sure we will have a great reward in heaven. Peter calls believers again and again to think and feel and act in a way that can be explained only by an unshakable, all-satisfying hope beyond this life.

Not the hope for material wealth, or pain-free health, or reunion with loved ones, or perfect leisure, all of that is true, but not central or primary. The ultimate reward that makes sense of the life Peter calls us to live is the reward of being with God and enjoying his beauty.

After all, even now, Christ is Lord and has all authority, as Peter reminds us in the last verse of this paragraph. Verse 22: “Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him.” So strengthened, (verse 15b) we must always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have.

At one level, this does demand some development and study, some ability to give answers, yet we must not think that this “being ready to give an answer” is primarily a question of having sufficient courses in apologetics before we can share.

The idea is that we should not be afraid of people. We so sanctify Jesus in our hearts that we are emotionally, attitudinally ready, and then if somebody asks us a question about the hope we have, we can at least answer like the blind man. “Whether this or whether that I don’t know, but I do know that once I was blind and now I see.” The person who has sanctified Christ Jesus in the heart can at very least say that.

You don’t learn to give answers to other people about the hope that lies within you by studying in indefinite numbers of courses. Ultimately, you do it by doing it, and you develop an attitude toward doing it precisely by sanctifying Christ Jesus in your heart, setting him aside in your heart, fearing God.

This is the main thing Jesus died for. And this alone can make sense of the counterintuitive life Peter calls us to live. In 1 Peter 3:18—

That is what Christ died for. That is our final reward. That is our ultimate hope. If you don’t want God as your supreme satisfaction, then you don’t want heaven, and you don’t want what Jesus died to give.

But if you do, if Jesus is your inexpressible joy, as 1 Peter 1:8 says—then this letter will make sense to you, and the way of life Peter calls for will be possible. This is a mind-set and a way of life that can be explained only by an unshakable, all-satisfying hope beyond this life.

The Only Explanation Is Hope

Why would people ask that question?

Why would they look at our lives and ask about hope? Because the life Peter is calling for can be explained only by a hope that the world does not know.

In 1 Peter 1:6–7, Peter calls us to rejoice in suffering. What makes sense of that? Hope beyond this life! “… so the incomparable reward of glory and honor at the coming of Christ.

For Peter, they had already arrested his master, and here’s this young girl challenging him. “We can tell by your accent you’re not from around here. You’re from Galilee. You’re also with him.” And he collapses. The shame undoubtedly remained with him all his days, but the other side of the resurrection, the other side of Pentecost, you find him standing up to the high court of the land and saying, “We must obey God rather than men.”

So, later in his letter he writes, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” It’s not simply the prohibition. Telling people not to be afraid is not usually very successful. He gives how you overcome your fear. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” Isn’t that wonderful? He is really quoting Isaiah 8:12–13.

“Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.”

13And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good? 14But even if ye should suffer for righteousness’ sake, blessed are ye: and fear not their fear, neither be troubled; 15but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:

Is our hope Jesus or something else?

Is it really in our own thinking and manipulation, brains, talents, family, or the the government.

A Lasting Hope Rests in The Sovereign Decree of the Father

Hebrews 6:17Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: 19 which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil;

Biblical hope is hope in what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul discussed the nature, certainty, and importance of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:12–28). That Paul is certain that Christian hope points to the future can be seen by his statement, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19). The significance of Christ’s resurrection is not only that it points to his victory over death, but also extends that victory to those who are his: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Cor 15:23).

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).

That may be the most monumental statement ever made in the Bible relative to the security of salvation. The believer has received everlasting life and will not come under judgment.

When we truly grasp a eternal salvation that is secure, can there be anything more sustaining for hope than that?

Jesus also explained why the Father had sent the Son: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life….He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already” (John 3:16, 18). In a positive way Jesus tells us we have everlasting life. In a negative way He tells us we will never come into judgment.

Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me” (John 6:37). All whom God sovereignly chooses will come to Christ. However, what the Bible teaches regarding divine election should not restrain anyone from coming to Christ, for our Lord went on to say, “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (v. 37).

Then Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day” (vv. 38–39). All who are chosen for salvation—all who come to Jesus Christ—will be raised up at the great resurrection preceding His return to earth. Not one will be lost.

In John 6:40, Jesus’ teaching on the divine plan of salvation is summed up in this way: “This is the will of My Father, that every one who beholds the Son, and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” Whoever believes in Christ will be raised up to the fullness of eternal life. That is the will of the Father and the promise of God’s Word.

Lets go back to Hebrews

Hebrews 6:17 Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us:

In what practical way can we run to Him? By “laying hold of the hope set before us” (v. 18). What is that hope? Christ Himself (1 Timothy 1:1) and the Gospel He brought (Colosians 1:5). If you are ever going to have a strong confidence and a steadfast hope, you must seek refuge in God and embrace Jesus Christ, who is your only hope of salvation.

His intent was to provide us with “strong encouragement”. The Greek phrase so translated refers to a great source of consolation and confidence. “We who have fled for refuge” alludes to the Old Testament cities God had provided for people who sought protection from avengers for an accidental killing. We will never know whether God can hold onto us until we run in desperation to Him for refuge.

What is that hope? Christ Himself (1 Timothy 1:1)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Saviour, and Christ Jesus our hope;

Our Hope is Secure by the High-Priestly Work of Christ

Hebrews 6:19–20 concludes with a description of our hope in Christ: “

As our High Priest, Jesus serves as the anchor of our souls. The most sacred place in the Jewish temple was the holy of holies, which was veiled from the rest of the temple. Under the New Covenant, Christ made atonement once for all time and for all people by His sacrifice on the cross. The believer’s soul is, in God’s mind, already secured within the veil—His eternal sanctuary.

Once Jesus entered the heavenly holy of holies, He did not leave, as did the Jewish high priests. Rather, “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”. And Jesus remains there forever as the Guardian of our souls.. Not only are our souls anchored within the impregnable, inviolable heavenly sanctuary, but our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, stands guard over them as well! How can the Christian’s security be described as anything but eternal? Truly we can entrust our souls with God and the Savior He provided.
We are secured by the sovereign purpose of God and the continual, faithful intercession of our Great High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Hope is Sealed by the Holy Spirit

God’s simple word about our security should be sufficient for us, but in His graciousness He makes His promises even more certain. In Ephesians 1:13–14, Paul tells us we were sealed in Christ “with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession.” The Lord is guaranteeing His promises with His seal and with His pledge.

We may sometimes be tempted to doubt our salvation and wonder about the ultimate blessings that are supposed to accompany it. The work of salvation in our lives remains incomplete—we still await the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23), which will occur when Christ returns for us. Because we have not yet received full possession of our inheritance, we may question its reality or at least its greatness.

When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in his or her life. He also assures us of our inheritance in Jesus Christ: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17). The Spirit of God is our security, our special guarantee from God.

Our Hope is Secure

Some Troubling Verses

What about Paul’s statement to the Galatian church that some had fallen from grace? What about a less encouraging passage in Hebrews that speaks of those once enlightened who cannot be renewed to repentance?

Galatians 5 and Falling from Grace

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

All the people to whom Paul was writing had made a profession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, or they would not have been part of the churches of Galatia.

Paul combated that heretical notion by pointing out four of its tragic consequences. In Galatians 5, he declares that regardless of someone’s association with the church, if he by his life or words rejects the sufficiency of faith in Christ, he forfeits Christ’s work on his behalf, places himself under obligation to keep the whole Mosaic Law, falls from God’s grace, and excludes himself from God’s righteousness.

Applied to one who was really an unbeliever, the principle of falling from grace speaks of being exposed to the gracious truth of the Gospel and then turning one’s back on Christ. Such a person is an apostate.

Hebrews 6 and Those Once Enlightened

It is possible for people to go to church for years, hear the Gospel over and over again, and even be faithful church members, but never commit their lives to Jesus Christ. We meet such people in Hebrews 6. The writer was specifically talking to Jewish people similar to the legalistic Galatians, but the warning applies to anyone.

Those who know the truth of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ—who perhaps have seen it change the lives of many of their friends and family members, who may even have made some profession of faith in Him, yet who turn around and walk away from full acceptance, are given the severest possible warning.

Persistent rejection of Christ will result in such persons’ passing the point of no return spiritually, of losing forever the opportunity of salvation. That is what always happens to the individual who is indecisive. He eventually follows his evil heart of unbelief and turns his back forever on the living God.

The individuals addressed here had five great advantages because of their association with the church:

The enlightenment spoken of here has to do with intellectual perception of spiritual truth. It means to be mentally aware of something, to be instructed, informed. But, it was not embraced or lived, it was only examined.

These individuals had been wondrously blessed by God’s enlightenment, by association with His Spirit, and by sampling His heavenly gifts, His Word, and His power. Still they did not believe.

Because they believe that warning is addressed to Christians, some interpreters think Hebrews 6 teaches that salvation can be lost. If that interpretation were true, however, the passage would also teach that, once lost, salvation could never be regained—that the person would be damned forever.

It is unbelievers who are in danger of losing salvation—in the sense of losing the opportunity ever to receive it.

Think about that. If the preservation of salvation depends on what believers themselves do or do not do, their salvation is only as secure as their faithfulness, which provides no security at all. According to that view, believers must protect by their own human power what Christ began by His divine power.

Our hope is not in ourselves but in our great God, who is faithful. Our hope rest on God and his promise, not on something worked up by mere humans.

While continued faith is necessary, our ability to hold fast is founded upon the Lord’s faithfulness, not our own.

A Secure Standing

Now it is not that believers may be free to sin that God has so soundly secured their salvation. The very purpose and effect of salvation is to free men and women from sin, not to free them to do it. Paul later reminded the Roman believers, “Having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:18). Yet Scripture repeatedly details the sinfulness, frailty, and weakness of men and women, including believers, and sensible and honest people can see those self-evident truths for themselves. Only self-delusion can lead Christians to believe that, in their own weakness and imperfection, they can preserve the great gift of spiritual life that could only be bought by the precious, sinless blood of God’s own Son.

For believers to doubt their security is to question God’s integrity and power. It is to add the merit of human works to the gracious, unmerited work of God

Our Hope for the Future

Since every aspect of salvation is solely the work of God, it cannot possibly be lost.

Our Heavenly Father increases and strengthens our “hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2) through the process of tribulation, perseverance, and proven character—the end product of which is a hope that does not disappoint. In a sense, godly hope begets godly hope.