All your hope for this life, and the life to come, hangs on that word “IF”.
Today was the funeral of Margaret Sprinkhuizen, that I referred to in my previous post.
Unfortunately, I could not be there, as I am recovering from a minor operation. But I was able to stream the service online.
What a full life Margaret lived. I was fascinated to hear she was an 11th (?) generation descendant of Oliver Cromwell. But most moving was to hear of her faith in Christ and her deep desire to see her own descendants follow in those steps.
At the funeral I am sure there would’ve been two distinct people groups.
All, together, mourned the passing of Margaret.
But there the similarity ended.
- At any funeral today, there are almost certainly those who mourn, but who “sorrow as those who have no hope.” (1 Thes 4:13)
- And there are those who mourn, and who “sorrow”, but “as those who have hope.”
What makes the difference?
No one wants to live without hope. Though Hope is sometimes the overlooked sister in the trio of Faith, Hope and Love, yet hope is vital to all life. Without hope we die within.
Without hope we are putty in the hands of Satan; he can turn us any way he likes. One of the greatest weapons in his armoury is despair: if he can rob a Christian of hope, he has won – at least, for the time being.
When Giant Despair caught Christian and Hopeful napping in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress they fell easy prey to the giant, and found themselves languishing in the dismal dungeon of Doubting Castle. There Christian lost all hope; he laments to his companion:
“Brother, what shall we do? The life that we now live is miserable. For my part, I know not whether it is best to live thus, or to die out of hand. My soul chooses strangling rather than life, and the grave is more easy for me than this dungeon.”
Only his companion, Hopeful, keeps him from taking his own life.
Where is hope found?
It is found in our response to that little word: “IF”.
God says in 1 Thes 4:13:
“I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”
And then He goes on in the following verse:
“IF we believe that JESUS DIED and ROSE AGAIN, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
Therein hangs all my hope:
- Did Jesus die on the cross for my sins?
- Did Jesus rise again?
If just those two things are true…
And if I believe that…
It is not complicated. That is all it takes.
It all hinges on believing in the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
At the funeral today would’ve been those who “sorrowed as those who have no hope.” They may, or may not, believe something vaguely about the death of Christ; and perhaps (though less likely) His resurrection.
But whatever they may, or may not, profess to believe, it is no comfort as long as it is not the foundation of their hope. There is no hope until ALL our hope is in the Christ who died and rose again for our sins.
But if you believe, if you truly believe, in the Christ who died and rose again for our sins, then you have hope: hope for yourself, and hope for those you love who have died trusting in Christ.
If you don’t believe that, you have no hope: no hope for yourself in life or death; no hope of seeing your loved ones who have gone before.
What is our hope, for this life and the next?
Our hope is that Jesus will come again:
“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” (v 16)
Our hope is that, on that Day, the Lord will bring with Him, our loved ones who died, trusting in Christ:
“We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep… For the dead in Christ will rise first.” (vv 15,16)
Our hope is that we, if we are alive at Christ’s coming, will meet them in the air:
“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (v 17)
Our hope then is:
“And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (v 18)
What does a life of hope look like?
A life of hope is lived looking for that Day when Christ will return.
Those without hope do not live like this; they are not expecting such a Day that will “come as a thief in the night” (1 Thes 5:2). They may claim to be “woke”, but they are not:
“When they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” (v 3)
But the hope-full Christian is not like this. Only he is truly woke, all awake:
“You, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (vv 4-6)
The Christian who has hope is “watchful”.
The Christian is “sober” (Greek: nepho, means: to be free of the influence of those physical and emotional intoxicants that the world turns to in order to deaden their senses so that they don’t have to think about sin and guilt or death.)
“Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” (v 8)
There is a life lived in hope.
It is a life lived in faith. It is a life lived in love. (Cf 1:2-3)
What spurs us on to live a life of faith and love?
“IF we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
There it is: “IF” you believe.
But there is no “IF” that Jesus died and rose again!
Jesus died!
Jesus rose again!
Because that is true, we live the hope, that:
“God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (v 9)
“Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (4:18)
“Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (5:12)
What is your only comfort in life and death?
That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.
– Heidelberg Catechism Q.1