I have two texts for the message
today. One is found in 2 Thessalonians,
chapter 2, verse 16. The other is found in 1 Peter,
chapter 1, verse 3. That's 2 Thessalonians 2, 16,
and 1 Peter 1, 3. Now, the subject, I think you'll
be interested in this, I am, seven marks of a good hope. Here are seven marks. of a good
hope. In 2 Thessalonians 2.16, Paul
says, Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father,
which hath loved us, hath given us everlasting consolation and
a good hope, and a good hope through grace. And then Peter
writes in 1 Peter 1.3, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. See, these are tremendous things.
We're not playing games here. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a living hope, a living hope, by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now, let's see if we can drive
a few nails. Let me see if I can really get
your attention today. Most everyone I know is religious
to some extent. That's true. Most everyone you
know is religious to some extent. And most everyone you know has
some kind of hope concerning the future. Most everyone you
know has some kind of hope concerning life beyond the grave. For example,
in the days of our Lord, the old Israelites said, we be Abraham's
seed. We have Moses. They were depending
on their heritage. They were depending upon their
family ties. And then the Pharisees, our Lord
gave us an example. One of them went down to the
temple one day, and he said, I thank you, Lord. I'm not like
other men. He was most sincere in this.
He wasn't like other men. He said, I tithe, and I fast,
and I give alms to the poor, and I do all these things. I'm
not like other men. He was resting in his own self-righteousness. He was resting in his religious
deeds and works, and he was not justified. We have God's word
for that. He went home not justified, but
rather the publican went home justified, and then the moralist,
the rich young ruler, a very moral young man, but a very selfish
young man. When he was confronted with the
law of Christ, well, he said, all these I've kept from my youth
up. That's my foundation. That's my hope. I've kept these
laws all my life. And the fundamentalist of our
day and every day, I've made a decision. I'm religious. I have a hope. I've made my decision
for Jesus. And don't anybody question it.
I'm fixed up. It happened a long, long time
ago. I've been saved. And then the profane person,
even the profane, even the blasphemer has some kind of religion and
some kind of hope. He says, what is his hope? God's
too good to send a man to hell. And that's his hope. He believes
that somehow he's going to get by. Somehow, you see, God's too
good. One day when I was pastoring
down in Tennessee years ago, There was a man who came to do
some work for me in the backyard. We were digging up some kind
of water line, and I went out in the backyard. I was talking
to him, and I asked him, I said, what is your hope for eternal
life? Well, he didn't answer. He only
reached in his pocket and took out his wallet, and I thought,
what's he going to do? And as he went through his wallet, he
pulled out a card, a beautiful card with all kind of figures
and everything on it, and he handed it to me, and he said,
that's my hope. And I looked at it. It was his
large membership card. That was his hope for eternal
life. I tell you, most everybody you know is religious. And most everybody you know has
some kind of hope concerning this thing of life beyond the
grave. In fact, they'll go a long way.
They'll go a long ways. Our Lord said, they cry, peace,
peace, when there is no peace. These false hopes, even though
they are false, give them some kind of peace, some kind of rest. They say, like in Isaiah chapter
28, we're not afraid to die. We're not afraid to die. We're
in agreement with hell. When the overflowing scourge
of God's wrath, when judgment falls upon all nations and all
men, it won't come nigh us. We've got to refuse. A false
refuge, yes, but a refuge. We're hiding in lies, but we're
hiding. Yes, we've got a hope. We've
got a refuge. And they cry, peace, peace, when
there is no peace. And you know the amazing thing
about it is that men hold on to these false refuges all the
way to the judgment. Our Lord said, many will say
unto me in that day. They said it all their lives.
They said, Lord, I've preached, and I've witnessed, and I've
testified, and I've done many wonderful works and cast out
devil. And he said, many will say unto me even in that day,
even in the day of judgment, even in the day of reckoning,
even in the day of accounting, even in the day when men shall
stand before God, they'll say, even in that day. Why, Lord,
we've preached in your name, did many wonderful works and
cast out devils. Well, my friends, I'm not interested
in a hope. I'm interested in a good hope.
I'm not interested in a religious hope. I'm interested in a living
hope. Now, that's what I'm interested
in, and I hope you are, too. I hope you're interested not
in a hope. Everybody's got some kind of
hope. You see, where there's no hope, there's really no cause
for living. Most everybody's got some kind
of hope about everything. especially about religion. Why
to say when a doctor comes out of a hospital room, someone's
dying, he shakes his head and says there's no hope, everybody
goes to pieces. But no matter how serious the
person is, no matter how ill they are, no matter how close
to death they are, as long as the doctor says there's some
hope, there's some hope, well, they hold together. But when
he comes out and says no hope, then everybody breaks down. And
so that's the reason people have to have some kind of hope to
keep their sanity. And they do have some kind of
hope. But I'm not interested in a hope. I want a good hope.
The scripture talks about a good hope. I'm not interested in a
religious refuge and a religious hope. I want a living hope, don't
you? And the Bible talks about a living hope. A good hope is
God-given. That's what our text says. He
has given us a good hope. It's God-given. God is the author
of a good hope. I'm not the author of it. Somebody said one time,
a hope is only as good as the power and intent of its author. Think about that. A hope is only
as good as the power and intent of its author. God hath given
us, he hath begotten us again unto a living hope. And then
a good hope is in, not in the law, in work, in religion, in
a denomination, in a church, in Christ. He hath given us a
good hope in Christ. That's where the hope is. The
hope is not in what we've done, but what he's done. Not in who
we are, but who he is. Not in our relationship with
God, but in his relationship with God. You see that? I in them, Christ said, and thou
in me. And then a good hope is through
grace, not through works, not merit, not what we've earned,
not wages for services rendered, but it's grace. Now then, what
are the marks, what are the evidences, what are the results of a good
hope? Let's look at seven of them.
I can give them to you in the time we have this morning. I
wouldn't care if you wrote them down. I wouldn't be offended
at all if you jotted down these seven marks of a good hope. First
of all, and we have to start at the beginning, we're born
in sin. I know that's repulsive to some
people. They get real upset when you
talk about being born in sin. You talk about children being
born in sin. But that's what God's Word says.
Would you take the Word of God for it? We're born in sin. Let David speak. The man after
God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel. Let David speak. He says in Psalm 51, 5, Behold,
I was shapen in iniquity, in sin. My mother did conceive me. That's what David said. In Psalm
58, 3, listen, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they
are born, speaking lies. As soon as they're born. You
see, in Romans, let Paul speak, Romans 5, 12, Wherefore by one
man sin entered the world, and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men, for that all sinned. Let Christ speak. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh. That's all it is, and that's
all it'll ever be, and in the flesh no man can please God,
and in the flesh dwelleth no good thing. That which is born
of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Marvel not, and don't be amazed,
then that I say to you, you must be born again. So being born
in sin, a good hope would have to be to be born again. You see
that? To be born again. Very few people
know much about the new birth. I don't claim to know a great
deal about the new birth. I know you don't born yourself
the second time any more than you born yourself the first time.
I know the new birth. I know three things about the
new birth from the word of God. It's a mystery. I know that it
is. But I know three things about the new birth. I know, number
one, it is of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, He
came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many
as received him, to them gave he the privilege to become sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born.
Not of blood, that is, not of fleshly inheritance. not of the
will of man, not of the will of the flesh, but they were born
of God, born from above, born of God. This new birth, I know
there's a lot of talk about it today, and everybody's talking
about they're born-again Christians, and I think what they're calling
the new birth is simply a decision, a religious decision, or a religious
commitment, or religious associations, or a religious set of rules. The new birth is not something
you join. It's someone who joins you. It's
supernatural. It's of God. God is its author.
Just like my Father in the flesh begat me physically, my Heavenly
Father begat His children spiritually. We're born of God. Secondly,
I know the Holy Spirit is the agent in the new birth. We're
born of the Spirit. We're born of the Spirit of God.
And our Lord said in describing the work of the Holy Spirit in
the new birth, He said He's like the wind. The wind blows where
it pleases. You hear the sound. You can't
tell from whence it cometh or whither it goeth. Even so are
they that are born of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the agent
in the new birth. It's not a preacher or an evangelist
or a soul winner. It's the Spirit of God. And then
the means in the new birth is the Word of God. of his own will
beget he us with the word of truth. You're born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the word of God that
liveth and abideth forever. So here's the first mark of a
good hope, the first results of a good hope, evidence is to
be born again. And then secondly, we have sinned. All the way through the Bible,
Mr. Spurgeon one time preached a sermon on we have sinned. And
he took Adam, and he took Achan, and he took Esau, and he took
Saul, and he took Judas, and he took all these people. That's
what they said. We have sinned. I have sinned. I have sinned. Can you say that?
I have sinned. You'd just be telling the truth.
I have sinned. All have sinned come short of
the glory of God. All we like sheep have gone astray. I've
sinned in will, in practice. In word, in deed, in imagination,
in motive, in attitude. I've seen with my lips, with
my hands, with my feet, with my eyes, with my ears, with my
tongue. I have seen. Can you say that? Not too hard
to say, is it? Pretty hard to mean, though,
isn't it? I have seen. Well, I have seen.
David said, my sins are ever before me. Against God have I
sinned. All right. A good hope, then,
would be to be pardoned, forgiven of all my sins. Wouldn't that
be a great hope? That would be a good hope, wouldn't
it? That'd be a living hope. Paul said, all have sinned. Isaiah
said, all we like sheep have gone astray. My question to them,
is there pardon then for the guilty? Is there mercy for the
sinner? Is there? The Bible says yes.
It says in Romans 4, 7, and 8, blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven. And God's not like man. When
God forgives, he said, I remember your sin no more. I cast them
behind my back into the depths of the sea. I remember them no
more." Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven, whose
sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom God
will not charge sin. That is a blessing. That would
be a good hope. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, "...he
hath made him." to be sin for us, who knew no
sin, Christ knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Christ, forgiven, pardoned. Somebody said, near, so near
to God. nearer I cannot be in the person
of his son, I'm as near as he. Pardoned, cleansed, forgiven,
blotted out. My sins are blotted out through
Christ's blood. The blood of Christ is so powerful,
so effectual, that even God the Father cannot see my sins when
they're under the blood. Thirdly, having no righteousness
before the law, and we don't. Having a good hope would be to
have a perfect standing, a perfect holiness before God's law. Now
what does the law say? Paul said you that would be under
the law. Do you not hear the law? Do you
know what the law says? Do you know what the law of God
requires? I hear people talking about the law of God, the law
of God, the law of God, the law of God being the rule for the
life of the believer and so forth and so on. Do you know what the
law says? Do you know what it requires? The law says This, thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. Now you think that over a little
bit. And thy neighbor as thyself. It will suffer no compromise. It will suffer no whittling down. That's what the law says, and
that's what the laws always say. The law of God requires perfection. It can accept no less, it can
be satisfied with no less, it can demand no more. Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength,
and thy neighbor as thyself. My soul, my friend, that's the
reason whatsoever the law saith, it saith to them that are under
the law that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
become guilty, guilty before God. But that law has not been
repealed. It's still on the books. It's
still a summary of God's holiness. And that law is going to be satisfied
some way. It's going to be honored. God's
not going to throw it in the waste can. He's not going to
repeal it. There's not going to be a constitutional change
in glory. You are going to meet that law,
and you're going to honor it, or you're going to be cast out
of God's presence. You say it's impossible. Well, it's not in
Christ. It is with men. With men, it's
impossible. It's impossible. But not with
Christ. With Christ, all things are possible. See, that's why
he became a man. Man, the law made its demands
upon men. And in order for men to be saved
and to honor the law, men have got to obey it. But we can't.
We don't have the ability. We don't have the righteousness.
So Christ did it for us. You see, the justice of God's
got to be obeyed. I've got to have a perfect standing
before the law of God. And in Christ, I have it. In
Christ, I have that perfect standing. He of God is made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Now, are you
with me? Being born in sin, a good hope
would be to be born again. Having sinned before God, a good
hope would be to have him forgiven. Having no righteousness, no standing
before the law, no covering, a good hope would be to have
such a righteousness. With his spotless righteousness
on, I'm as righteous as God's own Son. Now, here's the fourth
thing. I'm still in the flesh. I still
am a man. I still know that I am frail
flesh, subject to temptation, subject to trial, and subject
to fall, and so are you. I'm not in heaven yet. I'm still
on this earth. I'm still in the flesh. A good
hope, a living hope would be to continue in that faith and
to hold fast the confidence of my profession firm unto the end. In other words, let me tell you
this, a good hope would be to continue in Christ till I die,
till the end of the journey. He that endures to the end, the
same shall be saved. That's what the Bible says. Now,
some old fellow writing years ago says the believer is hedged
about on one side with the promises of God, lest he despair. We're hedged about on one side
with the promises of God, lest we despair, and on the other
side with warnings, lest we presume, lest we presume. Now, the Bible
teaches preservation. Christ will keep us. We're kept
by the power of God through faith. God keeps us. He says, my sheep
will never perish. I give them eternal life. They'll
never perish. All that the Father gives me will come to me. But
also, the Bible teaches perseverance. Not only will Christ hold us,
but we shall hold to him. Listen to Hebrews chapter 3,
verse 6. Christ is a son. over his own
house, whose house we are, if... Don't be afraid of the if in
the word of God. Our Lord said, if you can believe,
all things are possible to them that believe. If you continue
in the faith, grounded and settled. And then listen to this, we are
his house if we hold fast the confidence firm unto the end.
In other words, if you believe, you're believing now, you'll
always believe. If you've repented, you're now repenting, you shall
repent. Belief and repentance, they are a condition. Repentance
is a state of being. Faith is a state of being. It's
not an isolated act. And then Hebrews 3, 14, we are
made partakers of Christ if we hold fast, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence firm unto the end. Now the just shall live
by faith, Paul said, but if any man draw back, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. But we need to learn something
about two things here. Preservation by the power of
God. Perseverance by faith. We shall continue. That'd be
a good hope, wouldn't it? To continue in love with Christ.
To continue in love with the Word. To continue in faith. Resting in Him. Walking with
the Savior. Just like old Enoch of old. Just
walked with God and walked right on into heaven. Walking with
God. He walked with God and one day
he was not because God took him. He just walked right on into
heaven. Now let me warn you. I warn you solemnly and I warn
you sincerely. A little isolated profession
of faith that took place years ago is a mighty poor hope. if
it's not growing in grace, if it's not growing in the fruit
of the Spirit, if it's not continuing in Christ Jesus. A fellow said
to a friend of mine one time, do you believe I'm saved? He
said, well, you wait and see me in 30 years and I'll tell
you, because saved people continue to walk with Christ. Now, here's
the fifth mark of a good hope. We're dying men. Richard Baxter
said one time, I preach as one who may never preach again. I
preach as a dying man to dying men. A good hope would be to
find dying grace in that day. You know, the Bible talks about
the Old Testament believers, and it says these all died, and
they did. Every one of them died. That
is with the exception of Enoch and Elijah, but they all died.
All men died. It's a part of them that wants
to die, but they died in faith. That's what I want. That'd be
a living hope, that'd be a good hope, to die in faith. To be
able to come to the end of the journey, like the Apostle Paul,
and say, I fought a good fight. I kept the faith. I finished
my course. Henceforth is laid up for me
a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me in that day, and not to me only, but all them
that love his appearing. How you start the race is mighty
important, but equally important is how you finish. I say that
to you very solemnly. For me to live is Christ, to
die is gain. A good hope, a good hope is one
day to close my eyes in faith and open them to see Christ.
And men generally die like they live. That's generally true. They generally die like they
live. If they lived in love with Christ
and lived by faith in Christ lived in a walk with Christ,
they usually die that way. But you know, I hear people say,
he's gone to be with the Lord. And a lot of times I think, well,
he never cared anything about being with the Lord while he
was here. I wonder why he wants to be with him now. The fellow never
worshipped, never read the Word, never fellowshiped with God's
people, and he died so much, he's gone to be with the Lord.
And I want to say, well, he didn't care anything about being with
the Lord when I knew him. I wonder what pleasure he finds now being
with the Lord. I don't believe he's with the
Lord, to be honest with you. I believe men die like they live. I believe
if they live in unbelief, they die in unbelief. If they live
in rebellion, they die in rebellion. If they live in sin, they die
in sin. But if a man lives in Christ,
he'll die in Christ. That's just so. It's not only
the Bible, that's common sense. All right, the sixth thing. I
have a corrupt body. One day it'll be buried, and
they're going to put it in the ground. And you can put it in
a sliding drawer, in a mausoleum, or in the ground, or in a cement
vault, wherever you want to, but it's going back to the dust.
You see, the decay is from within. And it's going back to the dust,
to dust shalt thou return. And one day it's going to go
back to the dust. What's a good hope? A good hope
would be to rise again. when this corruption shall put
on incorruption, this mortal immortality, this weakness shall
put on glory, strength, and this shame shall put on God's very
image." David said, I'll be satisfied when I awake with his likeness.
You know, one time Job says, I wish you'd write this. I wish
you'd write this in a rock with a pen of a diamond, a diamond
point. Here's my testimony. Write this
in the rock. I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and he's going to stand on this earth, and though worms destroy
this body, in my flesh, I'm going to see the Lord. I want to be
raised from the grave. I'm blessed and holy as he that
hath part in the first resurrection. I want to rise with Christ in
that first resurrection, don't you? Well, now, God will have
to do it. I can't bring forth life either
here or then. He's going to have to raise me.
And in the seventh place, in the last place. There's going
to be an eternity someday, and the one who has the preeminence
throughout all eternity, God's given him a name above every
name that is the name of Christ, every knee shall bow, he's going
to have preeminence. All things are going to be as they are related
to him. I want to be in the image of
Christ. He said, when we see him, we're
going to be like him. And he that hath this hope, what
hope? Yes, that Christ is coming. But
when Christ comes, we're going to be like him. That's my hope.
That's the ultimate hope. And you go back to this saying,
being born in sin and having sins committed and having no
righteousness and being frail flesh and needing pardon and
forgiveness and needing resurrection, it all comes down to this. My
hope is to be like Christ. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with his likeness. And that hope is through grace
God-given in Christ.