Biblical Pictures of Hope?
An Anchor
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Hope anchors us to the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God's presence dwelt in the inner sanctuary of the temple, known as the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could enter, and even he could only enter once a year, on the day of atonement. Various sacrifices first had to be made, and even then, it was a fearful thing for a sinful human being to enter God's presence. But Jesus, our perfect sinless high priest has entered for us through the perfect sacrifice of himself. Because Jesus lives in us and us in him, we have this unbreakable link to God's presence, like an anchor. Because it is through Jesus, we need not fear God's wrath against our sin, for Jesus has dealt with that. Rather, we can approach with confidence, expecting to receive mercy and grace to help us.
Hebrews 4: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
If I may add slightly to James' picture, imagine you're in a sailing boat on that stormy sea. Hebrew 6:19 says 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' Hope is like your anchor, which keeps you firmly moored, facing the wind, rather than being swept along by it and blown onto the rocks.
A Helmet
1 Thess 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Hope protects your head and your thought-life. You need it to protect you from the devil's fiery darts. The Bible is clear that we are in a battle, and have a real enemy.
Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Soil from which faith and love grow
Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--
5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel
6 that has come to you.
This is very significant. In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of various types of response to the Gospel message. In his parable, the message is like seed, and the extent to which it grows depends upon the type of soil that it lands on. Seed that falls on the path is eaten by birds and never grows. But he describes three other types of soil in which the seed does grow - rocky soil, thorny soil and good soil. These are three faith responses, and describe three types of Christians in the church today. But not all last. The rocky soil and the thorny soil only produce faith for a time, but then it dies. Those who last are like good soil. But even then, surely there are varying degrees of good soil. Surely it is possible to tend and feed the good soil in order to improve it and the quality of fruit produced by it. If hope is in fact that soil from which faith and love spring, then we must feed our hope.
Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Hope anchors us to the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God's presence dwelt in the inner sanctuary of the temple, known as the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could enter, and even he could only enter once a year, on the day of atonement. Various sacrifices first had to be made, and even then, it was a fearful thing for a sinful human being to enter God's presence. But Jesus, our perfect sinless high priest has entered for us through the perfect sacrifice of himself. Because Jesus lives in us and us in him, we have this unbreakable link to God's presence, like an anchor. Because it is through Jesus, we need not fear God's wrath against our sin, for Jesus has dealt with that. Rather, we can approach with confidence, expecting to receive mercy and grace to help us.
Hebrews 4: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
If I may add slightly to James' picture, imagine you're in a sailing boat on that stormy sea. Hebrew 6:19 says 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' Hope is like your anchor, which keeps you firmly moored, facing the wind, rather than being swept along by it and blown onto the rocks.
A Helmet
1 Thess 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Hope protects your head and your thought-life. You need it to protect you from the devil's fiery darts. The Bible is clear that we are in a battle, and have a real enemy.
Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Soil from which faith and love grow
Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--
5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel
6 that has come to you.
This is very significant. In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks of various types of response to the Gospel message. In his parable, the message is like seed, and the extent to which it grows depends upon the type of soil that it lands on. Seed that falls on the path is eaten by birds and never grows. But he describes three other types of soil in which the seed does grow - rocky soil, thorny soil and good soil. These are three faith responses, and describe three types of Christians in the church today. But not all last. The rocky soil and the thorny soil only produce faith for a time, but then it dies. Those who last are like good soil. But even then, surely there are varying degrees of good soil. Surely it is possible to tend and feed the good soil in order to improve it and the quality of fruit produced by it. If hope is in fact that soil from which faith and love spring, then we must feed our hope.