{"id":779,"date":"2019-09-22T14:52:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T19:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=779"},"modified":"2019-09-22T14:52:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-22T19:52:37","slug":"our-blessed-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2019\/09\/22\/our-blessed-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Blessed Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cBut sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be<\/em> ready always to give<\/em> an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear<\/strong>\u201d (1 Peter 3:15) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever been discouraged in\nyour Christian walk? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel like you are standing\nfor the truths of God\u2019s Word on your own? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you shared the Gospel message\nwith someone only to have them reject the offering of Salvation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that mean it is pointless to\ncontinue living a life pleasing to the Lord?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No! This world is a dark place (and\nbecoming darker by the day!), but we are to be a light in this world.  Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6: \u201c5. Ye are all the children of light, and\nthe children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore\nlet us not sleep, as do<\/em> others; but let us watch and be sober.<\/strong>\u201d The\nfirst thing to remember is that Jesus is the Light of the world (John 9:5).\nBecause I trusted in Jesus, I am now one of the \u201cchildren of light.\u201d The darker\nthe world gets, the brighter my light should shine. To watch and be sober are\nkey words here. To watch<\/em> means \u201ca\nmindfulness of threatening dangers which, with conscious earnestness and an\nalert mind, keeps it from slackening in the energy of faith and conduct.\u201d To\nfully understand this, we must remember what faith means. Faith<\/em> means \u201cto appropriate what God in Christ has for man\nresulting in the transformation of man\u2019s character and way of life; a firm\nbelief in Jesus and His Gospel.\u201d Sober<\/em>\nin this verse means \u201cto be watchful.\u201d In other words, we are to be alert and\nwatch out for threatening dangers in this world that will keep me from allowing\nmy life and character to be transformed revealing Jesus in my life. Notice the\nconfirmation to be watchful (remember sober in this verse means to be watchful).\nI must be diligent in my awareness of things that will come into my life that\nwill keep me from becoming more like Christ. I am instructed to not allow those\nthings into my life.  Instead, I am to be\nready always to give an answer to anyone when they have a question as to why I\nlive my life as I do. The Gospel message of Jesus should always be near to my\nheart and mouth, sharing with this lost world how they, too, can become a Christian.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Telling someone how to become a Christian should be an easy thing.\u00a0 Remember the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • One must first recognize they are Lost<\/strong> (having committed sin \u2013 disobedience to any of God\u2019s commands): Lostness:<\/strong> \u201cFor all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 3:23).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    • One must then understand the consequences, Penalty<\/strong>, for that sin (punishment \/ or eternal life by Jesus): Penalty<\/strong>: \u201cFor the wages of sin is<\/em> death; but the gift of God is<\/em> eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 6:23),\u00a0 <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      • What is the Price<\/strong> for this eternal life? Price<\/strong>: \u201cBut God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 5:8).\u00a0 <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        • What Response<\/strong> should be made? Response<\/strong>: \u201c9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 10:9-10).\u00a0 <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          • What Security<\/strong> do I have of eternal life if I ever commit another sin? Security<\/strong>: \u201c38. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 8:38-39).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
            • How do I live this New Life<\/strong>, free from sin? New Life<\/strong>: \u201c1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is<\/em> your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is<\/em> that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God<\/strong>\u201d (Romans 12:1-2). Don\u2019t live like the world lives anymore. Read God\u2019s Word and you will learn how to please God.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Each Christian has a hope that the\nlost world does not have: Jesus promised to come back and take us home in\nheaven to be with Him for eternity. \u201cLooking\nfor that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our\nSaviour Jesus Christ<\/strong>\u201d (Titus 2:13)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This world is not my permanent\nhome, and I am only passing through. But in the meantime, I must be a \u201clight\u201d\nwarning this world, so that they can have the same hope I have. \u201cBut sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:\nand be<\/em> ready always to give<\/em> an answer to every man that asketh\nyou a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear<\/strong>\u201d (1 Peter\n3:15)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Do you have this hope?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Will you be ready to share your\nhope?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Have you ever been discouraged in your Christian walk? Do you feel like you are standing for the truths of God\u2019s Word on your own? Have you shared the Gospel message with someone only to have them reject the offering of Salvation? Does that mean it is pointless to continue living a life pleasing to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[349,351,299,350,353,348,354,352,274,355,271],"class_list":["post-779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-with-verse-and-blog","tag-answer","tag-children-of-light","tag-christian-walk","tag-discouraged","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-plan-of-salvation","tag-sober","tag-transformed","tag-warning","tag-watch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions\/781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}