Sunday, July 5, 2009: Theology of Hope

Theology of Hope
1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11


I. Introduction.

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11.

There are two contexts we need to examine in order to understand how this Scripture is being used in 1 Thessalonians. I will call the first context the “small picture” and the second context the “big picture.”

The small picture view of 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5 deals with the purpose for Paul’s writing this letter to the church at Thessalonica. The Bible only describes one visit Paul made to Thessalonica. Perhaps there were many other visits, but the Bible only records one. This story is found in Acts 17: 1 – 9. Paul spent three weeks in Thessalonica, preaching the Gospel in the Jewish synagogue. As a result, the first church was established in Thessalonica with “some of the Jews…a large number of God-fearing Greeks…and not a few prominent women (Acts 17: 4).”

The books in our Bible known as 1 and 2 Thessalonians were originally letters, written by Paul to instruct and to encourage the church established when he first preached in Thessalonica. He began the letter by describing his prayers for the church at Thessalonica: “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1: 2 – 3 NIV).”

Paul’s prayers for this church were prayers of thanksgiving. Specifically, Paul thanked God for the “faith, love and hope” found in Thessalonica. This is not the only time Paul wrote about the themes of “faith, love and hope.” However, I find it interesting the order Paul used to list them in this letter. In 1 Corinthians 13: 13, Paul wrote: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (NIV).”

The order “faith, hope and love” makes a lot of sense to me. After all, Paul says “the greatest of these is love,” so it makes sense that love would be listed last. This places more emphasis on love, over against faith and hope. The list in 1 Corinthians 13, is a kind of progression from least to greatest. However, the order in 1 Thessalonians is different. (These are the kinds of questions we are supposed to ask as we read the Bible.)

When we continue reading 1 Thessalonians, we come to chapter 3, verse 6. Paul tells the church that he is pleased to have received a good report about them from Timothy. But, look at what Paul writes: “But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love…”

What happened to “hope?” For some reason, Paul began the letter by giving thanks for the “faith, love and hope” of the church. Now, Timothy is reporting back that the church is excelling in “faith and love.” What happened to “hope?”

I prefer not to think this was just an accident. I don’t think Paul simply forgot to mention what Timothy said about their hope. No. I think Paul intentionally left out the word “hope,” because of something that was going on in the life of the church. The church had great faith and demonstrated Christ like love, but something had stolen their hope.

That brings us back to the Scripture we read earlier. Paul told the church that he did not want them to “grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” The context tells us that Paul is writing about the Christian brothers and sisters who have died.

Notice that Paul does not say “Christians should never grieve.” This would be a ridiculous thing for us to assume. Of course, we are going to grieve when someone we love dies. It is a loss. It is a separation. Grief is something we will all deal with in our lives. BUT…Paul says that Christian grief is supposed to be different from those who grieve without hope. Christians grieve with hope.

In the rest of the passage, Paul describes the Christian’s hope. This is why I said this Scripture fits into two contexts. The first context is the “small picture” context of Paul’s writing to the church at Thessalonica. The second context is the “big picture” context of what Jesus promised his disciples.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tell us the story of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and taught about the Kingdom of God. Often, Jesus taught his disciples that the Kingdom of God is “at hand.” The Kingdom of God is near us. The Kingdom of God is right here and right now. The Kingdom of God exists in every person who makes Jesus the Lord of our lives. However, Jesus also taught about a coming Kingdom.

Jesus’ work to establish the Kingdom of God was unpredictable for his disciples. Jesus did not begin a revolution and overthrow the Roman Empire in order to create a new political order. Jesus gave his life on the cross. In fact, Jesus specifically told his disciples about this plan ahead of time. The Gospel of Mark, for example, tells us that Jesus predicted his crucifixion and resurrection three times to his disciples (Mark 8: 22 – 10: 52). Then in Mark 13, Jesus predicted that all “men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory (Mark 13: 26).” This is the same prediction Jesus repeated when he was questioned by the Jewish high priest before the Sanhedrin. The high priest asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus replied, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven (Mark 14: 61 – 62).”

Jesus predicted to his disciples and to the Jewish high priest that he would one day return to earth, coming on the clouds of heaven. Everything else Jesus predicted came to pass—Jesus predicted his death on the cross, his betrayal by one of his closest followers, Peter’s denial, the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This prediction will also come to pass.

This is the reason Christians have hope. The world we live in today will not last forever. One day, Jesus is coming back to create a new heaven and new earth. Our daily struggle with sin and evil will not last forever. One day, Jesus is coming back to complete his final victory over Satan. Death is not an eternal state for those who place their faith in Jesus. For those who have faith, death is nothing more than sleep. One day, Jesus is coming back to “wake us up,” to bring us from death to life.

Christian hope is based on these promises. Our hope is faith that the future is in God’s hands. God was at work in the past. God is at work in the present. God is at work in the future, shaping the future into the heaven and earth God has been planning all along. The future belongs to God. Sin, death and evil have no control over God’s future.

II. Hope Is Not Optimism.

The word “hope” in common English is little more than optimism…or even wishful thinking. For example, have you ever said something like, “I hope it doesn’t rain on the Fourth of July?” That is nothing more than wishful thinking. Wishing and hoping that our plans will not be ruined by outside, uncontrollable forces.

Or perhaps you have “hopes” that your son will be drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft someday. If he does get drafted, he is going to take care of his Momma. Have you noticed that? When athletes get drafted and sign their first lucrative contract, the first thing they do is buy their mothers a new house and a new car. If your hopes for the future depend on your child becoming a professional athlete and an overnight millionaire…That is nothing more than optimism. Wishing and hoping for the very best in the future.

In theological circles, this was the common view in the Nineteenth Century and at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. There was a common belief that the world was day by day becoming a better place. In some ways, this idea of progress is still with us. But, it does seem to be dying a slow death.

Nineteenth Century theologians believed the world was becoming a better place. Eventually, the world would become so good that Jesus would come back and rule the world, physically present. But something happened in 1914 to change our ideas about progress. It was World War 1. The world at war took away our optimism. The world was not a better place. It was a scary place.

III. Hope Is Not Pessimism.

In the early Twentieth Century, many Christians started associating hope with pessimism. It actually started in 1895 in a series of Bible conferences in Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada and was fully realized when the Scofield Reference Bible was published in 1909. It is the view commonly known as Dispensationalism.

The Dispensationalist version of hope was based on the notes from Scofield Reference Bible. It taught that all of world history can be divided into seven dispensations, which describe the different ways God has related to humanity. The current dispensation is the church era, which represents a parenthesis in God’s plan, since the church era is the only time God has related to someone other than national Israel.

I call this a pessimistic view, because it teaches that the world will become worse and worse, until one day the world will enter into a great tribulation period. But, don’t worry. God will not allow his church to suffer in the great tribulation. Just before the great tribulation occurs, there will be a “secret rapture,” in which the church will be rescued from tribulation. With all the Christians gone from the earth, God will allow the rest of humanity to blow themselves up, destroying both humanity and creation in the process.

This is a pessimistic view of the end, because it focuses on the destruction of the earth. It doesn’t matter how we treat humanity or the creation, because it will all be destroyed one day.

IV. Hope Is Not Status Quo.

If hope is neither optimism nor pessimism, should we presume that it is about maintaining the status quo? That is not what Jesus or Paul told us to expect. The status quo is a world filled with sin, death and evil. This is where we live today. But this is not the world we were created for. We were created for relationship with God and fellowship with one another. Sin, death and evil make relationship with God and fellowship with one another strained and difficult. So, we must wait for our resurrection.

V. Conclusion.

This is our hope… “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him (1 Thessalonians 5: 9 – 10).”

We can describe our hope as having two stages. First, Jesus died for us and was resurrected. Second, God will do for us and for the creation what he has already done for Jesus. Those who have faith in Jesus will be resurrected and welcomed into a new heaven and new earth. This is what we were created for!

So, when our loved ones die, we will grieve. But, we will not grieve like those who have no hope. We grieve with hope. The dead in Christ will not miss out on the return of Jesus. They will be given new bodies and a new life. Then, we will all be together in the presence of Jesus in a new heaven and a new earth.

Hope is not optimism that the world will become a better place. Hope is not pessimism that the world will blow itself up one day. Hope is not the status quo of sin, death and evil. Hope is the resurrection…The resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of all who place their faith in Jesus.