OUR HOPE NEVER SAVES US - BUT IT IS WHO WE HOPE IN
| Posted On: 03/01/08 01:26:54 AM |
Age 64, OH |
John you make some good points but you missed the boat in your conclusion entirely. You say, We will not be saved unless we maintain assurance that we will be saved!-- I strongly disagree. Our being saved has nothing to do with HOW we hope, but everything to do with WHO we hope in. Read the story of the demon possessed boy who Jesus healed in Mark 9:14-29. The boys father was not sure of his hope in Jesus at all and said to Jesus, "But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"- The father had some belief or he would not have asked Jesus to help his boy. But the father was not sure and admitted this to Jesus. Look how Jesus helped the unbelief of the father. He did not tell the father he had to be assured of his hope for his boy to be saved from the demon. But Jesus showed the father that he was hoping in the right person by healing the boy.-- It is not HOW we hope, but WHO we put our hope in. Lou
25When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil[a] spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again."
26The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
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The use of "Hope" in Hebrews
| Posted On: 02/29/08 10:02:19 AM |
Age 54, IA |
John,
I believe you have missed the point of ths writer's intent. It is not "hope" that the writer is focused on, but on the immutability of God, His unchangeableness. Yes, you are partially correct in your usage of the word "hope". Example-in 6:18-20, the writer does speak to hope, but the focus is on 2 immutable facts--the act of God making a promise and the act of God taking an oath (v.13-17). Since the passage refers to salvation (v.9), then it is a focus that is owned by God, for "salvation belongs to the Lord" (Psalm 3:8). The saved is assured, for his heart been changed by God, so his "hope" is already a reality. But to the unsaved, it is this "hope" that he is being shown. He wants to show him that Christ is both sure and steadfast (v.19), for it is He who anchors the believer's soul within the veil of the Heavenly Holy of Holies. It is an anchor that will not break or even become unstable under stress and strain. So, for the bond-servant, the maintanence of our salvation lies with God; our responsibility is to be obedient to the guiding of the Holy Spirit of Promise.
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