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"A
Hopeless End vs. An
Endless Hope?"
Are
you heading for a hopeless end or do you have an
endless hope?
Paul,
noting the plight of the Ephesians before they became
Christians, wrote:
"Therefore remember that you, once
Gentiles in the flesh … that at that time you were
without Christ, … having no hope and without God in
the world" (Eph 2:11-12 NKJV).
Without
Christ, one has NO HOPE!
Without Christ, one is destined for a hopeless
end.
Paul
went on to remind the Christians in Ephesus of the
hope they enjoyed in Christ: "But now in Christ
Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near
by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13).
Because Jesus shed His blood on the cross as a
payment for sin, and because these Ephesians had come
in contact with the cleansing blood of Christ through faith,
repentance, and baptism, they NOW
had hope.
With
Christ, one has an endless hope.
Peter
also reminded some suffering Christians of their hope
in Christ: "Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again
to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in
heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God
through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time" (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Peter’s
audience had been “begotten” (or born) again when
they were born of the water and the Spirit (John 3:5)
in baptism.
Theirs
was a living
hope because it was based on the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead.
Christians have a living hope because the
Savior lives!
With
Christ, one may proclaim along with the writer of the
book of Hebrews:
"This hope we have as an anchor of the
soul, both sure and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:19).
An anchor is used to provide stability, even in
the times of storm.
In the same way, one’s hope in Christ gives
stability in the storms that life brings.
Lives
are often tragically ended in this world today.
There is, however, a greater tragedy: to die
without Christ, having NO hope.
As
Gilbert Beenken has well stated, “Other
men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian
rejoices in an endless hope.”
Do
you see a "hopeless end" or are you rejoicing in an
"endless hope"?
God
bless you.
David
A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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