Where Hope Begins

Colossians 1:1-8

Where Hope Begins

When Paul wrote this letter, the church had lost the glory of the gospel and they forgot the importance of the gospel, not only for salvation but also for their daily lives.

Consequently, they were vulnerable to the deceptions of a Gnostic cult who entered the church. And attacked the very core of the gospel.

They taught Christ was not sufficient for salvation, and that the Colossians needed new spiritual knowledge for salvation.

So Epaphras, likely the concerned pastor, visited Paul to get counsel on how to address the teachings of this cult.

Paul says, every other religion teaches the necessity of works for salvation, without any assurance of truly being saved but the gospel teaches salvation given by grace through faith and it is a GIFT. (Eph. 2:8–9).

Faith includes trust, repentance, committing and to accept Christ as Lord of our life.

The important thing is to notice that hope produces faith, and faith in turn grows into love.

Hope is the root, faith is the plant, and love is the fruit. Thus, hope is foundational.

This gives rise to the question, what produces hope? We all desperately need hope.

Without hope men lose the desire to live. We have all had hopeless moments when we felt like saying, "What is the use of going on?"

What, then, produces hope? Here is Paul's answer, "hope stored up for you in heaven and which you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come unto you. (V5)

He moves on by saying the gospel is glorious because it brings hope which includes eternal life, resurrection of the dead and inheritance with Christ.

In Romans 8:17, Paul says everything belonging to Christ is ours, which includes the heavens and one day the earth (Matt. 5:5). The gospel is glorious because it comes with such great hope.

Paul said in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Salvation is a work of God’s grace, a gift to all who will receive it. It cannot be earned; it cannot be paid for; it can only be received.

Christ declared in Matthew 16:24 that if anybody is determined to come after him, must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow him. Becoming a new believer means, there is a change of attitude, purpose, direction and behaviour. They no longer do things for themselves, rather, they will bear fruits for God.

Paul also talked about their love for all the saints. We saw this supernatural work happen to the church at Pentecost after the Spirit of God was given, the rich began to sell all they had to give to the poor (Acts 2:45).  Because of christ` love in us, we as believers go beyond to serve the community and to share the gospel, love one another without any selfish ambitions.

In 1 Corinthians 4:1, Christians are called “stewards of the mysteries of God.” God has given us the Word of God and the gospel, and one day we will be held accountable as his stewards thus believers are responsible for sharing it.

 

Ask yourself:

Do you still stand in awe of this gospel?

Do you still praise God for its works?

Are you still participating in the privilege of spreading the gospel to all the nations?

 

Let’s Pray:

Lord Jesus, help us to rest securely in You and to bring praise and honor to Your holy name. We believe in You we have a hope reserved for us in heaven. May this blessed hope overflow in an unshakable trust in Your word of truth. Let your love lead us to share the gospel with others. In Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

Blessings & Prayers 

Pastor. Bobby Leonard