Question:
“What is our only hope in life and death?”
Answer (Kids in bold):
“That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Memory Verse:
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. – Romans 14:7-8 ESV
Commentary:
Hope could be defined as setting our desires on future potential outcomes. People hope for a lot of things, but the constant is that you always hope for that which you love or desire. It is the seeking of future happiness. Jesus doesn’t seek to change our definition of hope. Hope is still setting our desires on future outcomes. Instead, it is the goal of our hope that changes when we are transformed by the gospel.
Before Christ, we may hope for things to bring us future happiness. Some of them are morally neutral and some could be morally wrong. But when we come to Christ, our greatest and truest hope sets its sights on Him. Our desires for future happiness are set on His glory, His love, His kingdom, and His mission.
For the believer, hope is stronger than life and death itself. There is no need to be anxious that we won’t get what we want because our hope is fixed upon God’s unshakeable promises in Christ. Because the focus of our hope is no longer our own kingdoms and earthly pleasures, the whole course of the Christian life is redirected.
We do not live for ourselves as we see in the memory verse, and even our bodies are not our own. Christianity is not just a set of ideas or just a way of getting the soul to heaven. It has everything to do with your body as well. God cares about food, sex, sleep, speech, attitude, at work and at play.
When Jesus paid our ransom with his blood, He purchased all of us. 1st Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. “
Jesus is the Father’s full and sufficient payment to redeem sinners. When you are transformed by grace you get a new reality and a new response to the Devil when he tries to condemn you. In Christ, you can say, “I’m not my own, God has already paid. I belong to God, body
Resources:
Other Questions for Discussion:
- What other things or people can we sometimes put our hope in instead of in God?
- What does it mean that we belong to God? Why is this encouraging for a believer?
- Why is it important that our hope is both in life and in death?
- Why is hope in Christ better than any other hope?
- How might hope in Christ have an impact on our future plans and actions?
- Have you truly come to the place that your hope is set upon the Lord above all else?
Prayer:
Father, you are clothed in glory and holiness and my heart fails to worship you as I ought. Help me to realize that the only steadfast anchor for my hope is in the salvation that you purchased with the death of your Son. Remind me that I am no longer my own so that what I do, what I say, how I spend time and money will orientate around the fame of your name.
Keep me from chasing after weak worldly pleasures, but give me the mind of Christ that his desires and missions may eclipse mine. Give me the grace to walk through this fleeting life with eternity in view that I might not waste a second but would, in body and soul, to live wholly unto God.
Other Scripture References:
- 1 Corinthians 3:23
- Titus 2:14
- 1 Peter 1:18-19
- 1 John 2:2
- 1 John 2:12
- John 6:39
- John 10:28
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
- 1 Peter 1:5
- Romans 8:28
- Ephesians 1:13-14