Sermon: The Unleavened Sinless Life!

#1758-PM
Martin G. Collins
Given 23-Apr-24; 60 minutes 2024-04-23

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The Father's love mysteriously weaves all our circumstances into a tapestry of beauty that provides meaning out of all the circumstances of our lives, even the most difficult. His love is purposeful, an enduring plan in which He sets His love on us and has already laid out the steps that we will take with Him. It is an awe inspiring love and an eternal love—a love too large to measure. It is the sovereign love of the Father.

Those who love God are Christ-like and those who hate God are anti-Christ. And the Father's will is to make His children Christ-like.

The Days of Unleavened Bread show us how we who are sanctified, that is, set apart from the world, are to become Christ-like. The guilt of our sins has been dealt with by the cleansing of the blood of Christ, pictured with Passover. And we who accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior who has cleansed us from sin, are no longer classified as sinners as the world is classified. However, we still have the potential to sin, even having God's Holy Spirit.

In God's plan of salvation, the Days of Unleavened Bread represent the beginning of our sanctification—the commencement of our spiritual walk with God and the removal of our potential to sin. Unleavened bread represents the absence of sin.

During this week of the Days of Unleavened Bread as the Israelites left Egypt, they were in the process of coming out of the world. They were being sanctified, separated out—in a phrase, they were actually being called out of the world, called into God's church in a sense—into the congregation of Israel. Maybe that is a better term to use.

Please turn with me to Romans 8, verse 28, a verse that most of you have memorized. God is making us Christ-like through the process of sanctification. And during this sanctification, our responsibility is to submit to God as He empowers us to overcome our potential to sin. Now, the apostle Paul's words are often some of the most profound and hopeful in God's inspired written Word and in Romans 8, verse 28 he states a vital principle with absolute confidence.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Paul's statement "we know" is essentially important because he says this is where we start, the first principle. The first thing we know—our basic assumption in our lives—is that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and who are the called according to His will. We must keep returning to this point and setting our course by it.

Every circumstance relates backward and forward to this point of reference. From this point forward, we begin to understand reality in life. This point is set when God begins to call us. We know this is true regardless of how the winds of circumstances blow today. And we know this is true, regardless of whether we are successful or unsuccessful, sick or well. This is the truth.

Paul adds two very valuable stipulations under which this principle is true: It is true for those who love God and for those who are called according to His purpose. That is you and I.

Now consider what Paul does not say here. He does not say all things are good. There is no way he could say that in a world full of suffering and pain, rejection, untimely death, and destruction. Instead, a good and wonderful divine Father works all things, good or bad, together for good for those who love God, for those being called according to His purpose.

So in this case, loving is a present active participle. It is present, ongoing, and continuative. It is active and committed obedience to His commandments. It is not just those who love God, that is, loving ones, but specifically the ones loving God. The individual. It is personal!

There in Romans 8:28 the focal point of that love is crucial: God Himself. That is the focal point. Paul is not referring to those who are loving in a general sense. Here, God works all things together for good to the ones loving God. So this is the grammar of Paul's first stipulation. But what does it mean practically?

Well, hold your finger in Romans 8 and turn to Genesis 50, verse 20. Now to understand Paul's meaning here, consider the story of Joseph at the end of Genesis. Joseph was the glory boy of Jacob's household. He wore and flaunted the coat of many colors, the gift of a father to his favorite son. So his brothers threw him in a pit and then sold him as a slave to Egypt. He was falsely accused of rape, imprisoned, and miraculously rescued by God and installed as the second in command of all Egypt, because God was with him and all things worked together for good for Joseph.

Now God put Joseph in that place to equip Pharaoh in Egypt to supply food to the world during a seven-year famine foretold by Joseph himself. And years later during the terrible famine, Joseph again meets his brothers. And here is how Joseph distills the whole tale of treachery. Notice his focal point here.

Genesis 50:20 "But as for you [speaking to his brothers], you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."

So no matter how bad situations are, whatever God is working in our lives at that time is for ultimate good.

Joseph wisely interpreted the events of his life by seeing God first and then his circumstances. Joseph's eyes were filled with who God was as the preserver of life. Not just his own life, but the lives of many, because that is what his faithfulness did in that, the faithfulness that he had from Jesus Christ was that it saved many in the world from starvation.

Joseph saw men's wickedness at work and the very same evil hammers us every day, either through the sinful habits that we have inherited from our forefathers or in a myriad of other dysfunctional relationships tarnished by sin. Sin does not simply fail to reach a standard; it distorts good into evil.

But while that evil is at work, warring against us, we have a choice to see God first and consider our circumstances in His light. (Did we hear about light today? I think so. So a nice tie-in there.) When we see God and know Him in His perfect sovereign love for His adopted children, we realize that God is weaving together all our circumstances for a good end, both for us and for others as well.

Please turn back to Romans 8. Now, when some great evil befalls us because of living in this evil world, a painful disease, a terrible loss of death, a gnawing failure, a deep depression, a drought, a famine, or anything bad, we must ask the Father to fill our eyes with Him first that we may see the circumstances in His light and in the light of His overall plan and purpose for us. God's purpose and plan for each of us is outlined here in Romans 8, verses 29 and 30.

Romans 8:29-30 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined. these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The sovereign God of the universe has a specific plan for each of us! Our lives have been marked from before the beginning to follow God's will. And nothing happens in the lives of His saints by accident or chance, but only according to God's will. Time and chance happens to all men, as the Scriptures say. But that is having to do with the world mostly. God does allow it to happen to us at times, but only if He allows it.

All trials and troubles have been planned and purposed in our lives. Our lives are not random or guided by some mysterious fate, they are lovingly designed by our attentive Father specifically for us.

Paul unfolds God's plan in five successive verbs. Each verb is in the aorist tense, implying that each action has already occurred as a completed event by God's will. So this is not what God might do. It is what He has done or what He is so certain of happening that it is already God's completed work. We find our guarantee in Jesus Christ, in His life and death and resurrection.

God's purpose begins with the first verb "He foreknew," meaning "to know before, to take note of, to fix the regard upon." So this first step of God's purpose is that God set His love on us to be adopted as sons by Him. This is when God chose before time to adopt us as a son of His Family. This was His sovereign choice as the adopting Father. We had nothing to do with His choice. He foreknew us as sons and daughters right from our beginning.

Not only did our Father of foreknow us as sons, but He also predestined us to conform to the image of His Son. Again, to be Christ-like. And this is the next step in God's unfolding plan. The verb here, "predestined" means "to mark a boundary beforehand."

Please turn to Job 1, verse 9. As stakes mark a new house to define where the foundation is laid, our character and life are marked by a predetermined boundary line. God wills this both for our organized development and for our own protection. No one can enter within our boundary line without the Father's approval. He puts a hedge around us just as He did around Job.

Job 1:9-10 So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? [He is being sarcastic there, of course.] Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land."

But this hedge may not remain permanent if we stray from the truth or do things that seem right in our own eyes.

Please turn into Isaiah 5, verse 3. Many years before it happened, Isaiah warned Judah that her spiritual decline would continue because of her apostasy and its consequences. Isaiah predicted that the hedge of protection around Judah and Jerusalem would experience foreign invasion and national destruction and be taken away, and they would be conquered and destroyed.

Isaiah 5:3-5 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah [that is symbolic of the church], judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down."

So the metaphorical wild grapes of verse 4 will become a literal reality for Judah and they are the bitter fruits of Israel's character and they will result in the harvest of inescapable consequences. There are always consequences for sin until we repent of them, it hangs over our head (the guilt does), but Jesus Christ's blood is there to wash that away, to cleanse us.

Now, the sovereign purpose of the Father is to make us Christ-like. God knows what He wants our character to look like. He plans to remold us in the character of His firstborn Son. So we are called and sanctified, that is, marked and set apart as vessels of Christ's life. God has adopted us to become just like our older spiritual Brother. He is in the process of adopting us.

Paul means what he says in Romans 8:29 when he adds that "He might be firstborn among many brethren." Christ's life is the Forerunner. His teaching and character are the model, the boundary defining godly character.

Please turn over to I Corinthians 2, verse 9. So God's purpose is to replicate that character using His Spirit, imparted to all who follow Christ. His purpose is to conform us to Christ's character by instilling the mind of Christ in us.

I Corinthians 2:9-16 But as it is written: "Eye have not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit [Jesus Christ] who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God [the Father]. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he might may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

That statement is one of the greatest miracles in our life, if not the greatest miracle to happen to us, when we receive God's Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, and are able to be empowered by that to overcome sin and for God to work with us in fine-tuning our character into the complete character that He wants for each and every one of us.

Please turn to I John 4. Now the Father's ultimate purpose is to replicate Christ's character in millions of different personalities and backgrounds. Each member of the Family of God is and will be a unique individual. But although different in personality, they are all unified in righteous character. In this way, a common holiness and character will define a consistent family relationship. And Christ is the firstborn among many; Christ is the model and God the Father has adopted us to mold us according to the model of Christ, that Christ may be seen in and through us.

I John 4:12-16 [the caption in my Bible is Seeing God Through Love] No one has seen God [the Father] at any time. If we love one another God [the Father] abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He [the Father] has given us His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God [the Father]. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Let us flip back to Romans 8, verse 30.

Romans 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He [the Father] also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Verse 30 begins by saying "Whom He predestined, these He also called." The verb "called" here not only means the stage in which God's purpose is first made known to the individual, but also his subsequent walk through life and obedience to God. So a person's calling is not only God's invitation to him to accept the benefits of salvation, but it is also a process. And the context determines whether "called" refers to a career or destination. The call to be a Christian is heard in faith and must be observed in faith.

On the physical level, in the way of an illustration, it is like receiving a phone call from God, where He offers to proceed forward with His plan to adopt us into His Family. It also includes our positive acceptance of all succeeding calls. And practically speaking, this call comes through the preaching, teaching, and sharing of God's truth. These are not methods we hear or no longer listen to, they are methods we receive continually and positively throughout our lives.

Now, our reaction to this calling is patient continuance in living God's way of life and overcoming sin, Satan, the world, and our own human nature. The Holy Spirit is the power behind the calling related to the phone call. It is the electricity that carries the call.

Please turn over to Galatians 2, verse 16. Now, as the excitement builds, Paul says in Romans 8:30, "whom He called, He also justified." When the Father declares the person justified, this is the way whereby the Father justifies us by faith in Christ.

Galatians 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh is justified.

So to have faith in Christ is to believe that He is, and that all He teaches is true, and to act accordingly in obedience. That action is to trust Him, rely on Him, love Him, and feel that we do not deserve forgiveness and salvation. It is also casting all our cares and concerns upon Him. We do not deserve forgiveness and salvation because it is a gift. We cannot earn it. It is a a gift that we cannot do anything physically to acquire. But there are conditions to our salvation and that is that we obey God and overcome our sin.

To believe is to know that death is something possible at any moment, but only if it is God's will. So faith is to be ready for death by living every day, every hour, and yes, even every minute according to the example and teaching of Jesus Christ.

Faith is feeling and acting with the confidence and trust that the Father's will is goodness from love that causes all things to work together for good for us. Faith is the belief and confidence that Jesus Christ was the manifestation of the Father's character in the flesh. And this in verse 17, that although we may seek to be justified by faith in Christ, we may still continue to sin.

Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!

The result of this justification should be that we strive to overcome sin. Nevertheless, our sinning while we are Christians does not mean that Christ is a minister of sin or sinners.

Jesus Christ is the Father's High Priest, a minister of righteousness as the Father commanded. And we are training to be priests and should learn to be ministers of righteousness. To do this, we must overcome sin and become Christ-like. If we become Christ-like we will be glorified with Him.

Now, back to Romans 8 once again. In Romans 8, verses 28 to 30 Paul's excitement grows. There was an enthusiasm underlying the revelation of God's wonderful plan and it is a crescendo of glory, building to the day when we will be glorified with Him. Paul finishes this context with an exciting and encouraging conclusion to the Father's plan.

Romans 8:30 . . . whom He justified, these He also glorified.

That word glorified is almost undefinable in how great a word it is. This is the final step in the Father's plan of redemption for His saints, making us full bearers of the shining glory of God, given a perfect spiritual presence in which to house the shining glory of the light of the Father for all eternity in the New Heavens and the New Earth. The glory of the Father shines now in and through the cracks and fissures of our existing earthenware bodies. In the future, it will shine with perfect spiritual brilliance—something we cannot fathom or imagine or have any clue as to how great that is.

Paul relied heavily upon the imagery of Roman adoption in verses 15 through 25. And it serves to highlight the pursuing love of the adopting father, who enthusiastically wants to adopt the son, and has a purpose and plan for that son.

To illustrate this process, consider how a Roman father decided to adopt a son into his family. First, the adopting father makes an independent decision apart from the potential son that he will adopt the potential son, that is, He foreknew him. His purpose in doing this is to bring the adopted son into his family so that he might conform to that family's character and quality and destiny, that is, He predestined him.

He formally invites the potential son, offering him adoption in his family, that is, He calls him. The potential son then responds to the call. If the response is positive and the potential son wants to be adopted, the father goes through the legal procedure of legally adopting the son, that is, the son is justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, the adoption is consummated when the adopting father presents the adopted son before all his family and friends as his own son bearing his own name, one of his own inner family circle, that is, He glorifies him.

So the process of salvation that God is putting us through is very similar to this adoption here. And Paul uses it as an example of it.

We cannot speak of the Fatherhood of God without mentioning His love. And we do that often and I think rightly so. Love is the essence of the relationship between the Father and His Son, and it is the foundation of Their relationship. Likewise, the essence of the relationship between Christ and us is love.

By Jesus' example and teachings we learn the true meaning of love, that is, how to be Christ-like. Without this love, there is no plan of God, no possibility of salvation, and no opportunity for eternal life. That is how important that is.

To be truly Christ-like, the essence of our relationship with the Father and with Christ and with our brethren must be based on this love. This kind of love requires sacrifice and giving. This is the meaning of what the Days of Unleavened Bread are designed to accomplish.

Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God [the Father] is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He [the Father] not with Him [the Son] also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God [the Father] who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are killed all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God [the Father] which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The greatest attribute of God is love, as you are well aware of. It is the one word that best describes the character of God the Father and Jesus Christ and should describe our character as well. Love is the foundation of God's character and love. It is the basis of everything the Father has revealed to human beings in the Holy Scriptures. Only those who have this kind of godly love will remain in the Father's presence.

In I Corinthians 13:13, Paul called love the greatest Christian attribute. He mentions it as the first fruit of God's Spirit in Galatians 5:22. It is the bond of perfection, binding everything together in perfect harmony. It is the fulfillment of the law.

Please turn over to Galatians 6. We must bear and share the burdens of our fellow saints fulfilling the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:1-2 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Everyone has special temptations constituting a heavy burden and we should help each other in overcoming these burdens that we have and that so fully occupy our minds sometimes.

Galatians 6:3-5 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.

We, each and every one of us, are accountable for our own actions, whether good or bad. We best fulfill our Savior's distinguishing law by aiding each other when needed. And we must help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are burdened with problems by praying for them and offering encouragement.

Jesus came to fulfill and reveal the law's spiritual intention by living and teaching it.

Matthew 5:17-19 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

So Christ came to complete the design; to fill up what was predicted; to accomplish what was intended by the law. The word "fulfill" also sometimes means to teach or to inculcate.

Please turn over to Colossians 1. To be Christ-like we must also fulfill the law, that means live by it and accomplish what it was designed to do. And here in Colossians 1, Paul shows us how he fulfilled this responsibility by sacrificial service for Christ.

Colossians 1:24-28 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

In verse 25, to fulfill the Word of God also means to fully preach and teach the Word of God. You do not have to be a minister to do that because every head of household, every father has that responsibility to preach and teach the Word of God to his children and to others he comes across.

The Greek reads "to fill up the word of God." The meaning is "to fully teach and spread the gospel."

Now flip back to Romans 8. We fulfill the law by becoming free from indwelling sin. And Paul speaks of being free from the indwelling of sin by the Spirit of the Father and the Son which dwells in us.

Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God [the Father] did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

So the self-satisfied person minimizes the law's demands by magnifying his own achievement. Whereas the conscientious person will self-evaluate. This is accomplished only by living according to the Spirit rather than according to sinful human nature. The indwelling of God's Spirit is needed to meet the spiritual requirement of God's law. Its righteous requirement is to be fully met.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

So I ask you to ask yourself a question: When people look at you from the world, from that perspective, do they see someone that acts different, that has a different attitude? Or do they see the same thing that they see in everybody else in the world? We should all ask ourselves that. The phrase, "What would Jesus do?" is is a good one to ask yourself.

Romans 8:6-11 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him [the Father] who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He [the Father] who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Later in Romans 13:10, Paul depicts love as fulfilling the law. Love is the primary attribute in the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul recognizes that we have a life to live. We are not robots, but we are accountable for our redeemed life as a stewardship. God has given us a life that is His. He owns it and we are stewards of that life. At the same time, Paul pictures the law's requirement as fulfilled in us, not by us, reminding us that we do not have spiritual power that we can control and utilize on our own. Rather, the Father is always channeling that power and never fully releases it to us (in whom He dwells) for us to use independently of Him. We have use of it at any time as long as it is not independently of His will and of Him.

So when we receive the grace and Spirit of Christ and continue to live under its influence (that is, to live a life of obedience to the divine will), we will be resurrected to eternal life. And the resurrection of Christ is the pattern after which we will be raised.

To be Christ-like in the sense that Paul describes, we must let our light shine by living our lives as Christ lives His, thereby giving a true witness of God's way of life. And we must produce the fruit of the Spirit. You are very familiar with Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23. It has been read before and we should always keep it in mind.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

We should use that checklist almost on a daily basis to see how we are doing and if we are really fulfilling the spirit of the law.

In some cases, the English language is not nearly as precise as the Greek, and the word love is one of those cases. In English, love includes at least several attributes and feelings. In some ways it is one of the most abused words in the English language. But the Greek language is much more specific and precise. It uses at least four words for love, although two are not in Scripture.

Many of you are familiar with the Greek word eros, and it encompasses sexual love, the love that a man and a woman should enjoy within the marriage relationship. Another word in the Greek for love is storge. Storge is limited in its meaning to the love of parents for children and vice versa, and the normal family love of siblings for each other.

The third word that the Greeks use for love is phileo, as in Philadelphia and so on. It is used in the Bible and describes warm and tender feelings between people. It can include physical affection that is decent and appropriate.

But the Bible uses none of these three words to describe the Father. The Bible uses the term agape as the fourth term to describe godly love. Agape generously embraces concern for the one loved. It represents unconquerable benevolence and goodwill. It excels all other Greek words for love in that it even includes love for one's enemies. And that is one of the ways that it supersedes all the other loves—that it is love for our enemies as well. This kind of love characterizes God's nature and character. And we can receive this type of love only from God Himself and His Son Jesus Christ.

Upon repentance, we can begin to exhibit this kind of love through the Holy Spirit. Our Christian love must be founded in the agape form of love. In exhibiting this love, we manifest the image of the Father, reflecting His character even though we are still human. And we cannot generate this kind of love by ourselves. It originates ultimately only from the Father. So the only way to have this kind of love is to become like the Father's Son, to become Christ-like, and to be adopted by God the Father and be the spiritual brother of Jesus Christ.

Love is the essential self-giving nature of the Father. He loved and gave, and He loved and suffered by giving His Son as a sacrifice to cover sin for the redemption of humanity.

In the Old Testament, not only is God the Creator and sustainer of Israel, but also deals with her like a father to his child. Psalm 103:13 says, "As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him." Fear must be with the understanding that even the Father's chastisements are as a man chastises his son or chastens his son. But Jesus was perfect so He needed no chastisement.

The Days of Unleavened Bread represent the manifestation of respectful, loving fear of God. Through reverential fear we are motivated to resist potential sins, that is, temptations, and overcome them. Psalm 147:11 says, "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, and those who hope in His mercy."

The love of the Father does not discriminate. He loves those who fear Him. He forgives us, has compassion for us, and treats us as His children. And though He expects godliness, He also understands His children's frailty, just as we as parents understand our children's shortcomings. All of us are but dust, having been shaped by the divine Author and Creator

As the Israelites fled Egypt, representing the world, the freed Israelites were driven by more than fear. They were motivated by hope. Hope for a better life! Hope for an exciting future! Hope for the just rule of the benevolent God! Our hope lies in the consistency of God's fatherly compassion. Hope is another motivator to change.

Webster's Dictionary defines hope in this way and it is a secular definition. "Hope is a desire accompanied by the expectation or belief that it will be fulfilled. To hope means to look forward to with confidence of fulfillment, to expect with desire."

But there is more to hope than this academic definition. In everyday conversation people often say hope when they mean wish. And when we say, "Let's hope all of it all works out for the best," it sometimes means we are afraid that it will not. Obviously, faith is lacking.

When someone is given the opportunity to know God's truth and fails to act on this hope, he becomes like the individual described in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:25 who refused to produce anything with the one talent or gift that was given to him. So to justify his failure, he replied, "I was afraid." He had no vision for the future and no hope. It has been said, "We hope vaguely and dread precisely." Often it seems we put more effort into dreading than hoping.

Dr. Orison Swett Marden was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life. I believe he wrote about it in the 1800s. He said, "The hopeful man sees success where others see failure, sunshine where others see shadows and storm." I thought that was very observant of him.

In our own observation of hopeful people, we can say they are "optimistic." They look at the good that will eventually come from the object of their desire. But even an optimistic attitude is not quite enough. True, godly hope is faithful, it is confident, and it is courageous. It is not afraid and it casts out fear and doubt. It is positive, assured, and looking ahead to the future glory. True hope sees the Father's plan progressing personally in her life.

And here in Romans 8, Paul goes so far as to say, "we were saved in this hope."

Romans 8:24-25 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Romans 8 is sometimes referred to as the hope chapter. And in verse 24 the phrase, "for we were saved in this hope" indicates we anticipate our resurrection into the Kingdom of God. Meanwhile, we are preserved and sustained through our trials in this hope.

The Moffat Bible translates this phrase, "We were saved with this hope ahead." Hope sustains us during trials and enables us to bear them without complaining.

Also in verse 24, the phrase, "but hope that this seen is not hope" suggests that hope is a complex emotion made up of an earnest desire and an expectation of obtaining something. It refers to something anticipated in the future yet unseen. But when the object is seen or in our possession, it is no longer an object of hope. For example, we may hope to get a job. But when we get it, we can no longer hope to get it, can we?

The Moffat Bible translation says, "Now when an object of hope is seen, there is no further need to hope." So it is very clear that hope is only something that we cannot see.

The final phrase in verse 24 reads, "For why does one still hope for what he sees?" What we possess we cannot be said to hope for or look forward to with anticipation. For example, when we find something we have lost, some have been known to say, "It was the last place I looked." We have heard that many times, I am sure. But who keeps looking after they find it? And we just chuckle about that because we all have probably said that before. There is no longer hope of finding it to motivate continuing looking for it. So there is nothing left to drive us to persevere.

Verse 25 says, "But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." Perseverance is translated from the Greek hypomones and means "patiently with endurance, with fortitude." Coneybeare, author of The Life and Epistles of Paul puts it this way, "But if we hope for things not seen, we steadfastly endure the present, and long earnestly for the future."

If verse 25 is read with the Father's promise of eternal life as the emphasis, then patiently is appropriate. But if our future hardships and sufferings are the emphasis, then endurance is appropriate. So the context of this section of Scripture emphasize present suffering and future glory. Therefore, the meaning here is that we wait with patient endurance.

Now, hope is not just watered down faith. Hebrews 11, verse 1 shows the distinction.

Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Please turn over to I Peter 1, verse 3. Faith and hope, though distinct, are vitally united. They come from the same source, are sustained by the same evidence, and are exercised by the same works.

I Peter 1:3-7 [regarding our heavenly inheritance] 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. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So we see the Father as the initiator and author of our hope through His Son.

Paul writes in his greeting to Timothy in I Timothy 1, verse 1:

I Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.

Jesus Christ is the assurance of our hope.

Now please turn over to Romans 5. The New Testament brings out the most tender aspects of God's character, love, faithfulness, hope, and watchful care. A right relationship with the Father includes reverence and trust and loving obedience.

Faith and hope have distinct functions. Faith is the perceiving; hope is the anticipation. Faith comes by hearing; hope comes by experience. Faith has respect for the truth of the Word; hope has respect for the truth's fulfillment.

Romans 5:1 [Faith Triumphs in Trouble is the caption in my Bible] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The first of the blessings conveyed by justification is peace. Peace in this setting means "harmony with God" rather than a one-sided condition in the human mind. The kind of peace in view is peace with God the Father. The same expression "with God" is used in John 1:1 to indicate the unity and perfect harmony between the Father and the Son.

Romans 5:2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

So the second blessing here is access. Faith is also mentioned as the essential instrument, as in justification itself. Since the word rendered access can also mean approach or introduction. So we are to think of the Father in His exaltation and glory as the one approached, with His Son Jesus Christ, introducing us as those who belong to Him.

Now, Paul indicates in Ephesians 3:12 that this access enables us to approach the Father in prayer with freedom and confidence. Jesus Christ taught us to pray not only "our Father," but "our Father who is in heaven," which inspires reverence and humility.

Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glorify in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which was given to us.

Paul considered hope from the standpoint of a series of things: faith, peace, access, grace, and then hope of the glory of God. So we may say that, just as our present access gives hope of sharing the divine glory, it also gives hope in our sufferings and tribulation. Paul made it clear that this hope is not just a dutiful wish because it does not put one to shame. It does not disappoint because it is coupled with the love of God.

Looking back over the paragraph that Paul wrote here, we see that Paul advances the thought from faith to hope and from hope to love. This is the same order as I Corinthians 13:13, "And now abide faith, hope, love; these three, but the greatest of these is love."

Now for a final scripture, please turn to I John 3. The apostle John describes what knowing the glory of our future does. It gives us hope and inspires us to overcome.

I John 3:2-3 Beloved [He even starts there, showing us that together we should consider each other beloved as God considers us beloved.], now we are children of God [the Father]; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He [the Father] is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

True hope fills us with purpose and zeal. It makes us feel alive with spiritual energy. Hope drives us to continue overcoming and growing in grace and knowledge. No matter what negative factors and influences are at work to discourage and frustrate our progress toward God's Kingdom, we are assured that we will be like our Father in heaven if we imitate and become like Jesus Christ. The Father's goal is to make us Christ-like.

True hope looks forward confidently with faith to the fulfillment of our heavenly Father's glorious plan for us. Hope purifies us in righteousness and truth and love. It is the pure in heart who will see the Father!

To seek truth and apply it in love in our relationships with the Father, His Son, and our brethren is to be Christ-like. It fulfills the law of the Father and meets His goal to bring future sons to glory.

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