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TWELFTH STEP

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"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these"

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“Freely you have received; freely give”

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HOPE is translated as hope in the Old Testament. It refers to something or an event that is expected, which is in the future. Job said: “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease” (Job 14:7). God, in His grace, offered man “exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). It is therefore God's will that we hope in Him, trusting that He will fulfil what He has promised. That is why it says in the Psalms that “from him [God] comes my hope” (Psalm 62:5) and that He is the “hope of all the ends of the earth” (Psalm 65:5). In the Epistles, hope is always presented as a consequence of God's sovereignty and Christ's dominion over all things. We have the “hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8); “the hope of righteousness” (Galatians 5:5); “the hope of eternal life” (Titus 1:2). The believers will be like Christ (1 John 3:2–3), and so it is said that He is hope itself (1 Timothy 1:1), which is the “hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). “The God of hope” fills Christians with “all joy and peace in believing” so that they may abound in “hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

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People who do not believe in God, on the other hand, are called “others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The Word tells us about those who do not trust that they were “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12), but “God, our Father, ... loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace” (2 Thessalonians 2:16).

Sharing in that hope is what enables believers to remain steadfast in their faith, even in the most difficult circumstances. And it is also what motivates them to love and good works, knowing that their labour in the Lord “is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).​

 

In several places, the New Testament writers quote passages from the Old Testament that refer to hoping in the Lord, Matthew 12:21; Romans 15:12. According to Paul, we should not set our hope or trust in riches, 1 Timothy 6:17. In Romans 5:2, he tells Christians to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God; hope does not just mean “wish”. Only a sure expectation or trust brings joy; wishing for something does not mean getting it, it causes anxiety rather than joy, but Christian hope is a hope that will never disappoint us, Romans 5:5.

Hope is directed towards the future. When we receive what we hope for, hope ends, Romans 8:24. Therefore, the ultimate goal of Christian hope is the return of Jesus, Titus 2:13, the resurrection of the dead, Acts 23:6; the final salvation of God's people and the resulting eternal life in a restored creation, Romans 8:20,21; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Titus 1:2; 3:7. Then we will live in eternal glory, with Jesus Christ, the “hope of glory”, at the centre, Colossians 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:1. Christian hope is strengthened by the scriptures, Romans 15:4, by the work of Jesus, 1 Peter 1:3,21; and by God's present gift of the Spirit to believers, Romans 5:5. God wants us to use the hope for our head as a helmet, 1 Thessalonians 5:8, and to always be ready to share our hope with others, 1 Peter 3:15. On the other hand, those who do not have God in their lives are hopeless.

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Acts 26:6,7: “the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers”

Rom 5:2: “hope of the glory of God”, that is, as in Titus 2:13: “the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ”.

I Thess. 5:8: “the hope of salvation”, that is, the rapture of the believers, which will take place at the beginning of Christ’s return;

Eph. 1:18: “what is the hope to which he (God) has called you”, that is, the future vision for those who answer his call in the gospel;

Titus 1:2 and 3:7: “Hope of eternal life”, that is, the full revelation and enjoyment of the life the believer already has;

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The Christian’s hope is aimed at possessing the blessings of the Kingdom of God, both in the present and in the future. Rom. 8:17,24; II Cor. 4:17; Eph. 2:12; I Thess. 4:13. Hope is a state of mind where we can see that what we long for is possible. It is a virtue because it is placed in God and comes from him. It keeps us steadfast in the certainty that he will give us the blessings he has promised. Hope awakens critical thinking about the past and the present. It acknowledges the difficulties but holds fast to the divine promises. It is closely related to faith, sometimes accompanying it. Ps. 78:22.

The God-fearing person can call God their hope. Jer. 17:7; Ps. 71:7. Hope enables us to endure the tribulations of the present, Rom. 8:25; I Thess. 1:3, and encourages us to work diligently, I Cor. 15:51-58, and to strive to be like Christ.

 

“Freely you have received; freely give”

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