Christ in Me

Leckieville Freewill Baptist Church

Christ in Me

April 30th,2005 Adam K. Dotson

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we

have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only

so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Hope is a strong word that we often use weakly. At least 133 references to hope are found in the Bible and it is of such great importance to Christian doctrine that 1st Corinthians says this: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. We can link any characteristic of a Christ-like walk to one of those three things.

In our Christian walk hope is an anchor to God and to Heaven. It is NOT a wish. The dictionary lists two definitions for hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation and to expect with confidence. Both sum up how a Christian should feel about the will and strength of God and about our future meeting with Him. We desire to be in Heaven and eagerly anticipate our 1st steps there. Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. We also seek God’s will to be perfected in our lives and await God’s strength in our weakness. Thank God He never fails us!

Hope to a Christian can be explained as a star ball player on a team. We’ve heard it said that a particular player is the team’s only hope for a championship. Without him there is little chance to win. Jesus is our hope to get to Heaven, if we get there it will be His effort that made it possible. Just like on that team with a star where every player is required to do their part to win, we are required to do our part to get to Heaven. We must repent our sins, accept and confess Jesus as Savior. Then day in and day out we live as outlined in the Bible: Walking in brotherly love, looking toward to the day of Christ’s return, resisting the devil, being the light of the world (talk about responsibility!).

We have experienced God’s mercy so we know it is real. We have seen God’s strength time and time again so we know it is real. We have read or seen God’s promises come to pass so we know He is true. When He tells us we are His and there is a Heavenly home that has been prepared for us, we can trust, believe, and hope for that home. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: