Text: 1 Corinthians 15:52-57
There are many things for which we can be thankful. In this lesson, we are going to talk about being thankful for our hope.
To Be Thankful, There Must Be…
- A giver – the giver of all good things is God (James 1:17)
- A recipient – one who is to receive the gift
- A gift that is accepted – not rejected, neglected, or discarded
- An appreciation of the gift – recognize its value; the greater the value attributed to it, the more grateful we will be for it
- A demonstration of gratitude – spoken or active; done with sincerity
The Gift of Hope
- The hope we have is possible because of Christ (1 Timothy 1:1) – no hope without Him (Ephesians 2:12); based upon His resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-22); this hope is for OUR resurrection (Acts 23:6)
- It is the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7) – we look for something beyond this life (1 Corinthians 15:19)
- It is a product of God’s grace and love (Romans 5:2-5)
We Must Accept This Hope
- This is the idea of embracing God’s promises – promises first made to God’s people in the Old Testament (Acts 26:6-7; Romans 4:18; Galatians 3:8-9); unfortunately, many rejected this
- This hope is expressed through the Scriptures – began in the Old Testament (Roman 15:4); revealed in the gospel (Colossians 1:23); therefore, we must accept God’s word (2 Thessalonians 2:10; 1:8-9)
- We accept God’s promises by being born again (1 Peter 1:3) – this puts us on the path that leads to eternal life (1 Peter 1:4; John 3:3, 5)
We Must Appreciate Our Hope
- This pertains to something far better than anything we could hope for in this life (1 Corinthians 15:19) – we must fix our hope on God, not riches or any other material thing (1 Timothy 6:17)
- We are saved by hope (Romans 8:24) – nothing is of more value to us than our salvation (cf. Matthew 16:26)
- As we already noted, this is a product of God’s grace and love (Romans 5:2-5) – therefore, it is undeserved; Paul explained just how underserving and helpless we were (Romans 5:6-11); without the Lord, we have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
We Must Demonstrate Gratitude
- Thank God that we have the hope of overcoming death through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)
- Live righteously (Galatians 5:5) – grace does not give us permission to continue in sin (Romans 6:1-2, 15-18)
- Speak boldly about God and His word (2 Corinthians 3:12) – be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15)
- Persevere until the end – hope gives us a reason to do this (Romans 8:25); be steadfast in this (1 Thessalonians 1:3)
Conclusion
- No matter what we face in this life (good or bad), we have something far better after this life
- This hope is possible through the resurrection of Christ
- We can have this hope if we will be “born again” – conform to His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5)