Our Footsteps: Hope and Change - Gospel Thoughts for the Week

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Hope and Change - Gospel Thoughts for the Week

I just visited the official website of one of our presidential candidates. One of the statements on the site said it was 'Powered by Hope'. And of course his political slogan is, 'Change We Can Believe In'.

Unfortunately, those two phrases have been hijacked and the real meanings of 'change' and 'hope' have been made about as clear as mud. And to be honest, the other presidential candidate does not offer real change and real hope either. We're foolish if we think we'll get either one from 'Washington' anytime soon. We need to awaken from our 'spiritual recession' and go to the One who offers hope and change.

'Hope', in the biblical sense (as in Hebrews 11:1), is belief of an absolute certainty of something in the future, regardless of the uncertainty of today. Dr. John MacArthur says in his commentary on this verse, that "Christian hope is belief in God against the world - not belief in the improbable against chance". We have hope (absolute certainty), that God will cause all things to work for our good and for His glory - that is the 'hope' of the Christian. We don't 'hope' that Obama or McCain will pull us through.

'Change', in the biblical sense, is 'repentance'. Repentance is defined as 'a change of heart or change of mind that results in a change in ones behavior'. When we are commanded to 'repent' in scripture (Acts 17:30, and others), God expects us to think differently and consequently act differently, conforming to the image of Christ. THAT is 'change we can believe in'. If people would turn from their sin and embrace righteousness and the forgiveness offered by Christ, that would be the change we so desperately need as a nation - not the counterfeit change that's being dangled in front of us.

Mark

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I Believe...

1). I believe that there is one God. I believe God consists of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2). I believe that God is holy, righteous, loving, and just.
3). I believe that mankind is separated from God by sin; that sin entered the world through Adam and death through sin.
4). I believe that, because of sin, man is condemned. Because of God’s utter hatred for sin, there is an eternal conscious punishment in hell for all those who do not come to God on His terms, dealing with their sin.
5). I believe that confessing our sins and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is the only way to properly deal with the sin that has infected everyone. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross; reconciliation by substitution. There is nothing we can do to add to the finished work of Christ.
6). I believe in the security of the believer, that once he is truly born-again, there is nothing that would cause him to lose his salvation.
7). I believe that upon the death of a true believer in Christ, that he is ushered immediately into the presence of the Lord, where he will live in everlasting joy in Heaven, experiencing eternal fellowship with God.
8). I believe in believer’s baptism by immersion. I don’t believe baptism is necessary for salvation, but it is a beautiful outward profession of an inward possession.
9). I believe in a literal 6-day creation where God created the heavens and the earth and then rested on the seventh day.
10). I believe that the words written in the Bible are truth. I believe that the Bible is inerrant in its parts and in its whole. I believe that the 66 books that make up the canon of scripture make the Bible complete and that God inspired the words written therein. The things that were written down in the Bible are sufficient for every need we have. Not only is God’s Word sufficient, but it is far superior to any other method of handling the problems that man faces, since He has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness.