What is HOPE? Hope is believing that something will come to pass. Sometimes our hope is solid; without a doubt. Other times our hope may be a bit anxious, when we hope that something will happen, but it is not guaranteed.
For many, salvation is this second type of hope mentioned. They hope for salvation, but do not feel it is guaranteed.
Although we do not say that we are saved, we can have hope in Christ. He has promised us salvation and shall we doubt His promise? The promise is, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Do you believe it? With such blessed assurances as these, why do we doubt God? Why bring dishonour upon His holy name?”
“Those who accept Christ, and in their first confidence say, I am saved, are in danger of trusting to themselves. They lose sight of their own weakness and their constant need of divine strength.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 155. Yet we are assured of eternal life if we only trust in Christ.
“We have the assurance of a Saviour who has come, a Saviour who has been crucified, who has risen, and over the rent sepulcher of Joseph has proclaimed, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’ . . . By the messengers of God are presented to us the righteousness of Christ, justification by faith, the exceeding great and precious promises of God’s word, free access to the Father by Christ, the comfort of the Spirit, the well-grounded assurance of eternal life in the kingdom of God.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 317
Jesus has given us hope. We just need to trust in Him, “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27. “Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.” 2 Thessalonians 2:16
GOD READS THE HEART
Since this wonderful hope has been given to us, we are so thankful that we hope others also will receive this salvation that has been so graciously promised to us. In our work for others, it is very easy to let the human element come in and make a judgement as to who will and who will not respond to the call of the Holy Spirit. Some look so outwardly promising, and yet in the end turn out to be base metal. Others seem so unpromising, but yet in the end turn their lives over to Christ.
“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Who is hopeless? Only God can judge. Who has gone beyond the limit of God’s mercy? Only God can judge. Who has simply no interest in religion and appears, to human sight, that they will continue in that pathway until the end? Only God knows.
OUTWARDLY HOPELESS
In the Bible we can read of different ones who appeared so hopeless outwardly. Their lives were so full of evil that it seemed that there was no hope of them ever turning to the Lord. I will mention the case of two murderers:
The first one is King Manasseh. He was the son of good King Hezekiah, and you would think that he had a good spiritual upbringing; however, King Manasseh refused to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“‘Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen.’ 2 Chronicles 33:9. The glorious light of former generations was followed by the darkness of superstition and error. Gross evils sprang up and flourished—tyranny, oppression, hatred of all that is good. Justice was perverted; violence prevailed. . . . ‘Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.’ 2 Kings 21:16
“One of the first to fall was Isaiah, who for over half a century had stood before Judah as the appointed messenger of Jehovah. ‘Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.’ Hebrews 11:36–38
“Some of those who suffered persecution during Manasseh’s reign were commissioned to bear special messages of reproof and of judgment. The king of Judah, the prophets declared, ‘hath done wickedly above all . . . which were before him.’ . . . 2 Kings 21:11. . . . Faithfully the prophets continued their warnings and their exhortations; fearlessly they spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but the messages were scorned; backsliding Judah would not heed.” –Prophets and Kings, pp. 381–382
Repentance: Who would have thought that this evil man would ever repent and turn to the Lord? Yet repent he did. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6. This promise held true for King Manasseh. He remembered the God that his father worshipped when he was taken prisoner to Babylon and the Lord honoured his prayer of repentance and restored him once more to be King in Judah.
“The Lord permitted their king to be captured by a band of Assyrian soldiers, who ‘bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon,’ their temporary capital. This affliction brought the king to his senses; ‘he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto Him: and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord, He was God.’ 2 Chronicles 33:11–13” –Prophets and Kings, p. 381
The Apostle Paul was also a murderer that found salvation. None of the Christians in that day ever had any inclination that this man would one day be a champion in the cause of Christ. “Saul had an abundance of energy and zeal to work out an erroneous faith in persecuting the saints of God, confining them in prisons, and putting them to death. His hand did not do the work of murder; but he had a voice in the decisions, and zealously sustained them. He prepared the way, and gave the believers of the Gospel into the hands that took their lives.” –The Signs of the Times, November 10, 1898
After his encounter with Jesus, Paul became a great missionary and ended his life as a martyr for the cause he once was destroying.
You can read of many other outwardly hopeless cases in the Bible such as the demoniacs of Gergesa. “The encounter with the demoniacs of Gergesa had a lesson for the disciples. It showed the depths of degradation to which Satan is seeking to drag the whole human race, and the mission of Christ to set men free from his power.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 341
If God can save these types of people can He not save you and I? Where do we fit in? “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
MOST PROMISING
Then there are those who appear most promising from outward appearance.
Who can He not save? Those that trust in themselves as did the rich young ruler who was confident that he had kept the commandments of God from his youth. “But he was not ready to accept the Saviour’s principle of self-sacrifice. He chose his riches before Jesus. He wanted eternal life, but would not receive into the soul that unselfish love which alone is life, and with a sorrowful heart he turned away from Christ.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 393
Judas was so sure that he was greatly needed and of great benefit to the cause of God.
“When Jesus presented to the rich young ruler the condition of discipleship, Judas was displeased. He thought that a mistake had been made. If such men as this ruler could be connected with the believers, they would help sustain Christ’s cause. If Judas were only received as a counselor, he thought, he could suggest many plans for the advantage of the little church. His principles and methods would differ somewhat from Christ’s, but in these things he thought himself wiser than Christ.” –The Desire of Ages, p.719
Yet his life ended in suicide. He had no righteousness in himself to boast about. Many of the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ’s day were in this condition. Is there danger that we have become confident in our own good works? Remember, our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
JUDGE NOT
Since we cannot read another person’s heart therefore we are counselled to “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Matthew 7:1–2
Although we are not to judge “Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church, but He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive. He knows our nature too well to entrust this work to us. Should we try to uproot from the church those whom we suppose to be spurious Christians, we should be sure to make mistakes. Often we regard as hopeless subjects the very ones whom Christ is drawing to Himself. Were we to deal with these souls according to our imperfect judgment, it would perhaps extinguish their last hope. Many who think themselves Christians will at last be found wanting. Many will be in heaven who their neighbours supposed would never enter there. Man judges from appearance, but God judges the heart. The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 71
“The Master-worker is God, and not finite man; and yet He calls upon men to be the agents through whom He can impart light to those in darkness. God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world, but in humility and love to present to all the truth as it is in Jesus. Let men see piety and devotion, let them behold Christlikeness of character, and they will be drawn to the truth. He who loves God supremely and his neighbour as himself will be a light in the world. Those who have a knowledge of the truth are to communicate the same. They are to lift up Jesus, the world’s Redeemer; they are to hold forth the word of life. . . .
“There are many who are treated as tares and hopeless subjects, whom Christ is drawing to Himself. Men judge from the outward appearance, and think they discern the true measurement of a man’s character; but they make many blunders in their judgments. They put a high estimate upon a man whose appearance is as an angel of light, when in thought and heart he is corrupt and unworthy. On another whose appearance is not so favourable, they pass criticism, make him an offender for a word, and would separate him from the church because of his supposed defective character, when it may be that He who reads the heart, sees true moral worth in the man. Human judgment does not decide any case; for the Lord’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways. He whom we would separate from the church as altogether unworthy, is the object of the Lord’s solicitude and love. All heaven is engaged in doing the appointed work of drawing souls to God. . . .
“Then since the Lord is working through His own divine agency upon the hearts of those whom we would term hopeless subjects, let not man be officious, let him stand out of the way of God’s work; for His word that goeth forth from His mouth, will accomplish its appointed work, and prosper in the thing whereunto it is sent. Let not man set himself up as judge of his brethren; for God ‘hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.’” – The Review and Herald, January 17, 1893
“Every soul is the object of the loving interest of Him who gave His life that He might bring men back to God. This earnest, persevering interest expressed by our heavenly Father teaches us that the helpless and outcast are not to be passed by indifferently. They are the Lord’s by Creation and by redemption. If we were left to ourselves to judge, we would regard many who are degraded as hopeless. But the Lord sees the value of the silver in them. Though they do not look for help, He regards them as precious. The One who sees beneath the surface knows how to deal with human minds. He knows how to bring men to repentance. He knows that if they see themselves as sinners, they will repent and be converted to the truth. This is the work we are to engage in. It lies before us in this locality, and in every place around us.” –Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, p. 369
“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.” Ezekiel 37:1–14
Is this vision about evil men or Christians? “The souls of those whom we desire to save are like the representation which Ezekiel saw in vision,—a valley of dry bones. They are dead in trespasses and sins, but God would have us deal with them as though they were living. . . . We are in no wise to be deterred from fulfilling our commission by the listlessness, the dullness, the lack of spiritual perception, in those upon whom the word of God is brought to bear. We are to preach the word of life to those whom we may judge to be as hopeless subjects as though they were in their graves. Though they may seem unwilling to hear or to receive the light of truth, without questioning or wavering we are to do our part. We are to repeat to them the message. ‘Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’” –The Review and Herald, January 17, 1893
The Bible itself tells us that “These bones are the whole house of Israel” (v. 11) (God’s church). “But not only does this simile of the dry bones apply to the world, but also to those who have been blessed with great light; for they also are like the skeletons of the valley. They have the form of men, the framework of the body; but they have not spiritual life. But the parable does not leave the dry bones merely knit together into the forms of men; for it is not enough that there is symmetry of limb and feature. The breath of life must vivify the bodies, that they may stand upright, and spring into activity. These bones represent the house of Israel, the church of God, and the hope of the church is the vivifying influence of the Holy Spirit. The Lord must breathe upon the dry bones, that they may live.” – The Review and Herald, January 17, 1893 (emphasis mine)
Yet those bones came back to life. “And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.” Ezekiel 37:13
NEAREST TO CHRIST
Who will be nearest to Christ when we all get to heaven? Those that have lived closest to Him their entire lives on this earth? Does “time in service” bring “higher rank” in heaven? “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” Luke 7:47
“Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honoured the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs” –The Great Controversy, p. 665
May God help us to be instruments of righteousness to help very person that may cross our paths and not to bypass those that may appear hopeless to us as did the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan. To receive salvation in the end is to be like Christ and Christ came to seek and save all that are lost. AMEN.
Wendy Eaton