Hope – Waiting with Confidence - 1 Thessalonians
First Thoughts
‘I hope to get a pay-rise this year.’ ‘I hope it doesn’t rain much next week.’ ‘I hope Preston North End win the FA Cup this season.’ Unlike those wishes – which may or may not happen – hope in the Bible is always sure. Christians might disagree on the finer details about what will happen in the future, but we share a conviction that God’s good plan for all things will come to pass: Jesus will return, evil and suffering will be done away with, we will be given resurrected bodies, and will live in a new heaven and earth. In the meantime, this amazing hope allows us to endure and be resilient in the face of difficulties, and brings confidence and joy as we live in anticipation of that great day.
Read – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety’, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Focus on the Theme
1. What do your non-Christian friends and colleagues look forward to? How might they express their long-term hope for the world? What Does the Bible Say? 2. What do 4:13-14 and 5:9-10 tell us about the content of Christian hope? On what is it based? 3. In some circles, it’s become popular to believe that Christians will be secretly raptured from the earth some years before Jesus returns. How does what Paul says in 4:15-17 differ from that perspective? 4. What are the two metaphors that Paul uses for the timing of Christ’s coming (5:3-4)? What does each metaphor communicate about the timing of his return? 5. What dangers are associated with living in darkness (5:5- 7)? What instructions does Paul give for living in the light (5:8).
Going Deeper
6. As time allows, glance at a few other passages related to our future hope: Matthew 24:29-44; Romans 8:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 2 Peter 3:3-16. How do they reinforce and supplement what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13- 5:11?
7. What does 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 add to Paul’s teaching on future hope? Living it Out
8. How, really – on a day-today basis – does hope affect your convictions and conduct as a Christian? How, according to this passage, should the promise of Jesus’ return shape our lives?
9. What difference might the hope of Christ’s return make to how we think about: (a) material possessions, and (b) personal suffering?
10. Of all the different places where you spend time – home, family, work, leisure activity, church– where do you feel the need to enjoy a greater sense of hope? Why is that the case?
Prayer Time
In the light of our future hope as Christians:
• praise God for the certainty of Christ’s return, the resurrection of the dead, and final salvation.
• pray for comfort for the bereaved, and strength for individuals you know, and for Christians around the world who are suffering or struggling in various ways.
• pray that how we live our everyday lives now as those who ‘belong to the day’ (5:8) will point others to Jesus