this evening, yet considering the helmet of salvation. Okay, so after I read this, we'll go ahead and pray again. Paul writes to the Ephesian church. Beginning at verse 10, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over, I'm sorry, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all and having done all to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, which is able to extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication. And to that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. Let's once again pray, shall we? And Lord, as we consider the Apostle Paul, having penned these words under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, we would pray that you would make these words, again, food and drink for your people this night, that you would nourish us and equip us for the warfare that has been mentioned here. We pray this in our Savior's name. Amen. And so as we've looked at these other implements of war that God has given here, I want you to remember the passage from 2 Corinthians 10, verses 4 and 5. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. and take every thought captive to obey Christ. So there is a no-holds-barred approach to the Christian life as we are continuing on in our Christian warfare. Paul has focused on the Roman foot soldiers' battle armor as a metaphor for the Christians' armor for protection and progress in spiritual warfare. He exhorted the Ephesian believers to put on the whole armor of God that we may win in the hand-to-hand onslaught of the spiritual forces in this unseen conflict. And so first we've examined the battle, the battle apron of truth or the belt of truth, and there we are reminded of the Christian's thorough embrace of the biblical worldview and his deepest organs gripped with the truth that is in Jesus that we read about in Ephesians 3.7. As the belt is the anchor point of the soldier's armor, So the truth of God anchors the Christian so that he may stand against the schemes of the devil. Continuing on, we've also examined the breastplate of righteousness. As this piece of defensive armor protects the vital organs, so too Christ's righteousness secures the believer against fatal blows in spiritual combat. And we've also considered the spiritual, the gospel shoes of the Christian's armor. The church and every believer are not only to take up this defensive posture, but to stand against the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, but also to advance throughout the world with a message of peace with God found only through faith in Jesus Christ. And this advance takes into account our individual callings in this life in the church and among God's people. And more recently, we've also observed the command in verse 16 to take up the shield of faith, which protects us from the fiery darts of the evil one. And that faith looks to the character and the promises of God that we find in the scriptures. That faith looks to that character when we go all the way back to Abraham down to the present, whom God spoke to Abraham there in Genesis 12 saying, I am your shield, your great reward. He himself is our shield. And we actively take this shield to defend our thoughts and our affections as well as our usefulness in doing the will of God as soldiers of Christ. And this evening we're going to address the helmet of salvation that we see referred to in verse 17. A thick leather inner hat is then covered over with a larger Helmet, it could have been bronze. I'm not sure what this metal is here. Hohner writes that during Claudius, during his reign from AD 37 to 41, the helmet was revised so that it covered the back of the neck, fitting slightly over the shoulder, a brow ridge fitted above the face to protect the nose and eyes, and hinged cheek pieces were fastened by a chin band to protect the face. And so the soldier would feel much safer going into battle with his helmet on. He would be significantly protected from the strike of the enemy's sword or the fiery darts that would otherwise be unprotected by. So as we look then to the handout that you have before you, let's consider Roman numeral one the Old Testament connection, if you'll take up your handout if you so desire, the Old Testament connection to the helmet of salvation. And if you take a moment to turn in your copy of the scriptures to Isaiah 59, we'll look briefly at this. As you're turning there, let me just say that Judah, like Israel, compromised herself. in her relationship with Yahweh, having turned away to the idols of the land and placed their trust in their apostate leaders and false prophets. And so the terror they fear of Babylon coming upon them is too great for them to bear. But their real enemy, as we look in this passage, is going to be their own sins as well. Their concerns about the enemy from without, God says, yes, that's true. I'm concerned about the enemy within. if you would take a look at verse one of Isaiah 59. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot ear, in contrast to the idols that they prayed to. Verse two, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden your face so that he does not hear. And then moving on down to verse 14, I'll continue reading. Justice has turned back, and righteousness stands far away, for truth has stumbled in the public square, and righteousness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him, and there was no justice. In verse 16, he saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede. And then his own arm brought salvation and his righteousness upheld him. And so there's no one to intervene here in the situation in which the people of God find themselves. And then we move on to verse 17. He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so he will repay wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies, to the coastlands he will render repayment. But God goes on in making promises here in verses 19 and following. For they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun. For he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives. And verse 20, and a redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression. declares the Lord. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord. My spirit that is upon you and my words I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouth of your offspring, out of the mouth of your children's offspring, says the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore. And so God himself is astonished that he after making a diligent search among the people of Judah, cannot find one righteous person found among them, in spite of their professed godliness and religious practice. What a rebuke to these people! And so the Lord himself will redeem his people as they repent and look solely to him for salvation. He is the one who is adorned with a helmet of salvation. He will be victorious, not only against their human foes with which they're most concerned about, those Babylonian forces. And He will also punish them, but He will also deal with their sin. His Holy Spirit is promised them, and His covenant will cause them to walk before Him in obedience from a heart that is true to Him. And so that the point of the armor that we've been looking at in Isaiah 59, of which Yahweh fits His champion, is that it is complete. There are no pieces of armor that are missing. Our champion, the Lord Jesus is spoken of here, is fully equipped to deal with their enemies, but the greatest one of being their own sins. Calvin makes this observation. The meaning of this verse seems to be this, that God is in need of nothing for subduing his enemies, and gaining the victory, because from his righteousness, power, and grace, and from his ardent love of his people, he will make for himself complete armor. And this is, again, worthy of remark, that although we acknowledge that God is sufficiently powerful, yet we are not satisfied with that. but at the same time seek other help and thus our minds are always inclined to unbelief so that they fasten on inferior means and are greatly entangled by them. And so the question before you and me this evening is are you convinced of God's sufficiency to address each and every kind of difficulty in your life? Or is your life really something like a Jesus plus kind of existence? In other words, you may say, yes, I believe in Jesus, but really depend upon X. when I really face a big challenge. You can fill in the x with, well, whatever is the thing that you really, really need in your life. Would that be a spouse, a career or employment that you look to, a relationship, a hobby, a political personality or party, an economic theory, or psychology or some philosophy of life. When we go back to our Baptist catechism, Again, we go back to the basics, don't we? Question three, early in the catechism. Are the scriptures trustworthy in all that they affirm? And what is our answer? The scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments, being God-breathed, are infallible and inerrant in all of their parts, and are therefore trustworthy in all that they affirm concerning history, science, doctrine, ethics, religious practice, or any other topic. We saw evidence of that this morning, that as we have confidence in the scriptures, we can look at things like geologic strata. And as we study our scriptures, we can make a much more accurate assessment of life that has taken place in the past. So is this your growing conviction, your growing satisfaction that the God who created the universe and mankind rules the earth, maintaining it, who made you in the particular circumstances which you now face, that he is available, that he is adequate and willing to address your situation? pardon me, your situation, again from Isaiah, this time chapter 45, verses 5 through 7. I am the Lord, and there is no other besides me. There is no God. I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know from the rising of the sun, which is the east, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is no other. I form light and create darkness. I make well-being and create calamity. I am the Lord who has done these things." And as we turn to our New Testament, very familiar words from 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, in right living, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Or are you not really interested in God's perspective on the issues facing you and your life at this time? God was more than willing to care for Israel and Judah in our text of Isaiah 59. More than willing to care for them. More than capable of dealing with their adversaries. But instead they continued to look for military alliances with the surrounding nations. I'm summarizing here a few. At one time, they looked to Assyria for help against Damascus. And then it was Egypt to help against the Assyrians. And then it was Babylon against the Assyrians. And then Egypt against Babylon. They continued to try to form these alliances. All the time, God had been a very present help in time of trouble. John Calvin was not far off the mark, was he? We continually look for other lesser means. And God is there all the time. Look to the God who can and will redeem you, even Jesus Christ. So many our day only look to the Bible for moralistic stories and miss the relationship with God as Father through faith in Jesus Christ alone. to look up with empty hands and plead for forgiveness, for cleansing and wisdom and grace to help in time of need. It is the relationship with Jesus Christ that matters. That is to be our aim. That is to be our goal. And so as we turn back to our Ephesians 6 passage, And we reflect upon this helmet of salvation. What is Paul really asking us to put on? It's obviously something that we need to have with us in every spiritual battle, isn't it? Because it's something we are told we are committed to put on and to continue to wear, one that will protect our mind and our thoughts from a fatal blow. Consider with me in your handout Roman numeral two. This is a hope that we wear. a hope that you wear. And in light of the return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age, Paul contrasts the destiny of ungodly persons. If you would turn, please, to a related passage to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, as we're going to look at that, which is a related passage to this. Paul contrasts the destiny of ungodly persons to those who trust and follow after Christ. First Thessalonians chapter five, beginning at verse four. And Paul says to the Thessalonians, but you are not of darkness, brothers, for that day of the day of the Lord to surprise you like a thief For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. Verse 6. And so let us not sleep as others do, but those who get drunk are drunk at night. And look at verse 8. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope. of salvation. It is a hope that we wear. For God is not destined us for wrath, but to abstain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with him. And therefore, encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. So you can see in this passage, our eternal destiny, verse 9, is what is in view here. Our obtaining our ultimate salvation in Christ is to be our focus. And then Paul says in verse 10 that we might live with him. Verse 11, we are to continually encourage and build each other up on these points. Paul teaches the Thessalonians. And so this helmet of which Paul speaks, and I believe it's the same analogy that's being expressed in Ephesians 6 here. Part of the armor is our hope of salvation. It is a hope that you as a believer in Jesus are to wear. In verse 8, it is the hope of your salvation. So along with your other armor, our Lord Jesus has proven this armor. He has worn every piece of armor himself. And so as we look at this, like the shield of faith, like the gospel boots, like the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth. He has proven this helmet of salvation. Will you put it on? The helmet is the hope that you wear daily, and as you'll see, there is none like it in all of the world. The Sadducees, they denied that it even existed. The Pharisees theoretically admitted that it might exist, and yet they never dared to put it on. In fact, it is only worn by a disciple of Jesus Christ. In fact, this helmet, the hope of salvation, is unique on the spiritual battlefield. Heroes of the faith were said to have worn it, such as Stephen in Acts chapter 8 at his martyrdom. Later on, it was Paul, but also among the reformers, such as John Hus or Martin Luther, and not a few of the men and women of the English Puritans as well. They all wore this helmet with distinction. And so as we look at a helmet that is the hope of our salvation, what do we mean by hope? Letter A on your handout, what is hope? In order to make this clear, we need to consider number one under that, what hope is not? When Paul uses that word, what is he really referring to? When we use the word hope in everyday life, we might say something like this. I hope it snows tonight so I don't have to go to school tomorrow. And there is snow in the forecast, if you didn't hear that. But don't get all excited about that. Or I hope that the Eagles will know how to make better offensive plays next year. Or I hope this year's elections turn out better than they did last time. Or I hope she'll say yes when I ask her to marry me. And you note in each of these examples, there is certainly a degree of uncertainty as to the outcome of each of these situations. It may not snow tonight. The Eagles may continue to make bad offensive calls. The elections may not go your way. And she certainly may say, not in a thousand nightmares would I marry you. And there are quite a few here this evening that may hope that they may go to heaven, certainly more the hope that they don't go to hell when they die. Many have a vague optimism that they somehow will enter through those pearly gates. Surely, the hope of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 6 is more than just this hope so kind of hope. Can we all agree that being with Jesus in heaven is a far bigger deal than any of these situations that I've mentioned? Eternity is a very, very, very long time. Imagine with me right now if I had the end of a very long piece of rope in my hand, but that rope extends out through that window and circles the Earth's circumference a thousand times. And the amount of rope I have in my fingers right here is your lifespan, your physical lifespan. Eternity is longer than that rope. That's what we're talking about here. It is a very long time. And so whatever Paul is talking about here is something that we must get right. It is a hope of salvation that we are to wear. Secondly, there are false hopes. From Isaiah 20, I'm using a lot of Isaiah this evening. Then the Lord said, as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush, So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Kushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Kush, their hope, and of Egypt, their boast. And the inhabitants of this Kushland will say in that day, behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled and help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how shall we escape? Calvin writes again, thus at a late hour, obstinate and rebellious men are constrained by God to confess their guilt so that they are struck with amazement and argue within themselves how they could have been so greatly blinded by their own stubbornness. But that's who we are, isn't it, if we're honest? Secondly, not only could it be a misplaced hope, but when it is based upon merely external religious observance. And sadly, this is the testimony of the people of Israel from Jeremiah 7. where Jeremiah writes to them, do not trust in these deceptive words. This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, and if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. Or if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place and the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever." And so the Jews to whom Jeremiah prophesied at this time were outwardly very diligent in their religious observations in Jerusalem. The repetition here likely refers to the concentric courts of the temple. Consider the outer court, and then the holy place, and within that the holy of holies. It was their view this temple was like a triple-walled city that was impregnable, since God's temple was there at the place of worship. Their confidence was in the right sacrifices somehow would cause Yahweh to wink at their oppression, their cruelty, their lack of sincerity and worship, and their idolatry. And we know how this turned out, don't we? They sadly trusted in deceptive words. Jerusalem was eventually sacked by Nebuchadnezzar and the temple later destroyed. And so we can have a hope that God will somehow look to my external religious observance and think that all would be okay. And that's not the case. Thirdly, understand when it is insincere or hypocritical in its hope. We know from Matthew chapter 7, the close of the Sermon on the Mount, beginning at verse 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And we heard that. from Mark chapter 3 this morning. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, do many mighty wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. And so as James writes, for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also is faith apart from works is dead. And so we need to ask then thirdly, what is genuine biblical hope? I've gone through and looked at how the Greek word is used through here. And I wanted to give you something of a character of what this hope is going to look like in the remainder of this study. Certainly, first of all, we want to say that it's a believing response to the gospel. Real, biblical, genuine hope, part A, is a believing response to the gospel. Consider what Paul is able to write to the Church of Colossae in chapter one of that epistle, verse three. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you have for all of the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel. So is your faith so evident to those around you? by your living that someone could write or really email this to you in our day. What an encouragement that must have been for the church at Colossae. That as a whole, he could say with confidence, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, because you have trusted in Christ, and that trust in Christ has evidenced itself by a love for God's people. Secondly, it evidences growth in grace as well. If you would turn to Romans 5, growth in grace when we look at how this word hope is used. Beginning at verse 1 of chapter 5, and of course, this is arguably. able to support point A, a believing response to the gospel. When you look at how Romans chapter five begins, Paul writes, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into the grace in which we stand and exalt in the glory of God. Verse three, not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. And endurance produces character. And character produces hope. And hope does not put to shame. In other words, it's not a false hope that we've looked at earlier. It is a hope that does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. So our faith in Christ alone is the ground of our peace with God, our acceptance by the Father because we are united to his son in the gospel. That peace is not only subjective, a peace that you and I may feel, but it also a real external to ourselves rooted in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And moreover, as we grow in that relationship with Christ, That growth is going to occur through sufferings at time. Our sister Bert was mentioning that today. We persevere. We persevere by his grace. That perseverance over time is going to bear fruit and a life that by degrees is transformed into likeness to Christ and a life of faithful obedience. Here in our passage, it's referred to as character. And that word character, when you look at how it's used, it's talking about something that's tested, something that's proven and as genuine. And so out of this grows a settled hope, a comforting and yet eager expectation of Christ's return and our joyful reception by him. This hope whispers to us, yes, God has saved you in Christ. You belong to Christ. You love him, though poorly, yes, but you long to be with him for all eternity. You will be with him for all eternity. Look at how he's working in your life. Praise his holy name. And so this hope does not depend just upon some kind of mental calculus, as it were, or some external circumstance like your bank balance, but a genuine work of the Holy Spirit working love in you, as you see in verse 5. And so in short, as Pastor Mitch has mentioned a number of times before, hope is a certain sure expectation of future glory. Hope is a certain sure expectation of future glory. Now, we can examine hope another way, and that is, what does it produce in the life of a person? Look with me at Roman numeral two. What are some of hope's effects? And actually, this is numerous because the word hope, as you go through the New Testament, we find it really part of the fabric of how the New Testament writers spoke. And so I've identified several effects that we can point back to that are produced in the life of a Christian that really find their origin, or at least a close association with this great expectation of future glory. Consider with me, number one, it results in a quiet waiting upon God. A quiet waiting upon God. And another way of saying this is that there is a persevering in prayer. From Isaiah chapter 30, for thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, in returning, or in repentance, and rest you shall be saved. In quietness and in trust shall be your strength. Or Isaiah 59, verse 9, it will be said of that day, behold, This is our God. We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. If you turn to the New Testament, Romans chapter eight, verse 24 and 25, for in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. And so hope is going to result in a quiet waiting upon God. And of course, our Lord Jesus taught us about persevering in prayer, didn't he? Through numerous parables which we don't have time to examine, but you can see there's gonna be a persevering in prayer before God. Secondly, it anticipates a future glorification with Christ. It anticipates a future glorification with Christ. Well-known passage, if you would turn with me to 1 John 3. If you would turn, please, to 1 John 3. And I think our brother, Joe, had mentioned this briefly this morning as well. Beginning at verse 1 of John's epistle, See what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. There is a comfort in being rejected by the world that John can point to. It did not know Christ, and that's why we're experiencing this. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. But look at verse two. Beloved, we are God's children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared. but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. No more sin. Our mortal bodies will be transformed to be conformed to Christ's glorified physical body, and we shall be awestruck, yet accepted and loved by Christ in his immediate presence and that for eternity. Do you long for that day when Christ returns? John often reflected upon this hope, I'm sure, and it granted him much comfort. Do we? In Wearing the Hope of Salvation, this is one of those passages that I hope comes back to you again and again. For now, brethren, we are not what we shall be. The church is at present in its militant state. That's the reality. We are in a spiritual warfare. And we are all about that warfare. And yet how absolutely thrilled the Apostle John is to think of our permanent, certain, future state in which our warfare in Christ will result in the glorious liberty of the sons of God at his coming. Then the toil of our warfare will resolve into the saints' everlasting rest, as Richard Baxter had written upon it. The helmet of salvation shall one day be replaced by a crown of righteousness. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4.8, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Until then, keep that hope alive and keep that daily before you. So we've looked at a quiet waiting upon God, a future glorification with Christ, but also a purity of life. If you look at verse 3 of the same paragraph, what is John saying here? He adds to that, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. And so if I long to be in a sinless heaven among the spirits of just men made perfect in a world of love that heaven is with Christ in his presence, John who wrote this was on his face. as though dead before him, when we look at Revelation 1, then I'm going to be diligent in cleansing myself from every form of ungodly behavior and desire, the Spirit of God helping me. Jonathan Edwards, in 1739, reflects upon this reality when he wrote of what would happen if an ungodly person were to somehow make it into heaven. What would that look like? Edwards writes, if such a soul as yours, and he's speaking to the unconverted, if such a soul as yours should be admitted into heaven, that world of love, how nauseous it would be to those blessed spirits whose souls are as a flame of love and how it discomposed that loving and blessed society and put everything in confusion. It would make heaven no longer heaven if such souls should be admitted there. it would change it from a world of love to a world of hatred and pride and envy and malice and revenge as this world is. But it shall never be, and the only alternative, the only alternative is that such as you shall be shut out with dogs and sorcerers and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters and whosoever lieth and maketh a lie. As Pastor Mitch would say, on the junk heap of eternity. That is, with all that is vile and unclean and unholy. Do you see John's assertion here that one wearing the helmet of the hope of salvation must make ready for that glorious world of love by striving toward holiness without which no one shall see the Lord. And so as we look at the effects of hope, There's another one that we want to add. Not only is there a holiness of life that we strive for, though imperfectly in this world, certainly. Number four, it protects us against despair as well. And as you look at hope being the helmet that protects us from the opposite of hope, really, which is a crippling despair, an utter despair, and yet this hope is a gift of God given to us. Peter writes that it's a hope that it's a living hope because of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Where David can write in Psalm 42, why are you cast down on my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation. David knew something of a struggle where he had to splash water on his face and say, what are you thinking now? Hope in God, he's not cast you off. You need to continue to trust in him. Or when you think of Job, if you would turn to Job 19, just to look briefly with me in the book of Job. Job had many, many trials that he went through. And yet, though probably not imperfectly, yet he persevered in that certainty of hope. Job 19, verse 23, oh, that my words were written. Oh, that they were inscribed in a book. Oh, that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever. And what would he write? Verse 25, for I know that my Redeemer lives. In the midst of his sitting on that ash heap, scraping his boils, I know that my Redeemer lives and that at the last he will stand upon the earth. and after my skin has been thus destroyed yet in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another oh my heart faints within me a certainty of the resurrection and that his redeemer lives and would cause him to yet live as well setbacks Protracted illness, such as some are experiencing our day, soured relationships, or the devil's direct onslaughts all have their ways of getting inside of our heads and bouncing around and ricocheting there and hemorrhaging our zeal and our confidence. And yet your confidence of God in his word is what is going to keep you. You need to keep that hope of salvation, that helmet of salvation firmly strapped on. So we have a protection from despair. Fifthly, moving through this, a stability in a disciplined life and gospel labors. Now, number five, I'm really giving you a twofer. As you'll see, if you would turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter four, please. Again, we're surveying how is this word hope used and what are its effects as it's worked out in the life of believers. a stability in a disciplined life, and gospel labors. 1 Timothy 4, beginning at verse 7, Paul instructing his protege here, Timothy, an apostolic representative, have nothing to do with irreverent silliness, but train yourself for godliness. He writes, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life, but also for the life to come. Do you see that hope? Maybe you don't see it yet. Keep reading. Verse 9. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. Verse 10. For to this end, we toil and strive because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe. So imagine with me here, you're looking at verse 7. OK. Train yourself for godliness. Imagine if you were to somehow erase verses 8 through 10 from Paul's thinking. Do you think you would persevere very long in training yourself in godliness? I know myself well enough to know that I would fold. I'd likely be more like that young Martin Luther who ended up hating God for a time. From his own words, he would say this. Rather than loving him, as he was driven to despair before he discovered the gospel of grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. But there is a tremendous encouragement in persisting in this training. If I know I'm accepted by God and will be rewarded through all eternity by my Heavenly Father who loves me and is assisting me in this. So Paul, writing for Macedonia, addresses Timothy here, his son, an Apostolic representative, having left him in Ephesus to address those given to miss in Endless Genealogies, given to speculation rather than the stewardship of the gospel that he wrote about in chapter 1. Meanwhile, Paul is to follow up in places like Thessalonica, which we'll turn back to in a minute, where others have confused the believers by asserting that Christ has already come. So he's got to deal with another perversion of the gospel there. What? He had to write them a second epistle to expose those who didn't hold fast to the traditions of a salvation that is by faith, a patient waiting for the day of the Lord, evidence by quietly providing for yourself and for others, and not freeloading off of the church. If you look at chapters 2 and 3, that's what he's speaking about. So we are reminded of Paul's primary exhortation back in Ephesians 6, aren't we? Finally, to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might to put on the full armor of God that you may stand against the schemes of the devil. And so in those pressured situations that Timothy is going to walk into in Ephesus, Paul is going to have to address over in Macedonia. And Timothy, someone with a somewhat naturally timid disposition, could certainly need an infusion of grace to steal his backbone against compromise. And Pastor Mitch had preached about that at the pastor's conference. How about you and me, though? Does your hope in Christ's salvation make us all the more certain of the deposit of truth given to us by the apostolic word? What are some of the doctrinal challenges facing you? Is it critical race theory? Is it a compromise on the Lord's Day, on Super Bowl Sunday, or compromise with continuationism, the need to have some kind of a scripture plus kind of Christianity? I think of John Owen, a comment that I found recently on this, where John Owen says, if modern day prophets are saying the same thing as scripture, then we don't need them. If they're going against scripture, then they're false prophets. So why do you need them? So perhaps it's a question of morality facing you or your loved one, cohabitation prior to marriage, male headship in the home, addictions, murder of their preborn, and so on. Are any of these issues worthy of casting away your eternal hope? Consider that. But let's turn to 2 Thessalonians while we're discussing Paul here. Because again, this is a great parallel passage. 2 Thessalonians 2. Great parallel passage to Ephesians 6. Beginning at verse 13. But we always ought to give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 15, so then, brothers, stand firm. Stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. But 16, here we go. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and gave us an eternal comfort and good hope through grace. Comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Do you see the practical impact of this eternal hope in the lives of these people? In the first 12 verses of this chapter, Paul is explaining the destiny of the deceivers that had been in the church who reject Christ. Specifically, having rejected the offer of the gospel, God gives them over to a deception and delusion, verses 10 and 11, which they preferred in verse 13. they were compelled to see what grace had been given us, that we owe everything to the electing grace of God who called us by his gospel into an eternal comfort and good hope that we enjoy by his grace. And verse 16, This grace is the basis of our eternal comfort, which we may enjoy, we may comfort our hearts, and be established in a lifestyle of good works, living out the truths of the gospel as we see in verse 17. And so we can see here we're being spared from a crippling despair. We're able to persevere in prayer. We have stability in a disciplined life and in gospel labors as these men are enjoying. And finally, one other effect, and just briefly, if you would turn to 1 Peter 3.15, I know it's a common passage. It's another instance where this word hope pops up just in the midst of everyday situations that you and I face. First Peter 3.15. I bet some of you could say this by memory. But in your hearts, honor Christ. And number six in your outline, we're looking at a distinguishing feature of our testimony. A distinguishing feature of our testimony as believers in Jesus Christ. First Peter 315, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, and yet do it with gentleness and respect. And so as we look in the mirror, and as we consider our own testimony, is your hope, your certain expectation of glory, Is it conspicuous enough in your life and mine as you calmly and cheerfully embrace the challenges of this life, expressing that hope in Christ, so that people are really left scratching their heads? What is it about that person that they can go into this situation and just They're at peace in the midst of this trial, in the midst of this intense pain, that though it hurts, they're persevering in prayer, they're trusting in Christ. Is your hope in eternal life with Christ, is it that conspicuous that it buoys you up? That's how the apostles were known in Acts, isn't it? These were the guys that were with Jesus, that's right. Finally, Roman numeral three on your outline. This helmet of salvation is for you. You don't have to live any longer. with a debilitating doubt and despair in your relationship with God, really, or all of life, knowing that I am accepted by God for all eternity. It is not on the basis of your works, but because of what Christ, your champion, has accomplished in his perfect life and his sacrifice of himself on the cross, which we sung about earlier. Did you ever notice that this confidence in our hope of eternal life, it's in The majority of the hymns that we sing about, it was in this evening's hymn of take time to be holy. Why? You'll be fitted for service above. It's just part of the atmosphere in which a believer moves. Is that something that's really made an impact in your life? And it can. Christ, your champion, has accomplished all of this for you. To trust in Christ, even right now, this morning. To say, yes, I will to Christ. I've not given you a fair chance, Jesus. I've not given you a fair shot. to let go of and turn from your sins right now and determine tonight before God to make a break with your past with his help, of course, and even the help of the members of this church, if you'll allow it. This time with God's help to make a fresh start this last Lord's Day of January 2024. He offers you his helmet of salvation here. It's yours, if you would have it, to wear it for your comfort, your safety, and the glory of your champion, Jesus Christ. He can cleanse and forgive you of the most hurtful sins. He can heal your damaged emotions and grant you a glorious hope for the future. Though it involves warfare now, we're not skipping over that. It does involve warfare now, but its end is as certain. is as it is glorious. So John can write in 1 John 5.13, I write these things to you. who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. Or what are these things? Well, that's a little project for you to figure out, to go back and read through that little book of 1 John and consider, what is John talking about here? I can know I have eternal life now because I believe, really? Go back and study through, what is he talking about? You can know, John says, that you have eternal life. You can have this eternal hope. In Jesus, you have a sure hope for all of your tomorrows. Amen. Let's pray. And Father, as we've considered a real survey of how this Hope of salvation runs through the thinking and theology of these New Testament writers. They were absolutely certain that Christ rose from the dead three days after he was brutally crucified, and that they rightly understood through Isaiah and many other Old Testament passages that he in fact is the son of David. He is the Messiah who was promised. He is our hope of salvation. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the door. He is the great shepherd of the sheep that was promised after David. And that he is the king that is coming of Daniel chapter four and seven. And He is coming again to judge the living and the dead in great power and glory and coming back for all who wait for His arrival. May that be true of us. May we embrace all that your scriptures say of Him and have this assurance, this settled hope, this anchor within the veil that as we ride into battle, on that field of spiritual warfare, that we have that helmet strapped firmly in place. Use your scriptures, oh Lord, for great good in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.