New Year's Eve

New Year’s Eve

31 December 2014

The Christian's Hope

Romans 8:32

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Once again, we have concluded another year of grace – another year in which we have been permitted by God’s amazing grace to live, and serve and have our being in Jesus Christ. What shall we say concerning all of the events, which have transpired during the course of this past year? Possibly, they can be best summed up in the words of St. Paul in our text for this night: He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Paul gives evidence of a hope we have in Christ – a hope we have in fact.

1.        This hope is founded in the fact that Christ suffered for us.

That Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Savior has suffered for us. Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary at Christmas is the Father’s gift to us; “He spared not His own and only Son”

Because of this fact, we can conclude that the suffering of Jesus Christ can only be equaled by the suffering of God.

2.        This hope is founded in the fact that man's lost condition affected the Father more than the suffering of His Son.

God our heavenly Father delivered Christ up “for us all.”  “God so loved the world…that He gave his only begotten Son…” {John 3:16a}

The Father could not bear to see us in darkness but He could ask Jesus to “humble Himself and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Thus, the Father closed His eyes to the agony of Jesus that He might the better contemplate our need. [“Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”  said Jesus on the cross] 

3. The hope is founded in the fact that you and I are once again restored back to the Father by the suffering death and resurrection of His Son.

If in the death of Jesus, God was mindful of us, how shall He not, “with Him” restored to love, “freely give us all things?”

That our risen Lord is our Mediator in the presence of the Father means that every need, ever petition, every request is delivered to the Father’s throne room of grace. He will answer every prayer according to His good and gracious will.

As we say farewell to yet another year know that your salvation is grounded in fact - this is our hope - He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things?

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