Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

HOPE

An expectation or belief in the fulfillment of something desired. Present hurts and uncertainty over what the future holds create the constant need for hope. Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, and human potential to generate terror and destruction create a longing for something better. Historically, people have looked to the future with a mixture of longing and fear. Many have concluded that there is no reasonable basis for hope and therefore that to hope is to live with an illusion. Scripture tells us that those who do not have God do not have hope (Eph 2:12).

The modern world has sought hope in human effort and a belief in the inevitability of progress that assumed everything would naturally get better and better. The threat and reality of war in the 20th century challenged that optimism and left growing despair in its wake. Though many still find little reason to hope, others have returned to a humanistic basis for hope. It is held that because people are the source of the world’s problems, they can also be the solution. This position can be called into question on the basis of present and historical evidence to the contrary.

Christianity has often been considered in discussions concerning hope. Unfortunately, Christianity has not always received “good press” in this regard. In the early centuries of church history, stress on the disparity between this world and the next seemed to create an attitude of escapism, futility, or indifference toward the problems and pains of human existence. In the 19th century Prussian philosopher Frederick Nietzsche (1844–1900) claimed that Christianity made people cowards because it taught that whatever happened was God’s will, thus discouraging efforts to change the world. Karl Marx (1818–83) said that Christianity or religion was the “opiate of the people.” For Marx, religion kept people from rising against those who oppressed them.

The tendency for Christianity to be viewed as otherworldly was opposed by Jürgen Moltmann in what has been called “the theology of hope.” That theology was the product of the pessimism and despair of post-World War II Europe. Moltmann’s theology of hope says that the future is the basis for changing the present, and that Christian service should be an attempt to make otherworldly hopes a present reality. The resurrection is said to bring hope amid present suffering by becoming the catalyst for human effort to overcome that suffering. But trust in human effort to change the future could lead to a humanistic notion that the resurrection is merely a hopeful symbol that will spur people into action, and not necessarily a reality of God’s historical action in the world through Jesus Christ. Another concern is that the discussion of hope for this world by a transformation of political and social structures could neglect the need for personal transformation of people’s lives through conversion and repentance. While critical questions have been raised about the theology of hope, on the positive side that theology has led to examination or reexamination of the biblical doctrine of hope.

Biblical hope is hope in what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul discussed the nature, certainty, and importance of the resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-28). That Paul is certain that Christian hope points to the future can be seen by his statement “If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world” (v 19, NLT). The significance of Christ’s resurrection is that it not only points to his victory over death but also extends that victory to those who are his: “Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised” (v 23). The apostle Peter said, “All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead” (1 Pt 1:3, NLT). In that passage, Peter attributes living hope to the resurrection of Christ and points to God’s future blessing upon those who belong to Christ. That future hope empowers the Christian to live without despair through the struggle and suffering of the present (cf. Rom 8:18; 2 Cor 4:16-18).

Christian hope is securely based upon the words and actions of God. The promises of God have proven to be dependable. The resurrection of Jesus becomes the ultimate basis for hope. Since God has already overcome death through Christ, the Christian can live with confidence in the present. No matter how dark the present age seems, the Christian has seen the light to come. People need to hope, and hope placed in the personal promise of God is secure. This secure hope is full of social significance, however, freeing one from bondage to materialism and its natural selfishness. Christian hope offers security for the future and loving involvement in sharing for the present.