'A Hope That Maketh Not Ashamed



"A Hope That Maketh Not Ashamed!"

Romans 5:1-5

INTRO. Wherein does your hope lie today? Jeremiah 17:7 says, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is." The psalmist David said, "For in Thee, 0 LORD, do I hope..." (Psalm 38:15). The LORD MUST be the object of our Hope and the essence of our trust; for without Him there is NO HOPE!

I’d like to title the message, "A Hope That Maketh Not Ashamed!" What is hope? According to Webster's dictionary, "hope is a desire of some good accompanied with a belief that it is attainable." Each child of God's desire is to see Christ face-to-face! In Titus 2:13 It is called the believer's "blessed hope." It is what we look and long for!

The story is told of Edward Mote who rose from an ungodly childhood to become a great writer and preacher. Mote, born in 1787, said of his youth, "My Sundays were spent on the streets of London in play. So ignorant was I that I didn't know there was a God." As a young man, Mote became a carpenter's apprentice, and through labor and determination, came to own a cabinet shop.

One day, after his conversion to Christ, while walking to his work, God laid these words upon his heart, "On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand." Sometime later, Edward Mote became a Baptist preacher. His efforts made it possible for a house of worship to be built for his congregation. They were so grateful that they offered to deed the property to him, but Mote replied, "I don't want the chapel, I want only the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that."

He served his congregation for more than twenty years, never missing a single LORD'S Day for any cause. At age 77, as he lay on his deathbed Mote said, "I think I am going to Heaven, yes I am nearing port. The truths I have preached I am now living upon, and they will do to die upon. Ah! the precious blood which takes away all our sins. It is this which makes peace with God." (Lindsay Terry. Stories Behind Popular Songs And Hymns. pp. 178-179). Edward Mote had his hope in Christ, and a hope in Christ will never make ashamed! Where is your hope today?

A HOPE THAT MAKETH NOT ASHAMED:

(1) WHAT THIS HOPE IS

ROMANS 5:5a—“And hope…”

*There are two interesting words found in Romans 5:5. The first is "hope"

which is translated from a Greek word that means to "anticipate with

pleasure" and the other word is “ashamed” which means “to suffer shame

or disappointment”.

A. IT IS HOPE IN THE LORD. Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the man

that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” He MUST be

the ONLY object of my hope! Hope in the Lord brings:

• SECURITY (Isaiah 26:3). A hope in the Lord brings “peace upon peace”! I can face the storms and trials of life knowing that He will keep me safe and give me comfort when everything seems so wrong! He gives us a peace not only in this world but a promise of peace forever more.

• STRENGTH (Isaiah 26:4). Hope in Him gives us strength. He is the ROCK OF AGES, the STRONG AND MIGHTY TOWER, a REFUGE IN THE TIMES OF STORM, and our HOPE NOW AND ALWAYS! He will never leave us nor forsake us! He gives us the strength to face the battles of life and picks us up when we fall! Only he who can say, "The Lord is the strength of my life," can say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?" -- Alexander McClaren, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 3.

• SATISFACTION (Romans 5:8-9). Friend, I am satisfied with Jesus! The saved are “justified by his blood,” and “we shall be saved from wrath through him.” When I cannot see His hand I can still trust His heart! I know He will lead safely to Heaven. I can say with Paul, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6).

B. IT IS A HOPE BEGOTTEN THROUGH HIS WORD. Psalm 19:7-10 tells

us, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of

the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are

right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure,

enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the

judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be

desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than

honey and the honeycomb.” Christ is the LIVING WORD OF GOD and

We MUST TRUST Him for Salvation! John writing of HIM in John 1:1-

5, 9-14—“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All

things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that

was made. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness

comprehended it not. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man

that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was

made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and

his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he

power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of

man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)

full of grace and truth.” The Bible is not merely history but it is HIS

STORY! It is God’s love letter to man. It was written to bring us HOPE!

Romans 15:4 says, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were

written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the

Scriptures might have hope.”

C. IT IS A HOPE INSPIRED BY THE LOVE OF GOD. In Ephesians 2:4-5

we read, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he

loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together

with Christ, by (grace ye are saved;)” Probably the sweetest and best

known verses in the Bible is John 3:16—“ For God so loved the world,

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John wrote in 1 John 4:9-

10—“ In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that

God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through

him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent

his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-

5—“ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which

according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively

hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance

incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in

heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto

salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Each of these verses

speak of the incredible love that God has for us. Each of these verses

inspire hope within us!

ILLUS: A historian tells us that after the Spanish Inquisition,

Napoleon’s soldiers uncovered a dungeon. They went down

into the dungeon and found a skeleton with chains still on it.

To their surprise, they looked on the wall and saw a cross. At

the apex of the cross, was the word “height.” At the foot of the

cross, was the word “depth.” And on either side of the cross

were the words “breadth” and “length.” To this prisoner, the

cross was a picture of the dimensions of God’s love. God’s love

is expansive and everlasting.--Adrian Rogers

Friends, it is that quality of love that brings us HOPE! Not just for

today but throughout all eternity!

D. IT IS A HOPE UPHELD BY FAITH IN GOD. Paul wrote in Ephesians

2:8-9—“ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should

boast.” Look at the words of our text in Romans 5:1-5. Twice there

we read the words “by faith”. In v1 we read, “Therefore being justified

by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” and in

v2—“ By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we

stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” I want you to notice that

both of these blessings become ours “by faith”. Hebrews 11:1 says,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things

not seen.” Friends, I have never seen Jesus with my physical eyes but I

have seen him with my spiritual eyes. I know He is real! I know He

lives! I know He has saved my soul! And I know He is coming soon to

take me home to be with HIM! How do I know these things? BY FAITH!

Hebrews 11:6 declares, “But without faith it is impossible to please him:

for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” FAITH brings HOPE! and

HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED!

(2) WHAT THIS HOPE DOES

ROMANS 5:5b—“And hope MAKETH NOT ASHAMED…”

*Hope "maketh not ashamed":

A. OF THE MASTER. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7-12—“ For God hath

not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound

mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of

me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel

according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a

holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose

and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ,

who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light

through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an

apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer

these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have

believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have

committed unto him against that day.” Even though we believe these

words many times we all become fearful and ashamed. Why? Because

we fear two things:

• REJECTION. We must remember when we face rejection it is not us that people reject but the Lord. Jesus said in John 3:18-20—“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

• RIDICULE. None of us want to be mocked. None of us want to be laughed at, scorned, or spoken even of. But is not that what our Savior faced while here on earth? Jesus said in John 15:18-21—“ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.” In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12—“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

Friends, “hope maketh not ashamed”. Let us never be ashamed to

speak out for Jesus! Romans 10:11 says, “For the Scripture saith,

Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

B. OF THE GOSPEL. Paul declared in Romans 1:16—“ For I am not

ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation

to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Those words should be true of every true believer in Christ Jesus! 1

Peter 3:15 tells us to “…sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be

ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason

of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” God forbid that I

should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of

Christ to them. -- George Whitefield. Christian History, Issue 38. May

we be able to say the same!

C. OF THE SCRIPTURES. Some Liberal theologians of our day try to

discount some teachings of the WORD OF GOD, as if it is shameful to

believe such things, but if any of it is the WORD OF GOD, it must all be

the WORD OF GOD! Jesus said in Mark 8:34-38—“… Whosoever will

come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow

me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall

lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For

what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his

own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this

adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be

ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy

angels.” The SCRIPTURES are:

• INSPIRED (2 Peter 1:20-21).

• INERRANT (Psalm 119:89).

• INFALLIBLE (Romans 3:4a).

• INSTRUCTIVE (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Friends, if this Bible could be proven to be untrue we would have right

to be ashamed. But since it is inspired, inerrant, infallible, and

instructive and because the TRUTH never changes we can have

complete confidence in this BOOK!

D. OF THE LORD'S PEOPLE. There are no people like God’s people! Paul

told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:8—“ Be not thou therefore ashamed of the

testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the

afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.” Paul was now

suffering in Rome for the preaching of the Gospel. We must always be

ready and willing to do two things for God’s people:

• OFFER OUR SUPPORT TO THEM.

• OFFER OUR SUPPLICATION FOR THEM.

E. OF OUR OWN CONFIDENCE. Many place their hope of reaching

Heaven in many things today. For some it is their goodness, for others

it is baptism, Church attendance, good deeds, or religious upbringing

but if we place our hope of Heaven in anything less than Christ, We will

suffer shame! The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 6:17-20 wrote,

“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise

the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two

immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might

have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the

hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both

sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither

the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest forever

after the order of Melchizedek.” Friends, if any of us reach Heaven it will

be by the way of the Cross. If any of us are “accepted in the beloved” in

will be because of the precious blood of Christ. If any of us see God it

will be because Christ’s righteousness has been put to our account!

A HOPE THAT MAKETH NOT ASHAMED—we have seen WHAT THIS HOPE IS and WHAT THIS HOPE DOES but finally let us see…

(3) WHERE THIS HOPE IS FOUND

Romans 5:6-9—“ For when we were yet without strength, in due time

Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man

will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would

even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in

that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much

more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved

from wrath through him.”

A. THE BASIS OF THIS HOPE. Our hope is found in the precious blood of Christ! Without Christ's Blood as payment for our sins, we are yet in our sins! Notice these words in v9—“ being now justified by his blood.” Our justification is based upon the blood because Hebrews 9:22 says, “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Our redemption is based upon the blood because Ephesians 1:7 speaking of Christ’s sacrifice says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Our inheritance is based upon the blood because Titus 3:3-7 declares, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” It is all because of the blood!

ILLUS: The Sufficient Blood

His blood is so sufficient

He tells us in His word

On the mercy seat in heaven

It was put there by our Lord.

It stops the accuser of the brethren

As he walks before the throne

Our God just points to the blood

And Satan knows He cares for His own.

It’s sufficient for any situation

To nourish, to cleanse, and keep.

Oh, magnify your name my Lord

My soul with rapture leaps.

Can my sins though oh so many

Make this blood of no avail

Once I’ve named the name of Jesus

In my heart, I cannot fail.

His word has proclaimed it

The work begun in me

Will someday be completed

When His dear face I see.

And when I dwell in heaven

As the ages roll along

Oh, that precious blood of Jesus

Will be my victory song.

Source unknown

B. THE BLESSING OF THIS HOPE. “We shall be saved from wrath

through him.” We are not appointed to wrath be we are “to wait for his

Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which

delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Matthew

Henry wrote: “We are reconciled by Christ humbled, we are saved by

Christ exalted. The dying Jesus laid the foundation, in satisfying for

sin, and slaying the enmity… but it is the living Jesus that perfects the

work: he lives to make intercession, Heb_7:25. It is Christ, in his

exaltation, that by his word and Spirit effectually calls, and changes,

and reconciles us to God, is our Advocate with the Father, and so

completes and consummates our salvation.” (Matthew Henry’s

Commentary On the Bible. e-Sword. Version 7.5.2).

CLOSING: What are you relying on to get you to Heaven? Church membership, religious upbringing, or good works. None of these things will gain you admittance into God's Heaven! Listen to the words of Edward Mote's song once again: "My Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' Blood and Righteousness. I dare no trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' Name. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Romans 5:9 says, "Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." He must be your hope or you will face His wrath! John 3:18 says, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth no is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." “Condemned” in that verse means "found guilty awaiting judgment."

Child of God, our hope is in Him, thus we shouldn't be ashamed!

Are you ashamed of Christ and His Word? If so, Christ is ashamed

of you before the Father. Come confess it to Him and He will give

you confidence and assurance!

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