Faith, Hope, and Love

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

This verse caught my eye during my personal Bible study recently. I found encouragement and a challenge in it that I’d like to share with you today. The Lord presents here such a beautiful picture of the Christian life—a life where faith results in good works, where love motivates us to labor long, and where hope produces patience as we believe the promises of God and eagerly await the return of our Lord Jesus!

Work of Faith

We know that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:1, 10:9-13). After salvation, however, our faith is supposed to result in good works. These good works are a testimony to others of our salvation—since no one else can see our heart, the proof (especially to the lost) that we have trusted Christ is in a changed life. Not only a life that doesn’t do certain things, but a life that is full of good works.

The book of James is on this very theme. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?… Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:18-20, 24).

This passage can be confusing, causing some to ask if salvation is really by faith alone. The key is in the meaning of the word “Justification.” To “justify” someone is to “declare them righteous.” Before God, we are justified solely on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ and His work for us. In the eyes of man, however, we are declared righteous based on our works.

It’s easy to say that we believe the Bible, that we love Jesus, that He is more important to us than anything else in the world. But do our works match that? True faith produces works that testify to belief! Many times, I’m challenged to ask myself this question: “Do I really believe what I claim to believe?”

Genuine belief that there is a heaven and hell and that Jesus is the only way to heaven, will result in us sharing the Gospel. True heart belief that the eternal is more important than the temporal will result in us joyfully giving to God’s work. Sincere conviction that God works all things together for our good will be evident in our response to trials. If we really believe that Jesus is worthy of our service, then the evidence will be in our wholehearted service to Him!

Labour of Love

The word “labour” denotes intense work, long-lasting toil that doesn’t necessarily carry an immediate reward. A victorious Christian life requires labor. We may toil for years in prayer, not seeing a prompt result. We give the Gospel, and don’t see as many souls saved as we’d like. I think of missionaries who give their lives to sharing Christ on the foreign field, and years in they are sometimes still worshipping with ten faithful people in their church.

In our American culture, we tend to want everything quickly! I think that can transfer over into our spiritual lives—it’s easy to forget that God’s timetables aren’t the same as ours. In reality, we shouldn’t expect much reward on this earth. We may not see immediate results. But love—love to God and others, enables us to keep on going even when we could get discouraged.

Interestingly, the three qualities in the verse from Thessalonians also match the three given in 1 Corinthians 13. And one aspect of charity—the word used in Scripture to describe the special love between fellow believers in Christ—is it’s endurance and patience.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away (1 Cor. 13:4-8).

Friend, maybe you’re discouraged because you’ve been praying for years and you haven’t seen the answer. Or perhaps you’re almost ready to give up on an unsaved family member. Possibly you’re weary of getting mocked and tuned out when you try to witness to your coworkers or schoolmates. Maybe it’s the daily grind and staying sweet and Christ-focused in the drain of the mundane. Sometimes we pour ourselves serving others for Christ’s sake, and it can get exhausting in many ways. Especially if those we are serving don’t appreciate it or respond to Jesus.

I want to encourage you: Christ knows, He sees, and someday He will reward. He is pleased even if we don’t see any visible, earthly results. We do it for Him, and it is never in vain! Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58).

Let love for Jesus keep us serving Him. Love for Him, and His love in us for others (Gal. 5:22, Rom. 5:5) will keep us going when every other motivation has failed and we have grown weary. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (1 Cor. 13:13).

Patience of Hope

Hope is a word that gets tossed around often, but it’s not used in the Bible the way we use it. We use “hope” to express a desire for something that we are not sure will be fulfilled. But in God’s word, hope means confident expectation in God based on His promises. We believe that He will do what He says and we live our lives anchored in His promises!

Promises like Psalm 9:9-10, 16:11, 17:15, 23:5, 37:1-5, 74:23-24, 121, Isaiah 40:27-31, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:24 and Hebrews 13:5 enable us to wait patiently in trials and live with joy instead of despair. The hope we have in Christ is so strengthening! When you know for sure that a promise will be fulfilled, you can live with peace, assurance, and confidence that this world knows nothing of. You can wait for the fulfilment with patience, knowing it will come.

Some of my favorite promises have to do with a future day! For our ultimate hope is of a future resurrection. Those of us who’ve trusted Christ have this hope and assurance—we will be with Christ forever. Either when we draw our last breath, or when He comes and brings us to be with Him, we will dwell with Him eternally!

In fact, Scripture says that the whole creation is waiting in hope for Christ to return and make all things new. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it (Romans 8:23-25).

We don’t yet see the fulfilment of our hope—but because our hope is certain, we patiently wait for Christ’s return. In this hope we can abide and rejoice through the changing circumstances of life.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (John 11:25).

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:1-3).

This isn’t a guess, a vague desire, or an uncertain longing. This is a confident, glorious, wonderful positivity! Because He lives, we shall live also. And so we can face tomorrow with courage and patience born of hope. We have a wonderful future, and the best is yet to be.