{"id":1964,"date":"2016-07-31T10:06:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-31T00:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=1964"},"modified":"2023-03-06T19:42:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T08:42:31","slug":"faith-love-and-hope-in-christ-31-07-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=1964","title":{"rendered":"Faith, Love and Hope in Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"
Faith, Love and Hope in Christ.<\/span>
\nLuke 10: 25 \u2013 37; Colossians 1: 1 – 14<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The letter to the church in Colossae provides us with a marvellous insight into Christian Faith.\u00a0 The opening paragraphs contain a rich lode of spiritual gold. They contain the treasure and truth of the Christian life. Understand them, apply them and you have the Christian Faith.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One way of seeing these opening verses is through the metaphor of a new plant in your garden. You\u2019ve been given a new plant that you are told will grow and multiply and make your garden beautiful.\u00a0 You trust your friend and put into action what is suggested, motivated by the hope of a prettier garden. You plant it and nurture the plant. It grows and multiplies slowly but surely. And truly it does beautify your garden. The plant bears the promised fruit of delightful flowers that enrich your and others\u2019 lives. We have trusted our friend, planted their gift and with hope we anticipated what it would do. We were motivated by the hope of a beautiful garden our reliable and loving friend promised us.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossian Christians is in the style of letter writing of the day, but with significant differences. His greeting contains a blessing and an assurance from God, which is guaranteed by him being an apostle \u2013 one who is sent from God. Then Paul offers a prayer. Firstly, he starts with thanksgiving.\u00a0 Secondly, he prays for the Colossian Christians asking God to nurture their growth in \u2018wisdom and understanding\u2019 [v.9].\u00a0 His thanksgiving prayer uses three key words \u2013 faith, love and hope – that are found elsewhere and especially in that famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13, the hymn of love, which is the favourite for marriage services. So let us consider this text by focusing on faith, love and hope. Let us do so by noticing their relationship to each other and their order.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The order of the words, faith, love and hope, presents us with an insight worthy of our attention. Paul writes; we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. [Col 1:4,5] The logic of the order and the grammar tells us an important truth about the Christian life.\u00a0 It tells us that our Faith in Christ Jesus is expressed in Love and based on the life, death, resurrection and future of God revealed in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 So the Christian life is a life of faith expressed through love for others. The Christian life is grounded by the hope that whatever may happen our future rests with God. Let us reflect on each of these three key words faith, love and hope.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Faith in Christ.\u00a0 The common meaning of \u2018faith\u2019 is that one believes in something or someone and that faith orders your life to some extent. When we speak of someone\u2019s faith we are speaking about their orientation. They have faith in that or this. They believe these things. It is helpful to distinguish between faith and belief. Belief refers to a set of ideas or statements about someone or something. Belief is an intellectual process. It resides in our head. We can articulate our beliefs. However do we have faith in our beliefs?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I want to draw a distinction between faith as a set of beliefs and faith as trusting and living. Faith can refer to a set of beliefs we have or faith can refer to what we trust in. Belief is an intellectual process and trust is an emotional commitment.\u00a0 You might believe that someone can do something, but do you trust them to do it?\u00a0 Once we move from faith as a set of beliefs to faith as trusting in those beliefs we have moved up gear. When we start trusting someone or something we enter into a new relationship with the person or object.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The letter to the Colossians does not speak of the recipients\u2019 faith about Christ Jesus but their faith in Christ Jesus. The preposition \u2018in\u2019 is significant. It expresses the sense of entering into something, being involved and a follower. I might believe that Jesus is the Christ, that he died and he rose from the dead and is divine, but it does not necessarily mean I trust Christ Jesus; that is, I live my life by Jesus\u2019 standards. What distinguishes faith as belief and faith as trust are the consequences of my belief. And that is precisely what Paul focuses on here \u2013 the consequences of the Colossian Christians\u2019 faith.\u00a0 Paul has heard about their faith in Christ and their love for others.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Love in Christ.\u00a0 Love is not seen here as being separate from faith in Christ. Faith and love are inseparable. Paul acknowledgement of the Colossian Christians\u2019 faith rests on the fact that lives bear the fruit of Christian love.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t thanking God for them being members of the Church in Colossae, but thanking God for the fruit of their faith.\u00a0 In verses 4 \u2013 7 Paul twice refers to their love and mentions they are bearing the fruit of the Gospel.\u00a0 <\/span>
\nThe gospel \u2026 is bearing fruit among yourselves \u2026 .\u00a0\u00a0 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. \u2026 he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. [Vv.5 – 8]<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Faith describes my life from the perspective of its orientation. When I talk about my beliefs I am talking about my orientation; that is, what matters to me and what drives me.\u00a0 Love describes my life from the perspective of its effect on others. Love is necessary to Faith as oxygen is necessary to breathing.\u00a0 You can\u2019t breathe without oxygen neither can you be a Christian without loving others. The 1st letter of John makes it quite clear when the writer says; Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.\u00a0 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [1 Jn 4:7,8] These words challenge us. When I say I am a Christian does my attitude to others confirm that claim?\u00a0 Do I love others?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Hope in Christ. Paul writes; we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. [Col 1:4,5] Hope is not an extra addition to the first two concepts, but an important part of the parcel. Hope is the foundation for Faith and Love. Why is that so? Firstly, let me offer a word of caution. There is no evidence that this letter suggests that being a Christian is all about going to heaven one day. As we study this text, and I propose to preach on the text of Colossians over the next four to five Sundays, you will see that this letter is concerned about living life in the community now. (By the way you can follow the sermon series on the Leighmoor website and you can join the study group at Leighmoor.)<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Hope acts like a vision or goal statement. We have an imaginary picture in our mind of achieving something. It may be a professional goal or a sporting goal or travelling goal. That picture of the future goal tends to direct our living today. We start preparing ourselves. We construct our living and actions around that vision or goal. In effect we make plans and take action. God\u2019s future is like that too.\u00a0 God calls us into God\u2019s future. God\u2019s future is not heaven beyond this world, but heaven coming down to earth. Heaven for me is really like God\u2019s \u2018control tower\u2019.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer tells us that we will do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven.\u00a0 God\u2019s future is about living in peace. God\u2019s peace is not the absence of war, but the wholeness of life where there is reconciliation between enemies, forgiveness, care and justice. God\u2019s future is life without chains and exploitation. God\u2019s future is without violence and fear.\u00a0 God\u2019s future pulls us into God\u2019s future. We are drawn to it and it is drawn to us. Let me try explaining it this way.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Our culture tells us that everything happens by cause and effect. The notion of \u2018cause and effect\u2019 is that the past pushes us into the future. We would conclude that certain things happen in the past that bring us here. Now there is some truth in that.\u00a0 But God comes to us in Christ Jesus and changes that around. Christ Jesus calls us to follow him and through his love, his forgiveness and his acceptance of us. God\u2019s future blessings are received now. We live as being accepted by God. We live as people already forgiven. We live as people who are living lives, albeit inadequately at times, that reflect God\u2019s future.\u00a0 Every time we stop to love the unlovable and forgive the unforgiveable we are bringing God\u2019s future into the present. So where there is a loving community of Christ followers there is peace and justice, compassion and acceptance.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Our hope in God\u2019s future pulls us into God\u2019s tomorrow where love for each other abounds and faithful relationships endure.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Faith can only be real when we Love, and love can only survive when nurtured by Hope. Faith, Love and Hope work together to create God\u2019s tomorrow. Men and women of God know that when we fail to love we fail our God. When we fail to love we dishonour Christ Jesus.\u00a0 From time to time we will fail, but by the mercy of God we can be forgiven and renewed.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
*******<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC:\u00a0 31\/07\/2016<\/span>
\npgwhitaker@tpg.com.au<\/span>
\n\u00a0\/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faith, Love and Hope in Christ. Luke 10: 25 \u2013 37; Colossians 1: 1 – 14 The letter to the church in Colossae provides us with a marvellous insight into Christian Faith.\u00a0 The opening paragraphs contain a rich lode of spiritual gold. They contain the treasure and truth of the Christian life. Understand them, apply them and you have the Christian Faith. One way of seeing these opening verses is through the metaphor of a new plant in your garden. You\u2019ve been given a new plant that you are told will grow and multiply and make your garden beautiful.\u00a0 You trust your friend and put into action what is suggested, motivated by the hope of a prettier garden. You plant it and nurture the plant. It grows and multiplies slowly but surely. And truly it does beautify your garden. The plant bears the promised fruit of delightful flowers that enrich your and others\u2019 lives. We have trusted our friend, planted their gift and with hope we anticipated what it would do. We were motivated by the hope of a beautiful garden our reliable and loving friend promised us. Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossian Christians is in the style of letter writing of the day, but with significant differences. His greeting contains a blessing and an assurance from God, which is guaranteed by him being an apostle \u2013 one who is sent from God. Then Paul offers a prayer. Firstly, he starts with thanksgiving.\u00a0 Secondly, he prays for the Colossian Christians asking God to nurture their growth in \u2018wisdom and understanding\u2019 [v.9].\u00a0 His thanksgiving prayer uses three key words \u2013 faith, love and hope – that are found elsewhere and especially in that famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13, the hymn of love, which is the favourite for marriage services. So let us consider this text by focusing on faith, love and hope. Let us do so by noticing their relationship to each other and their order. The order of the words, faith, love and hope, presents us with an insight worthy of our attention. Paul writes; we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. [Col 1:4,5] The logic of the order and the grammar tells us an important truth about the Christian life.\u00a0 It tells us that our Faith in Christ Jesus is expressed in Love and based on the life, death, resurrection and future of God revealed in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 So the Christian life is a life of faith expressed through love for others. The Christian life is grounded by the hope that whatever may happen our future rests with God. Let us reflect on each of these three key words faith, love and hope. Faith in Christ.\u00a0 The common meaning of \u2018faith\u2019 is that one believes in something or someone and that faith orders your life to some extent. When we speak of someone\u2019s faith we are speaking about their orientation. They have faith in that or this. They believe these things. It is helpful to distinguish between faith and belief. Belief refers to a set of ideas or statements about someone or something. Belief is an intellectual process. It resides in our head. We can articulate our beliefs. However do we have faith in our beliefs? I want to draw a distinction between faith as a set of beliefs and faith as trusting and living. Faith can refer to a set of beliefs we have or faith can refer to what we trust in. Belief is an intellectual process and trust is an emotional commitment.\u00a0 You might believe that someone can do something, but do you trust them to do it?\u00a0 Once we move from faith as a set of beliefs to faith as trusting in those beliefs we have moved up gear. When we start trusting someone or something we enter into a new relationship with the person or object. The letter to the Colossians does not speak of the recipients\u2019 faith about Christ Jesus but their faith in Christ Jesus. The preposition \u2018in\u2019 is significant. It expresses the sense of entering into something, being involved and a follower. I might believe that Jesus is the Christ, that he died and he rose from the dead and is divine, but it does not necessarily mean I trust Christ Jesus; that is, I live my life by Jesus\u2019 standards. What distinguishes faith as belief and faith as trust are the consequences of my belief. And that is precisely what Paul focuses on here \u2013 the consequences of the Colossian Christians\u2019 faith.\u00a0 Paul has heard about their faith in Christ and their love for others. Love in Christ.\u00a0 Love is not seen here as being separate from faith in Christ. Faith and love are inseparable. Paul acknowledgement of the Colossian Christians\u2019 faith rests on the fact that lives bear the fruit of Christian love.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t thanking God for them being members of the Church in Colossae, but thanking God for the fruit of their faith.\u00a0 In verses 4 \u2013 7 Paul twice refers to their love and mentions they are bearing the fruit of the Gospel.\u00a0 The gospel \u2026 is bearing fruit among yourselves \u2026 .\u00a0\u00a0 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. \u2026 he has made known to us your love in the Spirit. [Vv.5 – 8] Faith describes my life from the perspective of its orientation. When I talk about my beliefs I am talking about my orientation; that is, what matters to me and what drives me.\u00a0 Love describes my life from the perspective of its effect on others. Love is necessary to Faith as oxygen is necessary to breathing.\u00a0 You can\u2019t breathe without oxygen neither can you be a Christian without loving others. The 1st letter of John makes it quite clear when the writer says; Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"news_plugin_small":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",700,525,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/outside-view.jpg",2048,1536,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Rev Peter Whitaker","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/peter"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Faith, Love and Hope in Christ. Luke 10: 25 \u2013 37; Colossians 1: 1 – 14 The letter to the church in Colossae provides us with a marvellous insight into Christian Faith.\u00a0 The opening paragraphs contain a rich lode of spiritual gold. They contain the treasure and truth of the Christian life. 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