Our Only Hope In Life And Death
In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus gives us an important lesson in hope without using that word. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
There are two reasons Jesus gives for His disciples to lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth: First, what or whom we are trusting for our treasure (our hope for happiness) other than God directs the heart in that same direction and away from God. Second, earthly treasures are not lasting, but heavenly treasures are. In other words, they are a better investment and reflect a better object of hope.
What Jesus teaches here reveals that whatever we put our hope in other than God is a poor replacement for Him. Is your hope in your house and never allowing change to your familiar setting? There will come a day you must leave that home for the last time, in a family member’s car to the assisted living center, in an ambulance to the hospital, or in a hearse to the funeral home. Is your hope your physical ability and health? Someday they will be in your rearview mirror. Are you placing your hope in your vocation? Your working days are numbered.
There is only one hope that we have in life that is certain and lasting, since it goes beyond death, and that is to know that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and we have a true relationship with God (John 3:16; 1 John 1:3, 7).
This is the focus of the first question and answer of The New City Catechism, which reads: “What is our only hope in life and death? Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
“Our only hope in life and death” speaks of the only ultimate object of hope that is certain and cannot be taken away. Standing behind the statement that, “We are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ,” is the awareness that the history of redemption and the Scriptures are organized around covenants that God makes with people that show He has committed Himself to be their God and for them to be His people, belonging to Him (Ex. 6:7; 19:4-6; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:27; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:7).
The idea of covenant also highlights that God chooses, saves, and transforms His people by His sovereign grace. When a person has truly trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, this means they are objects of God’s sovereign grace and love, which assures us of a certain future and eternity. This, then, is the point of this first question. Paul words the truth this way in Romans 14:7–8: "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s."
The New City Catechism follows the Heidelberg Catechism (1562) in both including this question and answer and placing it first. It is not hard to see why. This is one of the most important questions we can ask and answer, and to settle in our own life. Make it your ambition to live by and in line with the truths communicated here. We belong to Him and He is committed to us. As such, the final words of Psalm 23 provide unequaled comfort: “Surely goodness and steadfast love shall hotly pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
Tom
There are two reasons Jesus gives for His disciples to lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth: First, what or whom we are trusting for our treasure (our hope for happiness) other than God directs the heart in that same direction and away from God. Second, earthly treasures are not lasting, but heavenly treasures are. In other words, they are a better investment and reflect a better object of hope.
What Jesus teaches here reveals that whatever we put our hope in other than God is a poor replacement for Him. Is your hope in your house and never allowing change to your familiar setting? There will come a day you must leave that home for the last time, in a family member’s car to the assisted living center, in an ambulance to the hospital, or in a hearse to the funeral home. Is your hope your physical ability and health? Someday they will be in your rearview mirror. Are you placing your hope in your vocation? Your working days are numbered.
There is only one hope that we have in life that is certain and lasting, since it goes beyond death, and that is to know that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and we have a true relationship with God (John 3:16; 1 John 1:3, 7).
This is the focus of the first question and answer of The New City Catechism, which reads: “What is our only hope in life and death? Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
“Our only hope in life and death” speaks of the only ultimate object of hope that is certain and cannot be taken away. Standing behind the statement that, “We are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ,” is the awareness that the history of redemption and the Scriptures are organized around covenants that God makes with people that show He has committed Himself to be their God and for them to be His people, belonging to Him (Ex. 6:7; 19:4-6; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:27; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:7).
The idea of covenant also highlights that God chooses, saves, and transforms His people by His sovereign grace. When a person has truly trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, this means they are objects of God’s sovereign grace and love, which assures us of a certain future and eternity. This, then, is the point of this first question. Paul words the truth this way in Romans 14:7–8: "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s."
The New City Catechism follows the Heidelberg Catechism (1562) in both including this question and answer and placing it first. It is not hard to see why. This is one of the most important questions we can ask and answer, and to settle in our own life. Make it your ambition to live by and in line with the truths communicated here. We belong to Him and He is committed to us. As such, the final words of Psalm 23 provide unequaled comfort: “Surely goodness and steadfast love shall hotly pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
Tom
Posted in Shepherding From a Joyful Pastor
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