Boiled down to its essentials hope is expectation. It differs from faith in the following respects. Faith in the Greek language is: πίστις [pistis /pis•tis defined as a conviction of the truth of anything or belief; the belief in a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. The conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. A strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. Belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same and fidelity and faithfulness, the character of one who can be relied on.
Contrasting hope and faith, the Bible says: “Now faith is the assurance [substance] of things hoped [expected] for, the conviction [evidence] of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds [ages, epochs] were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:1-3). Faith is the first step in a walk with God. By faith, and our confession, we receive Jesus into our lives even though we cannot see Him. But Hebrews 11 goes on to point out the limitations of faith as it relates to the big picture. Hebrews 11:4-37 speaks of all the great men of faith and all the things they did and accomplished. However in Hebrews 11:39-40 the writer says: “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect”. Although these great men of faith saw the promise at a distance, and embraced it by faith, they did not receive the promise that was reserved for us who walk under the New Covenant of Christ. So you could say their faith did not in and of itself produce fulfillment.
Hope goes one step further in that it not only has faith but it has an expectation that we will see it, in the here and now. The Dictionary definition of hope includes: “to cherish a desire with anticipation, to desire with expectation of obtainment, to expect with confidence, desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment also expectation of fulfillment or success” (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, 11th Ed.). Hope is an unadulterated cry for the fulfillment of a thing that has been seen, sometimes afar off, by our faith.
Isaiah describes hope: “Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;” (Isaiah 26:8-9). Hope is an eager anticipation; an impatient waiting.
David cried: “As the deer pants [longs for] for the water brooks, So my soul pants [longs for] You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2). Here David expresses more than a belief (faith) in God but expects to appear before the face of God, and waits eagerly for it.
This hope we have serves as an anchor, pitched within the veil (meaning into the very presence of God). We have anchored in God! Now the storms can be very rough here below; there can be many instances where we feel that our life is nothing more than just continual turmoil and conflict, yet if we have this hope anchored in God, we will find in every respect there will be a joy and a rejoicing and an anticipation of the better things that are to come.
But God sets before us the rejoicing of hope, a hope of many things that are to come. This hope causes our hearts to thrill as time goes on. Our hope is like an anchor, both sure and steadfast, anchored within the veil, into the presence of our God. It is a real and living hope.
Let’s look at the amazing sources, or the springs of hope, in our heart: … we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation works patience; and patience experience; and experience, hope” (Romans 5:3, 4 KJV). A man who has real hope in his life is a man who has come up against life often enough to know that the great catastrophes and problems that would swamp him do not occur as consistently and effectively as one sometimes thinks. A man who gives up without hope is a man who does not realize that many a time there can be a dozen reverses consecutively in his life and that suddenly there will spring forth a pattern of success and blessing. The Christian knows the same thing. We glory in the tribulation we go through, knowing that the tribulation will work endurance in us, the endurance will work an experience, and that experience gives birth to a real living hope in our life.
In Ephesians 1:10–20 we read that this hope comes from being called by God—“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling”. Down in the heart, God places a hope of His calling, something that seems to live and move within our hearts. We know that God has called us. We know that He intends to meet our lives and to bless us richly. So, that living hope is there within us—the hope of His calling.
This hope comes by the grace of God. II Thessalonians 2:16 says, “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work”. There may be momentary periods of despair, but God is always faithful, who will again bring forth such a living, vital hope within the lives of his people. That’s God’s way of working in our lives.
There are things that happen to your life by hope. Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoicing in hope” and Romans 8:24 says we are saved by hope. So we can see that there is a rejoicing and there is a salvation that lingers in our life through the hope of God. Hebrews 3:6 reads, “We hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end”. Hope keeps us steadfast. Much of the stability that comes to a person’s life is not coming because the circumstances round about them are so encouraging, but because they’re hopeful, therefore they are steadfast in the Lord.
The New Covenant of Christ brought forth hope of a better salvation. Before Christ man was caught in futility with no real hope of a permanent salvation. “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed [guaranteed] with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:17-20).
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:11-12).
Religion and Clergy Malpractice
Churches or its ministers be sued for malpractice in the courts such as doctors and other professionals? Some say that subjecting churches to liability for malfeasance is a violation of the first amendment and produces a "chilling effect" on religion as a whole.
First of all, some see organized religion as a threat to society (one can draw a large polarity between religion and true spirituality). The current state of religion is about the dollar, membership numbers and visibility (via television for instance). Also popular is the compromise of spiritual principles in the name of making the religion more palatable to the masses. Religion is used to obtain political and/or moral goals and is a vast opiate for society in that society is lulled into a false sense of security, claiming possession of some tenet or another that they really don't have. Religion is one big advertisement for its particular brand of spiritually (or lack of it). Denominations number into
