The Church in Denial

God has given his people an incomparable Hope. He gave it to us to inspire us in the midst of troubles, temptations, and even tribulation. The Christian Hope is a grace from God—one that has the potential to bind us together, if we believe. God intends to unite Christians in the One Hope just as he has made us One Body with One Lord, Jesus Christ.

Most people simply suppose that anyone who calls themself a Christian must truly be a Christian, but that’s a very dangerous presumption. Let’s not presume that someone is a brother or sister in Christ until we have judiciously administered the test of unity—do they hold firmly to the seven Truths of the what Ephesians 4:3 calls ‘the unity of the spirit’?

One of the seven Truths that make for spiritual unity is the same Hope. The One Hope is an indispensable aspect of Christian unity. Do the people you know who call themselves Christians have the same Hope you do—or not? A direct question deserves a direct answer, so why not ask them straight up: “What is your hope?” If they do not have the Hope Christ preached, your unity with them is a mirage.

Singing Wrong

In 2001, the American singer Tim Hughes launched the song Light of the World (AKA Here I am to Worship). If you’ve been around Evangelical churches for long, you have probably heard it. Mr. Hughes strikes upon the central theme of the song when he sings to Jesus about the “hope of a life spent with you.” That sounds nice, and it’s certainly a wonderful thing to spend our lives with Jesus—but is that the Christian Hope?

Are we supposed to preach the Hope as "spending our lives with Jesus"? No, the Hope is to spend our eternity with Jesus, not just this life!

Mr. Hughes' phrase “a life spent with you” demonstrates that he sings of a hope in this life now. That specific hope does not match the Hope of the apostles. Consider Paul, for example, who said that if we hope in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19). You can see that the apostle Paul and most Evangelicals have two entirely different concepts of what the Christian Hope is.

Hope Ministries

What’s at stake with Christianity is not just a song, but a fundamental principle--one of the seven pillars of Christianity, the Hope. Across the board, Evangelical ministries have gotten things terribly wrong.

Perform a search on the Internet on the word hope and countless Evangelical ministries will pop up. They present themselves as ministries to the poor, to orphans, and to drug addicts. Then, if you keep searching the word hope, you'll find ministries to the homeless, the hungry, abandoned children, and victims of domestic violence.

For nine years (from 2005-2016) our family was so poor that we could only afford to buy second-hand clothing. A lot of it we would buy at a store called Doors of Hope. During that time, we attended a church called New Hope for Life, which was dedicated to helping people bounce back from life’s trials. They ran the thrift shop which also had a food pantry for poor people like us.

The New Hope assistance helped, and we thank God for them. But they did not teach on the Kingdom of God. Why so much mention of hope, but no mention of the One Hope--the One that the apostles proclaimed? Has the Church lost touch with the original meaning of the Biblical term Hope?

The recently divorced, people recovering from alcoholism, and those suffering from terminal illnesses such as cancer, leukemia, or AIDS are also the focus of the most popular ministries of hope. One such ministry, Living Hope (you can find it at livehope.org), is aimed at helping people overcome homosexual tendencies.

But again, is this what the Bible means when it speaks of Hope? No, definitely not.

Rick Warren’s Ministry

Still another hope-based ministry is led by the famous Rick Warren. Now, Mr. Warren has been one of the United States’ premier pastors from 1995 to the time of this publication in 2024. He was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in the World in 2004, 2005, and 2009. He is affectionately known by millions as “Pastor Rick” and the church he pastors is located in California.

Among the top four ministries Rick Warren currently presents on his website are these two: Daily Hope and Hope for Mental Health. You can tell that he puts a big emphasis on hope. He considers himself a counsellor to people with suicidal tendencies, and he has experienced suicide in his own family.

Back in 2017, Rick Warren presented his ministry Daily Hope like this:

People are discouraged and everyone needs hope. We know that hope comes from the Scriptures. Discouragement is rampant... in the weak economic recovery and high rate of joblessness, the natural disasters, painful school shootings, gridlock among political leaders and much more. Society is coarsening and there is a clear loss of civility. People need to hear the Gospel and the hope in Christ more than ever.

Sound convincing? Sure it does, but there’s something terribly awry here, so look again. There’s a subtle but gaping error you likely missed in Mr. Warren’s statement. He contrasts hope with discouragement--particularly the discouragement that comes from a weak local/national economy, unemployment, natural disasters, school shootings, and political gridlock. But that’s not what the Biblical Hope is about!

Let’s say that we overcome all the discouragement Mr. Warren mentions, and the USA actually becomes the place of civility to which Mr. Warren aspires—then what? Will the Christian Hope have come to fruition? Will it then have been fulfilled? No, no, no, and a thousand times no. As we mentioned previously:

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19; NASB).

The Christian Hope is in the afterlife. It is in the World to Come. We want more than anybody for people with diseases, passing through poverty and crises would feel hopeful. And we're just as happy as any other Christian to minister to special needs—that’s all good and fine.

However, to frame the concept of the Christian Hope in the context of special needs is deceptive and misleading. To frame the Hope of the Gospel as the solution to a weak economy, unemployment, natural disasters, school shootings, and political gridlock is just as bad as the Prosperity Gospel.

In this World you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the World (John 16:33).

It is a massive disservice to the cause of Christ to tell people who are suffering that their hope is to overcome the troubles of this life. We will have troubles. It's the World that we will overcome, not the troubles of this World. And we overcome this World through our Hope in the Kingdom.

The Good News of the Kingdom

So, what is the cause of Christ? It’s the Kingdom. We are to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God! The Kingdom is the Hope we announce—the World to Come.

… the crowds learned about it [where Jesus was] and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God… (Luke 9:11)

The Church must speak the same things Christ spoke about. Our words must match his. We have to have the same cause as Christ—or we cease being the Light of the World.

Take an honest look around you and you’ll see that the Evangelical Church has already ceased to be the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15)--it has turned away from sound doctrine.

Why is that?

Essentially because the Church doesn’t even preach the Gospel of the Kingdom anymore. How can the Church mature if its fundamental message is skewered?

Having our marriages restored or our rebellious kids turn from pre-marital sex, alcohol, and worldly music is not the Hope Jesus preached. Opening an IDP camp for displaced people, a food pantry for the homeless, a shelter for teen runaways, or counselling for battered women is wonderful work—and anyone who does those things by faith will be generously rewarded by God--however, it's not the Great Commission.

... this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole World as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

Go into all the World and preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15).

By participating in one of these "hope" ministries, you are not necessarily instilling the Christian Hope in anyone. You only transmit the Good News if you share this message with them: that the Kingdom of God is coming to Earth--and that when Jesus comes back there will be no more system of this World.

Tell them that 'the last will be first and the first will be last.' Convince people of God's promise of a Kingdom in which Jesus will rule sovereignly.

Do your actions and words demonstrate a Beatitude attitude? Can you rejoice when you are scorned, rejected, slandered, and persecuted for the Word of God and the name of Jesus? If you do, then yours is the Kingdom of God! When people ask you for the reason of the Hope that is within you, you'll be ready to answer.

... always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the Hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15; NKJV).

Do you put the Gospel of the Kingdom in the place it deserves—the first place? Does your behavior and do your words demonstrate that you are living for the Kingdom? That is, are you living for the rewards to come in the next life, or are you pursuing the rewards of this life (money, fame, pleasure, family, comfort, and success)?

Is the Hope that Jesus will return to rule on the Earth your deepest joy and prayer? If not, then you’re not equipped to minister the Good News.

The hope you preach is a cheap imitation of the true Hope. If your hope is in this life, no matter what you tell people, it cannot truly free people from their burdens, sicknesses, or troubles. We need to have a hope of an eternity spent with Jesus, not a hope in this life!