The three abiding Christian qualities
The Christian life produces three enduring qualities: faith, love, and hope. Faith serves as our gateway to salvation through God’s grace, not through our own works. God’s Love, demonstrated supremely in Christ’s sacrifice, transforms us, and enables us to love others. Hope extends beyond mere wishful thinking—it represents the certainty of Christ’s return and the completion of our salvation. These three qualities work together as the foundation of authentic Christian living, with the Holy Spirit both the empowerment as well as serving as our guarantee of the outcome to come.
Automatically Generated Transcript
[00:00:00] Peace be with all of you. My name is Alan. Or if you call me Alan, if you like. Some Asians call me Alan. And it’s a great privilege for me to share from God’s word today. Not sure if everybody knows it, but Pastor Jim, he’s actually in Toowoomba, featuring in the church there. So I’m trying to fill in his,
[00:00:25] quite a large size shoes, very nice shoes too sometimes. My topic today is the three abiding Christian qualities. I prepared this when I was on holiday with my good wife, Angeline, in Toowoomba. So I apologize that I don’t have a PowerPoint with me today. So we are all children of our age. Growing up as a teen in Singapore, it was parties and pop songs. Parties weren’t for me.
[00:01:07] I was more than a little shy with the opposite agenda, and I just couldn’t dance. I think the last time I danced many years ago now, my partner said I was just jumping around. So parties weren’t for me, but it was for me, pop songs. Those were the days of record players, anybody have a record player at home? Yeah. And it was the days of Jim Reeves,
[00:01:40] Cliff Richards, Elvis Presley, and a bit later, the Beatles. God has a mysterious way of working. Some of these artists, so to speak, also recorded Christian songs. Like Whispering Hope, Welcome to My World, and my favorites, I’d Rather Have Jesus. I wasn’t a Christian then, but I knew some of these songs. And so I was pleasantly surprised
[00:02:17] when I started to go to the YF in a church nearby home then, that they sang some of these songs. And one of these was a very popular one called Faith, Hope, and Charity. It goes something like this. Have faith, hope, and charity. That’s the way to live successfully. How do I know the Bible tells me so? Anybody know the song?
[00:02:48] Oh. The last words that I just said, the Bible tells me so. How do I know the Bible tells me so? Anybody know which reference the Bible talks about this? Faith, hope, and charity. Come on. Well done. 1 Corinthians 13, 13. So 1 Corinthians 13, 13,
[00:03:17] and now these three abide. Faith, hope, and love. For the greatest of these is love. Now we look at these three abiding Christian attributes today or this morning, but in a slightly different order. The order as in 1 Thessalonians 3, that is faith, love, and hope. Now I know a lot of you are Bible, very knowledgeable in the Bible here.
[00:03:52] So here’s a teaser. Why did Paul change the order in 1 Thessalonians compared to 1 Corinthians 13, 13? Why did he change the order to faith, love, and then hope? If you think you know the answer after the service, grab a cup of coffee and we can have a chat about it. So we would start with faith, faith, love, and hope. We start with faith. What we do is we look at the key verse,
[00:04:32] then a key chapter, and then a key book. A key verse, a key chapter, and then a key book on each of these three abiding qualities. When I was in Bible college, I like questions best that has no wrong answers. All we need to do is just to justify our answer. So some of you, I’m sure, for you, the key verse on faith would be a verse in Hebrews 11. But my choice is actually Ephesians two, eight A.
[00:05:15] Ephesians chapter two, verse eight A. It is by grace you have been saved through faith. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Bible referencing, verse eight A simply means the first part of the verse, which we just want to address too. So again, my choice of key verse for faith is Ephesians two, eight A. It is by grace you have been saved to faith. I choose this because I believe
[00:05:51] that this is our statement of belief as Christians, our statement of faith if you like. We’re saved by God through faith in Jesus. We’re saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus. This salvation is a gift from God, a free gift from God. We cannot earn it and we do not deserve it. It is a gift, a gift is a gift. But it has to be received and the way we receive salvation from God, this free gift of God, grace, is to have faith in Jesus, meaning we believe
[00:06:41] in who Jesus is, we accept what he has done on the cross for us, shedding his blood for my sin, the sin of the world for us, and then to appropriate, to assimilate the spirit of Christ in our life, that is to have Christ in our daily life. Again, this is our statement of faith and therefore have chosen this particular verse. The reference continues to say, we are safe not by good works, but we are safe to do good works, meaning God’s Word.
[00:07:21] I think the origin of the word good is actually God. So we are not saved by good works, we can never be saved by our good works to speak, they’re filthy wrecks, but we are saved to do good works, That is, the work that God has given us. So that is my key verse for faith, Ephesians 2aa, it is by grace you have been saved through faith. Now my key chapter on faith, I think you guessed right, is Hebrews 11, the faith chapter. Quite a long chapter, so I will just highlight
[00:08:07] four verses. Verse one, faith is being sure of what we are hopeful and certain of what we do not see. Here, faith is defined in two ways, two things. A, being sure of what we’re hopeful and B, being certain of what we do not see. Now interestingly, this verse is actually expounded a few verses later in verse six in the kesma. Kesma is a Greek, a letter of the Greek alphabet.
[00:08:48] So it begins with B first. So taking one B, that is certain of what we do not see, we read in 6A as a kesma. Without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must first believe He exists. And then the second part of the kesma, taking 1A to 6B, it says, He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Putting the whole thing together, verse six,
[00:09:26] faith means first of all, we must believe that there is a God, that God exists. That’s the first thing about faith, that is a God, He exists. And then secondly, He can be found by anyone who sincerely and diligently seek Him. That is to enter into a relationship with Him. Brothers and sisters, what a tremendous promise that we can hold on to. He can be found by anyone who sincerely
[00:10:05] and diligently seek Him. God is not a creator, God who created the world and went for the long holiday, and He may or may not come back, He may forget to come back. That is not Christianity at all. Then in the rest of Hebrews 11, that fifth chapter, as we all know, we have a roll call of faithful man and woman in the Old Testament. Now, we don’t have the time to go through the whole list,
[00:10:40] but I just highlight two verses from this list of faithful man and woman, two verses, which always makes me shed a tear or two, each time I read it. All right. The first one is in verse 16b, that means second part of verse 16. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. Hebrews 16b, therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God.
[00:11:20] I do wonder if God is ashamed to call me my God. And the second verse that often makes me shed a tear or two when I read it is in 38a, verse 38, the first part, the world was not worthy of them. And I sometimes ask myself, am I even half worthy of such an epitaph? The world was not worthy of him. Now, while Hebrews 11 is my key chapter on faith, Romans is my key book. Just to highlight a few references,
[00:12:13] Romans 11, in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith, from first to last. As it is written, the righteous will live by faith. That’s quoting Habakruch 2,4. In the gospel, a righteousness from God is reviewed, a righteousness that is by faith, from first to last, My say this region, the righteous will live by faith. Brothers and sisters, faith is from the beginning to the end, our faith from the beginning
[00:12:58] to bearing you know God to believe in faith and then of living faith. Christian life is faith from the beginning to the end, our believing faith, right to our living faith. The next one, 4-3, there’s Romans 4-3. Abraham believed God and was credited to him as righteousness. In other words, our spiritual ancestors, our spiritual forebears also came to God by faith, by grace through faith.
[00:13:36] No contradictions between what is taught in the Old Testament and the New. Even before Christ, before the Christ event, people like Abraham and others were saved by God through faith. I don’t have the time to dig into that, but this is what scripture says. The last one, Romans 5, 1-2, since we have been justified by faith or true faith, we have peace with God to our Lord Jesus Christ,
[00:14:10] through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand. Just putting it into my own words, the verse says, or the verse affirms, that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, and that means we can have access to God as our Father and receive peace from Him and with Him. What a great privilege. We’re saved through faith, and because of that faith in Jesus,
[00:14:42] we have access to God the Father, and we can receive peace from Him and peace with Him. So that is faith. Just say, bird eyes faith, if you like, on faith, key verse, key chapter, and key book. Let us now move on to the second abiding quality, which is charity, old English, old English, love. Now love is an overused word, as we all know. It’s a word that describes an emotion with vastly different meanings.
[00:15:24] Pastor Jim spoke a bit about it several weeks ago, and I’m also reminded a book by C.S. Lewis. I think it’s titled The Four Loves. Excellent book, if the reading type is a good book to read. C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves. Now the Bible speaks of four unique forms of love, and they express in four Greek words, loosely translated romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and divine love. This is a family, romantic love, eros,
[00:16:08] family love, brotherly love, and divine love. And the Bible mostly, mostly, speaks about the last one, the divine, acape, love. Now let me reference to 1 Corinthians 13 in my intro, the introduction. However, for me, the key reference on love is not this beautiful verse in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, by key verses, actually, John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
[00:16:50] but have eternal life. Very familiar verse to us Christians. But I believe it’s a scripture that we can keep meditating for the rest of our life, as not fully, still not fully appreciated. And a prayer that we can pray for one another as a church is in Ephesians 3, 18, 19, when Paul says, I pray that you may with God, with all God’s people, grasp how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of God through Christ.
[00:17:31] John 3, 16, my key verse in love, about God’s love, and it is immense. We wish we can all continue to encourage one another to know how high, how deep, how wide, how long is the love of God for us. And do you know that Jesus actually gave us only one commandment? He gave us only one commandment to obey, and that is a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I loved you.
[00:18:09] As the Christmas carol goes, His law is love, His gospel is peace. If only the world know His love, it would be such a better place to live in. But we as a church can be that little spark that keeps the candor of Christ growing in the areas that we have some influence. So that is my key verse on love, which is John 3, 16. And you guess it, by key chapter on love is 1 Corinthians 13.
[00:18:53] It’s an exposition on agape love, God’s divine love. The wedding ceremonies sometimes use this scripture, but actually it is out of context. Because Corinth was a notorious city for the era’s love, and Paul was here prescribing an antidote for that. Agape, God’s divine love, that is the context. Love within the church, as Jesus said, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another. Now don’t feel bad if you have used
[00:19:40] the 1 Corinthians 13 in weddings. I used it too. In September this year, we married our youngest daughter, Abigail, to her fiancĂ©, who is also based in London. It was an intimate wedding, just one, two, three, five of us crossed a photographer in the forests of Hainan, Hanoi, in Vietnam. We’re supposed to be in the mountains, but because of the typhoon, then we went to the forest instead.
[00:20:14] And I use that verse for the wedding. I quote, love is patient, just verses four to seven. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Four always here, always protects, always trust, always hopes, and always persevere.
[00:21:01] And then finally, love never fails, love never fails. What a beautiful poem on agape love. Surely we can apply to a man and woman on the wedding day, even though it’s a bit out of context. And then my key book on love is actually 1 John. 1 John. The word love appears many times over in this very short letter, the letter of 1 John. Just a few verses here. Chapter three, verse one.
[00:21:44] How great is the love that the Father has leveraged on us that we should be called the children of God. Wow. And vow again. One of my favorite Bible verses. How great is the love the Father has leveraged on us that we should be called his children, his son, his daughter? So let us hang on to that one, a good one to hang on to. Chapter four, verse 10, and this is love. Not that we love God, but he loves us
[00:22:28] and send his son as a toning sacrifice for our sins. A bit like the one we quoted on faith early on. John 1, John 4, 19, we loved because he first loved us. You know, we are not inclined to love except ourselves, perhaps, because of sin. Sin is like a virus that has affected all of us. I think that’s the best imagery that I can think about sin. It’s actually a virus and all human beings have been affected by it.
[00:23:10] So we are not inclined to love except perhaps ourselves because of sin, but God’s love in us by his spirit can change all that. So that is the second abiding Christian attribute, love. Now we come to the third and last one, which is perhaps the most complex and the most involved one, hope. Hope, how many sermons have we heard on hope? Now my Chinese is limited. I’m sure my Chinese friends here will correct me later on,
[00:23:55] but I believe in Chinese, there are two words for hope. Si Huan and Tan Huan. Si Huan is like wishing. You’re just wishing. Oh, I wish it wouldn’t rain tomorrow because I’m playing soccer. I wish, I hope. So Si Huan is like wishing. And then Tan Huan is more than that. It’s longing with fervor, longing.
[00:24:25] Now in the Bible, hope is not wishing, obviously, but it’s not even just longing. It’s more than longing. In the Bible, hope is hope or hope is called hope because it hasn’t happened yet. But it will happen. It will eventually, it will come to fruition. It will become tangible. And there’s hope because in the future. So it is something that will happen but in the future and that’s why it is called hope
[00:25:00] Now because it’s so complex in both actually I struggle To choose which is is my key worst on hope So here are a few a few good candidates as you were candidates versus candidate versus first Corinthians 59 Very good verse if only for this life we have hope We are to be petered more than any other people. I repeat first Corinthians 15 19 If only for this life, we have hope Then we are more to be petered Then met and other people
[00:25:44] So the Christian hope is not just about this life But life beyond beyond the grave So this is a precious verse that gives us much comfort in the troubled world But unfortunately, it doesn’t say a divine hope. So we move to another one Titus 2 13 We wait for the Blessed Hope The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ Now this is good very foundational and to the point We wait for the Blessed Hope which is the appearing in glory of great God and Savior Jesus Christ
[00:26:32] but then It doesn’t say much more because hope is much more than that so in the end I Have set for another one, which is Philippians 3 2021 It’s a longer verse but it covers almost everything on the hope Even though the word itself hope is not there in the verse. So Philippians 3 2021 Our citizenship our citizenship is in heaven Where we await eagerly a savior from there the Lord Jesus Christ who by the power
[00:27:14] That neighbor him should bring everything under his control will transform our loaded bodies So that we will be like his glorious body He says almost everything about hope there it’s a bit long But it covers the fact that it’s not only about Jesus returning Hope is not just about Jesus returning by saying something about what happens When he returns and the worst days talks about He will put everything Under his control the global perspective of putting everything under his control and then the personal perspective That he will transform our lonely bodies so that they will be like his resurrected body.
[00:28:07] So there is a good verse, the key verse for hope, even though it’s a bit long, and the word itself is not there. Having said that, I need to add one other reference, just to supplement it. And that is in Romans five, five, Romans five, five. Hope does not disappoint for God’s love has been put into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. I’ll repeat Romans five, five.
[00:28:43] Hope does not disappoint for God’s love has been put into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to all of us. Let me explain. The Bible speaks of the gift of the Holy Spirit in the believer as a seal, a deposit, a guarantee, a forte, a down payment for our eternal salvation. So the Spirit that’s in the believer is actually evidence and proof that he will give us complete salvation, if you like, when he returns.
[00:29:27] So what I’m saying is that the salvation that we are experiencing now, if you’re not aware of it, is just partial. It’s a down payment. It’s a deposit guaranteeing what is to come when Christ returns. But it’s a good thing to have the Holy Spiritness, because we know that we are His children, His sons and daughters. But our salvation is not complete yet, brothers and sisters, until Christ returns.
[00:30:04] So Revelation 21, 3 and 4. Look, God’s dwelling is now among His people, and He will dwell with them. That’s when Jesus return. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order has passed away with Christ come. He will introduce a new era, a new order, and salvation will be complete in the personal and global levels. So sorry about that.
[00:30:41] The key verse is a bit complicated, complex, but it’s fine. And my key books on hope is First and Second Thessalonians, taken together, the two letters of Paul, First and Second Thessalonians. The Day of the Lord, or Jesus’ return, is the dominant theme in these two letters, First, Second, Thessalonians. In the first letter, the Thessalonians were worried about missing out.
[00:31:15] What happens if someone or a loved one dies before the Lord returns? Paul wrote to encourage them. To me, it’s amazing that the young church in Thessalonica was taught about end times, and the fate of believers and unbelievers so early in the peace. It’s obviously very much part of his gospel, the return of Jesus. And then Second Thessalonians speaks of judgment, not addressed in the first letter, and more and also more
[00:31:56] about his second coming. And chapter two of Second Thessalonians contradicts what some false teachers and fake Pauline letters taught. They say Christ already has returned. So Paul wrote First and Second Thessalonians says, no, Jesus has not returned yet. And he won’t come back until the rebellion. There’s a terminology of First Thessalonians. The other terminology, the Great Tribulation, has appeared.
[00:32:30] Or the man of lawlessness that is anti-Christ is revealed. So Christ has not come back yet, that’s for sure. And my key chapter on hope is the scripture reading that Nick read to us earlier on. From the last section of First Thessalonians to the middle or to the end of the book. So First Thessalonians 4, 13 to 18, the passage that has been read to us, we just go through it quickly. It is about the resurrection and what I call the in-gathering,
[00:33:09] the in-gathering of all believers. So 4, 13, brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep, let’s say, euphemism for being dead. So that you do not grief like others, having no hope. So again, it’s an emphasis that death is not the last word. There’s hope beyond the grave. That is what we Christians believe. 14, I was 14, the basis of the believers’ resurrections in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[00:33:49] The fact that Jesus has rose from the dead means that it is true it will happen that we believers will also rise with Him if we are dead before He comes back. That’s verse 14, verse 15. According to the Lord’s word, those who are alive will not precede those who are dead. Meaning those who are not quite clear, those who are alive in Christ come back will not precede those who are dead
[00:34:15] because, verse 16, when Jesus comes, the trumpets will blow and the resurrection of the dating Christ with what happens first. And that trumpet actually refers to the seventh and last trumpet in the Book of Revelation. And then in verse 17, it talks about the rapture, all right? The rapture of those who are with him, and that all those who are dead but resurrected those who are alive,
[00:34:50] both dead and alive when Christ come back we’ll be gathered with him and we will live with him forever. So that’s my key chapter in hope, live with him forever. So that’s my key chapter in hope. Excuse me. But I’ll say something about chapter five, excuse me. Chapter five of 1 Thessalonians two. It is about how we live in hope on Jesus’ return. Have I lost you?
[00:35:38] No, still can hear me. So chapter five mostly about how to live in hope in the hope of Jesus’ return. Which verse is the sound? Verse 14 I think. No, verse eight, chapter five verse eight. Let us put on faith and love as a breastplate and hope of salvation as a helmet. So this is how we should live in hope of Jesus’ returning. Let us put faith and love as a breastplate
[00:36:17] and hope of salvation as a helmet. Similar to Ephesians I guess. And the other thing to look is that faith, love and hope is in that order in 1 Thessalonians. 14b, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15b, always strive to do what is good to each other. And for everyone else. 16, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances
[00:36:56] as in the book of Philippians. So in summary, it has been said that Jesus came the first time to save and again to rule or reign. That is only half true, I believe. It’s only half true. When Christ come back, he will complete our salvation and also to reign. Not he came to save not just the first time when he came first advent, but when he comes back again it’s time to complete our salvation
[00:37:36] which has just gone true. The Christian hope is in Jesus coming back. Well, the Christian hope is in Jesus, in him coming back, in him coming back to complete our salvation and the salvation of the world. And again, the spirit that is given to us already as a deposit, as a first fruit, is clear evidence that it will happen. Hope is hope in the Bible, not because it may or may not happen,
[00:38:13] but it will happen, that it was just in the future, just a matter of time. Now in conclusion, another verse, sorry. In conclusion, one Peter, one H, brings the three binding qualities together, even though the word hope is absent. This is the only verse that I can find that actually bring the three attributes together, and then the three qualities together. One Peter, one eight,
[00:38:53] though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him. Meditate on this one. And let’s encourage one another. Though you have not seen him, you love him, that’s Christ. And though you do not see him now, meaning he will come back and you see him then, you still believe in him. And that is what faith, love, and hope in summary is about.
[00:39:33] Now, instead of praying, I have a request, even though I’ve started to cough already. I’d like to sing with you. I’d like to invite you to sing a short song with me in conclusion, instead of prayer. That would be our prayer. That our prayer together, would that be all right? All right? It’s better for you to sing with me because I’m cooking. I cook.
[00:39:57] It’s a very simple song. You can learn by heart quickly. If I can sing it, you can sing it too. The greatest thing in my life is knowing you. Repeat that, and then the second st Something, a second verse. The greatest thing in my life is loving you, And then the third stand answer, the greatest thing in my life is serving you, alright? Knowing you, loving you, just loving God and Christ and serving you.