We were saved, and we have this hope.  If we can see what we are waiting for, then that is not really hope.  People don't hope for something they already have.

But we are hoping for something that we don't have yet.   We are waiting for it patiently.

Romans 8:24, 25

So these three things continue:  faith, hope, and love.   And the greatest of these is love.

I. Corinthians 13:13

If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else.

I. Corinthians 15-19

Praise to be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.   In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven.

In Christ, God chose us before the world was made.  God chose us in love to be his holy people - people without blame before him.

And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ.  That was what God wanted to do.  That pleased him.

And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace (kindness).  God gave that grace to us freely.  he gave us that grace in Christ, the One he loves.

In Christ we are made free by Christ's blood (death).   We have forgiveness of sins because of God's rich grace.

God gave us that grace fully and freely.  God, with full wisdom and understanding,

let us know his secret plan.  This was what God wanted.   And he planned to do it through Christ.

God's goal was to finish his plan when the right time came.   God planned that all things in heaven and on earth be joined together with Christ as the head.

In Christ we were chosen to be God's people.  God had already planned for us to be his people, because that is what God wanted.  And God is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants.

We are the first people who hoped in Christ. And we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God's glory.

It is the same with you people.  You heard the true teaching-the Good News about your salvation.  When you heard that Good News, you believed in Christ.  And in Christ, God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he promised.

That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will get the things God promised for his people.  This will bring full freedom to those people who belong to God.  The goal of all this is to bring praise to God's glory.

Ephesians 1:3-14

So we should be finished with the beginning lessons about Christ.  We should not go back to the things we started with.  We began our life in Christ by turning away from the evil things we did before and by believing in God.

At that time we were taught about baptisms, and about the special act of a person putting his hands on people.  We were taught about people rising from death and about the judgment that will continue forever.  But now we need to go forward to more mature (advanced) teaching.

And we will do this if God allows.

After people have left the way of Christ, can you make them change their life again?  I am talking about people who have learned the truth.   They received God's gift and also shared in the Holy Spirit.  Those people heard the things God said, and they saw the great powers of God's new world.  And they saw for themselves that those things are very good.  But then those people left the way of Christ.  It is not possible to make those people change their lives and come to Christ again.  Why?  Because those people that leave Christ's way are really nailing Christ to the cross again.  Those people bring shame to Christ before all people.

Those people are like land that gets plenty of rain.  A farmer plants and cares for that land so that it will give food for people.  If that land grows plants that help people, then that land has the blessing of God.

But if that land grows thorns and weeds, it is worthless.   That land is in danger that it will be cursed by God.  And that land will be destroyed by fire.

Dear friends, we are saying these things to you.  But really we expect better things from you.  We feel sure that you will do the things that are a part of salvation.

God is fair.  God will remember all the work you have done.  And God will remember that you showed your love to him by helping his people.   And God will remember that you continue to help his people.

We want each of you to continue with the same hard work all your lives.  Then you will surely get that great thing you hope for.

We don't want you to become lazy.  We want you to be like those people who get the things that God promised.  Those people get God's promises because they have faith and patience.

God made a promise to Abraham.  And there is no one greater than God, so God used himself to vow (promise) that he would do what he said.

God said, "I will truly bless you.  I will give you many, many descendants."

Abraham waited patiently for this to happen.  And later Abraham received what God promised.

People always use the name of someone greater than themselves to make a vow (promise).  The vow proves that what they say is true.  And this ends all arguing about what they say.

God wanted to prove that his promise was true.  God wanted to prove this to those people who would get what he promised.  God wanted those people to understand clearly that his purposes (plans) never change.   So God said something would happen, and he proved what he said by also making a vow (promise).

Those two things cannot change.  God cannot lie when he says something and he cannot lie when he makes a vow.  So those things five great comfort to us who came to God for safety.  Those two things give us comfort and strength to continue in the hope that God gives us.

We have this hope.  And it is like an anchor.  It is strong and sure and keeps our soul safe.  It goes into the most holy place behind the curtain in the heavenly temple.

Jesus has already entered there and opened the way for us.   Jesus has become the high priest forever the same as Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:1-20

Faith means being sure of the things we hope for.  And faith means knowing that something is real even if we don't see it.

God was pleased with those people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this.

Faith helps us understand that God created the whole world with his command.  This means that the things we see were made by something that cannot be seen.

Hebrews 11:1-3

Yes, my dear children, live in him.  If we do this, we can be without fear (have confidence) on the day when Christ comes back.  We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes.

You know that Christ is righteous (good).  So you know that all people who do what is right (good) are God's children.

The Father (God) has loved us so much!  This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God.  And we really are God's children.  But the people in the world (people who don't believe) don't understand that we are God's children, because they have not known him (God).

Dear friends, now we are children of God.  We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future.  But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him.  We will see him like he really is.

Christ is pure.  And every person who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure like Christ.

When a person sins, he breaks God's law.  Yes, sinning is the same as living against God's law.

You know that Christ came to take away people's sins.   There is no sin in Christ.

So the person who lives in Christ does not continue to sin.   If a person continues to sin, he has never really understood Christ and has never known Christ.

Dear children, don't let any person lead you into the wrong way.  Christ is righteous (good).  To be good like Christ, a person must do what is right (good).

The devil has been sinning since the beginning.  The person who continues to sin belongs to the devil.  The Son of God (Christ) came for this: to destroy the devil's work.

When God makes a person his child, that person does not continue to sin.  Why?  Because the new life God gave that person stays in him.   So that person is not able to continue sinning.  Why?  Because he has become a child of God.

So we can see who God's children are.  Also, we can know who the children of the devil are.  The people who don't do what is right are not children of God.  And the person who does not love his brother is not a child of God.

I. John 2:28-3:10