Our scripture reading is found in Colossians chapter 1, starting in verse 3. We always thank God, the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the world and the word of the truth the gospel which has come to you as indeed in the whole world It is bearing fruit and increasing. It is also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in the truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. You may be seated. You know, beloved, as we look at this passage, and we're going to talk about the marks of a real believer. And these marks are so evident in the life of the people at Colossae, at the Church of Colossae, that it caused the Apostle Paul, every time he was praying for these people, that he would give thanks to God. And that thanks to God was always there because He knew that these people were genuine. And that that growth was real. And the thanks to God is because He knew God was the catalyst. God is the one that has changed the people in the most glorious way. You know, beloved, when I was thinking about this prayer, and we're in the text of faith, hope, and love as the marks of a real believer. And when he gave thanks, and we started that prayer last week, he gave thanks because the Apostle Paul had assurance Again, that the church at Colossae is the real deal. Where we left off was around verse four, and we began it, but now we'll go into it even more in depth. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, I was chuckling to myself because I was thinking about my brides. you know, go-to, you know, Christmas movies. And, you know, I know Elizabeth, just last week, next thing you know, I'm seeing Elizabeth and what she's watching. It's a wonderful life, you know, because that's a go-to classic one. And for my bride, she likes the black and white remake of the Bishop's Wife, but it's called the preacher's wife and you know and in that the preacher's preaching and he's doing something like in a groove you know you gotta have faith and then the and then the choir's in the background you know they're singing like faith and you gotta have love and the choir's going love And so that's how my demented mind works at times. And I'm thinking about this and just chuckling to myself. But in the essence, these are three known, the triad is really known as a mark of a believer. Faith, love, and hope. You know, I introduced it last week, but now I want to just go into it in more depth, in detail. Again, this triad of faith, love, and hope, it is a regular part of the Apostle Paul's writing. You can see it in Romans 5, verses 2-5, 1 Corinthians 13, 13, 1 Thessalonians 1, 3, and 5, 8, as an example. And faith, what is faith? Faith is from the Greek word pistis, which means it is a commitment to. It is emphasizing trust. And it is defined here as in Jesus Christ. Now this, term or, you know, in Christ, how should that be taken? And we talked a little bit about that. But again, it should be that faith assumes the object is Christ. But in this passage, N is seen as an understanding of being locative, meaning this, that it points to Christ as the sphere in which faith operates. You know, he has been long gone, but in the early days, there was a Greek grammarian named H.C.G. Moley. In fact, one of his advanced grammars was one of mine in Greek class, and he says this, it is the phrase that sparks the Christian faith as anchored in Christ. Another commentator says, it is Christ-centered faith. We trust and have a confidence that Christ is our all in all. It is a trust, it is a commitment, and Paul is praising God because it is real. It is real. This is what marks the difference between a United States of America that says, by and large, they are a Christian nation, or by and large, they are Christians. You know, now we're far more, not as easy as that statement, but that nevertheless emphasizes, especially in the breadbasket of the Midwest, Especially where in the Midwest where we live and from, you know, the Dakotas around and all the way down. But it's not just mental ascent. It's a life that has changed. It's a life that is active. What causes Paul to pray is that their life is changed. You know, the Tyndale New Testament commentary says, the present context emphasizes the truth of the gospel as something to be heard and acknowledged with the mind. and so stresses, if any, the belief side, though by no means at the expense of commitment. If belief is genuine, it is more than just mental assent to truths. These people are real. Their allegiance is real. They are followers of Christ. And that's what makes us different. And as I shared before, what is a tragedy is not that we should not be involved in the political process, because that is a right from our Constitution, that we can be involved in the process. But what is distressing to me is that for some there's more commitment to a political stand at the expense of Christ. Or we do just what the idolaters have done of old. We add our desires and our wants to our walk with Christ. Right? This is a unified allegiance. This is a unified focus. It is on Jesus Christ. And it's more than just mental assent. This is why we had, in our scripture, reading the promise that Lazareth would rise from the dead, because Jesus said to her, do you believe this? And what he's saying, do you believe in me and the truth that I have proclaimed? I am the resurrection and the life. Oh, glory to God. Glory to God. And so these are people that have this commitment, and they have a genuine faith in Christ. And again, this should be distinguished from milquetoast Christianity. And this is why you hear me preach with such plainness, and such openness, and such bluntness. Because he calls these men brothers, He calls these men of the community of believers, saints. Not only do they reflect holiness, but holiness meaning that they've been set apart for service, dedication to God. These are men of faith. These are men of faith. What is the other characteristic? Love. It is agape love. You know, sometimes I overlook the obvious sometimes. You know, as I'm going into the Greek text and looking at the grammar and I'm going back and looking it up in the Greek lexicon and, you know, we know that biblical love is sacrificial love, as God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that Jesus Christ sacrificially laid down His life. There's no greater love than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. And we know that love is other-oriented, even for the benefit of one another, for the other person, even if it costs you. But then when I also looked it up, and it's like, yes, I knew this, but sometimes I don't emphasize this. In the bag to Greek lexicon, it says, love without limitation. Biblical love is without limitation. We know that it is love that is expressed to one another, and that love is in the context of a close personal relationship, i.e. the brethren, the church, the body of Christ. But biblical love is without limitation. And I put that phrase, biblical love, on purpose. Because it is the Word of God, it is God Himself that must define what love is. Because love in the world really is infatuation. Love, many times in the world, is expressed through selfishness. Many times parents will guilt their children because they say, do you love me? But it really is an expression of selfishness. Or people love for status quo. I love and I do this, but I expect you to love and do this in return. But when we express the love in which way God loves, we understand that it is sacrificial, and we understand it is without limitation. It always is there. You see, sometimes God convicts us on different avenues, in different ways. Sometimes I'm convicted that my love should be other-oriented. Sometimes I'm convicted that my love should be limitless. Sometimes we put a time frame on our love. 1 Corinthians 13.8, the great love chapter. What does verse 8 say? Love never ends. As for prophecy, they will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away. But love never ends. Love without limitations and love that never ceases. And he's saying, your love for the saints, your love for the brethren. He is describing that not only do they do just single acts of love, but they are characterized by love that is sacrificial, love that never ends. These people are keep on loving. And it is love for all the saints. You know, I think I shared with you many, many times of how the Lord just reminds that His love for all the saints. And, you know, and as we've had birds that we know that are in our care, and they fly sideways. And as I shared before, if you want to know if you're the bird that flies sideways, it's probably you. Because we all have increases, and we all have things. But I remember the first time the Lord has brought this home to me for all the saints. And I shared it with you, and some of you may remember. Remember I shared early in the ministry, there was this redneck from Florida named, we'll call him Johnny. And he came to church, and he was a truck driver, and he had the southern drawl, and I remember he said, I cut myself. I go, oh yeah, I cut myself. I'm sorry, Andy, because I know you do this. I cut myself, and then I bleed all over, but I just got out some super glue, and I put my hand together, and it was all good. But just the way he said it, you know, I'm just going, all right, man, whatever. You know, and he would just be talking about what he would eat, and then all this stuff that he was doing, and he was, you know, totally uncouth, you know, and then I just remembered. I'm out in public with him. I can't be ashamed of him. I can't be ashamed of him. Just because he's as hillbilly as they come, he professes Christ. And that love is not whom looks like you. That love is not the one whom agrees with you. You know, the proud person is always the one that is the hardest one to love exclusively. Think about it. to love limitlessly and without those boundaries. There's always something that holds us back. Well, we always express that love. Even when the sinner sins or the brethren sins, we treat them differently, don't we? Love doesn't mean condoning sin. Love doesn't mean enabling sin. Love doesn't mean that we just go in the room and pretend it never happens. But love has a focus to restore, to bring them home, to do what is best for them, even though they don't like it and it hurts you. Love is action. It's not passive. And this love for all the saints is proof that they're believers. We know 1 John is probably the biggest, well, I should say is the best place to go when you talk about love for the brother as proof. Look at 1 John 2, 9-11. I'll read to you 1 John 3, 14-15. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." 1 John 4, 20. If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. You know, we see our brother and we don't see God. And yet we love God. Biblical love is an action where Biblical love is more than just saying, I have pity on you. Or as I call it, the great Christian blow-off. I will pray for you. That's the great Christian blow-off. It doesn't mean that that prayer is not important. It doesn't mean that God doesn't use prayer. And it is a necessity. But sometimes we use that phrase so that we don't have to do, so that we don't have to respond. And these men love in a different way than the way the world says. This love is seen in action, not just words. James chapter 2 verses 14 and following says, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed, lacking in daily food, And one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and be filled without giving them the things they need for the body? What good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, I have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Beloved, love is an action. Love is an action. And it is so sacrificial because it comes at the most inopportune times. The expression of love comes in the most unsettled times. You may have your agenda. You may have this worked out. You may have this planned out. And all of a sudden, some comes in your way. And how do you know that you biblically love? Because it is limitless and it is sacrificial. And you're waiting to put what you want aside to serve. and to love. Jesus is the greatest example of love. And he calls us to, as we are followers of Christ, and we call ourselves Christians, these men are known for their love for all the saints. And where do they get that example? Through Jesus Christ, the one whom their faith lies, the spear of their faith. John 13, 34 says, A new commandment I also give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you. You are also to love one another. And that love has the greatest extent of sacrifice. No greater love than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15, 13. And remember when I said it is limitless? It is perfect, going to the end. Jesus Christ is shown how much He loves, and it is limitless. He says, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who are in the world, He loved them to the end. He loved them to the end. As D.A. Carson said, the object of love in Christ in these chapters is therefore not to the lost world, but to the newly forming people of God, the disciples of the Messiah. the new born church, the community of the elect. Jesus had loved his own all along and now he showed him the full extent of his love. That Greek word, talios, to the end, it could mean to, verbally, to the uttermost. There's no greater degree of how He loved, or it could mean to the end, to the end of His life. And what He's saying, to the very end of Jesus' life, He never, ever stopped loving them. He never stopped showing that love for them. And if the people whom Paul is writing have loved all the saints, and they're loving like Christ loved, you know what this means? It's not just some lip service. They will be characterized by their life of sacrifice. And they will love the brethren until the end. just like Jesus. Like I said, sometimes when you look at the word love, it is convicting. Because I can say with a clear conscience, I have sacrificially loved. I can say with a clear conscience that I have a love that is real, but sometimes I get convicted that at times it is not continuous. At times it is not limitless. Sometimes we're convicted on the sacrifice, Other times we're convicted on the extent. And that's a good thing. Because this is how God loves us. God never stops loving his people. Glory to God. When he gives that example of love, that agape love, It is focused. You know, as I was sharing with the guys at the mission, when we go into the high priestly prayer of John 17, it is understood that His love is focused. He is praying for the saints. He is praying for the disciples. He is praying for His people. And again, as I shared that to the men, sometimes it's a hard pillow to swallow because it views humanity in a different light. All of humanity in a different light. They're not all on equal playing fields. God has a particular love for his people. And he prays for them. In our text of John 17, he literally says, not for the world, but for those whom you gave me. People that deny election and deny this particular truth will have to deny what Jesus said. And they would have to overlook the plain reading of the text. But this is a love for all the saints that is all the people of God. God has a special love for his people that is different. He watches out for his own that is different. There's a commitment level that is different. He gives common grace and He feeds the just and the unjust. He allows it to rain. He allows the just and the unjust to be fed. But for His people, for His people, God intervenes in a more dynamic way, a more profound way, a more special way. He shows upon them a love that they have never known. John Calvin says this. Calvin says he employs the expression love towards the saints, not with the view of excluding others, but because in portion, as anyone is joined to us in God. We ought to embrace Him the more closely with special affection. True love, therefore, will extend to all mankind universally, because they are all of our flesh and created in the image of God, but in respect of degrees. It will begin with those who are all the household of faith. There is that allegiance. You know, as we think of others and we view a life of others, this is how the body of Christ exists. This is how the community of believers are able to not only survive, but thrive. Because we love with a purpose like Jesus loved. Galatians 6.10 said, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone. And then he says, and especially to those who are the household of faith. Because we are united in Christ. And we sacrifice for one another. You know, when you see that love and that embracing and that cause, you know, that's different because some people look at our church and say, how can a church like this pay the bills? Well, one is we have support for myself coming from other churches, sacrificially out of love for the Lord and for the work, but also in our own body. If we were just like the world, and in fact, in many mainline denominations, the average giving is minuscule. One, two, high end three percent. But in a church like ours, it's well above that. We tithe and we give out of love and sacrifice. And this is not to make us with status in God's eyes. This is to make us honor the one who sacrificed for us. That is why such a small church like ours, it is a miracle. We were able to pay off our building. We are debt-free. It is because we love. Love for God equates in a love for one another. And love is that action. The final is hope. Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you heard before the word of truth, the gospel. And hope then can be understood subjectively or objectively. What do I mean hope? Subjectively would be the attitude of the heart. The feeling of, I have hope. Or objectively, meaning it is emphasizing an object and its content. And I believe in our context, it has an object and a content. It is this hope that is in heaven. Hope that is laid up for us in heaven. 1st Peter 1.4, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you. Romans 8.18, for I consider the suffering of this present time not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. And so when we say that we have faith, love and hope, our hope is centered on objective truth of who Jesus Christ is and that His promises to us is real. I go to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also. The hope of the new covenant that He will redeem a people, and that He will be our God, and we will be His people. He'll write His laws upon our heart, a heart that has been transformed, cleansed from the polluted sin that dwelt within us, create in us a new heart, new creations in Christ, so that we may have paradise restored and walk with Him. Our hope is not in this world. It lies for us in heaven. We have something so much more. So much more. You know, this is different. than a lot who have religion. You know what religion does at times? Because true Christianity is a relationship with Christ. And those who don't understand the essence of Christianity call it just another religion. But where religion is, it's man doing things so he can earn his way to heaven. Whether it be the radical Muslim that has to make the ultimate sacrifice to make his way to heaven, or just the common person that says, and you ask them, why are you going to heaven? And they say, well, after all, I'm basically a good person. I've done all these things. And in their mind, I'm not like Jeffrey Dahmer. I'm definitely not like Hitler, who is really the epitome of evil. That wasn't me. And I've done more good than I've done bad. No. Works don't get us into heaven. Our hope is not in our works. Our hope is in the promise that is found in Christ Jesus, our Lord. that He redeemed us, that He saved us, that the new covenant is ours, and that when He made that promise in that prayer, or that promise of the night before His crucifixion, I go to prepare a place for you, and where I am, you may be also, He wasn't lying. Where is Jesus Christ? As we learned in our catechism question, He's in heaven. Where is our hope? It is in heaven. Works don't get us to heaven. John Calvin says, For the hope of eternal life will never be inactive in us as not to produce love in us. For it is of necessity that the man who is fully persuaded that a treasure of life is laid up for him in heaven will aspire to tithe and looking down upon this world. Meditation, however, upon the heavenly stirs up our affections, both to worship of God and to the exercises of love. But sophists pervert this passage. for the purpose of extolling the merits of works, as it if were the hope of salvation depended upon works. The reasoning is futile, for it does not follow, because hope stimulates us to aim at an upright living. It is therefore founded upon works, inasmuch as nothing is more efficacious for this purpose than God's unmerited goodness. which utterly overthrows all confidence in works." And what is Kelvin saying? He's saying it's God's mercy and grace. And that what we have stirs us to good works, stirs us to love because we have hope. The hope isn't because I am working for it. I am earning it. I deserve it. No one deserves glory. No one can go through the Ten Commandments and say they haven't failed. Nobody can ever say with a clear conscience, I haven't lied. Nobody can say with a clear conscience at times I haven't coveted what something else or other has. Nobody can say with a clear conscience that I have not loved the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength, with everything in my being, and that there was no other God in my life but Him. And Kelvin was talking about the Sophists, which were the philosophers and great thinkers from the 5th century Athens, who pontificated philosophies on how the world began, and they began to question absolute truths. It is another way of man figuring out for himself how we can get to heaven without God. how we can be satisfied without God. But hope causes us to live in a different way. Faith, love, and hope, they all stem from the gospel. They are all fruits from redemption that is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. and they are all action. It is always an active faith, an active love, and an active hope. Beloved, I appreciate what John MacArthur Jr. said. He says, one result of our hope is a willingness to sacrifice the present on the altar of the future. That runs contrary to human nature. Young children, for example, have a difficult time waiting for something they want. The Father warned me repeatedly while I was growing up not to sacrifice the future for the altar of the immediate. The world wants what it wants right now. The Christian has a different perspective. He is willing to forsake the present glory. He is willing to forsake comfort, satisfaction of the present world for the future glory that is his in Christ. In the contrast to buy now, pay later, the attitude prevalent in the world, the Christian is willing to pay now and receive later. What makes Christians willing to make such sacrifices? Hope. Based on faith that the future holds something far better than the present. Paul writes in Romans 8.18, I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is revealed to us. Hope. is beyond the immediate. Hope is that life that is willing to sacrifice. And this is so prevalent in my mind and my attitude, because the reality is I could live so much better if I didn't sacrifice. I could have so much more. But the reality for a believer is this. My hope is not in the present. My hope is what lies for me in the future. I know who I am. I know where I belong. I know where I'm going. You know, I shared it with you last week and bring it on because we all have, you know, this ethnic pride. We all have this pride of our upbringing and our thing. But I'm telling you with every fiber and being, I'm just a brown man that loves the Lord. And I am not denying my ethnicity. I'm not denying my upbringing. I'm not denying my heritage. But what I am saying unequivocally, what defines me is Christ. and my hope isn't him. You see, this is why politics, this is why all these other things, they are very narrow-minded because you know what? They're all trying to build a utopia on earth. It ain't gonna happen. One is because of the nature of man. even in our democracy. The United States of America and democracy and the thing that I learned in middle and, well, actually it was elementary physics, civics. It is an experimentation played out in history. And if you look at the rise and falls, without history, of great governments, great empires, they're in our history books. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know where my hope lies. And it is in heaven, with Him. W. H. Griffiths Thomas says, we're only too apt to emphasize faith and love and forget hope, but inasmuch as hope is invariably connected with the coming of the Lord, It is a vital part of our Christian life. Faith accepts hope. Hope expects. Faith appropriates. Hope anticipates. Faith receives. Hope realizes. Faith is always and only concerned with the past and the present. Hope is always and only concerned with the future. This hope is said to be laid up for the Christian people in the heavens. And the phrase is worthy of notice because of it is used elsewhere. Thus, the righteous is said to be laid up for those who love Christ appearing. 2 Timothy 4.8. It is also recorded that it is laid up for men once to die. Hebrews 9.27, a solemn contrast is also seen in the parable of the pounds, where the unfaithful servant has laid up his master's gift and did not use it. What's he saying? This is laid up. This is what we purpose, build up and keep and store in our being is hope. And it is found in glory. Beloved, as we celebrate this Christmas season and as I close, Jesus Christ is more than a song of a way in the manger. He is everything. He is our all in all. This is what defines us. This is what unites us. Remember, it doesn't matter where you live. It doesn't matter how much money you have, how much education you have, or lack of education. And I'm not saying that education is not important. What I am saying, what is important is Christ. That's where our hope is laid out. And it is objective truth. It is in the person of Jesus Christ that He died and rose again. to redeem a people from their sin. Glory to God. How about you? If someone said, fill in your name, they have faith, they have love, and they have hope, would it be seen in action? And would it be seen in content based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ? That's where our hope lies. Man, in general, are gamblers. The one that says every road that leads to Christ is like someone going to Vegas, playing the roulette table and saying, I'm going to put my money down on many possibilities as possible and hoping that it's going to land on one of them. The believer has a surety. I know whom I believed and I'm fully persuaded that he's able to accomplish that which he had promised. My hope is in the Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this time and privilege it is to come and to worship you. Lord, as we celebrate this Christmas season, may we never forget the objective truth that Christmas has the word Christ. Christ is our blessing. Christ is whom we celebrate. And because of Him, we love. And because of Him, our faith is centered upon Him. We have a Christ-like faith. centered on Him, believing in Him. He is the object and spirit of our belief, and our hope is in heaven, laid up for us. Where is Jesus Christ? He's up in heaven. Our hope is with Him. Our bliss is with Him. Glory to God in the highest. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.