What is the meaning of 'hope' according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in this sermon, hope in the Christian context has a specific meaning that differs from its common usage. He explains that:

1. Hope looks forward while faith looks backward: "Faith looks backward to the finished work of Christ and shows us what he has achieved for us, whereas hope looks forward in expectation of entering fully into that which he has thus obtained for us."

2. Hope is about anticipating what is not yet seen: "We are saved in hope, or we are saved by hope, as it is here. But in hope is better. In the realm of hope, we have been saved."

3. Hope is distinct from mere wishful thinking: It's a confident expectation based on promises already secured by Christ.

4. Hope is focused on the full inheritance of salvation: "The spirit is our seal and earnest until we receive in all its fullness what is there for us in that possession that has already been purchased for us."

5. Hope acknowledges that present Christian experience is just "a very small installment or foretest of that which we are ultimately going to receive in the glory."

How should Christians wait for the fulfillment of their hope according to the sermon?

According to Lloyd-Jones, Christians should wait for the fulfillment of their hope:

1. With eager expectation, not passive resignation: "The true meaning here is eager waiting. It isn't just something that we wait for. There are many ways of waiting. The whole point is that we should be eagerly waiting."

2. Through patience (patient endurance): "We, through patience, eagerly wait for it." This patience includes "constancy," "firmness," and "unwarying endurance."

3. With balanced eagerness and patience: "What a wonderful picture we've got here of the christian men, the christian character. You see, here's a man who can combine eagerness and patience together at the same time."

4. Looking actively forward, not merely wanting to escape this world: "Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon. That's the thing. What we should be longing for is not the unclothing, but the new clothing."

5. With a heart fixed on God: "His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. He's like a rock, he's solid, he's unruffled, he can't be disturbed."

What practical steps does Lloyd-Jones suggest for developing eager patient waiting?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers several practical steps for Christians to develop this discipline of eagerly waiting with patience:

1. See the present world for what it is: "Examine the world. See it for what it is. Look at it. Don't be misled by it. Don't be captivated by it."

2. Remember your Christian identity: "Remind yourself of who you are and what you are. If ye be risen with Christ, and you are, if you're a Christian, well, remind yourself that you are."

3. Set your affections on heavenly things: "Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth... Dwell on them, meditate upon them."

4. Seek Christ Himself: "We must seek him himself. That's the secret of it all. To know the Lord that I might know him, and the fellowship of his sufferings."

5. Contemplate the future glory: "Think of the realm to which we are going... Think of it all. Try to conjure it up from what you read in the scriptures."

6. Meditate on seeing Christ: "We shall see him as he is, and we shall be like him. How often do you dwell on that? How often do we think about that and meditate about it?"

7. Pray for the Holy Spirit to make these realities clear: "Reading, meditatinG, PrayIng, asking him to make it clear the spirit is sent to do that."

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say patience is an active virtue, not a passive one?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Christian patience is not a passive virtue but an active one for several reasons:

1. It's strong, not weak: "Patience is a very strong virtue. It's firm. All these terms that I've been using bring out that aspect of the meaning."

2. It requires development: "It's something which has to be developed. Patience is a very strong virtue."

3. It grows through trials: "Trials and troubles and tribulations actually lead to patience and even strengthen it."

4. It's characterized by steadfastness: "It means patient endurance, the quality of endurance... It includes constancy. It includes the notion of firmness."

5. It's not mere dullness: "People so often think of patience as a passive virtue. It isn't. It's a very active one. There are some people who have a reputation for being patient... very often the whole truth about them is that they're just dull."

6. It makes one unshakeable: "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. He's not one of these people who goes nervously to his wireless or television set to turn on the news and say, what are we going to hear? What's going to happen now?"

7. It enables continued eager anticipation despite circumstances: "This man speaking from the heart as well as from the head, this element of patient endurance comes into it."