New Testament

This issue of The Mediator explores the theme of communicating the gospel of hope in ways that are relevant to our world. We are confronted with this question: What hope can the gospel communicate to a world that is increasingly secular and pluralistic? The emptiness of post-modernism confronts not only North America and Europe but also many countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The creedal answers from the Church's great confessions of faith are not always sufficient to convince skeptical people that there is an almighty God who cares for them. To many, God is increasingly becoming irrelevant and old-fashioned; God (capital "G") has become a god (lower case "g"). For some, God is either so transcendent as to be unapproachable or so immanent as to be ineffective. For others, the idea of a personal "God" is naive and even offensive. Hope has become like truth, an elusive abstract that no one can grasp. The daily news does little to help grow hope but instead creates fear and uncertainty. How does the gospel answer an atmosphere of hopelessness? The 2001-05 quadrennial theme for the Church of the Nazarene is "Jesus the Hope ." As theologians of the church, what message of hope can we offer that will make a difference in a dying world? Hope cannot be found in anything in this world. Our hope as believers is anchored beyond this world—in Jesus Christ. Our hope is not placed in dogmatic claims of the church or theological suppositions about a transcendent God, but our hope is placed in a person who lived among us. Our hope is in a person who lived in this fallen world but who also proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and release to the oppressed (Luke 4:18). Our optimism in grace is tempered by a genuine concern for the world. Yet we find hope difficult because hope has a degree of uncertainty about it. Hope involves being dependent upon another, and we want to be independent We want the source of our hope to be within our control. Hope must be expressed in tangible ways. Our hope is not simply for a blessed afterlife but leads us to live a certain way in the present. It gives us joy in the midst of sorrow. It gives us victory in seeming defeat It gives us peace in the heat of battle.