A Blessed Hope

How will you keep going if you have nothing to look forward to?

Our path in life is challenging, enclosed in darkness, and often seems hopeless. Thomas Manton experienced this, yet he also knew that God gently motivates His children along the way by giving them something to look forward to. Accordingly, A Blessed Hope reminds us that the Christian life is sustained by “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). Would you like to better understand what Christian hope is, recognize how it sanctifies us, and learn to maintain it? Then read this book and discover with Manton the pleasant power of expecting the return of Christ and His heavenly reward.

Endorsements

Like so many of his Puritan peers, Thomas Manton possessed a remarkable ability to extract a great deal of exegetical insight from a passage of Scripture. As a preacher, he focused on applying the truth of Scripture to the heart and affections of his hearers. Perhaps no truth brings greater comfort to the soul of the Christian than that of our blessed hope in Christ Jesus. To that end, this book will edify and encourage all who read!
—Jimmy Funchess, senior pastor of Flint Groves Baptist Church, Gastonia, North Carolina

Where is true and lasting hope to be found? In this book, Thomas Manton encourages readers to look to the‘blessed hope’ that is promised in Scripture, anchored in the gospel, and realized at Christ’s return (Titus 2:11–14). This hope is ‘blessed’ because it leads to the ‘experience of absolute blessedness’ in heaven. Believers will find Manton’s counsel to be a clear and practical resource for knowing and experiencing abiding hope.
—Keith Palmer, senior associate pastor at Grace Bible Church, Granbury, Texas; director of the doctor of ministry in biblical counseling at the Master’s University

Life for the Christian doesn’t always go well, but it ends well. Our confidence that we will see Christ in all His glory when He returns provides ballast for our soul that keeps us afloat and serves as an anchor that holds us fast amid life’s storms. Thomas Manton’s exposition of Titus 2:11–14 is like a gemologist’s magnifying glass allowing us to take in the multifaceted beauty of our ‘blessed hope’ from every conceivable angle.
—Ken Ramey, pastor-teacher of Lakeside Bible Church, Montgomery, Texas; author of Expository Listening: A Handbook for Hearing and Doing God’s Word

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Looking Implies Patience
2. Looking Implies Hope
3. A Lively Hope
4. Hope Sanctifies and Sweetens
5. Hope Sustains and Strengthens
6. Looking for the Reward
7. The Importance of Looking
8. The Method of Looking
9. The Means of Looking
10. The Removal of Sin
11. The Removal of Affliction
12. The Blessedness of the Body
13. The Perfection of Knowledge
14. The Perfection of Love
15. Blessedness in Our Relationships
16. A Cause of Rejoicing
17. A Cause of Thanksgiving
18. Giving Thanks to God Triune
19. The Excellence of the Gospel
20. A Call to Diligence
21. A Call to Watchfulness
22. A Call to Prudence
23. A Call to Holiness
24. Looking for Christ
25. Our Desires
26. Our Privileges
27. Our Benefits
28. Earnest Looking
29. A Glorious Preparation
30. A Glorious Presentation
31. A Glorious Company
32. A Glorious Accomplishment
33. A Glorious Consequence
34. Christ’s Glory
35. An Exhortation
36. Greatness and Goodness
37. Fear and Love
38. The Great God
39. Great Love
40. Our Savior
41. Our Response