Daily Devotions

Romans

Romans 
Day 
Day 181

"We were saved in this hope..."

Text: Romans 8:24

INITIAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN HOPE

Paul mentioned the concept of “Hope” in connection with faith. The initial thoughts he shared about “Hope” includes the following:

1. There is much joy associated with Hope (Cf. Romans 5:2).

2. Hope is closely associated with the glory of God (Cf. Romans 5:2).

3. Hope does not diminish even when sorely tested and tried (Cf. Romans 5:4).

4. Our hope in God will never lead to disappointment (Cf. Romans 5:5).

DEEPER THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN HOPE

Though the above are wonderful and comforting thoughts drawn from the concept of Hope, there are more thoughts to be added. Paul went on to share the following thoughts.

“For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope;
for why does one still hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait
for it with perseverance.”
Romans 8:24-25

1. Our salvation is tied to the doctrine of hope

a) We may speak of having been saved by grace (past tense).
b) But we must also speak of being saved (future tense).
i) If we are talking about being in the Presence of God at death.
ii) If we are talking about receiving a new resurrection body when Christ returns for us.

2. Argument for the idea of “Hope”

a) Hope is of necessity a word that is associated with the future.
b) This hope is not something that we can see with our human eyes, but it is nevertheless real.

3. Ramifications of true hope

True hope will cause the wise and well-instructed believer to

eagerly await fulfillment. The believer will persevere in his faith because of Hope!