- Saved by Hope
Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
The promise: we are saved by hope. Hope is a very rare word used as a means of salvation. Usually faith is coupled with “saved” as the means of salvation. The unity of faith and hope as synonyms suggests two things: 1) hope is a sure thing, and 2) hope is a present reality.
Hope in this context, and in most Biblical contexts, does not mean, “wish.” Hope does not mean, “I wish it were true,” or “I hope it comes true.” Not at all. Hope means I know for sure; I do not wonder. Hope means I have a present certainty about the future that I cannot see. Hope is seeing what I cannot see with my eyes. I do not see salvation but I know I have it. Like faith, hope is the conviction of things not seen. Hope is a substance; it is reality. In fact, hope is more real than what I can see. It is possible for my eyes to deceive me, but it is not possible for hope to deceive, that is, if that hope is placed squarely on Jesus Christ.
Hope is a present reality. It is the substance of the thing hoped for. I do not hope for a salvation to come to me some day; I am not waiting to receive eternal life; I am not just wishing that my sins would be forgiven on judgment day. Forgiveness, life, and salvation are in my possession as a real thing right now. It fills my being, it floods my present life, and it influences everything I am. One Day, when I die or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first, I will see, feel and experience salvation and everything that comes with it. When I am with God in glory I will not need hope any longer, for hope that is seen is not hope. Hope says: I see it, I have it, I know it. Saved by hope: a certain, a real and a present promise.