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? (Romans 8:24)

Hope Saves

The joy of salvation is found through the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice to die for the sins of the world. God’s love redeemed man from the blight of sin when he did not deserve it. No matter how good and just they are, the debt of salvation can never be repaid by anyone. Jesus Christ is the only man that lived a sinless and perfect life. The great heroes and heroines of scripture could not boast of sinless perfection. Jesus lived for more than three decades and never once disobeyed His Father. Grace saves man by the measure of God’s love. Water establishes a covenant with God when men obey the will of the Father. The list of reasons why a man is saved is almost endless.

One of the great joys of salvation is the hope of salvation; which also saves. Hope is defined as the favorable and confident expectation of the unseen. When the heart lives with the confidence of eternal life, hope guides the mind to trust in the promises of God. There are no doubts or fears. It is not a matter of ‘maybe” when it comes to salvation. The confidence of the heart is rooted in the knowledge of God’s love and that what the Lord has promised will come true. Having a hope of something not seen is the germ of faith growing the tree of hope in the fertile soul of the Christian. Hope looks beyond the trials of life. Looking through the vale of sorrow gives hope to the spirit. Having a view of what is beyond death is how hope saves.

Hope that is seen is not hope. True hope comes from believing in and trusting what cannot be seen. For the child of God, it becomes the faith of believing in Jesus Christ, whom they have not seen, and the promise of eternal life, which they have not possessed. Saving hope destroys the doubts and fears of life. When the trials of life seem to overcome, an upward vision of better things sustains the heart to endure and overcome. Hope makes a darkened world fill with light. The joy of eternal life overshadows the circumstances of a meaningless life.

God gives His children the earnest expectation of more than what can be seen with the eye. The world is limited and finite. Through hope, the heart is filled with visions of heaven. When John described heaven in the Revelation, he was instilling the eternal portraits of God’s promises in the hearts of the persecuted saints. Nothing can compare with the measure of what awaits the child of God. The finest possessions on earth cannot offer hope. True hope comes from knowing God’s word of what is yet to be. Through this anticipation, hope saves.

Having hope alone will not save. Hope springs eternal when God removes the sins of the heart as far as the east is from the west. Doing the will of the Father assures the obedient of salvation. Hope is born. Knowing God never lies, and all His promises come true, the hopeful heart will live daily with a firm determination of courage wrapped in the blanket of hope. The Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing because he had found salvation in the waters of baptism, which gave him the greatest hope of his life. A man is saved by grace, faith, love, baptism, and hope. It will change your life when you live with the hope and expectation of eternal life. Having obeyed the will of God, salvation awaits. Hope in Christ. Hope saves.