Romans 8:24-39 Without faith it is impossible to please God. By grace are we saved through faith, and this faith is not of ourselves. Instead it is a gift of God. Therefore none of us can boast. This passage in Romans says that we are saved by hope. Paul writes, “For we are saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one hope for what he sees?” (v. 24). Another passage in Hebrews gives the definition of faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).
When we put Romans 8:24 alongside Hebrews 11:1, we have a clearer understanding of how saving faith works. For anyone to enter into salvation, they must believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. They must believe in something they cannot see. They must believe that Jesus Christ lived, died and was resurrected from the dead and now lives to make intercession for us.
We believe, not because we have seen things with our own eyes, but because we have heard them from God’s Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith is believing and receiving something in the now. When I believe, I receive what I believe by confessing my belief with my mouth. The Scriptures say, “The word of faith is in thee, even in your mouth.” When we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, we are saved. Hope is then born in our hearts. Once I am saved, I have the hope of eternal life, and this hope is also something I cannot see now, but I believe by faith it is true now. Faith is in the now, and hope is in the future.
Hope is the very substance faith is based upon, and that substance is God’s Word, His promises to us that are in the future. Faith in the now always births hope in us for the future. As believers we share the blessed hope that one day we will live with Jesus forever. Praise the Lord!
READ: 2 Chronicles 11:1-13:22; Romans 8:24-39; Psalm 18:35-50; Proverbs 19:27-29
