FAITH AND THE TRIUMPH OF HOPE

“Who, contrary to hope, IN HOPE BELIEVED, so that he became the father of many nations” – Romans 4:18

The Life of Abraham portrayed FAITH and the TRIUMPH of HOPE: “who, contrary to hope, IN HOPE BELIEVED, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was STRENGTHENED in FAITH, giving glory to God” (Rom.4:18-20). Paul depicted Abraham as the Exemplar of Faith, which was “accounted to him for righteousness” (v.22). The Faith Paul described was the faith that God would fulfil His promise by giving Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac. So, Abraham was justified by faith in the future work of God – the Full assurance of Hope – “giving glory to God”!

Faith is the Full Assurance of Hope. Verse 21 described Abraham as being “FULLY convinced that what God had promised He was also able to perform.” In other words Abraham displayed what Hebrews 6:11 called the “full assurance of hope.” In Abraham, Faith and Hope worked together: “Against ALL HOPE, Abraham IN HOPE BELIEVED and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him…” (v.18, NIV). “Against hope” means that from the ordinary human standpoint there was absolutely no hope: Abraham was too old to have a child, and his wife was barren. But biblical hope is never based on what is possible with man. Biblical hope looks away from man to the promise of God. And when it does, it becomes the “full assurance of hope”; the expectation of great things from God – Hope that cannot be defeated or silenced!

It is not easy to describe exactly what Paul meant in verse 18 when he said Abraham, “in hope believed.” But from the whole context it is fair to say that Abraham’s Faith was his strong confidence in the reliability of God’s Word, and his Hope was his strong confidence in the fulfilment of God’s promise. For him and Sarah, it was both a Battle of Hope and a Fight of Faith. His Hope was anchored in the promise God had spoken, despite the seeming physiological impossibilities – “his body was as good as dead” and “Sarah’s womb was also dead” (v.19). A strong, unwavering Hope produces formidable and triumphant Faith. Wherever there is full assurance of hope, there is faith. Faith is the full assurance of hope.” Whenever Faith in God looks to the future, it can be called Hope. And whenever Hope rests on the word of God, it can be called Faith.

Biblical Hope is not the ordinary concept used in everyday speech, which implies being uncertain or lacking in assurance – merely “thinking” or “wishing” something might happen. The Bible uses the word “Hope” to describe something that is sure, certain and absolute – something rock-solid that we can confidently base our eternal destiny upon. Hope is a strong desire and confident expectation for something good in the future. Hope and Faith are overlapping convictions. To have Faith is to trust a person; and trusting that person for something they promise to do in the future, is akin to Hope. Hope is an assured and satisfying anticipation about the future; it is the act or state of expecting something to come that is good or satisfying.

Abraham believed “in hope against hope”! Hope is an expectation that energizes, excites, and drives us forward. Hope is positive anticipation, because if we have what we hoped for, we no longer ‘hope’ for it. The message of Hope is what we urgently need to understand and live by in these trying times. We truly need to live in the light of “Living Hope.” Our God is a “God of hope” (Rom.15:13). By His Grace and Mercy, we, His children can be Models of Faith and of the Triumph of Hope!