Romans 8:24-25 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for?… We are saved by means of faith, and on the principle of hope. The land we are to possess is chiefly one of promise. We have a wilderness to pass through with its trials, dangers, and temptations. Salvation on the condition of hope is advantageous. A state of waiting is one of moral worth, and helpful in the spiritual life. It tends to produce and develop the active qualities of endurance and fortitude, and the passive qualities of patience and resignation; and it also fits us to appreciate and form a right estimate of the blessings in prospect. In daily life we see that the prize in the future frequently makes a man what he is; and when his wishes are realised, and his ambition satisfied — in fact, when hope has found its accomplishment and ceased to exist — the same individual has not been unknown to deteriorate. The knowledge that the reward is ours at the end of the course, and would be forfeited or lessened by failure on our part, tends to call out our latent powers, stimulate our efforts, and produce states and habits of the soul which otherwise, without a miracle, could hardly exist. (C. Neil, M.A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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?WEB: For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? |
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