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According to our version "we are saved by hope," but that is scarcely in accordance with other parts of Holy Scripture. Everywhere we are told that we are saved by faith (Romans 5:1). The original should be rendered "in hope." Believers are saved by faith and in hope. At this present moment believers are saved, and in a sense completely. They are entirely saved from the guilt of sin, from its defilement, its reigning power, and its penalty. Yet we are conscious that there is something more than this to be had. There is salvation in a larger sense, which as yet we see not; for at the present moment we find ourselves in this tabernacle, groaning because we are burdened. We have not yet attained, but are pressing on.

I. THE OBJECT OF THIS HOPE.

1. Our own absolute perfection. We have set our faces towards holiness, and by God's grace we will never rest till we attain it.

2. The redemption of the body (vers. 10, 11), to consort with our purified spirit.

3. Our eternal inheritance (ver. 17).

4. The glory which shall be revealed in us (ver. 18) tells us which is "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

5. "The glorious liberty of the children of God."

6. "The manifestation of the sons of God." Here we are hidden away in Christ as gems in a casket; by and by we are to be revealed as jewels in a crown.

II. THE NATURE OF THIS HOPE.

1. It consists of three things.

(1) Our hope of being delivered from sin as to our soul, and infirmity as to our body, arises out of a solemn assurance that it shall be so. This is our belief because Christ is risen and glorified, and we are one with Him.

(2) This also we desire at all times, but especially when we get a glimpse of Christ.

(3) This desire is accompanied with confident expectation. Thus our hope is not a hazy, groundless wish that things may turn out all right.

2. It is grounded upon the Word of God, the faithfulness of God, and His power to carry out His own promise, and therefore it is a hope most sure and steadfast, which maketh no man ashamed who hath it.

3. It is wrought in us by the Spirit of God. Ungodly men have no such hope.

4. It operates in us in a holy manner. "He that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself." It makes us feel that it is a shame for princes of the blood imperial of the skies to dabble in the mire like children of the gutter.

III. THE ANTICIPATORY POWER OF THIS HOPE. We obtained the first part of salvation by faith. But, besides this, we have in hope the fuller range of salvation. How is this?

1. Hope saw it all secured by the promise of grace. Knowing that the whole of the promise is of equal certainty, hope expected the future mercy as surely as faith enjoyed the present blessing.

2. Hope saw the full harvest in the firstfruits. When the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the body, hope concluded that the body would be delivered as surely as the soul.

3. Hope is so sure about this coming favour that she reckons it as obtained. You get an advice from a merchant beyond sea: he says, "I have procured the goods you have ordered, and will send them by the next vessel." The deed is done that makes them yours. So it is with heaven. I have advices from One whom I cannot doubt that He has gone to heaven to prepare a place for me, and that He will come again and receive me to Himself. The apostle is so sure of it that he even triumphs in it (ver. 37).

IV. THE PROPER SPHERE OF HOPE. "Hope that is seen is not hope, for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for?"

1. A Christian's real possession is not what he sees. Suppose God prospers him and he has riches: let him be grateful, but let him confess that these are not his treasures. One hour with the Lord Jesus Christ will bring more satisfaction to the believer than the largest measure of wealth.

2. But it is clear that we do not at present enjoy these glorious things for which we hope. The worldling cries, "Where is your hope?" and we confess that we do not see the objects of our hope. For instance, we could not claim to be altogether perfect, but we believe that we shall be perfected. By no means is our body free from infirmity, yet our firm conviction is that we shall bear the image of the heavenly.

3. Away, then, with judging by what you do, or see, or feel, or are. Rise into the sphere of the things which shall be. When there is no joy in the present, there is an infinite joy in the future.

V. THE EFFECT OF THIS HOPE. "Then do we with patience wait for it." We wait, but not as criminals for execution, but as a bride for the wedding. The joy is sure to come, therefore do not complain and murmur, as though God had missed His appointment.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

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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?