Hope is the Catalyst of Faith—Romans 5:5

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5)

Tonight at my small group, we were discussing the importance of hope. Several examples were use of how hope carried a person through a tough situation. The hope stemmed from believing a certain thing then that belief moved them towards that goal. In the end, we agreed that hope was the necessary vehicle to achieve desired results. Hope is a must!

Hoping in the promises of God will never disappoint us because God is faithful to deliver on the promises spoken in his word. Abraham's hope, activated his faith and became the catalyst to receive the fulfillment of the promise. In the same way, our hope can trigger our faith into action. For without faith we will never realize victory. Without hope for the victory we will never initiate our faith in the first place. The two work together hand in hand.

Hope is a crucial thing. Paul is reassuring us that we are hoping in something that won't disappoint us. He is basing this solely on God's love for us. Chapter five in the book of Romans delivers an amazing expose on God's love for us. That is evident in the first couple of verses by the fact that God has given us his Holy Spirit, deposited into our hearts testifying to this very fact. The Holy Spirit confirms with our spirit that we are his own. Knowing this should settle once for all any question about the depth of God's love for us.

Because God loves us and has demonstrated his love to us through his Son Jesus, we know that nothing stands in the way of relationship with Him. Through faith in Jesus we are completely justified by his grace. Today I praise God that he has given us this blessed hope and that hope is based on who he is. Just as the scriptures say, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Romans 10:11)

 

Previous: Romans 5:3-4  Next: Romans 5:6

Original article published July 22, 2009.