Faith, hope and love, these three, are often found together in the New Testament. They form a "trinity" in the heart of the Christian making sure his salvation. When Paul writes naming one of these, the others are never far away. Here are some examples:

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Cor. 13:13.)

"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, . . . that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe. . . ." (Eph. 1:15-19.)

"Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father." (1 Thess. 1:3.)

Some have called Paul’s constant use of faith, hope and love as his theological tripod upon which he depended to present the Gospel of Christ. Even though these three are inter-related and so much a part of the Gospel, we emphasize faith and love more than hope. Yet, the Bible says that we saved by hope.

"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? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom. 8:24-25.) We are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8), by hope (Rom. 8:24), and by love (1 Cor. 16:22, 1 John 4:7-8).

Other passages on hope. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." (Lam. 3:26.)

"For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel." (Col. 1:5.)

"Rejoicing in hope." (Rom. 12:12.)

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope makes not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Rom. 5:3-5.)

"If the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will come and it will not be late." (Hab. 2:3.)

"I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand; I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:8-11.)

"The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death." (Prov. 14:32.)

Surely the saddest of all words are "There is no hope!" (Eph. 2:12, Jer. 2:25.)

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Cor. 13:7-8.)

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1.)

Recently I read something that I have not noticed before. Just as we choose to believe and love, we also choose to have hope or to live without hope. Living with hope concerning this life and the one to come is our choice. I want to show that hope is our choice.

Abraham’s hope. Paul recounted part of the story of the promise to Abraham and Sarah from God to them about having a son. In that account, our course the faith of Abraham is mentioned.

"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." (Rom. 4:20.)

But hope is also central to this story. Abraham’s hope and faith are remarkable. Listen to what Paul said,

". . . even God, who quickeneth the dead and calls those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be." (Rom. 4:17-18.)

This emphasizes that Abraham chose to believe in hope. It was a choice that he made. So must we choose to hope. Hope and faith are closely connected. We could say that faith is our profession; hope is the application of that faith to our lives. Hope demonstrates the reality and strength of our faith.

Our hope. Note the context of Romans 8:24---for we are saved by hope. This chapter climbs the heights of blessings found in Christ Jesus. Yet in the midst of all these wonderful spiritual things, we still find sufferings (8:18) and the need for the Holy Spirit to make utterances to God for us because we simply do not know how to pray as we ought (8:26). Paul describes the whole creation groaning and waiting for a better day, along with us (8:19-23). We need hope while we live in this difficult world. Habakkuk was told by God, "If the vision tarry, wait for it, for it will come and it will not be late." (Hab. 2:3.) Paul said, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (8:25.) Waiting is so difficult. Yet, it is a central part of how hope functions.

Mansfield wrote,

"Not for us are content, and quiet and peace of mind

For we go seeking a city that we shall never find

Only the road and the dawn, the sun and the wind and the rain

And the watch fire under the stars and sleep and the road again

We travel the dusty road till the light of the day is dim

And the sunset shows us the spires away on the world’s rim"

Abraham had to wait 25 years before he had the son God promised him. He died without seeing the fulfillment of the land promise. His great grandchildren enjoyed the land, but not Abraham. Israel waited for the Messiah. Finally, at long last at the fulness of time God sent his Son. Man’s time is most often different from God’s. We must learn to wait and choose to hope in God. "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10.) The promise of God will not be late. It will arrive on God’s time and on schedule. (See Classic Sermons on Hope compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe, 1994, "A Message For Gray Days," by Arthur John Gossip, 7-18.)

One of the remarkable things about the Bible and especially the life of Jesus is the tremendous hope expressed in mankind in what man can become. Jesus attracted many because of the hope that they saw because of Him. It is so easy to be gloomy and downcast. It is easy to condemn others and think so lowly of them. One trait of an effective leader is the hope that he inspires in others.

Jesus told the sinful woman to go and sin no more. He knew that she could live a better life if she would only choose to do so. Jesus changed Peter’s name to one meaning rock. Presently, Peter was very unstable and unpredictable. He had an uneven disposition. Jesus believed in Peter and showed him what he could become. Noah’s name means comfort. His parents so named him because they had hoped that he would give the world comfort after the curse of God on the land after the fall of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 5:29.) Noah may have been encouraged in the dark days of the Flood because of his name. Samuel was the first and greatest of the prophets of Israel, in no small measure due to the prayers of his mother, Hannah. She prayed for a son and promised him to God. F. LaGard Smith wrote that his mother revealed to him that she had prayed for him dedicating him to God’s service. (Baptism: The Believer’s Wedding Garment, 170.)

Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, meaning the father of many nations. Jesus’ name means Savior. God had faith in his son and expressed an undying hope for his life and for that of all mankind. God gives power to those who believe on His name to become the sons of God. (John 1:12.) Jesus told three fishermen that he would make them to become fishers of men. There is hope for us. . . in our salvation. . . in what we can become. . . in the good that we can do for others.

Hope is so helpful to us emotionally, physically and spiritually. Hope produces patience. We have noted already Paul and Habakkuk’s words. "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Rom. 8:25.) "The vision is yet for an appointed time. Though it tarry, wait for it; for it will surely come and it will not tarry." (Hab. 2:3.)

Hope produces purity. John wrote: "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3:3.) Those who have laid hold upon the hope set before them will live pure lives to please Him who called us unto redemption. One clear signal that one has given up on his hope is his abandonment of the purity of life. This is spiritual suicide. People commit physical suicide when they have no hope in life. We need hope. We must have it. But it is our choice.

Hope provides salvation. It saves us from destruction in this life and in the life to come. Judas gave up all hope of the Lord forgiving him. He did not really know the Lord or he would not have let go so easily. Like Abraham, he should have believed in hope against hope. Hope anchors the soul. (Heb. 6:19.)

There are many things that God has not revealed concerning this life. Maybe hope begins in this simple way. God left much to the discovery of man. In the process, we have hope for better health through medical advances. We hope for new discoveries through research. It is a valid hope. How often over the years has such been realized.

Man could hope for a better home to provide shelter for his family. At first, the structure was crude and very temporary. When man worked together and tools were made to assist in the building, his hope for a better place to live was realized.

Advances in all areas of education and understanding provide men with hope concerning a better life on earth. This is not wrong in itself. But our hope is not in this world, not in finding the cure for dreaded diseases, not in finding a scientific explanation for the beginning of the world (we know how the world began through the revelation of God), not in psychology and psychiatry to treat the mentally ill, and not in seeking for that illusive world peace. New diseases arise to plague mankind; greed and power and hatred continue to cause wars; death still overtakes man in his life on earth; sin works it devilish deeds. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our hope is in God who promises a new life and a new place to live.

Our hope derives from divine revelation. It is secure because it comes from the "word of the truth of the Gospel." Biblical hope does not find its origin within man. It is based upon the One who entered within the veil of the Most Holy Place. It is valid because it rests upon two immutable things: God promised it and confirmed it with an oath.

"In hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised before the world began," wrote Paul. (Titus 1:2.)