Romans 8:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?

NIV: For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

NASB: For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

CSB: Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

NLT: We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.

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?

NKJV: For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

According to the previous verse, we who trust in Christ and have the Spirit of God are waiting with eager longing. We are looking forward to the completion of our adoption as God's children: the redemption of our bodies. That will happen once these sin-warped bodies of ours finally die and are resurrected in glory, just as Jesus' body was (1 John 3:2).

Now Paul writes that the hope of this very thing—resurrection, being with God as His children—is the same hope that brought us to faith in Christ in the first place. It's the thing everyone longs for, but nobody can reach on our own. Sin keeps us from God's eternal glory (Romans 3:23), but God gives it to us as a gift (Romans 6:23).

We're not home, yet, though. This gift is guaranteed. Our hope is certain, but it has not materialized. We can't see it. If we could, Paul writes, it would not be hope. The life of a Christian is a life of anticipation.

Romans 8:18–30 talks about the participation of Christians in the everyday suffering experienced by all of creation. We all groan together as a woman in labor while we wait for God to reveal His children. As His children, we are waiting for the Father to complete our adoption by redeeming our bodies so that we can be with Him. God's Spirit helps us in the season of waiting by taking our unformed prayers to God. We trust that God uses every circumstance in our lives for His purposes and that He has chosen us long ago to be His children.

Romans 8 begins and ends with declarations of the Christian's absolute security before God. There is no condemnation for those in Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate us from His love. Having believed the gospel, we now live in the Spirit of God. That allows us to call God Abba Father. We suffer with Christ, and we suffer along with all creation while we wait for God to reveal us as His sons. With the help of the Spirit, we are confident that God is for us and loves us in Christ.

In Romans 7, Paul revealed his frustration of trying to do good only to be thwarted by his sin. He begins Romans 8, though, with the triumphant statement that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We live in the Spirit, and we relate to God as a child does to a father. The Spirit helps us in this season of suffering along with all of creation while we wait for our adoption to be complete with the redemption of our bodies. We are confident, though, that God is for us and nothing can separate us from His love.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

Accessed 5/4/2024 8:16:44 PM