Faith & Hope

Faith and Hope are distinct yet related. That there is a difference between faith and hope clearly stated in I Cor 13:13.” Now these three remain; faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Two of the three greatest gifts are faith and hope. That faith and hope are related concepts is seen in Hebrew 11:1, ” Faith is the confidence in what we hope for.”

Faith is a complete trust or confidence in something. Faith involves intellectual assent to a set of facts and trust in those facts. For example, we have faith in Jesus Christ. This means we completely trust Jesus for our eternal destiny. We give Him intellectual assent to the facts of His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection, and we can then trust in His death and resurrection for our salvation. 

Biblical hope is built on faith. Hope is the earnest anticipation that naturally stems from faith. Hope is a peaceful assurance that something that hasn’t happened yet will indeed happen. Hope must evolve something that is as yet unseen. “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?” Jesus’ return is our “blessed hope” We can not see Him yet, but we know He’s coming, and we anticipate that event with joy.

Faith and Hope are complimentary. Faith is grounded in the reality of the future. Without faith, there is no hope, and without hope there is no true faith. Christians are people of faith and hope. We have the “ hope of eternal life which God , who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.”

Reference; Got Questions