Romans 4:18,19 - Against all hope

4:18

Hope is a key concept in Paul’s thinking, especially in Romans, but elsewhere as well. Remember that faith, hope and love are the three primary virtues. There is a clear distinction between Paul’s use of hope and the common usage of the word. Today it means an aspiration or wishful thinking. In the Bible there is much more certainty about it, for it is founded in God, not in our desires or plans. “Against all hope”. Based on the “facts” there was no way Abraham was going to become the father of one, let alone a nation. Yet Abraham believed. And because he believed he did indeed become the father of many. Now Paul is drawing parallels here with our spiritual condition. There is no way that man can become righteous, that we can become what God intends us to be, if we rely on our own resources. Instead our faith has to be in God, our hope has to be based on what He has said and done. When we do this our hope becomes a sure hope built on a sure foundation.

4:19

Abraham faced up to the fact that his body was as good as dead, as was Sarah. This means he faced up to the fact that Sarah was barren and he was old. Faith is not ignoring the realities of a situation, rather it is facing up to the realities and then factoring God into the equation. Man lives life as if there is no God, this is not the way we were meant to live, and this is why when we come to Christ things become so different, and at times so difficult. Life with God is completely different, the possibilities are completely different, and we need to learn to think and act differently.