There are times when detailed Bible study refreshes our under standing of the most basic first principles. For example, in Romans 8:24 the Greek text associates the definite article (“the”) with the word “hope.”
Not just any hope
The KJV reads, “For we are saved by hope” conveying the lesson that the attribute of looking fora future reward is most useful to our present discipleship. That is true, of course, but it is not exactly what is said here.
The phrasing in the Greek indicates a specific divine promise is in mind, not just a hopeful attitude. Most translations convey that idea by rendering the phrase, “For in this hope we are saved” (e.g. RSV, NIV). The Emphatic Diaglott reads, “For we are saved by the hope.”
Is this an important point? Most emphatically, Yes!
Not just believing in God
Earlier in the epistle, Paul dwells at length on Abraham’s faith. The exposition begins with Genesis 15:6: “And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” When citing the verse, Paul makes some small interpretive changes: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Rom. 4:3).
The differences are readily seen. “He” is rendered “Abraham” to identify the subject; “the LORD” is translated “God” which is common when the New Testament quotes the Old; “he counted it” is given as “it was counted” emphasizing Abram’s faith was the key and, significant for our purposes, “believed in” is cited as “believed.”
There might be some room for interpretation in the phrase, “believed in.” It could refer to a generalized confidence in God, a warm feeling of reliance on the Almighty (which is important). On the other hand, it could be talking about confidence in a specific promise about specific blessings. Paul’s rendering removes the doubt; Abraham believed God was going to keep the specific promises He had made. That specific confidence was counted as righteousness.
Significantly, Genesis 15:6 is given prominence in two other New Testament passages, Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23, and both times “believed in” is rendered “believed.”
He believed what God said
Abraham did not believe he was going to inherit Ur of the Chaldees; he did not look for an eternal reward in heaven; he believed God’s promise — “all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever” (Gen. 13:15).
Owning only a burial plot in Israel did not dissuade Abraham. He looked forward to a time when his great descendant [Christ] would possess the gate of his enemies and his seed would be a vast people in the earth. He saw these things in the future and was “persuaded of them, and embraced them” (Heb. 11:13).
These were not vague visions of a better day that Abraham had; these were clear conceptions of what God had promised. He was “fully persuaded that, what he [God] had promised, he was able also to perform” (Rom. 4:21).
If Abraham had believed that, in some way, God would do him good but not in just the way He had revealed, then Abraham would not have had the necessary conviction. Abraham’s faith would not have been imputed to him for righteousness. He must believe what God had said.
And so must we.
Having Abraham’s faith
We rejoice to read: “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:23,24).
Happily, we can also be part of these promises by incorporating Abraham’s faith into our own lives. If we do so, we will become joint heirs with him of eternal blessings.
But we must have that faith; not just any conviction, it must be Abraham’s type of faith. Abraham is the father of those who “walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham” (Rom. 4:12). “That faith,” a specific faith in specific promises.
The same point comes through in the words, “the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Gal. 3:8). “In thee” is not the same as “In thy seed.” The latter phrase is particularly concerned with Christ and turning from our iniquities (Acts 3:26). “In thee” stresses Abraham and our emulation of his faith as a basis of blessing.
Abraham believed what God promised; we are hardly his spiritual progeny if we believe something different.
What Abraham believed
As God’s purpose is unfolded, the picture Abraham saw is clarified before us. His natural descendants, the Jewish people, have a special place in God’s plan. Eventually they will be a powerful people in the earth; Jerusalem, their capital city will be the capital city of all the world; Jesus Christ, their king, will be king over the whole earth (Jer. 3:17).
Abraham’s spiritual descendants, faithful people of all ages, have even greater promises. They will live forever as fellow heirs with Abraham (Gal. 3:27-29). We are Abraham’s spiritual descendants, however, only if we share his faith in what God has promised.
We can forget
Any validly baptized person at one time understood and believed God’s plan for Abraham and both his natural and spiritual descendants. We believed the things concerning the kingdom of God as well as those concerning the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 8:12). This was made certain at our interview.
Our problem is in forgetting. Over time, the elements of the promises can drift so far to the back of our mind that we speak as if we never knew them. And our preaching becomes only half a gospel. We address today’s moral issues, which we must. We speak of baptism, which is essential. We defend the unity of God and explain the state of the dead, which are vital first principles. But we must not forget the foundation point of faith, God’s promises involving the spiritual and natural progeny of Abraham.
Recently, we reviewed two attempts to summarize the basic elements of baptism. Abraham was not mentioned in either one of them nor was there any mention of emulating his faith. We can forget.
To have eternal life, we must be “in Abraham,” part of his spiritual family, linked to him by our common faith in the specific promises of God. We are saved by “the” hope which we are blessed to know and which we long to see fulfilled. Let us keep the promises firmly in mind and openly featured in our proclamation of the Truth.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One