Romans 4:18
who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”
Truth to Learn
Abraham’s faith was an unwavering, fully-expectant faith.
Behind the Words
The word translated “hope” is the Greek word elpis, which means “hope” or “anticipation.” In English when we think of “hope,” we think of desiring something but not really expecting it to happen, or at best, thinking that there is a chance of it happening. This Greek word, however, means, “the desire of something with the expectation that it will happen.” It is more than just “simple hope,” it is “expectant hope.” For this reason, this word is often translated as “faith.”
“Believed” is translated from the Greek word pisteuō, which means “to believe in something to the point of having complete trust in it.” Again, the concept is not “yeah, I suppose I believe,” but “I know because I absolutely believe!”
The word “nations” is translated from the Greek word ethnos, which means “a race, a nation, or a group of people belonging and living together.” When contrasted to Jews, it is often translated as “Gentiles.” Here it is appropriately translated “nations.”
Meaning Explained
Paul now makes a reference again to the events surrounding Abraham’s moment of salvation, the point in time when God declared him as righteous. Here’s how Moses recorded it back in the book of Genesis:
Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)
Today’s verse is a dramatic statement of the type of faith that Abraham showed when he believed God’s promise that he would be the father of many nations. It says, “Who, contrary to hope …” meaning that it was beyond reason for him to expect it. And yet he, “… in hope believed …” That is, Abraham had complete trust in the fact that this thing would happen without a doubt!
The thing that he believed was that he would be the father of many nations just as God had told him. So why should this be considered beyond expectation? Because Abraham was about 80 years old and Sarah, his wife, was about 70 when the promise was made. They were both beyond child producing years, and yet Abraham fully believed that not only was God capable of doing it, he believed without a doubt that God would do it. Now that’s faith!
What we sometimes overlook here is that Sarah lived thirty-seven years after Isaac was born. And, after Sarah’s death Abraham remarried (at the age of about 140) and had six more sons by his second wife, Keturah (See Genesis 23:1; 25:1,2).
Application
Is the faith of Abraham the kind of faith that you had when you believed that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins, thus saving you for all eternity?
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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