Paul reminds the Ephesians that before their encounter with Christ they were “without hope and without God in the world” ( Eph 2:12). We see how decisively the self-understanding of the early Christians was shaped by their having received the gift of a trustworthy hope, when we compare the Christian life with life prior to faith, or with the situation of the followers of other religions. Likewise, when the First Letter of Peter exhorts Christians to be always ready to give an answer concerning the logos-the meaning and the reason-of their hope (cf. Thus the Letter to the Hebrews closely links the “fullness of faith” (10:22) to “the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23). “Hope”, in fact, is a key word in Biblical faith-so much so that in several passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem interchangeable. Before turning our attention to these timely questions, we must listen a little more closely to the Bible's testimony on hope. ![]() Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here?Ģ. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. ![]() ![]() According to the Christian faith, “redemption”-salvation-is not simply a given. “ SPE SALVI facti sumus”-in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us ( Rom 8:24).
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