The "Hope Of Salvation" -- A Question

An individual once asked, “If a Christian has been granted salvation (cf. Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2), why does Paul speak of the “hope of salvation” in 1 Thessalonians 5:8? Doesn’t hope indicate something yet to be received?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, the text reads:

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

The simple answer is that in the Scriptures, words are used in different senses. For example, there is a sense in which our salvation has already been received through our submission to baptism (cf. Acts 2:38; Acts 8:36-39; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21).

However, we “hope” for salvation in the sense that our salvation will only be fully realized when we enter heaven with all its glories, i.e., “the heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18).

Paul points out the fact that our salvation is “nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11). However, it is yet to be achieved in its fullness or completeness (2 Timothy 2:10). It will be fully received in “the last time” (1 Peter 1:5), and it will be received only if we are found “faithful, even to the point of death” (Revelation 2:10 NIV).

Then and only then will we fully receive our salvation and be awarded the imperishable victor’s “crown of life” (Revelation 2:10; cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; James 1:12).

Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

Comments