Romans 8:25

But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

This verse explains how we are saved by hope, because, without hope, there could not be the patience which is required to prevent the child of God from falling into discouragement. The Christian's salvation lies altogether within an area of what the world speaks of as "intangibles." It is a faithful trusting in "things not seen as yet" (see my Commentary on Hebrews, p. 250). Hope is far more than a mere wish that something might exist or be possessed; it is a valid claim, supported by faith, and grounded in confidence that the Lord is able to keep "that which I have committed to him" against that day (1 Timothy 1:12). This hope which saves is grounded in the Christian's living faith, but it must also be distinguished from faith. As Sanday noted,

Nor can it rightly be said that hope is an aspect of faith, because faith and hope are expressly distinguished, and placed as coordinates with each other in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; and the greatest of these is love."[45]

Going a little further with Sanday's reasoning, "these three" are arranged in the ascending order of greatness, and therefore hope outranks faith in the constitution of God's redemptive system. The KJV's rendition of "We are saved by hope" is thus far better than the English Revised Version's "for in hope were we saved." One may not resist the fear that the latter translation was encouraged by the jealousy of people to guard one of their popular theories that people are saved by "faith alone."