Romans 8:24-25 : For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. The "for" shows close connection with the preceding verses. Christians are now subject to vanity, the bondage of corruption; but they hope to be "delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:20-21). In this hope we were saved. In the Greek text there is an article before hope in the first clause which equals this hope. In the hope of such glorious deliverance we are saved; not saved by this hope, but in this hope. In salvation, which is a process and which began at conversion, faith guides and hope stimulates us to patient endurance. The whole process is carried on in an element of hope, and culminates in our full deliverance into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. "But hope that is seen is not hope." The word see frequently means to possess, to enjoy, to suffer, to experience. That is true even in our everyday speech. We see a good time; we see much sorrow; we see much pain. We experience these things. A person does not hope for what he sees that is, for what he already has or experiences. If our redemption was already complete, if there was nothing yet to be desired or expected, there would be no hope. But we desire and expect a glorious future, and this hope for full deliverance from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God causes us to be patient during our period of waiting. Without hope we would not endure--we would not strive. Hope anchors our soul to the eternal world. "Hope lost, all is lost."