Faith and Hope

What is the difference between faith and hope? ~ Anonymous

Dear Anon, this is a great first question for the Files, thank you!

This answer is going to be too brief to do your question justice, but here’s the big idea…

Hope, for Christians, is not a ‘cross your fingers’ deal. Hope is a confident assurance that what God has promised will come to pass. In the funeral service in the Anglican Prayer book it says: “…we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life…”

Hope is confident about the future because it’s grounded in God’s promises that never fail.

Faith is a bigger concept. It encapsulates what we mean by hope, but it goes beyond what God has promised for the future. Faith includes a confidence in who God is (his nature) and what God has done in the past (creation, crucifixion, resurrection, scripture etc.). For example, by faith I say: Lord Jesus, I trust you, and I believe that you accomplished on the cross all that was needed to reconcile me to God.

We need both hope and faith to persevere in the Christian life. I pray that you experience more of both as you walk with Jesus.

~ Love, JS