“who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be'” (Romans 4:18).
Abraham exhibited the type of faith that actively relied on God’s ability to fulfill His promises. That faith subsequently influenced the direction of his life. While there were some imperfections in Abraham’s faith, he genuinely believed God and His ability to enact His will.
Nevertheless, Romans 4:18 contains a curious reference: “Against hope Abraham believed in hope…” (NET). This statement may seem difficult to reconcile, but several Biblical translations have worked to express the idea behind this statement with greater clarity…
- “Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping…” (GNT).
- “…when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God” (CEV).
- “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have!'” (NLT).
The following source explores this idea in a manner that is worthy of a lengthy excerpt…
“Two other aspects of faith emerge in Paul’s description of Abraham’s own faith in verses 18– 21. They are beautifully summarized in the seemingly paradoxical verse 18a: ‘contrary to hope, in hope [Abraham] believed.…’ How could Abraham’s faith be both ‘contrary to hope’ and ‘in hope’? In these verses, Paul refers to the way Abraham responded to God’s promise that he would father a child who would be the heir to the promises. When God made that promise, Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was 90—and barren (Gen. 17:15–17; Rom. 4:19). Truly, God’s promise seemed to fly in the face of all the ‘evidence.’ Yet Abraham did not let the apparent facts of the matter stand in the way of his faith. He believed ‘contrary to hope’—he believed despite the fact that, from a human point of view, there was no hope that he could ever father a child.
Stressing this ‘contrary to hope’ nature of faith, some theologians have compared faith to a ‘leap in the dark.’ But this is an unbalanced assessment, for Abraham also believed ‘in hope.’ He did not dream up the idea that he would have a child; his conviction was no wish fulfillment. God had promised. It was because Abraham was ‘fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform’ (Rom. 4:21) that he believed. When assessing God’s promise to him, Abraham looked not at the physical evidence—he looked at the God who had promised.” (1)
(1) Douglas J. Moo. (2002). Aspects of Faith. Tabletalk Magazine. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://tabletalkmagazine.com/daily-study/2002/03/aspects-of-faith/