As is customary for papal encyclicals, the Latin title of Spe salvi comes from its incipit, which quotes St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans: "For we are saved by hope.

Benedict sees "a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness.

Benedict starts by quoting St. Paul's reminder to the early Church community that before converting to Christianity, they were "without hope and without God in the world" (Epistle to the Ephesians 2:12).

[5] Paragraphs four, five, and six describe a series of contrasts that serve to clearly define Christ's role as revolutionary in the Roman empire and its implications for Christians.

Benedict draws clear distinction between the failed socio-political revolutions or liberations of Spartacus, Barabbas, and Bar-Kochba with "the new (non-political) hope" of Jesus.

[7] In paragraph seven, he proceeds to link hope and redemption to the theological virtue of faith by analyzing the Greek and Latin translation of: Est autem fides sperandarum substantia rerum, argumentum non apparentium.

In the chapter "The transformation of Christian faith-hope in the modern age", Francis Bacon, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx appear with respect to the relationship between faith and reason.