There are many Christians who do not walk in victory over sin (or never seem to have hope) because they have never learned or applied the principles found in Romans 5:1-5. They are tossed to and fro by their own thoughts or the thoughts the devil puts in their mind and they embrace.

Let's look at this passage of Scripture and see what it says.

Romans 5:1-5
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(As a follower of Christ walking in repentance you are justified before God through Jesus so you can have peace)

2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
(God gives us grace to walk in victory if we will walk in faith)

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
(Tribulation brings perseverance. We need tribulations in our life, don't run from them. The reason many don't make it, is because as soon as they encounter a tribulation/trial they quit.)

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
(Notice, to get hope, you must develop character, and character comes from persevering. What happens to most is that they become a 'character' instead of developing character.)

5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(When we are willing to apply the principles in this passage and understand God's love, we will have hope no matter what we are going through.)

Keep pressing on, even if it feels like you have encountered a brick wall. Keep hitting against that brick wall. If you keep hitting against it, it will become paper thin. You know what happens to many? The wall becomes paper thin and they quit just before they get to the other side. Then the wall becomes thick all over and they have to start all over again-don't give up!!!!!

The reason why many Christians ARE CHARACTERS, instead of HAVING CHARACTER, is because they bale out as soon as there is some tribulation in their life-they never build perseverance which will build character in them.

Some would say how can you possibly have hope if you have to go through tribulations-the tribulations are what brings hopelessness. This is the case only to those who have tried to bypass the character building process. If a person will go through the process they will have hope because past experience has shown them that God comes through every time. Instead of running from tribulations and suffering, they embrace what God has put in their path. They say, "OK God, what is it that you want to teach me this time?" They trust the sovereignty of God. This in no way means that we should not pray for God's blessing and provision, or His deliverance. There are those who swing the pendulum too far and make it sound like misery, poverty, sickness, etc. reflects godliness. Like always, I say balance, balance, balance.