Faith!

Scripture tells us we must have faith in God:

• In Genesis 15, God promises the childless Abram that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. And Abram “believed the LORD [had faith in Him], and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
• The apostle Paul tells us: “By grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
• The same apostle tells the Philippian jailer, “Believe in [have faith in] the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

We could cite hundreds of other examples.

But Scripture also tells us of those who have some sort of faith but are not saved. Jacob recently preached from Acts 8, which tells of a magician named Simon who believed and was baptized. But he then tries to buy from the apostles the ability to give Holy Spirit through laying on hands. Peter tells him, “You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God” (Acts 8:21).

So what is true, biblical faith? What’s the difference between the ineffective faith of Simon and the effective faith of Abram?

Hebrews 11 is sometimes called “Faith’s Hall of Fame.” The author considers numerous characters from biblical history, again and again stating what they do “by faith.” So let’s learn about faith from this great chapter.

What is Faith in Hebrews 11?  

Let’s begin by noting three ways our culture uses the word “faith” that differ from the way the word is used in this chapter.

First: Our culture uses “faith” as a synonym for “religion.”

We today speak of the “Jewish faith” or the “Christian faith” or the “Muslim faith.” But Hebrews 11 is not telling us that Abel and Abraham and Moses did these acts “by religion.”

Second: Our culture uses “faith” to mean a personal, subjective commitment.

We call someone a “person of faith,” and we speak of “faith-based organizations.” We’ll encourage someone: “Have faith!”

When we use the word in this way, the object of faith is seemingly unimportant. Rather, the commitment itself is what is vital.

Faith in this sense is never commended in Scripture. Rather: God is commended, Jesus is commended, and the true object of our faith is emphasized.

So Peter at Pentecost says the apostles are eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus (Acts 2:32); Paul writes, “If in Christ we have hope in this life only [which would be the case if we benefit solely by subjective commitment], we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Third: In some Christian circles, “faith” has become a synonym for “profession of faith.”

As if Paul had written, “By grace you are saved through profession of faith.”

But as noted above, in Acts 8 Simon professes faith and is baptized – but is not saved. Similarly, Jesus Himself says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

“Faith” in Hebrews 11 does not mean “religion,” does not mean a personal, subjective commitment, and does not mean simply “profession of faith.”

Before turning to the chapter, however, we also must note that Hebrews uses the word “faith” a bit differently from the apostle Paul. Paul emphasizes faith in Jesus as the Redeemer – the One Who died as a sacrifice for sins, whom God raised from the dead. Even when Paul speaks of an Old Testament character like Abraham, he emphasizes faith being credited to him as righteousness, based on the work of the promised Redeemer. Hebrews 11, on the other hand, describes Old Testament men and women who had faith – some of whom knew almost nothing about the coming Redeemer.

So the word “faith” is used in a broader sense in Hebrews: These believers all grasp the reality of what God has promised and hold onto that reality in the midst of distractions, temptations, and lengthy delays in the fulfillment of those promises.

With that understanding, consider Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (CSB, emphasis added).

The author emphasizes faith is based on a reality. Faith is based on objective truth. Thus, the “hope” is not a wish or desire, but a certain expectation based on God’s revelation. God reveals who He is, what He is like. He displays that in history. And He makes promises about the future consistent with that revealed character. Faith takes that revelation, those promises – and enables us to hold on to them as certain, as real, as true.

Let me emphasize that again: Faith is not trying to convince yourself of something that is doubtful. Rather, faith is you grasping what is really true and holding on to it. Others may not see that reality – but you know it by faith, you trust the Revealer, the One Who promises.

Let me use a trivial analogy to clarify the point.

Do you see a figure when you look at a full moon?

Some see nothing but dark blobs on a light background. But commonly in our culture people see the face of a man looking down, the “man in the moon.” In East Africa, people instead see the entire body of rabbit.

When at age 20 I taught school in Kenya, folks tried to convince me there was a picture of a rabbit in the moon. They would say, “Just look! It’s really there!” But my brain was conditioned to see the man, and try as I might, I couldn’t see the rabbit.

But after a few days, something clicked – the rabbit was there. And it’s actually much clearer than the man!

Just so with faith. We don’t initially see the reality of Who God is. We just close our eyes and refuse to see; or we may squint and peer and, try as we might, not see. But then God opens our eyes and we see truth, the reality, and embrace His promises. We have faith – a confidence that comes from the reality that is truly there.

Faith is a spiritual tasting, a spiritual seeing of the goodness of God, the beauty of God, the majesty of God, the grace of God: “Taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

The author continues in 11:2: “For by [faith] the people of old received their commendation.” Their commendation not from one another, but from God. The chapter goes on to describe men and women who obey God. But the author’s point is not obedience in and of itself. Rather, the author emphasizes that this type of faith leads to faithfulness, which in turn leads to obedience.

So that is faith in Hebrews 11.

How Does Hebrews 11 Encourage Us to Have Faith?

The author has just said: “You need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised” (Hebrews 10:36 CSB).

Hebrews 11 is a series of illustrations of that point. We are to endure in faith and so worship God and delight in Him today; love our neighbors today; flee from sin today; and finally on the last day receive all God’s remaining promises.

Each character cited in the chapter endures in faith; each gives us an example to follow.

But the chapter is more than a series of examples. The author arranges the material chronologically, thereby highlighting God’s plan, with each individual story providing one more step in the movement of history towards the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

So the author is saying more than, “Have faith like Abel, like Enoch, like Noah, like Abraham!” He is also saying, “See God’s plan being worked out in all these lives! He continues to work it out today, bringing about all His promises!”

After telling the stories of ten individuals who take part in God’s plan, in Hebrews 11:32-40 the author steps back, speaking of two categories of people: Those who had great success in this world through faith in God, and those who lost everything in this world through faith in God. God commends those in both categories for their faith. But none receive all God’s promises. That is reserved until we too become part of God’s faithful people.

Then at the beginning chapter 12 the author exhorts us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. He is the ultimate person of faith. He endured the cross for the joy set before Him of seeing all God’s promises fulfilled. We are to endure in faith like Him.

So: Don’t let our culture’s use of the word “faith” obscure the biblical meaning. God has revealed Himself as He truly is. God has privileged us by giving us a summary of His plan for this creation, and by including us beneficiaries of that great plan. Let us then have an enduring faith in that reality, and so lead faithful lives, delighting to obey Him and to display Him, thereby hastening the coming of that final Day when He fulfills every promise, summing up all things in Christ.

[This devotion is based on part of a sermon on Hebrews 11:1-4 preached October 11, 2020. The audio of that sermon is available via this link.]