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Hebrews 11:1-6
September 18, 2011
With this message I am beginning a new series on Hebrews 11 called A Faith-Full Life. Over the last few months I have felt a stir in my heart to take a fresh look at Hebrews 11, the great list of ancient heroes who make up what has been called the Hall of Fame of Faith.
Faith is badly misunderstood by Christians and non-Christians alike. Many would agree with the little boy who, when his Sunday school teacher asked the class what faith is, said, “Faith is believing what you know isn’t true.”
As we’re going to see, in Hebrews 11, that isn’t the Bible’s definition of faith.
What I love about Hebrews 11 is that it doesn’t just define what faith is, it illustrates what faith is like. It shows us real men and real women whose lives were full of faith. I like to think of them as Faith-Full. And as we study this chapter my hope is that you will desire to pray like the disciples did
Luke 17:5 – Lord, increase our faith.
Faith is not meant to be a one-time experience. In the evangelical church we put a great deal of emphasis on being saved by faith. We talk about accepting Christ, receiving Christ, trusting Christ, and giving your heart to Christ. We challenge people to respond in faith to the gospel invitation. This is well and good and Biblical, but sometimes we leave the impression that having been saved by faith, the rest of life is up to us. But that simply isn’t true.
The same faith that saves us is the faith that carries us from day to day as we make the journey from earth to heaven. That’s why the Bible says
Habakkuk 2:4 – The righteous will live by his faith.
The believer in Christ, who is righteous, will live by his or her faith. We are not just saved by faith, we are to live each day by faith. We walk by faith, endure by faith, rejoice by faith, serve by faith, love by faith, sacrifice by faith, pray by faith, worship by faith, and we obey by faith. We get married by faith, and we have children by faith. All that we do, we do by faith.
As we begin Hebrews 11, the question before us is both simple and profound: What is faith and how does it work?
I. What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1–2- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Based on these verses, let me submit to you a three-fold definition of faith
Faith believes what others do not believe.
Faith sees what others do not see.
Faith does what others do not do.
1. Faith believes what others do not believe
Hebrews 11:1a – Now faith is being sure of what we hope for…
Hebrew 11:1a (KJV) – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for…
The word “substance” is an unusual word that refers to the “essential nature” of things. It was sometimes used of the foundation of a house and outside the New Testament was used for the title deed to a piece of property. Faith is the “title deed” to things in the future, things hoped for, things promised by the Lord. It is the confident assurance that what we believe will someday come to pass. Even if others around us do not believe, faith believes what others do not believe.
2. Faith sees what others do not see
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is being … certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) – Now faith is … the evidence of things not seen.
The word “evidence” refers to legal proof in a courtroom. Faith is proof to the soul that enables us to see things that cannot be seen by the naked eye. By faith we “see” what would otherwise be invisible.
Several years back, books that had hidden 3-D images were all the rage. Each page of the book had a piece of art or picture. At first glance all you saw was the surface presentation. But if you let your eyes focus more deeply, or more distantly, you would begin to see some hidden object not only appearing, but actually standing up off the page in 3-D. Now, some people would stare at these pages for several minutes and see nothing but color and chaos. But others almost immediately could see the hidden picture of an animal or person. If someone said to me, “How do you know a person is there in the picture?” My answer was, “I see it.” My seeing was the evidence.
Now this is what it is like for some to look at the universe and God’s creation. Some see color and chaos. Others have a deeper view and can see God’s fingerprints everywhere. What evidence can they offer? They see it. Faith sees what others do not see.
During my undergraduate studies in Physiology at McGill, I took courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology, biology, and microbiology. And in all these disciplines, the more I studied the complexity of the human body, the more I saw evidence of God’s design. And if you have faith, you do too, because faith sees what others do not see.
Are you familiar with the story of Corrie ten Boom? During the Second World War, her family hid Jews from Nazi’s. Eventually, however, they got caught and she got taken from her home in Holland to a prison in Germany. In her book Tramp for the Lord, written near the end of her life, she reflected on her life and wrote the following words:
“Looking back across the years of my life, I can see the working of a divine pattern which is the way of God with His children. When I was in a prison camp in Holland during the war, I often prayed, “Lord, never let the enemy put me in a German concentration camp.” God answered no to that prayer. Yet in the German camp, with all its horror, I found many prisoners who had never heard of Jesus Christ. If God had not used my sister Betsie and me to bring them to Him, they would never have heard of Him. Many died, or were killed, but many died with the name of Jesus on their lips. They were well worth all our suffering. Faith is like the radar which sees through the fog. The reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.”[i]
How amazing. Despite the incredible suffering, even losing her sister in the concentration camp, she still saw God’s hand. How is that possible? Faiths sees what others do not see.
3. Faith does what others do not do
Hebrews 11:2 – This is what the ancients were commended for.
When the writer mentions “the ancients,” he’s talking about the Old Testament saints like Noah, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Job, Daniel, and all the others who trusted in God. And the rest of the chapter is filled with one example after another of what each of these great men and women did as a result of their faith. The proof of faith is that it leads us to do with God’s grace and for God’s glory what others do not do. True faith is never passive. True faith moves us to act, to do, to try, to build, to attempt, to expand, to say “no” to sin and “yes” to righteousness, to speak out for Christ, to move forward, and to stand up for God. Faith does what others do not do.
II. How Does Faith Work?
1. Faith allows you to understand the universe
Hebrews 11:3 – By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
This verse reminds us that the universe came into existence by God’s command. That is why eight times in Genesis 1 you find the phrase “and God said.” He spoke and light shined through the darkness. He spoke and the waters receded from the earth. He spoke and dry land appeared. He spoke and vegetation appeared. He spoke and the sun filled the sky by day and millions of stars twinkled by night. He spoke and the sea teemed with fish and birds began to fly. He spoke and cattle grazed, squirrels gathered hickory nuts, otters frolicked in the streams, and the kangaroo began hopping across the outback. Finally, he spoke again and created Adam. He breathed into him the breath of life and Adam became a living soul. When Adam got lonely, God created Eve. And that’s how the human race began.
2. Faith enables you to be accepted by God
Hebrews 11:4 – By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
This is the story of Cain and Abel. It is a story that is so well known that many people who never read the Bible know that Cain killed Abel. It has even entered our language as a synonym for troublemaking—Raising Cain. The phrase is appropriate because this story is dark and tragic from beginning to end.
It is the first murder in human history. One brother kills another in an outburst of rage and envy. You can read the original story in Genesis 4. Over the centuries it has gripped the imagination of many people because it speaks to an issue we all understand. Cain and Abel were brothers. As is the case in many families, there was evidently sibling rivalry from the beginning. Cain farmed the soil while Abel raised livestock. Cain brought an offering from his crops while Abel brought a sacrifice of the best of his herd. God accepted Abel’s offering because it was brought in faith. There are many mysteries about this story. There is much we don’t know that we wish we knew. How did they know to bring an offering to God? How did Cain know Abel’s sacrifice had been accepted and his had not? What exactly had Adam taught his sons about the proper way to approach God? I suspect that Adam had explained that God required a sacrifice.
Whatever we may say about the two offerings, the real difference was in the heart. Abel had faith; Cain did not. Abel believed God and offered the best that he had; Cain lacked faith and apparently just went through the motions. Genesis 4:4 says that God looked with favor on Abel and his offering. When he looked at Abel’s heart, he found faith there, and it was faith that he rewarded. When God looked at Cain’s heat he saw an absence of faith. And it was the absence of faith which guaranteed that his offering would be rejected. This reminds us that the heart is the all-important thing with God. And when a man or woman or boy or girl has faith, faith enables them to be accepted by God.
3. Faith permits you to please God
Hebrews 11:5–6 – By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The story of Enoch is only given 4 verses in the book of Genesis.
Genesis 5:21–24 – When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
In just four brief verses we have Enoch’s entire life history. For 65 years he lived for himself, but when his son Methuselah was born, he began to walk with God. Genesis 5:22 says, “After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years.
The emphasis here is on the fact that Enoch “walked with God.” Walking speaks of a journey. All of us are on a journey going somewhere. We are looking for something—meaning, purpose, identity, fulfillment, satisfaction. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has put eternity inside every human heart. That is, God has placed in us a hunger to know who we are and where we fit in the universe. And all our striving after career goals, worldly success, financial independence, and even our jumping from one relationship to another, those things are but symptoms of our deeper need to find our place in the universe. The French philosopher Pascal said that there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside every human heart. Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we don’t fill it with God, we will fill it with something else. So many of us have filled our hearts with the junk food of the world. No wonder we are so unhappy. Augustine said, “O Lord, you have made us for yourself. Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.” How true that is.
Enoch’s journey led him to God, and when he found God, he walked with him. He began walking with God after the birth of his son Methuselah. Perhaps he was like many men who don’t grow up until they look into the face of their firstborn son or daughter. Suddenly they realize the heavy weight of responsibility that is upon them. Many men have gotten serious about their faith because of the birth of a child. Perhaps that’s what happened to Enoch. In any case he walked with God for 300 years.
One day Enoch and God had walked so far that God said, “Why don’t you come home with me?” And Enoch walked beyond space and time into eternity. He “was not” because God took him off the earth and allowed him to enter heaven without experiencing death. He is one of only two people in the Bible who did not die—the other being Elijah.
Enoch’s story teaches us that going home to be with the Lord is not a traumatic event—though on earth it often seems traumatic. For the believer in Jesus, death is a transition from this life to the next. It is the doorway through which we enter the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think we sometimes have a wrong view of death. We think that we’re going from the land of the living to the land of the dying. No! If you have faith in Jesus, you are going from the land of the dying to the land of the living. For Christians, upon death, our soul leaves our body and the land of the dying and goes to heaven, the land of the living.
Christians have always faced death with confidence because of the hope in the future resurrection of the body. When a believer is buried, it is done with the expectation that one day the Lord will resurrect it. According to God’s Word, at the return of Christ, the Lord will resurrect the bodies of the saved, and the resurrected body will be reunited with the soul to eternal life.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 – “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
1 Cor.15 adds the crucial fact that our bodies will be “raised imperishable” – that is, with a body that is perfect in every way, free from the effects of death and decay. Once our bodies are raised, we will be with the Lord forever. Isn’t that an amazing destiny? It’s all possible for those who have faith in the Lord. Faith allows you to understand the universe. Faith enables you to be accepted by God. Faith permits you to please God.
And what is faith? Faith is trusting in God. Faith believes what others do not believe. Faith sees what others do not see. Faith does what others do not do.
[i] Corrie ten Boom with Jamie Buckingham, Tramp for the Lord (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: Christian Literature Crusade & Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1974). pp.11–12.
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