FAITH
Hebrews 11
Introduction
1. FAITH is an essential condition of the
salvation of those to whom the Gospel is preached, In giving the Great
Commission Jesus said “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark
2. It is important therefore that we know
what faith is.
3. It is important also for us to know how we may obtain
faith, and how to increase it if we have faith.
4. It is also important for me to
understand how faith contributes to my salvation.
There are three questions we intend
to discuss in this lesson.
1) What
is faith?
2) How
do I come by faith?
3) What
part does faith play in my salvation.
I. WHAT IS FAITH
DEFINITION
1. The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 is
devoted to the subject of faith, but it is too long and contains too much to be
embraced in one lesson.
A. The
writer begins by telling us what faith is, and as a good dictionary or lexicon
will do, he follows up the statement as to what faith is by a long list of
examples.
B. So
that if any one should fail to get the idea from the definition, he would get
it from the example. At any rate, by the
use of the two methods together, he could not fail, by proper diligence, to
understand the subject.
2. Unfortunately, reading the English
translation of Hebrews 11:1 the definition is given in words that are somewhat
obscure.
A. KJV. Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen. “
B. What
idea do you get from that language? We
know what substance is. The substance of
this pulpit is wood. The substance of
this song book is paper. The substance
of a speech is the chief thought or the principal thought that run through it.
C. The
substance of this sermon is FAITH, but what is the substance of FAITH?
D. It
may be difficult then for us to understand how that FAITH is the substance of
things hoped for.
3. The second part of the definition says
FAITH is the evidence of things not seen.
Can we understand this? It is
difficult is it not?
A. The
things that are unseen concerning which we have faith– are such things as God, angels, heaven, hell,
the wondrous things of the past, the unspeakable things of the present
spiritual world, and the world to come– now faith is the results of the
evidence which convinces us of these
things.
B. The
NASV reads, Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.”
New Century Version:
“Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that
something is real even if we do not see it”
C. Edward Robinson in his Lexicon of the
Greek New Testament gives one of the best translations found,
“Faith is confidence as to things hoped for; conviction as to things not seen.”
Now this is getting pretty
clear!
D. Faith is defined as having relation to
two classes of objects:
1) Things hoped for, and 2) Things unseen.
The later class includes all the former. The reverse is not true. Illustration, Hell is unseen, but not hoped
for. Heaven is hoped for and it is
unseen to our eyes at present.
E. So faith, then, has a relationship to
these two classes of objects.
ILLUSTRATIONS
1. With this
statement or definition of what faith is– let us go on and look at a few of the
illustrations. We have time for only a
few of these examples, and to see how well they fit the definition, and thus
get a clearer conception of FAITH– one that impresses our memory better.
2. The first
example the Hebrew writer presents is the fact that God created the worlds –
v. 3. NASB “ By faith we understand that the
worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out
of things which are visible.”
A. Here is an unseen and wondrous event far
back in the past. It suits the last part
of the definition.
B. The creation of the world is not a
“hope” with us, so it doesn’t fit the first part, but it does fit the second
part of the definition.
C. Our conviction is that the worlds have
been framed by the Word of God, and this is an example of our faith.
3. The next
example is the faith of Abel – v. 4. “ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain,
through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying
about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” NASV
A. Abel had a confidence that through this
sacrifice, God would count it “righteous.” This was something hoped for.
B. Also he must have had conviction to
things unseen. He offered his sacrifice
to an invisible God, and probably expected unseen blessings.
4. The next
case is that of Enoch – v. 5. He was translated so as to be to found. “By faith Enoch was
translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had
translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he
pleased God.” KJV
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE
WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before
his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” NASB
A. Here the author, seeing that nothing is
said in the history of Enoch in the O.T. about his having any faith, feels the
necessity of proving that he had; so he proceeds to say that “before he was
translated... he had testimony that he was well pleasing to God.”
B. So if Enoch was well pleasing to God,
he must have had faith, for the author says in verse 6, “But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him.”
C. In these words the writer brings out two
elements of Enoch’s faith.
1) He believed that God is – the
conviction of an un-seen thing
2) He believed that God is the rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him– confidence as to a hoped-for reward.
D. And under that “conviction” and
“confidence” Enoch
walked with God.
5. Noah’s
faith is the next example in verse 7. “ By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved
with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house;”
A. Here the Hebrew writer brings in the
very terms of his definition.
B. Here was conviction to an unseen
disaster, threatening life.
C. Here was confidence in the hoped-for
deliverance of his own family under the promise that God had made– this
confidence moves him to build the ark.
6. The next
example is that of Abraham– in v. 8; v.9-10; and 11-12.
A. Two incidents in his life, and one ins Sarah’s is brought out to illustrate Faith.
B. Verse 8. “ By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing
whither he went.”
Conviction
as to an unseen and unknown country, and a confident hope of possessing it.
1) Abraham was moved by that conviction
and confidence to make a journey of some 1300 miles.
2) “This is the land; it shall be thine for an
inheritance for thy seed...” (Cf. Gen 28:13)
C. Verse
9-10 is another example seen in the fact that Abraham lived in tents with
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of promised, because he looked for a city with
foundation. “By faith he lived as an alien in the
land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and
Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect
and builder is God.” NASB
1) Around Abraham, the Shechemites and
others around had cities. Melchizedek,
the priest of God had a city. Abraham’s
friends and the Hittites were living in the City of
2) And here was Abraham, a man of great
wealth, and he could have built a palace to live in, but he chose to live in a
tent all his life.
3) He was 75 years old when he left his
native land, and 175 when he died. For 100 years in lived in tents, because by
FAITH the city he longed for was the one built by God, and not one that could
be built by Abraham.
4) So he dwelt in tents without
foundation, with the conviction and confidence that one day he and his heirs
would have that city with foundation built by God.
7. There are
many more examples of great FAITH in the chapter, but we must hasten on to
answer the other parts of our questions.
1) What is Faith? 2) How do we obtain faith? and 3) How does
faith figure into our salvation?
8. Now, what
is the object of our faith?
A. Jesus put a question to his apostles in
Matthew 16:13 ff. “Whom
do men say that I, the son of man am?”
“Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God." And Jesus said to
him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not
reveal his to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Vs. 16 & 17,
NASB
1) “Flesh...”
If Peter had listened to Herod, the priests, or the scribes, he
never would have come to this conclusion.
2) “Father...” God had revealed it to Peter by what Jesus
had said and done. Peter’s mind bring open to hear the voice of God which spoke through
all these wondrous words and deeds of His Son Jesus.
B. Then Jesus painted a very striking picture
before the mind of the twelve. He
presented himself as about to build a Church that he compares to a great walled
city with gates to it, and He paints Peter as the gate-keeper, and He is going
to build that Church on a rock– solid foundation that cannot be undermined –
and he depicts that before them.
C. Then there is another city, with its
walls and gates painted in dark colors, death pouring out of those gates to
make war upon this first city; but he says it shall not prevail. He paints the picture in these words – Matt
16:18b - 19a.
D. In that picture notice He makes Himself
the builder of the city, and in the painting you will see Jesus standing on
some high position, giving directions to all the workmen.
1) He paints Peter standing by one of the
gates, with a bunch of keys in his hand.
2) Then he paints a great ledge of rock
lying under the whole city. What does
that rock symbolize?
3) Some say it is Peter, but it would
spoil the picture to say that. You would
have to take Peter away from the gate and change him into the great ledge or
rock, to make him the foundation.
4) Others say it is Jesus Himself; but
that also would spoil this picture as Jesus as drawn it now. You would have to take him down from his
place as the chief architect and builder and change Him into the great rock,
and stretch Him out under the walls.
True,
in another passage, Paul pictures Jesus as the foundation of the church, but in
Matthew we are looking at a different illustration – 1Co 3:11
“For other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
In another passage, the picture is that the church is built
on the foundaiton of the apostles and prophets, listen to Eph 2:20 “And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner stone;”
5) That is not
the picture Jesus painted. Leave Him
where he is, leave Peter where he is; and look at what Jesus as said concerning
that rock!
E. What is it? Undoubtedly it is that Foundation Truth which Peter had
just confessed, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” For on that TRUTH the church IS built; on
that truth it stands today!
1) If infidels could disprove the
proposition that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God” the whole
church would tumble into ruins the very moment they did so.
2) But the fact is true and therefore the
church stands on an impregnable rock, where, according to Jesus, all the powers
of hades can never prevail against it.
This is the picture Jesus drew.
F. To you and to me here is expressed an
unseen fact; for Jesus is now up yonder in Heaven sitting on the right hand of
God, the head of the Church, and head over all things to the church, ruling all
things in heaven and earth and under the earth for the benefit of the church.
G. Our faith is conviction in regard to
that unseen thing, conviction with regards to his death on the cross.
H. At the same time, all our hopes rests on
Him. Our confidence in Him, the things
He has promised, the things we hope for, is the animating power of our life.
I. FAITH in Jesus Christ then is
conviction as to things unseen, confidence as to things hoped for.
II. HOW DOES ONE
COME TO FAITH?
It would be useless for me to go on further in trying to
show what faith is. How is FAITH born
within a man? And then, once it is born,
how is it strengthened and deepened until it becomes an absorbing and
controlling power? This is our second
question. And these same examples give
us the answer to this question.
1. First,
there is our faith that the worlds were created by the Word of God? How did we come by this FAITH? Not by reasoning about it, nor dreaming, not
in answer to prayer. But we read, when
boys and girls, in Genesis 1:1 out
of God’s Holy Word, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We came to faith from God’s Word!
2. How did Abel come to his conviction and
confidence that led him to offer his sacrifice to God? We’re not told a lot in Genesis, but a
littler more is revealed to us here in Hebrews 11.
A. We are sure Abel’s faith didn’t spring
from his own reasoning, that if he sacrificed a lamb, it would be pleasing to
God.
B. He came to understand what he must do
by the revelation of God. He heard God’s
word and he had conviction and confidence in what God revealed to him.
3. Enoch– how did he come to his
conviction in regard to the unseen God, and his confident expectation that God
would reward him if he served him?
A. He must have come to his FAITH in the
same way.
B. Romans
4. Noah– he had a conviction that a flood
was coming and his hope of escape from it for himself and his family rested on
conviction and confidence in God’s word.
A. What a daring and presumptuous thing for
Noah to have reached that by reason.
B. Not by workings of his mind, but God
told him – Genesis 6:7, 13-14.
C. From God’s Word then he come to his conviction and confidence.
5. Abraham– where did his conviction and
confidence come from when he didn’t know where he was going?
A. God told him – Gen. 12:1
B. From where did he come to his
conviction and confidence of a walled city. The record is silent about any such
city. But his faith came by some
revelation from God.
6. But then
someone asks, is it possible that our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is born in
the same way?
A. Well, just look into the workings of
your own mind, and ask yourself how did faith originate
in your mind– the conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
B. Everyone of
you must answer, “I came to my FAITH from God’s Word.”But for the Word of God,
we would not have that faith.
1) John 5:24 “
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
2) John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”
C. Go to any heathen nation in the world,
and no man has ever been found or will be, who has this conviction in him
except it arrived at it from the Word of God.
7. So then,
how did we obtain our confidence in the Lord?
What gives us confidence that He will bless us if we give Him service
and love?
A. Is the word of God able also to give us
this confidence? The question is,
whether the Word of our Great God, the loving Father of heaven and earth, whose
very nature is truth, can inspire us with confidence in His promises.
B. My friends, if God’s Word will not do
it, what power is there in heaven or earth that you can conceive of that could?
C. We come to FAITH from the Word of God;
and let me tell you, the more we read and study His Holy Scriptures, the more
we lovingly mediate upon them and lay them away in the memory of our heart, the
stronger our faith becomes– the better men and women we will be– the better
able to stand up against the storms of unbelief that rage around us in this
wicked world.
D. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.” Romans 10:17.
E. “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I
might not sin against Thee.”
Psalms 119:11.
III. HOW DOES FAITH
RELATE TO SALVATION?
Now for our third point, how does FAITH bring us the
blessing of salvation of our souls in deliverance from sin, and life
everlasting?
1. Now, this
is a practical question.
A. What part does my FAITH play in my
salvation?
How does
it contribution to my salvation?
B. The examples also answer this question.
2. Was it
through FAITH ALONE that Abel was counted righteous?
A. Would he have been blessed had he
believed with all his heart every thing he believed, but never have offered his
sacrifices?
B. It was because of his faith that he
offered his gifts to God and it was said of him that he was righteous.
3. Did Enoch
receive the blessings of translation through FAITH ONLY?
A. The language of the scriptures says that
Enoch “walked with God.”
B. His faith caused him to “walk
with God” and that resulted in his translation.
4. How
is it that Noah and his family were
saved? Was it by FAITH ONLY?
A. Noah’s faith led him to cut down some
gopher trees and build the ark.
5. Abraham did
not believe God and just remain at home, thinking that God would work it out
some way to give the promised land to his heirs.
A. When called, Abraham obeyed and went forth, he traveled 1300 miles, dwelling in tents looking
forward to the city of
6. Now about
our faith! How is it going to bring us
the forgiveness of our sins and finally bring us through our journey to everlasting
life.
A. Now by causing us to offer a lamb, as
Abel did. Not by building an ark as
Noah did. Nor by taking a long journey
as did Abraham.
B. How then? By causing us to act on the same principles
which they acted on! Everyone
of these acted in harmony with the object of his faith.
C. Abel in harmony with his faith, offered the sacrifices on the altar. Enoch, in harmony with his faith, walked with
God. Noah, in harmony with his faith
built the ark. Abraham in harmony with
his, made a long journey, not even knowing where he was going.
D. So if our faith is to save us, our faith
in Christ, it will be by causing us to act in harmony with that faith. Well, what is that?
7. If the
object of our FAITH is our conviction and confidence that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, who is ruling over heaven and earth, and if we act
in harmony with our conviction, we will surrender our lives and all that we
have and are, to His divine guidance and will.
A. Illustration: If we are convinced when a man tells us our
house is on fire, we will act according to our convictions.
B. Now do we believe that Jesus laid down
his life to redeem us from sin? If we
believe the Bible’s message that he was crucified, buried, and resurrected for
our benefit, won’t we follow him devotedly?
C. If we believe this, then to act in
harmony with our faith, is to love our dear Friend, and render him our life in
devotion and service.
8. And if that
FAITH dwells in any man’s soul, and he is not living in harmony with it,
every day, every time he thinks of it, there is a great antagonism, a great
conflict, within his heart, between his FAITH and his LIFE.
A. Every believer in the assembly today,
who has not began living a life in harmony with his faith, feels that
antagonism right now. And it gives great
unrest to the soul.
9. Not only are we to act in harmony with our FAITH to receive
God’s blessings, but our FAITH moves us to act that way. It impels us in that direction.
A. When a man has to resist it and fight
against his FAITH, he doesn’t merely become indifferent to his own best
feelings, but he tramples them under his feet, and he continues to do so, if he
doesn’t yield to the power of faith and give himself into the service of the
Lord.
B. I speak but what you know already by
your own inward experience.
CONCLUSION
1. I said
earlier that we do not have to do as the men of our text did,
in carrying out our faith, and yet, we come very near it.
2. We are not
called upon to bring a lamb to the altar, and lay our hands upon its head, and
shed its blood and burn its flesh... but we do bring to God our sacrifice.
a. Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is]
your reasonable service.”
3. And after
we have confessed our faith, are we not to do as Enoch did, to walk with God
the rest of our life... Rev. 2:10b “ be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
4. And are we
not to act very much as Abraham did, when he was called? My brethren, we have started for a promised
land; knowing that
God has said, “It is a goodly land, and I will give it to you.” How much like Abraham!
5. How easily
we too can live by faith like these great examples. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved.”
A. Let your FAITH manifest itself in
obedience– come as Christ invites you!
Come to confess you faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and
be baptized into a new relationship with him as your Lord and Savior.
[ Based on a sermon by J.W. McGarvey, Professor
of Sacred History, College of the Bible,