Hebrews 11:1-40 (web)

Plea for Preserving Faith II

11:1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
11:2 For by this, the elders obtained testimony.

11:3 By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God,
so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

11:4 By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks. (Gen 4:4)

11:5 By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn't see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God. (Gen 5:24)

11:6 Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. 11:7 By faith, Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Gen 6:22)

11:8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called,
obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance.
He went out, not knowing where he went.
11:9 By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a land not his own,
dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
11:10 For he looked for the city which has the foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. (Gen 12:1)

11:11 By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive,
and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised.
11:12 Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude,
and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore,
were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead. (Gen 21:2)

11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen {TR adds "and being convinced of"} them and embraced them from afar,
and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
11:14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking after a country of their own.
11:15 If indeed they had been thinking of that country from which they went out,
they would have had enough time to return.
11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.

11:17 By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac.
Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son;
11:18 even he to whom it was said, "In Isaac will your seed be called;"
11:19 accounting that God is able to raise up even from the dead.
Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead. (Gen 22:2)

11:20 By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. (Gen 27)

11:21 By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph,
and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. (Gen 49)

11:22 By faith, Joseph, when his end was near,
made mention of the departure of the children of Israel;
and gave instructions concerning his bones. (Gen 50:25)

11:23 By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. (Ex 2)

11:24 By faith, Moses, when he had grown up,
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
11:25 choosing rather to share ill treatment with God's people,
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;
11:26 accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt;
for he looked to the reward.
11:27 By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king;
for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
11:28 By faith, he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood,
that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. (Ex 2,12)

11:29 By faith, they passed through the Red sea as on dry land.
When the Egyptians tried to do so, they were swallowed up. (Ex 14)
11:30 By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down,
after they had been encircled for seven days. (Josh 6)

11:31 By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn't perish with those who were disobedient,
having received the spies in peace. (Josh 2)

11:32 What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;

11:33 who, through faith subdued kingdoms,
worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war,
and turned to flight armies of aliens. 11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection.
Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance,
that they might obtain a better resurrection.

11:36 Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment.
11:37 They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted.
They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins;
being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
11:38 (of whom the world was not worthy),
wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.

11:39 These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn't receive the promise,

11:40 God having provided some better thing concerning us,
so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Discussion Questions

vs 1 What future expectation are you completely certain about, but which haven't yet experience?
To be effective, must a Christian's faith be a sure, unwavering conviction, or can it be a sort of an experimental ("let me try this out and see what happens") type of faith?
If your name was added to the above list, how might it read:
"by faith (your name) ...."
Or considering the applications of faith listed above, what are some equivalent things in each of these examples that Christians do by faith? (see below)
vs 4 Why was Abel's sacrifice better than Cain's, and how did this involve faith?
(Gen 3:7,21)
vs 17-19 What contradiction was evident to Abraham when God told him to kill Isaac?
What did he believe God would do to resolve this contradiction?
What Abraham correct? Did it matter?
vs 25 What sort of passing pleasures of sin should Christians avoid?

Comment

Consider the list above of applications of faith,
what are some equivalent things that Christians do by faith?

We infer God's existence from nature (also Rom 1:20)
We rely on a better sacrifice that the animal sacrifices under the Mosaic Law.
We walk with God and have Christ dwelling in us.
We escape the wrath of God and condemn sin in the world
We reckon ourselves to be citizens of heaven and strangers on the earth
We bear eternal fruitfulness to God despite our sinfulness
We are willing to give back to God our most precious possessions
We give our future expectations to God
We wait expectantly for Jesus to return
We reckon every individual Christian to be precious in God's sight
We reckon our heavenly rewards much more than the passing pleasure of sin.
We trust in God's guidance inspite of circumstances to the contrary
We trust in God's methods inspite of circumstances to the contrary
We fear God more than people
We endure through persecution

Blind Faith?

vs 1 Faith is having a future expectation of something which has not been seen.
This is not to say that the basis of the faith is without substance, without physical evidence. But having obtained sufficient evidence, the belief should turn into an unwavering conviction, fully assured and without doubt, despite the fact that we can't know anything in an absolute sense, as we are limited in our senses
This is a common theme in the scriptures.

"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

John 20:29

"(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)" 2Cor 5:7

However, it seems common Christian community for many to seek after some kind of experience or feeling to affirm their faith. Some even go so far to say that if you don't have a certain experience (as with some charismatics with their particular form of "Baptism in the Spirit" and "speaking in tongues"), then you have not been born of God. I suspect many prayers for miracles are often not to provide for a practical need, but to provide a basis for belief. However if one is still looking for some basis for belief, then has such a person yet logically come to believe? It seems rather that those who put such emphasis on experience may themselves lack the quality of faith that God expects.

This is not say that miracles are not a basis for faith. When Moses asked God how Pharoah and the people of Israel would know that he had a word from God, God gave him miracles to do. In the Law, God says that the way one knows a prophet is from God is if what he says always come true (as well as being consistent with what he already said). Jesus himself said.

"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him."

John 10:37,38

"Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." John 14:11

However, it appears that once having sufficient evidence one should no longer be seeking miracles to affirm one's faith.

"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:"

Matt 12:39

The miracles Jesus performed in the Bible should be sufficient of themselves for anyone to believe.

vs 1 The Quality of Saving Faith

Biblical faith is not simply an understanding or feeling. It is not the sort of experimental "let's try this out and see what happens" type of faith often promoted in modern evangelicalism. Rather it is an unwavering conviction. It is certain and sure. And it affects people's behavior. vs 2 Faith is what is commendable to God. Faith which is demonstrated by our works.

vs 3 By faith we understand. People without faith cannot understand.

vs 4 By faith Abel is commended as a righteous man, in that he inferred from the fact that when God clothed Adam and Eve to hide their shame, He gave them animal skins, having killed the animals. So Abel also made an animal sacrifice to hide his sin.

vs 5 Because of faith, we may have opportunity to partake of the rapture. Also, when a person becomes a Christian often he loses old non-Christian relationships to establish relationships with Christians and spending time in the Bible and ministry. They look for him, but can't find him.

vs 6 We cannot please God if we don't have a faith which is certain, a faith which is application-oriented, and a faith that is persevering. We need to treat God as real, alive and active. But an aspect of Biblical faith that seems too selfish to mention is that it seeks personal rewards from God. Much as it is virtuous to obey God just because He is God, the Bible and Jesus in particular does not discourage people from coming to Him with an expectation of reward for doing so, but rather encourage them to do so.

vs 7 In line with this "selfish" aspect of Biblical faith, it is concerned with the salvation of one's own, while condemning others who refuse the message. Even God demonstrated this in the gospel message. God could have made salvation unconditional, but rather he required faith in Christ. Thus giving people choice was more important than actually saving people. But once a person puts faith in Christ, he is considered God's and it is then God's responsibility to save him.

vs 8-10 Biblical Faith looks beyond this life. There are Christians who are overly concerned about what they can get out of it now. Will their faith make them healthy and wealthy? Will they have a great job and family life? If one has false expectations about things God has not promised, it is easy to become bitter at God when they don't occur. It would have been easy enough for Abraham to have been presumptuous about the "promise land." And he could have had his heart focussed on material things like a piece of property. But he was looking beyond the grave. He looked beyond the physical and saw something spiritual and eternal - a home in heaven. Abraham's perspective is in contrast to the Jews who left Egypt who were obscessed with materialism and so never entered the promise land.

vs 11-12 Biblical Faith considers God faithful to His promise.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

Num 23:19

But God often waits till the situation is unlikely before fulfilling his promise. So also skeptics complain that Christ has not returned in the last 2000 years and conclude that God is unfaithful or dead. In fact I suspect that Jesus may not return in the very near future, as there is too much expectation and Jesus said he would return when people don't expect it.

Don't be surprised if after years of apparent fruitless ministry, you end up becoming very fruitful. The disciples were surprised when Jesus fed a multitude starting with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

vs 13-16 On the other hand, you may not see such fruitfulness in this lifetime. Abraham only saw his one son, but no other descendants. Yet in Isaac he reckoned God's promise fulfilled.

Christians are like alien creatures on the earth, visitors from the heavens. Jesus said of his disciples, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Joh 17:16 The world's perspective is not our perspective. The world's values are not our values. The world's morality is not our morality. The world's expectations are not our expectations.

vs 17-19 Biblical faith reasons. It is not blind and irrational. When God told Abraham to kill Isaac, Abraham did not view this as contradicting God's love, but rather contradicting his promise that Isaac will have children. But reckoning God to be faithful, Abraham continued to believe the promise and reckoned the God would raise Isaac from the dead. He was incorrect about the particular way in which God would fulfill His promise, but that wasn't important. What was important was that he applied his faith.

One is reminded of the centurion who asked Jesus to healed his servant, but inferred from his concept of "Lordship" that Jesus didn't have to be present to do so.

vs 20-22 Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph - what is pointed out is that they had a hope in an unseen future.

vs 23 What did the parents see in Moses as a baby? They saw potential. Biblical faith is also fearless. In fact of the list of people who will go to hell according to Rev 21:8, the first will be cowards.

vs 24-28 Moses went through what is symbolic of the conversion process of many a Christian. He identified with the people of God, rejecting sinful lusts. He suffered persecution joyfully, looking forward to the reward. He fearlessly persevered in the faith. And was saved from God's wrath by the blood of Christ.

vs 29 Flood waters often represent God's wrath. We saw this with Noah. But when the people crossed the Red Sea they didn't get wet. For they were spared from God's wrath, while the Egyptians were destroyed.

vs 30-38 Notice that Biblical faith is application oriented.

vs 39 "none of them received what had been promised." This was not referring to any immediate promise, but rather the underlying promise of the Kingdom of God.

vs 40 What is better about the Christians situation is that we receive the Holy Spirit in a permanent way which inevitably affects our behavior, according to the New Covenant promise:

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;"

Heb 10:16

And of course this comes along with the permanent forgiveness of sins.

"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

Heb 10:17

In the Old Testament, men like Abraham were also justified by faith, but there was no explicit covenant concerning this fact and no guarantee that such forgiveness was permanent and the Holy Spirit was not given as it is to Christians after Jesus had been glorified.

The Boston Christian Bible Study Resources