LESSON 10 - Heb. 11:1-7 - THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Heb. 9:11-15, we returned to the high priestly role of Jesus Christ and heard the writer of Hebrews compare the offering of Jesus Christ--specifically the sacrifice of His shed blood on the cross of Calvary-under a New Covenant versus the ritual sacrifice of animal blood by human priests under the Old Covenant. We learned that this is a theme unique to the Book of Hebrews that the writer used to explain the superiority of God's New Covenant and Jesus' once and for all sacrifice to his audience of Christian Jews who were being tempted to abandon their newfound Christian faith and return to the practice of Judaism under Mosaic Law. The writer's first point compared the power of Jesus blood: Compared the limited and temporary cleansing power of animal blood by human priest, the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to cleanse everyone, which includes all people who have ever lived, all who are living now, and all who will ever live. In his second point, he contrasted the temporary, ceremonial cleansing of the OT sacrificial system, with the blood of Christ that purified a believer's conscience and enables Him or her to serve God with a pure heart. The writer's final point was that Christ not only mediated a New Covenant but completed the Old Covenant in that His work covered the OT saints as well as all NT believers, past, present and future.
This week, in Heb. 11:1-7, we'll cover the well-known faith chapter which first, describes what faith is, and then using memorable OT characters, will demonstrate great examples of faith in action. The faith that the writer will discuss in the passages that follow isn't 'blind' faith based on speculation but steadfast faith based on the objective hope that God keeps His promises.
Read Heb. 11:1-2 - NOW FAITH IS...
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
v. 1a: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for," - First off, we need to notice that the writer isn't giving us a formal definition of faith but describing what faith does for us. When he says "Faith is the assurance," he's uses a Greek word (hypostasis. lit. 'that which stands under'), that pictures a solid foundation. To paraphrase, He's saying that faith is the underlayment, the very foundation, of all that the Christian life means. For Christians, this is our reality in the present.
v. 1b: "the conviction of things not seen." - In this phrase, "conviction" (Gk. elegchos) means having complete confidence in something, in this case, things we cannot yet see. For Christians, our faith makes us certain of things in the future that we can't see right now; yet, they are so sure and real to us that we can almost reach out and touch them. So, at the very base of our faith is our confidence in the trustworthiness of God, coupled with the utter conviction that what God says is true and what He promises will come to pass. That's the basis of our "hope," the "solid rock" we stand on.
v. 2: "For by it the men of old gained approval." - God, many times over, has approved the confident faith of OT men and women who steadfastly walked by faith with Him. In fact, the story of God's people, the Israelites, includes a progression of examples that demonstrate forward-looking examples of powerful faith. The Greek word used here for "approval" (matureo) is a term from which we derive the word "martyr," and literally means people who bear witness or testimony that proves the faith and trust they put in God's promises. And the story of faith is not yet complete: In this New Covenant Age, we must step into the shoes of these OT examples and stand together and walk in faith and press-on ahead for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the promised life to come. By faith, we know that Jesus can return at any time to establish His kingdom on earth. AMEN?
APPLICATION 1: For Christians, faith in the future is our reality in the present. The "conviction of things not seen" means we have complete confidence that God will deliver what He has promised in the future. Our complete trust in God and the authority of His Word forms the basis of our "hope."
Read Heb. 11:3 - BY FAITH, WE UNDERSTAND THE CREATION
3 By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.
v. 3a: "By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God" - This refers to the Genesis story (see, Gen. 1:1-26), when God said, "Let their be...," and in each occurrence, a creative process was initiated and completed. Moreover, in every instance, it was the Word of God (i.e., He quite literally spoke it into existence) that initiated the creative process. So, how do we know this? I mean, we weren't present to see it. We accept it by FAITH-both by faith in God and by faith in God-inspired Scripture. It's where, as the people of God, we stand. AMEN?
v. 3b: "so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible." - Secular scientific experts, who are by and large atheists, think we Christians are naïve, even silly, but they simply do not understand our faith in an all-powerful God and Creator, which is based upon the time-proven inerrancy and truth of His Word, and in the person of Jesus Christ, "the Word [that] became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). So, we can rightly say that faith is a way of viewing all life, past, present, and future, and we believe it by accepting God's viewpoint as revealed to us in His Word.
APPLICATION 2: Based upon our faith in God and our Trust in the truth of His Word, we Christians believe that God spoke the world into existence. It's all about where we stand as the people of God. To a doubting world, we Christians testify that our faith in God dictates the way we view all life, past, present, and future, and we believe it by accepting God's viewpoint as revealed in His Word.
Read Heb. 11:4-7 - HIERS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS ACCORDING TO FAITH
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
v. 4a: "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain," - The background for this story is reported in detail in Gen. 4:1-15. To summarize, Cain and Able, the sons of Adam, both brought offerings (i.e., sacrifices) to the LORD. Cain, a farmer, brought an offering from his crops, while Abel, a shepherd, from the firstborn of his flock (and note, this was long before offerings to God had been specified under Torah Law). Abel's offering represented a sacrifice of the best he could give, while Cain's represented a minimalist approach. God afterward approved Abel's offering but disapproved Cain's, and afterward, out of jealousy, Cain murdered Abel.
v. 4b: "through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." - This ties-in to what we covered last week in Chapter 9 regarding the "better, once and for all sacrifice" that Jesus Christ made on the cross, as compared to the temporary animal sacrifices available under the Old Covenant. Against the backdrop of that theme, the writer is asserting in this verse that the superiority of Abel's sacrifice was determined by his faith in God, not the fact that it was an animal sacrifice; and because of Abel's faith, God counted him as righteous. Abel "still speaks" to us by illustrating the truth of salvation by grace through faith rather than attempting to justify ourselves by good works. An so it is with us: We are not justified on the basis of our character or good works, but solely because of our faith in the superiority of the sacrifice that Christ made for us and our complete acceptance of Him as our Lord and Savior.
APPLICATION 3: Like Abel, we Christians have faith in a better offering. God counted Abel as righteous because his offering demonstrated greater faith. In the same way, we Christians have faith in the superiority of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us once and for all on the cross at Calvary.
v. 5a: "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death;" - The entire story of Enoch comprises only four verses in Genesis Chap. 5. This account simply reveals that Enoch "walked with God" for 300 years after he fathered Methuselah (Gen 5:22-23). We know that the term "walk" is a biblical metaphor for the way a person lives his or her life day-in and day-out. The inference from this that Enoch maintained faithful fellowship with God virtually every waking minute of his life.
v. 5b: "AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God." - Enoch never experienced physical death because "God took him," meaning that he was supernaturally translated into heaven (Gen. 5:23). Enoch did this by setting the highest example of what it means to walk with God in faith in a manner "pleasing to God" on a daily basis. Ask yourself this: how much time are you spending alone God with every day, e.g., more time than you spend watching TV or videos, or pursuing other interests? Think about it. And while you are, keep in mind that the Lord may return at any time to take the modern Enochs into His presence.
v. 6: "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him." - No amount of works can compensate for a lack of faith. It's not about doing but about believing. When any man or woman refuses to believe in God, they are, in effect, calling God a liar (John 5:10). Faith is the only thing that gives God His proper place, and by association, puts man in his proper place. Walking with God in faith involves not only believing that God exists, but also believing that He will "reward those who seek Him." There is nothing about God that makes it difficult for man to believe in Him. The difficulty lays with human free will, not God. As commentator Warren Wiersbe once said, "The best way to grow in faith is to walk with the faithful."
APPLICATION 4: Saving faith isn't about doing but about believing. No amount of works can compensate for a lack of faith. Walking with God in faith involves not only believing that God exists, but also believing that He will "reward those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). Faith is the only thing that gives God His proper place, and by association, puts man in his proper place.
v. 7a: By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen," Noah was a man who, by faith, prepared for things to come; he did not live in the present. Even though he was counted as a "righteous man who...walked faithfully with God" before this time (Gen. 6:9), his faith was put to the ultimate test when God warned him that he was going to destroy the entire world by flood. At the time, there had never been a flood in human history, and there had never been any rain up to that time, the soil being watered by a subterranean water vapor (Gen. 2:5-6).
v. 7b: "in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world," - Noah continued to believe in the promises of God, even when everyone else disbelieved them, and began building a huge Ark according to God's specifications, even though he didn't live anywhere near a body of water.
v. 7c: "and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." - The flood came and covered the entire earth, even over the highest mountains, and after it subsided, Noah inherited a new world-i.e., "an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." Noah's reward for his faith led not only to the preservation of his family, but indeed, that of the entire human race. Many of the early Christian Jews to whom this letter was written may have wondered that if they were "righteous...according to faith" by believing in Jesus Christ and His New Covenant, then why were they such a small minority within the larger Jewish community as a whole? To answer them, Noah steps out from the page of OT history in this chapter to remind them that in his day only eight people were "righteous...according to faith" while everyone else in a disbelieving world perished in the flood!
APPLICATION 5: True faith in God is often in conflict with popular opinion. Noah believed God and by faith, built the ark to save his family. And because he stepped out in faith in obedience to God's call in his life, he became "an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith," by which he saved his family and inherited a new world. As we Christians increasingly find ourselves as a minority in a world that is largely opposed to God and His Word, the example of Noah's faith gives us complete confidence that we are right and they are wrong.
