YEAR 2 WEEK 5: HEBREWS 11 “LIVING BY FAITH!” (THE HALL OF FAITH)

CONTEXT: Hebrews 10 ended with the writer of Hebrews reminding us of God’s calling for the RIGHTEOUS to LIVE BY FAITH and not SHRINK BACK in light of Jesus coming back soon (vs 38-39)!!

Hebrews 11 will now show us WHAT FAITH IS and WHAT LIVING BY FAITH LOOKS LIKE from the examples of those faithful saints who have gone before us in the Old Testament!! The best way to learn faith is to walk with those who have been faithful!!

WHAT IS FAITH?

The word faith as used here in Hebrews 11:1 is the word “pistis” and can mean to have a “conviction of the truth”. It can mean to have a conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things and the provider of salvation through Jesus!

vs 1- reveals to us that faith firstly is BEING SURE of what we HOPE FOR! The word for being sure/substance is the word hypostasis which can mean an EXACT REPRODUCTION. The essence of a future reality!!! Faith allows us to treat the future as present!

While Hope is an attitude and is always in what is yet to come (Romans 8:24), faith is having that assurance (conviction of the truth) now of what is yet to come. Faith seems to impact our actions and the way we live now! (James 2:14-17)

Within the context of the Greek word faith, because we haven’t seen God and heaven, our hope is in this very thing. Faith is therefore being sure of and having a conviction that God is real,salvation in Jesus is real and eternity is real and this impacts the way we live for Jesus now!!

Secondly, faith is the EVIDENCE of things UNSEEN!! It is having a certainty of what we do not yet see!! The word evidence suggests “evidence that is accepted for conviction”. A commitment to certainty!

This reminds us that our faith in God/Jesus is NOT A BLIND FAITH! It is based on evidence!! This is why vs 3 goes on to say that by faith we UNDERSTAND that the universe was formed at God’s command (Genesis 1:1-3, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 3:4) so that what is seen was not made from what is visible! Romans 1:20 tells us that God is clearly seen through what HAS BEEN MADE so that MEN ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE!

(Science would have us believe that the universe came from nothing. Yet there is no scientific evidence to prove that something can come from nothing! This idea is therefore non scientific!)

vs 2- This is what the ANCIENTS WERE COMMENDED FOR. The rest of Hebrews 11 (vs 4-38, known as the hall of faith) will now give us examples of those ancient Saints who lived by faith in God!!

WHAT FAITH LOOKS LIKE: (Examples of faith)

vs 4-38 what you will notice in these examples of faith is that just as James 2:14-18 says, their faith was shown by their actions!! For example In vs 4 by faith Abel OFFERED (a better sacrifice), in vs 7 by faith Noah BUILT AN ARK, in vs 8 Abraham OBEYED AND WENT to a place that would later be his inheritance! FAITH IS SHOWN BY ACTIONS!

vs 4- it is interesting to note that the examples of faith start with Abel rather than Adam and Eve!! This could be because Adam and Eve lived by SIGHT rather than by FAITH because they were in God’s presence directly!!

THE FAITH OF ABEL:

vs 4 provides important commentary to Genesis 4:2-5 about why God may have looked with favour on Abel’s offering as opposed to Cain’s. We see the reason is because Abel offered his sacrifice by faithwhile Cain did not!! FAITH SACRIFICIALLY GIVES BACK TO GOD! It may also be the case that Abel offered by faith the blood sacrifice that God required (Genesis 3:21) whole Cain did not (just offering fruits of the land rather than a blood sacrifice)!

vs 4- By faith Abel still speaks even though he is dead!! This shows us that Abel’s faith was rewarded in the afterlife!! THERE IS LIFE AFTER DEATH!

THE FAITH OF ENOCH:

vs 5- by faith Enoch had close communion with and walked with God and pleased Him so that He was taken before death!! (See Genesis 5:22-24) BY FAITH ENOCH PLEASED GOD!

THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH IN JESUS WILL BE RAPTURED!

vs 6- FAITH IS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO PLEASE GOD!! This is in contrast to Hebrews 10:38 where if the righteous shrink back from their faith in God, He would NOT BE PLEASED!! Romans 14:23 tells us that anything that is not done by faith in Jesus is SIN!! (See also Romans 8:8)

This verse is also a continuation of Enoch’s story and how Enoch was rewarded with being saved from death because he pleased God by faith!! FAITH BELIEVES GOD EXISTS AND EXPECTS THAT HE WILL BLESS!

vs 6- God will REWARD those who EARNESTLY SEEK HIM (Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:7)! Hebrews 10:35-36 talked about receiving a reward from God for not throwing away the confidence we have in Him!! This also reminds us that there are REWARDS IN HEAVEN for Christians who earnestly seek Jesus and live faithfully for Him!! (See 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10, 2 John 8, Matthew 25:21, 34-40)

Interestingly, the word for “reward” here can mean to “pay wages”. There is a wage God pays for faith in Him, while this can be contrasted with the wage for sin in Romans 6:23, which is death!

THE FAITH OF NOAH:

vs 7- Noah’s faith was shown when out of REVERENCE for God, He believed God’s warning of coming judgement (things not yet seen) and was willing to look FOOLISH to everyone and build an ARK to save his family! (See Genesis 6:5-22)

2 Peter 2:5 also shows us that Noah was a PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS during that time!! FAITH IS WILLING TO LOOK FOOLISH IN OBEDIENCE/REVERENCE TO GOD!

vs 7- RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT COMES BY FAITH!! Hebrews 11:7 echoes the words of Romans 3:21-22 and reminds us that our righteousness comes by faith in Jesus alone, not by our works!

THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM

vs 8-9 Abraham obeyed God’s command to leave his comfort zone and fathers household and go to a foreign land, even though he did not know where he was going!! He just trusted the One who called him to go (Genesis 12:1)!   

FAITH “MOVES” EVEN WHEN GOD DOESN’T (GIVE YOU ALL THE DETAILS) TELL YOU THE END DESTINATION/OUTCOME! Faith obeys God even when you don’t know the whole plan or the end outcome!! So often we want to know the whole plan from Jesus before we obey, but when we live by faith in Jesus, it means trusting that He knows the end from the beginning even when we don’t!! ABRAHAM BELIEVED WITHOUT KNOWING THE PLAN!

vs 9- faith is willing to LIVE OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!! Abraham was willing to make his home in a foreign land rather than where he always lived in comfort!!

vs 10- faith looks forward to what God is building, not what our hands build!

vs 8,11- notice also here that none of Abraham’s and Sarah’s faults or failures are mentioned? In Genesis 12:1-5 we see that Abraham took some of his father’s household along (namely Lot). In Genesis 16:1-2, Abram listened to his wife Sarai when she told him to sleeps with her maidservant to produce an heir. Yet God never mentions Abraham’s faults, just His faith!! In Genesis 18:9-15 Sarah had laughed when God said she would have a child at the appointed time next year! Yet God never mentions Sarah’s faults, only her faith!!

BY FAITH IN JESUS, GOD REMEMBERS YOUR SINS NO MORE! (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17)

vs 11- by faith Abraham believed God at His word to do the impossible of blessing Sarah and himself with a child in old age!! (Genesis 15:5-6, Genesis 18:10-14) FAITH BELIEVES FOR GOD TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE! Faith believes that God has the power to fulfil His promise!!

vs 11- By FAITH…..ENABLED to become a father….

Notice it was Abraham and Sarah’s faith that accessed God’s power!! (Mark 5:27-34) FAITH ACCESSES THE POWER OF GOD! Faith believes that God has the POWER to do what He has PROMISED!

vs 13- the challenge is for us to STILL KEEP LIVING BY FAITH EVEN WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE WE WON’T SEE THE PROMISE!! Abraham, Isaac and Jacob didn’t receive the promise in their lifetime but died still believing God was faithful to His word!! (Hebrews 11:39)

When you are sick, will you keep believing for Jesus to heal you til the day He calls you home? FAITH STILL BELIEVES EVEN WHEN WE DON’T RECEIVE! Will we still keep believing even when we are yet to receive the promise from God?

vs 13- Just like Abraham was an ALIEN and STRANGER in the promised land (vs 9), we too are ALIENS and STRANGERS IN THIS WORLD (1 Peter 2:11) waiting for our true heavenly Home (vs 16)!!

vs 15- beware of the temptation to GO BACK to the old life! (Genesis 19:26, Luke 17:30-32) In 1 Kings 19:19-21 Elisha had the opportunity to go back to ploughing the field and yet he burned his plough and slaughtered the oxen and gave it as food to the people to cut off any temptation of going back to that old life!! We also see in John 21:3 that for a brief moment, Peter may have been tempted to go back to his old life of being a fisherman until Jesus restored Him!! In Luke 9:62, Jesus said that no-one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God!!

vs 16 God has prepared a city for them!! This could be referring to the HEAVENLY JERUSALEM (Revelation 21:10)!!

vs 17- FAITH IS WILLING TO SACRIFICE THE PROMISE OUT OF REVERENCE AND OBEDIENCE TO GOD! (Genesis 22:12) Abraham was willing to give up the promise because He reverenced God above idolising the promise!! Abraham obeyed the COMMAND OF GOD when it seemed to contradict the PROMISE OF GOD!! We also see from Genesis 22:3 that Abraham obeyed straight away by leaving early the very next morning!! IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE!

Abraham also showed here that HE LOVED GOD MORE THAN HIS SON/FAMILY! (Matthew 10:37) Would you be willing to give up the promise if Jesus asked you to? Do you love Jesus more than His promise, what He can do for you? FAITH TREASURES GOD MORE THAN THE PROMISE! (Exodus 33:1-15)

vs 19- faith reasons that God can do the impossible to fulfil His promise!!

vs 20- by faith Isaac knew that whomever he had blessed would surely be blessed by God and that his words would come true!  (Genesis 27:33)

vs 21- by faith Jacob blessed Joseph’s younger son and older in the opposite order!! (Genesis 48:14-22)

vs 21- by faith Jacob WORSHIPPED GOD on his staff!! The reason he might have had to lean on his staff could have reminded Jacob of how God put his hip joint out of socket (Genesis 32:25)!!

THE FAITH OF JOSEPH!

vs 22- by faith, Joseph gave instructions to the Israelites to bury his bones in the promised land when they get there!! Joseph trusted God at His word even though his eyes never got to see the promise!! (Genesis 50:24) FAITH BELIEVES EVEN WHEN YOUR EYES DON’T SEE THE PROMISE IN YOUR LIFETIME! (Will we keep believing God is faithful to His promise even to our dying breath?)

vs 22- it is interesting to note that of all the stories about Joseph, God chose to use his dying breaths as the example of his faith!! We would have thought the greatest examples of Joseph’s faith were in the prison and Potiphar’s household, yet WHAT GOD CONSIDERS GREAT FAITH AND WHAT WE THINK IS SHOWING GREAT FAITH COULD BE TWO SEPARATE THINGS!

vs 23-29 THE FAITH OF MOSES AND THE ISRAELITES!

Interestingly we will see that everything mentioned about Moses here was all the things done before receiving the law!!

vs 25-26 Faith chooses SUFFERING FOR GOD RATHER THAN THE PLEASURES OF SIN OR THE TREASURES OF THIS LIFE!! Part of suffering is choosing to not give in to sin!! (1 Peter 4:1-2)

vs 26- Faith looks forward to the heavenly treasures rather than the earthly!! (Matthew 6:19-21)

vs 28- it took faith by Moses to believe that the blood of a Lamb smeared on the door post would save their first borns from the angel of death!! Likewise it takes faith for us to believe and understand that the blood of Jesus shed on the cross saves us from eternal death!

vs 30- FAITH IS WILLING TO DO THE FOOLISH/WHAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE, FOR GOD! In the story of Jericho in Joshua 6:3-5, Israel instead of doing what was militarily correct in trying to break down the walls, just WALKED AROUND THE WALLS FOR 7 days and then gave a LOUD SHOUT with trumpets to the Lord!! This didn’t make sense, and yet they obeyed!! They also had a PATIENT FAITH in willing to walk for 7 days before the walls came down!! LEARN TO PERSEVERE IN FAITH!! (Don’t give up on the 6th day!)

THE FAITH OF RAHAB!

vs 31- we don’t normally associate the words FAITH and PROSTITUTE together!! This shows us that it doesn’t matter how broken or sinful your background, anyone can come to be saved by faith in the ONE TRUE GOD!! We see also in James 2:25 that by her faith, Rahab was put in the same boat as Abraham! (See Joshua 2:8-13)

vs 32-39 notice that halfway through these verses the writer of Hebrews goes from explaining that half of these saints CONQUERED by faith while others had to ENDURE their situation by faith to the point of death!! SOMETIMES GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE FAITH TO CONQUER AND AT OTHERS TIMES THE FAITH TO ENDURE!

At times, The Lord will give you the faith to see that sickness healed, at other times He will give you the faith to endure, the faith that says His grace is sufficient, His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)!! We need both!!

vs 39-40 Only together with us would they be made perfect!! Previous generations will get to celebrate with us the fulfilment of the promises that God gave to them and what they were believing for that they did not see!!

One day SOWER and REAPER WILL BE GLAD TOGETHER!! (John 4:36)

WILL YOU JOIN THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES? WILL YOU LIVE BY FAITH?