The Letter to the Hebrews
What Is Faith and How Does It Work?
Hebrews 11:1-2
The Christian life is not complicated. It’s all about faith in Jesus Christ – trusting all that God promises to be to us in Christ Jesus. And the Bible teaches that faith in Christ will produce everything else we need to be and do.
· Jesus calls us to obey – and in Rom 1:5 Paul says that faith produces obedience.
· We are called to have peace and not worry – and in Isaiah 26:3 we read that faith produces perfect peace.
· We are called to have joy – even in trials -- and in Philippians 1:25 Paul says faith in Christ produces joy.
· We are called to love others – and in Galatians 5:6 Paul says love for others comes from faith.
· In Ephesians 6:16 we read that the shield of faith extinguishes every flaming dart of the evil one.
· In 1 John 5:4 we read that faith overcomes the sinful pull of the world.
· In Galatians 3:5 we read that through faith God provides us with the Holy Spirit.
Everything we need to be and do comes through faith. So the question is – what is faith? And how does faith work to produce these things?
To answer that, let’s turn to Hebrews 11. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 11 is on page 1007 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Now before we dig into the details of Hebrews 11, let’s remind ourselves of what the author has been saying up to this point. It crucial to study each individual verse – but it’s also crucial to keep in mind the big picture of what an author has been saying. So here’s the big picture --
In chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and the first half of ch.10 he has given us amazing news. He has told us that Jesus Christ is the perfect priest whose death is the complete sacrifice to pay for all our sins.
And therefore, in ch.10 vv.19-39 – he calls us to --
· Draw near to God – through Jesus you can know and worship and love the living God – so draw near to Him!
· Hold fast to His promises – fight the fight of faith to trust all that God promises to be to you in Christ Jesus.
· Encourage each other so no one falls away and starts going on in deliberate sin.
· Stir up faith in Him as your better and lasting possession. We saw last week that we need endurance to press on through trials, and endurance comes from faith, so stir up your faith in God as your better and lasting possession.
And that brings us to Hebrews 11 – what’s often called the faith chapter. Here the author wants to encourage us to stir up our faith in God. And to do this he gives a list of Old Testament saints who had faith in God as their better and lasting possession – and he tells us what God did for these Old Testament saints who trusted Him.
But before he describes these Old Testament saints, he wants to be sure we understand what faith is and what it does. So let’s start with this first question – What is faith? Look at what he says in v.1 --
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
This is one of the best-known verses in the Bible. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” So faith has to do with things we hope for but don’t see. So what are these things we hope for but don’t see?
It’s all that God promises to be to us in Christ Jesus – both now and forever. It’s all that it means to have God as our better and lasting possession.
And so what is faith? Many people take this verse to mean that faith means having assurance and heart-conviction of all that God promises to be to me.
So faith means being assured, being convinced, that through Christ I am forgiven and will be raised from the dead and have the joy of knowing God forever.
And that is absolutely right. That is taught in many Scriptures. And that might be exactly what this verse is saying. But as I studied this, I started to see that this verse is saying that – but it’s also saying more than that. Start with that first phrase – “faith is the assurance of things hoped for.”
How is faith the assurance of things hoped for? That word “assurance” is an unusual word. It usually means the substance of something, the reality of something. That’s why the King James Version translates this verse – “faith is the substance of things hoped for.”
But that sounds strange. How is faith the substance of what I’m hoping for? It sounds like I’m hoping in God as my better possession out there in eternity, and faith somehow gives me some of the substance, some of the reality, of God now.
So that would mean faith isn’t just believing that I will experience God some day. It sounds like faith can give me a taste of His very substance, His very presence, now.
Think of it like this. Let’s say you are hiking in Death Valley and you are all out of water and very thirsty. Very, very thirsty. But then you see a sign that says “Ice Cold Water, 1 mile.” And you are thinking – “how can I be sure there’s really ice cold water coming?” But then you see a box beneath the sign – a box labeled “faith – the substance of things hoped for.” And you open the box, and inside is a little shot glass of ice cold water. And you drink it – “that’s real, that’s good!” -- and know there will be ice cold water in 1 mile.
So faith is the assurance of things hoped for, because faith gives us the substance of things hoped for. As we have faith there will be times when we get a little glass of God’s presence, God’s glory, God’s love – and that gives us assurance that God is real.
Now let’s look at the next phrase. How is faith the conviction of things not seen? Again, that word “conviction” is an unusual word. And it’s usually translated “proof,” or “evidence.” That’s why the King James Version translates this – “the evidence of things not seen.”
But again, that sounds strange. God is there in eternity as my better possession. But I can’t see Him. So how does faith give me evidence that He’s really there?
I found the answer in v.2. Notice that v.2 begins with the word “for.” So v.2 is giving a reason for how faith gives you evidence that God is really there. It’s for, or because – “by it the people of old received their commendation.” And as we’ll see in the rest of the chapter this is commendation from God that He is pleased with you – and that you are counted righteous through faith in Christ.
So when we have faith there will be times when God Himself commends you – when He gives you personal assurance that you are saved through Christ, when He pours His love into your heart, when He fills you with His presence. So that’s how faith gives you evidence that God is really there even though you can’t see Him.
So faith is the conviction of things not seen, because faith gives us evidence of things not seen. As God gives us His personal commendation -- pouring His love into our hearts, and filling us with His presence – that gives us evidence that the unseen God is real.
So what is faith? Faith is the assurance and conviction that God is real, that you can be saved through Christ, and that God is your all-satisfying Treasure. Yes. But I believe this verse is saying more.
I believe it’s saying that faith is the substance of things hoped for – because we will have times when God gives us a taste of His substance, His reality. And faith is the evidence of things not seen – because we will have times when God personally commends us in a way that we feel and experience.
But now at this point I thought it would be helpful to stop and ask -- is that really what this verse means? So I looked at what some other Bible teachers said. Not all of them see this passage that same way I am seeing it. But there are lots who do. Here’s quotes from three of them --
First, John Owen. John Owen was a pastor in England in the 1600’s whose books are still being printed and read today. Here’s what he said about these same verses –
Faith … gives those things hoped for a real subsistence in the minds and the souls of them that do believe.
Then second, Matthew Henry, whose commentary on the Bible was written at around 1700 and is still being printed today. He said --
Faith … gives the soul a kind of possession of those things God has promised, it gives them a subsistence in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastes of them; so that believers in the exercise of faith are filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1Pet 1:8).
Then third, John Piper. He’s an author and student of God’s Word whom I’ve known for over 30 years. Here’s what he said when preaching on these verses --
Faith does not just feel confident that God’s presence is coming some day. Faith has spiritually laid hold of and perceived and tasted that it’s real. Faith’s enjoyment of the promise is a kind of substantial downpayment of the reality coming. (6/1/97 p.4)
And then I thought I would look back through Hebrews to see if there were any other places where he talked about us actually having a taste or an experience of God Himself.
And I remembered Hebrews 10:19 --
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…
The holy places were the place in the Old Testament temple where the high priest would experience God’s very presence. And the author is saying that now, through Jesus, we can actually enter the holy places. By faith we can have times when we experience God’s very presence.
And I remembered Hebrews 6:19
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain…
Again, the inner place is the holy of holies, the place in the Old Testament tabernacle where the high priest would meet the Living God. And the author is saying that now, through Jesus, as we have hope – which is the same thing as faith – we can have times when we enter into the inner place – the holy of holies.
And then I also remembered something I had read from David Brainerd’s journal. David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in the 1740’s. And listen to what he says he experienced one Sunday evening, August 15th, 1742 –
Lord’s Day, August 15. Felt much comfort and devotedness to God this day. At night, it was refreshing to get alone with God and pour out my soul. Oh, who can conceive of the sweetness of communion with the blessed God, but those who have experience of it! Glory to God forever, that I may taste heaven below. (p.94)
Heaven is off in the future, when we will see God in Christ face to face. But by faith, David Brainerd had a taste of heaven while still here on earth. For David Brainerd, faith was the substance of things hoped for – it brought him the assuring substance – an actual taste of -- the heaven he was hoping in for the future. And faith was the evidence of things not seen – it brought him actual evidence of heaven and thus gave him conviction of the heaven he could not see.
Questions?
Now let me close with one last question – what does this mean for us?
Let me give two applications.
First, if you are here this morning and are not yet trusting Jesus Christ, the let me urge you to turn from whatever else you have been trusting, and trust Him. Just like all of us here, you have sinned against God and face eternal punishment from Him.
But you can have Jesus Christ as your perfect priest representing you before God, with a perfect sacrifice that pays for all your sins. So please, please turn to trust Jesus Christ right now.
You can turn to Him just as you are, and He will forgive you for all your sins, He will change your heart so you start to become a brand new person, and He will fill your heart with His love so much that you will be completely satisfied.
And second, if you are already trusting Jesus Christ, then take time every day to nurture your faith in Him. Faith brings the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Are you experiencing that?
We all need more of that – God wants to give more of that – and as we seek Him God will give more of that. So nurture your faith in Him. That’s the point of daily Bible reading and prayer. It’s not just some duty we perform. It nurtures the faith by which we receive the bread of life and living water.
Think of it. Faith can bring the substance of the God we hope for – so we experience heaven on earth! Faith can bring the evidence of the God we don’t see – as He commends us by pouring His love into our hearts.
God will do this as we seek Him. So seek Him.