Today, we’re going to take a little time to look at Faith, and the role it plays in the life of a Christian. Much of the lesson today will come from the book of Hebrews, chapter 11. This section is like an ode to faith, or a chapter dedicated to the idea of faith. We will be doing a little bit of cross-referencing, but the bulk of the ideas relate to Hebrews 11. First question we should answer in our study of the scripture.
What is Faith? Hebrews 11:1-3
11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
So what is faith? It’s confidence. When I have faith in something, I trust that it’s true. This verse says that faith is confidence in something that we are hoping for. What do we hope for as Christians? We hope there’s a God who loves us and has a plan for our lives. We hope that the Word of God is treasured in our lives more and more every day. We hope that when Jesus says He’s preparing a place for us in Heaven, He’s talking to us. We hope that we can receive salvation based on Jesus’s work on the cross. We hope that God changes our lives and takes away the sins that frustrate us. All of these things are concepts that we are supposed to believe in as Christians. I believe in all of these things. But at the same time, since I can’t see and touch any of them, I need to hope for them. Sometimes Christians make each other feel guilty when they say they hope for some promise that the Bible makes. They make it seem like the word Hope isn’t strong enough, and these are things we need to know with all our heart. I am not sure that’s entirely Biblical, though. In Romans 8:23-24, Paul says that in the hope of our adoption into God’s family, and the redemption of our bodies, we are saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. For real, God calls us to believe in many things that we can’t see or touch or prove. He calls us to Hope. And the degree of confidence in these things we hope for is the degree of Faith. There are different degrees of faith. Jesus repeatedly said “ye of little faith” and he also said of the centurion “I have not found such great faith even in Israel” . Paul, in letters to both the Corinthians and the Thessalonians wrote about how their lives change as their faith continues to grow. Faith is also an assurance of what we don’t see. What’s an assurance? It’s a positive declaration to give confidence and certainty. What does getting an assurance do? It means getting a pledge or promise. So in summary, we as Christians have to hope for things, because we can’t see and touch everything that we believe in. And Faith is the confidence in our hopes and it is the assurance or promises that help us believe in those unseen things that we hope for.
Where does Faith come from? 2 Peter 1:1 (for additional reading, here’s an entire post about 2 Peter 1:1-11 here)
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
and Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
These two verses remind us that Faith is not some quality that we muster up. Someone can’t just tell you “work on your faith.” Lots of times people give advice, saying, “oh, just have faith”. If it were only that easy! We can’t just increase our own faith in God. I looked for an exhortation to have faith, and I only saw it once in the Bible. Jesus said it, which makes sense because He’s the only person in the Bible who can tell someone to do something that they can’t do themselves. Jesus told crippled men to walk, and dead men to rise. But that’s just an exception. Jesus is the only person in the world who can tell us to have faith, because when He says it, it isn’t a suggestion. It’s a declaration. If we could increase our faith, if it was something we could develop, then our faith and the degree of faith we have would be the byproduct of our works. But we know that Faith is a gift. It is something we receive. For that reason, faith and works are two completely different things. We can’t boast about our faith, because God gives it to us by his Grace. Grace means it’s not only a gift, but it’s a gift that we don’t deserve .
Why is it so important? Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
So we know that faith is confidence in something we don’t see. Since we can’t see God directly, it’s impossible to please God without faith. Why? Because to acknowledge an unseen God exists in the first place, we need this faith. Faith is important because pleasing God is important. Once we have faith, the possibility exists for us to please God.
What is the result of faith? Hebrews 11:17-19
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
James 2:21-24 (for additional reading, here’s an entire post about James 2:14-26 here)
21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
The result of our faith is works. Take a look at a quick comparison of Hebrews and James. Both discuss the faith of Abraham. Both say that the Faith of Abraham led him to offer his one and only son to God. Looking at Hebrews, we see that the reason Abraham offered his son was because he believed God’s promises. He reasoned that since God had made a promise regarding Isaac, sacrificing his own son would somehow work. Why? Because of the integrity of the character of God. God is not a liar, and our obedience to God will never force God to break a promise. In Abraham’s mind, raising the dead was a much more likely outcome than God breaking a promise. Resurrection of the dead is within God’s power, but lying isn’t. Abraham believed this because he had confidence in what he was hoping for. He had Faith. Lets look at James 2:21-24 (Again, I have an entire post from the surrounding section of James, for additional reading). Some people use James to try and preach a works based salvation, but James isn’t saying that. He is saying that a saving faith results in works. If you don’t see any signs of faith producing works, the faith is probably dead. James warns of a dead faith that is all talk, but no action. James 2:24 sounds very scary and can easily be taken out of context. It might make a little more sense if James had used a different word for this dead faith than a living one. We said before that faith is confidence in unseen things. But what kind of confidence in unseen things do we have, if we always act as if the unseen things don’t exist? Romans 4:9 said that Abraham had faith and it was credited to him as righteousness . His faith in God’s truth resulted in a certain action. The action wasn’t credited to him as righteousness but the faith and the belief was. When we look at the big list of faithful examples in Hebrews 11, they always start with the phrase “by faith”. Then they say the person who was faithful. And last they say an action, or a work. By faith, Abel offered. By faith Noah built. By faith Abraham went. In all these examples we see Faith producing a work. Let’s give one last example of faith. A man says he can ride a unicycle across a tight rope over the Grand Canyon. He says not only can he do this, but he can do it with a man riding on his shoulders. He asks, do you have faith and trust that I can do that? Sure. Then he asks for a volunteer to get on his shoulders and do it. It’s very different to say yes when you are putting your life in his hands. The risks are yours. Our faith in God should occasionally result in some bold action that might make absolutely no sense to somebody who doesn’t think God exists. The Bible is clear that we are saved by faith alone. Works do not play into it at all.
What’s the ultimate purpose of our faith? The purpose of our faith is our salvation. 1 Peter 1:4-9
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.