Hebrews 11:1–6
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
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.
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 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.”
The faith chapter
Hebrews 11 is called the “faith chapter” of the Bible for obvious reasons. The word “faith” appears over 20 times in this chapter and in the 40 verses that make up this chapter you have faith described here in the opening verses and then you have a grand demonstration of faith through the lives of Old Testament heroes of faith.
Through the stories of seventeen heroic figures out of the pages of the Old Testament we come to understand what true biblical faith is and what it looks like as it’s lived out. On top of the seventeen Bible characters that are named, the writer mentions those nameless heroes of faith whose lives and faithfulness help us understand what Biblical faith is.
The subject of faith is a big subject, and the word “faith” is defined and understood differently by our culture. When the word “faith” is used in our culture some people think of religion or religion systems.
Biblical faith is defined here in Hebrews 11. Biblical faith is not trusting in something for which there is no evidence. It’s not a leap into uncertainty.
The writer of this letter has finished off Hebrews 10 with a call to persevere. Now in chapter 11 he gives his readers reasons for endurance. He’s appealing to the stories of their faith heroes to show them both that it can be done, and that the outcome of persevering faith is worth it.
What is faith?
Verse 1 has two descriptions for faith:
Confidence in what we hope for
Assurance about what we do not see
Faith is confidence in what we hope for
When you see the word “hope” in the Bible, it carries the idea of certainty. In our common usage we think of hope as wishful thinking. “I hope things go my way” or “I hope to get a better job.”
Biblical hope is not a wish. Biblical hope is about certainty. So, when we talk about “things hoped for,” it’s referring to the complete confidence I have that God will do what He’s promised to do. It’s based on His character.
When I trusted in Christ for salvation, I experienced a measure of what is yet to come. Right now, I have peace of heart. I have His presence with me. I know there’s a whole lot more coming but right now I lay hold of what will one day be mine in fulness. My faith is not a leap into the unknown. I can move forward with confident expectation based on the character of God.
Faith is being certain of what we do not see
The word “certain” carries the idea of “conviction.” There is a reality that extends beyond what we perceive with our five senses. There are unseen realities and faith is what enables me to receive the benefits of the unseen realm.
Another translation uses the word “evidence.” Faith is about evidence. God has left his fingerprints all over—in everything He’s made. Whether it’s the vastness of the universe or the intricacy of a spider web or the marvel of the human body, faith enables us to see the unseen.
This God that I cannot see, feel, taste, or touch spoke a word and created everything out of nothing. All around us is evidence of God. Faith enables a certainty in the unseen reality of God.
Ephesians 2:8 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God.” Salvation is a gift. Faith is God’s gift.
Heroes of faith
Later in the chapter, the writer fleshes out how faith operates by profiling this impressive list of Old Testament heroes of faith, starting with Abel and Enoch. What’s interesting is that in both their stories their faith is not referenced, and yet here it is.
Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve. He and his older brother Cain bring sacrifices to God.
We’re not told the reason why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s in the story in Genesis 4. What we understand from Hebrews 11 is that because of Abel’s sacrifice offered in faith he is commended as a righteous man.
In jealousy, Cain kills his brother, but Abel stands as a man of faith because of his faith towards God that was communicated by his gift.
The other hero of faith here is Enoch. We don’t know much about Enoch except that he walked with God and one day, God took him. He didn’t die a natural death. What’s said about him here is that he pleased God.
We actually know quite a bit more about the others named later in this chapter. From their stories there are three things that all of these had in common in terms of faith:
A faith that’s active.
A faith that obeys God in spite of feelings, circumstances, or consequences.
A faith whose object is God.
Aspects of Biblical faith
A faith that’s active
Biblical faith is not just a knowledge of and an assent to facts or directives. In every case these heroes of faith acted based on what they knew God wanted of them.
Abel offered. Enoch walked. Noah built. Abraham left everything and went to the place God called him. Later he was willing to offer up his son. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. Moses’ parents hid him. Moses left Egypt. The people of Israel walked into the waters of the Red Sea before God parted them. Later they marched around the walls of Jericho. Rahab hid the Jewish spies.
Faith always involves bold action in response to what a person knows God wants them to do. The author is describing the effects that faith has on a person. It’s not just static belief. Genuine faith spurs a person to act on God’s truth. They step forward, often with a tenacity and with great courage to do things for no other reason than obedience to God.
A faith that obeys God in spite of feelings, circumstances, or consequences
All of these “heroes” are ordinary people who experienced moments of doubt and complicated emotions. They all faced obstacles. In virtually every case they experienced difficult consequences for their obedience.
They were misunderstood. They were rejected. Some were mocked. They were people whose belief in the invisible was so great they didn’t care what happened to them. To obey God was the difficult choice. To obey was to take the road less travelled.
If your faith has caused you to make unpopular decisions and at times resulted in conflict and difficulty, it’s a pretty good sign that it’s genuine faith. Faith is our response to God’s word and God’s directives.
The object of faith is God
Every person has faith. All of us put our trust in something. All of us live and act based on a belief system. The difference between a Christian and someone who is not a follower of Jesus is not that one has faith, and the other doesn’t. The difference is that the Christian’s object of faith is God.
Our faith is never in vain. The reward of faith begins in this life and when this life comes to an end, faith continues, and the reward continues.
— Notes from Pastor Marvin Wojda’s sermon on June 27th, 2021
CLICK HERE to watch the Hebrews 11 (part 1) sermon on YouTube.