Dec. 22, 2024

“LIVE BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT”

“COMMON PEOPLE WITH UNCOMMON FAITH”

HEBREWS 11:1-7

*The Description Of Faith: Hebrews 11:1-3, 6

True biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. God speaks and we hear his Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances  are or what the consequences may be.

Hebrews 11:1-3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

Faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for.

Faith is the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.

The word “substance”- or assurance is the Greek word “hypostasis” it refers to the essence or substance of something, that which stands under something as its foundation and support.

The word “evidence” or conviction in secular Greek it referred to the “test” or “trial” which shows a thing as it really is. 

vs.2 “good testimony”-witness, a good report. These are witnesses to us because God witnessed to them.

vs.3 “…the worlds were framed by the word of God…”

Dr. J. Oswald Sanders put it perfectly, “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”

A life of faith presupposes an attitude of humble dependence, which works itself out in three ways:

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

1. By Faith We Come To God
2. By Faith We Believe That He Is
3. By Faith We Trust Him To Keep His Word

The person of faith, then, believes what God says without questioning and therefore does what God says without quarreling. 

*The Demonstration of Faith:

1.  Abel (The shepherd)- Faith Worshipping.

Hebrews 1:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

Genesis 4 tells us Abel was a shepherd while his brother Cain was a farmer:

Genesis 4:2 “Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”

Genesis 4:3-7

Abel “did well” vs.7, and obeyed by offering an animal sacrifice as God demanded. But Cain chose to do things his own way by offering the fruit of his labors.

It’s a reflection of our fallen nature to try to come to God on our own terms, offering Him things He didn’t ask for, good works, man-made rituals, sincere intentions.

2.   Enoch (A preacher) Faith Walking.

Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Genesis 5:21-24

Jude 1:14-15

Enoch’s faith, which kept him in step with God and out of step with his generation, pleased God so much that he was taken from the earth before the judgment of the Flood.

3.   Noah (A builder) Faith Working.

Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

When God warned Noah of the impending Flood “things not yet seen” vs.7, he reverently built the ark in obedience to the Lord’s command.

Genesis 6:8-9 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

Genesis 6:5 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Noah trusted and obeyed (Gen. 6:22, 7:5, 8:9,16). He put his faith to work, believing God’s word over public opinion.

Five Facts About Faith:

*Faith Builds Assurance And Conviction-vs.1

*Faith Faces The Future With Confidence- vs.1

*Faith Focuses On An Invisible Reality- vs.1,3

*Faith Fulfills Its Purpose In Pleasing God- vs.2,6

*Faith Fixes Our Lives Fully On God- vs.6