
THE SUPERIOR PRINCIPLE OF FAITH
HEBREWS 11:1-7
The Definition Of Faith (vv. 1-2)
- True biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of
Faith isn’t a blind shot in the dark, positive thinking, arrogant presumption, or gullible naïveté. Faith is confidence in God, a firm conviction that what He says is true and that what he promises He will do.
Three words in these verses summarize what true Biblical faith is: substance, evidence, and good report (witness in 12:1).
Substance means literally “to stand under, to support.” Faith is to a Christian what a
- “Faith is the confidence (assurance) of things hoped for…”
When a believer has faith, it is God’s way of giving him confidence and assurance that what is promised will be experienced.
Evidence simply means “conviction.” This is the inward conviction from God that what He has
These things (i.e. substance and evidence) constitute the grounds for holding as true the invisible reality of spiritual things and the trustworthiness of God’s future promises: “things hoped for…things not seen.” (v. 1)
This definition not only points to the state of faith – believing – but also to the activity of faith – being faithful.
Good report (witness) is an important word. It occurs in vv 2, 4 (twice), 5, and 39. The summary verse in 12:1 calls these men and women “so great a cloud of witnesses.”
- They are witnesses to us because God witnessed to them.
The good report was God’s divine approval on their lives.
Faith gives us a
- Faith gives us
- Faith gives
- True biblical faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of
The Observation Of Faith (v. 3)
- Faith is not simply limited to the things present but invisible, or to the things future and unknowable. Faith is also necessary to take God at His Word regarding things past and unobservable, for example, the creation of all things.
We understand that God created the world and the universe out of nothing, not because we were there, but because of faith. Faith gives understanding and light. Faith is not a blind leap in the dark but a firm position based on knowledge of God through His revelation to mankind. (e.g. Creation vs. evolution)
Only by faith in God’s own record of creation can we understand that
The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that faith is very practical. Faith enables us to understand what God does. Faith enables us to see what others cannot see. As a result, faith enables us to do what others cannot do!
J. Oswald Sanders: “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”
Observation: Hebrews, you already exercise this faith I’m talking about. You believe God created it all. You already know firsthand the superior principle of faith, the faith that brings you to God.
The Explanation Of Faith (v. 6)
- In the midst of the author sharing about individuals who demonstrated faith in God, he explains how faith works. A life of faith presupposes an attitude of humble dependence, which works itself out in three ways:
1) We
2) We
3) We
- James McDonald - Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it, no matter how I feel, because God promises a good result.
The Demonstration Of Faith (vv. 4-7)
1) By faith Abel
2) By faith Enoch
3) By faith Noah
Application:
- These first three cases of faith’s demonstration are all different with different outcomes.
- Faith and faithfulness will play differently for each of us, but faith is the same:
- How about us? Are we like an Abel? Do we trust and worship God even if others won’t?
- Abel paid the ultimate price for his faith and obedience – his life.
- If Abel could worship God in faith, surely we can too even if it means discomfort, ridicule, or persecution.
- Think about Enoch: Do you walk with God and seek to influence your family and leave a rich family legacy even when the very definition of family is going in the wrong direction?
- If faith were a topic of conversation in your neighborhood, would your neighbors hold you up as an example of a Christ follower?
- What about Noah? Are we like him in the sense that we invest our time, effort, energy, skills, and finances in God’s work? Do we take God at His word and invest in the kingdom agenda? Or, do we focus our ambitions and priorities and pursuits on the things of this world?