What Does Faith Do?

INTRODUCTION

In 1882, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche made the statement, “God is dead,” giving a thorough explanation to the death of God in his The Parable of the Madman.

From the time of that bold statement, many more writers/philosophers have contributed their pens to moving and shaping society away from God.

The “death of God movement”, as it is commonly called, produced the idea that belief in God is impossible or meaningless in the modern world and that fulfillment is to be found in secular life. And if there is any belief in a god, it is the god of our own making, and certainly not the God of the Bible.

Yet, in the midst of this overwhelming secularism that rules the thought patterns of our society, we stand as a people of faith. We reject all of the secularism, all of the humanism, all of the atheism, and we hold firmly to our faith.

We are here to worship a Christ we have never seen, who promised us a heaven where we’ve never been. We are banking our entire life in time and eternity on things that we have never seen.

We’ve never seen God.

We’ve never seen Christ.

We’ve never seen the Holy Spirit.

We’ve never seen heaven. And no one has returned to tell us about it.

We don’t have any eyewitness accounts in our contemporary day.

And yet we build our life on these realities.

Last week, when we looked at Hebrews 11:1-3, we outlined a working definition of What Faith Is:

FAITH IS ASSURANCE AND CONVICTION It is a firm foundation, and a practical response to that foundation. We do not simply float ourselves out there hoping that what we believe is true. We know it is.

FAITH IS THE TESTIMONY OF GODLY INDIVIDUALS Faith enabled the heroes of the Old Testament to receive a good standing with God. They believed their God, and believed all that was revealed to them by His Word and His Spirit.

FAITH IS OUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR CREATOR Believing that God created the world involves us believing (i.e. having faith in) the Word of God.

Faith is what leads to life, and how our lives ought to be defined.

Habakkuk 2:4 the righteous shall live by his faith.

Romans 1:16–17 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Now, as we move through the “Hall of Faith” section of this chapter, we move from the definition of faith to answering the question What Does Faith Do?

Read Hebrews 11:4-7

FAITH BRINGS ABOUT DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH

Abel, though he’s dead, still speaks.

Enoch was delivered from experiencing death by walking with God.

Noah was delivered from experiencing death by being commanded to build the Ark.

Each of these men faced the certainty of death to some degree, and were delivered from it.

Consider the fact that we all face a death problem, and these examples should really bring a sigh of relief for us.

Jesus addressed this very issue with Martha, after Lazarus died.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25–26 ESV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The reality is that those who have faith…a firm foundation…in Jesus the Christ are assured of life, despite the reality of death.

If you physically die, you will physically live [bodily resurrection]

If you spiritually live, you will live forever [eternal life]

The question we must answer for ourselves is the same question Jesus posed to Martha: Do you believe this?

Read Hebrews 11:8-16

FAITH LEADS TO A GREATER DESTINATION

Abraham was led by God to leave his father’s house to a land which God would show him. A land inhabited by the Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, etc.

A land promised to him and his descendants (when he was still childless).

Yet, God promised to Abraham that he would be the father of a multitude of people. Sarah was promised to have a child in her old age.

Even though none of this made sense, they still believed God and had faith…assurance and conviction… that it would come to pass.

They all died in faith, as they had lived in faith. Their lives were regulated by the firm conviction that God would fulfill the promises he had given them. In death they continued to look forward to the fulfillment of those promises, made evident by the fact that Isaac and Jacob bestowed their final blessings on their sons and grandsons (cf. v. 20-21).

At the time of His death and betrayal, Jesus assured His disciples of a greater destination…a place that He was preparing for them.

John 14:1–3 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus emphasized the need for His disciples to believe. Not because they needed something to simply hope in, to get through their grief. But because it was a sure thing. A firm foundation. A true faith.

Read Hebrews 11:17-31

FAITH LOOKS BEYOND THE OBSTACLE

Suffice it to say that Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice his own son was a real obstacle to the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to him. Yet, Abraham had a firm foundation of faith that God would raise Isaac from the dead, if need be.

Consider the assurance that Abraham had when he spoke to his servants…

Genesis 22:5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Abraham expected to come back with Isaac. There was no doubt in his mind or deception in his words.

C.H. Spurgeon

Death is a great tester of a man’s sincerity, and a great shaker down of bowing walls and tottering fences.

When it came to the end of their earthly life, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph looked at the promise of God beyond their own death, and blessed their children/grandchildren in the confidence that it would still be fulfilled.

Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, were not afraid of the king’s edict to kill the babies; rather, they believed that life was God’s plan and they believed He would protect their child.

When he grew up, Moses chose to associate with and be afflicted alongside his people, the Israelites. He gave up all the luxury that came with being a prince of Egypt, because of the faith he had in the promises of God.

Furthermore, faith was expressed by those who applied the blood for the passover. And when they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground . And when they marched around Jericho for 7-days, before shouting at the city and seeing the walls come tumbling down. And a gentile prostitute, who heard of the God of Israel and knew his promises to His people, chose to protect the spies and was spared death.

Not to mention, that same Rahab appears in the genealogy of Jesus.

Faith looks beyond any obstacle we face to the God who has promised, and rests assured in His word.

Read Hebrews 11:32-40

FAITH ENABLES US TO ENDURE AFFLICTION

The many kinds of suffering mentioned in this text points to the various forms of affliction that the people of God have to face.

The word tortured is from the Greek τυμπανίζω, from the same root as the English tympani, a kettledrum. The particular torture referred to involved stretching the victim over a large drum-like instrument and beating him with clubs, often until dead. God’s faithful are willing to be beaten to death rather than compromise their faith in Him.

Jeremiah was as emotionally abused as he was physically abused, and it is not strange that he was called the weeping prophet.

Tradition holds that Isaiah was sawn in two.

The bottom line we need to take from these verses is this: God does not promise His saints deliverance from all suffering.

Mark 8:34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

John 15:20

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

The Old Testament saints did not receive what was promised but they had gained approval through their faith. Their faith was not in some immediate fulfillment, but in the ultimate fulfillment of the promises.

Their salvation was based on what Christ would do; ours is based on what Christ has done. Their faith looked forward to promise; ours looks back to historical fact

CONCLUSION

Faith, while ridiculed thoroughly in our secular culture, is of utmost importance to the promises of God.

As we conclude our walk through the “Hall of Faith,” it is very encouraging to see how these saints put on full display of faith for us. They showed us that:

FAITH BRINGS ABOUT DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH We have the promise of a bodily resurrection and eternal life in heaven. They provided the example of how faith leads to that deliverance.

FAITH LEADS TO A GREATER DESTINATION We are not of this world; this is not our home. We are citizens of a heavenly home. They showed us that, even though they were wealthy and possessed much land, it was not their home. They looked to something greater…a city constructed by God.

FAITH LOOKS BEYOND THE OBSTACLE Even though hardships and uncertainties come our way, we must look beyond them to the promises of God. They showed us that, even though they did not see the promise, they still lived in obedience.

FAITH ENABLES US TO ENDURE AFFLICTION We are not promised a life on Easy Street…in fact, we are told to expect trials and hardships. They showed us that, no matter what affliction we face, we can continue to count on God’s promises.

Ladies and Gentlemen, our faith is assurance and confidence. Let’s not give it up.

Habakkuk 2:4 the righteous shall live by his faith.