Fortitude by Faith.

Opening:

It is a beautiful thing to open the Word of God on the Lord’s Day.

Introduction of the Passage:

This morning is part two of the Apostle’s closing of the list of faithful saints of old who lived by faith. We will be in Hebrews 11:35-40. At the end of Hebrews 10 he quoted from Habakkuk saying that the righteous shall live by faith. We do not shrink back, but we live by faith. Then this entire chapter is filled with examples of those who lived by faith. And in the closing, the Apostle Paul gives a shotgun approach. He lists a bunch of names. He lists multiple judges, David, Samuel, and the prophets. He then gives a long list of what they did by faith. And this list is divided into two parts. Victory won by faith and fortitude gained by faith. Last week we covered the victories of faith. Sometimes, through faith God gives us great victory. But this week we see that there are also times of suffering. But in this suffering, God gives us endurance and fortitude by faith.

With this in mind I would ask you to stand with me out of reverence for the reading of God’s holy Word.

Reading of the Passage:

Hebrews 11:35–40“...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

Behold the Word of God. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Our gracious heavenly Father, we commit this time in Your Word to You. We ask that You would be glorified and we would be edified in this time. Be with us. Speak to us through Your Word. And give us true faith that we may live unto you. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

Introduction/ Opening Illustration:

I titled this message fortitude by faith. But fortitude is not a word we use often in our day. But I chose that word for a reason. According to the dictionary, fortitude means courage in adversity. And when we hear this list of the sufferings of the saints of old, we see that what they gained by faith was fortitude. They were courageous even in the midst of horrors we could only imagine. And they gained this courage by faith. They endured pain and suffering all by faith.

Last week we covered the fact that many times God gives us victory, and that victory must come by faith. But life is not all victory. Often we face defeat. Often we face pain and suffering. How are we to endure this? How are we to hold our heads up high and carry on even when we loose and suffer? We do this by faith.

And this is a very important principle that we must learn. We all want victory. No one should desire to lose and suffer. But life often involves suffering. No one is immune to pain. So we must, right now, cultivate a faith that can endure. We must posses fortitude.

Need:

Why? Why must we possess fortitude? And why must we do this now? Maybe you are here and life is not filled with pain. IT seems like you are receiving blessing upon blessing. Praise God. That is wonderful. But none of us know the outcomes of our lives. None of us know what lies around the bend of this life. Last week we saw the Apostle specifically focus on battle. He was focused on military and political victory. And that really is a great illustration of life itself.

When a military commander would ride to the top of the hill to survey the battle lines, he did not ultimately know which way the battle would go. Sure, occasionally there would be a clear advantage or disadvantage. But in the ultimate sense, victory or defeat is never guaranteed on the battle field. You ride forth to battle in faith. And we saw in the previous verses that victory does come. But sometimes things go wrong. And sometimes we lose. We must win in faith and we must lose in faith.

We must cultivate fortitude by faith right now, because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Any one of our lives could take a turn to utter horror with one phone call. We must purpose in our hearts that we will be faithful, no matter what, right now. We will remain faithful no matter what.

Text Idea:

And this is what we see in our text this morning. By faith, the saints of old gained fortitude to endure suffering and horror.

Sermon Idea:

We must learn today that our faith in Christ will carry us through even the hardest difficulties and deepest pains. True faith in Christ will give us fortitude in suffering.

Interrogative:

But how do we cultivate this kind of faith? That really is the purpose of this chapter. WE are to look to at the lives of the faithful saints of old and learn from their example.

Transition:

So let us begin by looking at:

The Suffering the Faithful Endured.

Explanation:

The apostle gives a list of the various pains and suffering endured by the faithful. And mainly, he is here focused on what the prophets endured. But here is the list that Paul gives. They faced:

Torture without deliverance, trials of mocking, scourging, chains and imprisonment, stoning, being sawn in two, temptation, slain with the sword, forced to wander in animal skins, made destitute, afflicted, tormented, forced to wander in deserts and mountains, forced to live in caves.

So let’s examine these afflictions briefly.

Torture without deliverance:

Most commentators believe this is a reference to something specifically recorded in Israel’s history between the Old and New Testament. The Israelites were once again oppressed and enslaved. But there was a rebellion known as the Maccabees. And some of the leaders were captured. And their captors attempted to force them to break God’s Law. They attempted to force them to eat unclean food and break God’s Law in other ways. But the leader refused. And the captors tortured him to death in horrific ways. He chose death before disobedience. It really is a harrowing account.

I don’t disagree that Paul could be referencing this historical account, he honestly probably is referencing it. But I also think this could easily apply to the prophets. Think of Jeremiah. If you read the book of Jeremiah you will see that he lived a life of torture. We could apply almost this entire list to his life alone. He was once thrown into a sewer and forced to stay there. He chose to endure that torture without deliverance for the sake of faith. The other prophets were also often brutally tortured by Israel. Think of how Jezebel brutally murdered all the prophets of Elijah’s day. They endured torture rather than disobey God.

Trials of mocking:

You read about any of the lives of the prophets and you will see that they were all relentlessly mocked. They chose to remain faithful to God and endured constant mocking and threats.

Scourging:

We don’t know who specifically this is referring to, but it could be any of the prophets. Many of them were beaten and any number of them could have been scourged. Scourging means to be whipped. It was a brutal type of whipping.

Chains and imprisonment:

I already mentioned how Jeremiah was imprisoned in a sewer. But other prophets were chained and imprisoned as well. They, in faith chose to face chains and prisons rather than disobey God. And think of how this applies easily to the Apostles as well. It is not just the Old Testament saints who endured this. Paul, Peter, and all the other Apostles often faced being jailed and imprisoned.

Stoning:

Again we think of Paul who himself was stoned at Lystra for preaching the gospel. Stephen, the first Martyr was stoned to death for his prophetic word against the Pharisees and the Jews. But also, according to history, Jeremiah the prophet died by stoning. He endured so much suffering and pain in his life for faith, and it ended with the Jews stoning him to death.

Being sawn in two:

According to history Isaiah, who also endured suffering all his life, was sawn in two. This is clearly what Paul is referencing here. Isaiah, probably the greatest prophet of the Old Covenant, was tortured and executed by being sawn in two for his faith.

Temptation:

What type of temptation was this? Well, I read the lives of the prophets and I think the greatest temptation would have been to give up. Think of how many times in the Old Testament there were false prophets who would tell the kings or rulers whatever they wanted to hear. But the faithful prophets would stand against this. And in standing up to the rulers and kings and speaking the truth, they suffered horribly. How tempting would it have been to just remain quiet? If they would have just watered down what God said a little bit, they likely would have lived so much better lives.

I’m no prophet, but I understand this temptation. I know that if I just water down what God says a little bit, I won’t upset people. I know there are things God clearly says in His Word that will upset people. And I am always tempted to take the easy road. But I must never do this. The prophets knew that to do that would be sin. They determined to offend everyone else if it just meant honoring God. By faith they did not give in to this temptation. They offended the people, even kings, rather than offend God. They knew that this offense could and often would lead to their deaths. But still, they chose death over offending God. I pray I would be so bold.

Slain with the sword:

Last week we saw how many were saved from the sword by faith. But in contrast to this we see how others were not spared. They were slain by the sword. And they died in faith. They faced the sword rather than dishonor God.

Forced to wander in animal skins:

This brings to mind men like Elijah and John the Baptist who wandered around in rough animal skins. They were denied the luxuries of life. Even simple luxuries like comfortable clothing. Their determination to remain faithful to God forced them out of all of life’s comforts. Which brings us to the next point.

Destitute:

They were made poor. They lacked all the comforts of this life. They were stripped often of every natural good that could be taken from them.

Afflicted:

They bore more than just the listed afflictions. They were hated and afflicted for their faith. They were beaten and bruised all for the sake of Christ and faithfulness.

Tormented:

They were mocked and tortured. They were physically, mentally, emotionally, and in every other way tormented. They were hated and despised for their faith.

Forced to wander in deserts and mountains:

They were sent from their homes and homelands. They were denied their inheritance. They were forced to become wanderers and vagabonds. Think of John the Baptist and Elijah being wanderers. They traveled the dangerous roads of deserts and mountains.

Forced to live in caves:

They had no homes. They were driven from homes and all worldly goods for the sake of their faith. Forced to live in wet and dank holes in the ground all for the sake of Christ.

Argumentation:

Who could endure this type of cruelty? Who could endure such reckless hate as was poured out on these ancient saints? What was it that gave them strength to carry on in the midst of such pain and suffering? Only faith. Faith alone can give someone fortitude to endure such evil. And we see something in this list.

Faith is More Clearly Seen in Suffering.

When we compare the list of victory to suffering, it is easier for us to see the faith of those who suffer for their faith. Now I want to be clear, faith is no more present in suffering than in victory. But there is something about suffering for faith that displays that faith more clearly. It is a dramatic contrast. When someone is willing to suffer and die for what they believe in, it is obvious they believe it.

This does not mean that suffering produces more or even better faith. Remember, faith is a gift of God. True faith is true faith in suffering and in victory. But there is something about the hardest times that reveals the truth of our character. When we endure pain, it is a mirror to us of who we truly are. Character is revealed in adversity. And whatever is revealed in that adversity is what was always there. So in times of suffering, true faith shines brightly for what it is.

Illustration:

It is like the lights in our house. Have you ever turned on your lights in the middle of the day on clear sunny day? They don’t seem particularly bright. It’s honestly hard to even notice they are on. But what if you need to get up in the middle of the night. You wake up at 2 am and accidentally hit that same light switch. It is blinding, right? That 60 Watt bulb is the same bulb at midday and midnight. But in our eyes in shines so much brighter in the dark.

It is the same with faith. True faith is the same in times of great joy and in times of great pain. But in moments of pain, that faith is truly revealed. Like a light in darkest night, faith in adversity shines as a beacon of hope. And if a person possesses false faith, adversity will be show it. If you have a bulb burned out at noon, you may not notice. But if you try to turn on a light in a dark room at midnight, you will notice if it is burned out. So it is in times of pain. In times of difficulty, false faith is evident. When things get hard, people who do not have true faith abandon. They commit apostacy. They reject faith. But those who endure to the end, will have their reward.

Transition:

And we see this in this text.

The Reward Their Faith Gained.

Explanation:

We see that God has blessed those who suffer for faith. They are given some of the most beautiful words of all of Scripture. In the midst of their suffering and pain, they have the blessing of God. The world came against these faithful saints who suffered for God. But even though the world hated them, the Lord was pleased with them. And we see several things they gained. They lost so much, but they gained even more. The first thing we see is:

A Better Resurrection.

Hebrews 11:35 “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.”

What does this mean? Were those who were tortured offered some kind of lesser resurrection? Yes, in a way they were. They could have escaped torture at any time. If they merely recanted their faith. If they denied the Lord who bought them, they could have been free. But rather than take an unfaithful way out of pain, they chose torture and death. Why? Because they looked to the future and better resurrection. They longed for the true resurrection. And because they remained faithful, the resurrection is assured them. They will be raised.

They lived out the reality of Christ’s words in Matthew 10:22 “22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” Jesus says this several times. And from this we draw a theological truth. True faith is enduring faith. Remember the parable of the sower. Some grow up quickly on rocky soil. But they do not endure. They wither and die. So it is with many in the church. They sprout up quickly, but they do not have true faith. And they do not endure. But those who endure to the end will be saved. Those with living faith prove they have that faith by enduring.

These saints proved they had enduring faith by choosing death over abandoning the faith. They looked ahead to the true salvation to come and chose that over abandoning their faith.

But there is more. In this passage, these faithful saints of old receive one of the most clear commendations from God.

The Commendation of God.

Hebrews 11:38“38 of whom the world was not worthy.” This is almost thrown in as almost an afterthought. But this is one of the most beautiful commendations from God. Those who suffered for their faith were of such a holy stature that the world was not worthy to have them in it. The World was not worthy of them. I struggle to even put into words the beauty of this idea. God is saying about these saints that their faith put them as men who surpassed the worth of the world. They were better than what the world deserved. What precious words. I pray such things could be said of us. But what a marvel that these men would receive such a commendation from God.

But they received one final thing.

A Good Testimony.

The Apostle says that through faith these saints obtained a good testimony. And we could easily apply this to every single person listed in this chapter. They have obtained a good testimony. They are forever listed as those who lived by faith. May we all see the example of these saints and seek to emulate their faith.

Argumentation:

But there something I want to clarify. I fear it is seldom clarified when we examine those who have suffered for the faith.

It Is Not Good to Suffer.

When reading this list of those who suffer, I fear there is often a tendency to glorify suffering itself. I have noticed a trend within the church in the past decades where I’ve begun to hear certain things more and more. And one the troubling things I hear is almost a desire for suffering. This is not new. If we read the history books, this has happened before. In the first three hundred years of the church there were many Christians who saw the incredible bravery of the saints going to their deaths for the faith and they would take the wrong lesson away. Some of the foolhardy Christians would actually begin to desire persecution. That seems counterintuitive, but I see the same trend today.

I have heard many preachers, teachers, and Christians almost eager for persecution. They talk about the church elsewhere in the world who are suffering for their faith almost with envy. In fact, I’ve even heard people say they wished that would happen here. This is the wrong lesson. We should not desire suffering. We should not want to be martyred.

It is an objectively bad thing when Christians suffer. We should want all Christian suffering to end. We should want every nation to bow to Christ and obey Him. This is the great commission. It is not good when Christians suffer. It is a truly good thing to live in a Christian nation where Christian laws are upheld, where good is rewarded and evil is punished. Suffering is bad. We should desire peace.

This is why Paul says in Romans 12:18 “18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” We should not seek persecution. We should seek peace. We should glorify the people who are faithful in suffering, but not the suffering itself. It is heartbreaking when the godly suffer. We should attempt to avoid suffering. We should do everything we can to keep our nation from enacting persecution against Christians.

But we must recognize that sometimes, we don’t have a choice. And then we must determine we will not bow to sin. Suffering is not good, but…

Suffering for Christ is Better Than Comfort in Sin.

This is the distinction. Suffering is not a good thing, but to suffer for Christ is better than to be comfortable in sin. Sadly, even in our land Christians are right now being persecuted. It did not used to be this way. There are pro life protesters in jail right now simply for praying outside an abortion clinic. There are Christians who lost their livelihood in 2020 for simply obeying Scripture in the face of the mandates. We should seek to gain victory in these cases. We should seek to take back what was once a Christian land. But we have to recognize that there may come a day very soon where we will suffer for Christ.

We must determine right now, that no matter what, we will be faithful. We must see the example of these saints and determine that no matter what happens, we will not bow to sin. Suffering is not good. But suffering for Christ is better than comfort in sin. And Beloved, we will have to choose to give up our comforts. But so often we don’t want to do the hard thing. We would rather be comfortable, even if it sinful. But Christ calls us to carry our cross. We must be willing always to suffer for Christ.

Matthew 16:24–26“24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Suffering is not a good thing. No one enjoys the idea of suffering, but there are far worse things. We must determine that no matter what happens, no matter what the mobs scream at us, no matter what the government tells us to do, we will be faithful to Christ. We will never abandon the faith. We will remain faithful to the end.

Transition:

But in closing, let us examine those final words of Hebrews 11. Let us look at:

The Promise Fulfilled.

Hebrews 11:39–40“39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

Explanation:

Paul closes by saying that while the saints of old did see many promises fulfilled, they did not see THE promise. They did not receive the fulness of the promise. So what is the fullness of the promise?

The Promise is Christ.

The Apostle is here calling back to his words in Hebrews 5:9“9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” The reality is that salvation has always been in Christ. The Old Testament saints were saved by Christ. They were not saved by any other means than by faith in Christ. And in this, we are all perfected by Christ together.

Their faith was in Christ who was coming. Our faith is in Christ who has come.

Argumentation:

So what caused these saints of old to endure horrors? What gave them fortitude?

The Saints of Old Gained Fortitude by Faith in Christ.

I opened by saying that the point of this message was that our faith in Christ will carry us through even the hardest difficulties and deepest pains. That true faith in Christ will give us fortitude in suffering. This is what gave the saints of old endurance and fortitude in these sufferings. They gained endurance by looking ahead to the coming promise. They looked ahead to Christ. They longed for the promise they would not live to see. And this looking ahead gave them this fortitude and endurance.

But we now look back. Christ has come. They longed for what they did not see. We now look back on what we have seen and known. Christ has come. The promise has come.

So here is my question to us. How much more faith ought we to have? They did not see Him. They did not know Him. We know Him. They worshipped what they did not know fully. We worship what we now know in Spirit and in truth.

Beloved, we should have all the more faith. Our faith should be even stronger. We read of these saints who endured by faith, but they endured in what they did not know. We now endure in what we do know. This means that we share the same faith that they had.

Conclusion:

They were no different from us in this. We will endure in the same faith that the saints of old endured in. We can gain fortitude in Christ, just as the saints of old gained fortitude in Christ.

Visualization:

None of us know what tomorrow will bring. None of us know if we will be forced to suffer for our faith in our days. But the same faith that gave these saints of old endurance can carry us through.

Reiteration:

So let us hold ever to Christ. No matter what happens, hold to Christ.

Application:

In our lives, let us remember this.

Seek to Avoid Suffering by Any Righteous Means.

While we may have to suffer for righteousness, we should always try to find other options. We should seek victory by faith. We should not eagerly seek to suffer simply for suffering’s sake. If we can by righteous action see the Christian faith promoted in our culture, we must do this. We should do this by whatever godly means we can. But if we are to suffer, remember this.

Suffer Righteously, Knowing You Are Not Alone.

We have a legacy of faithful men and women who suffered well for the faith. When we face trials and difficulty, we have been counted worthy of being numbered with these. Suffering can often feel so lonely. But we are not alone. Countless others have suffered for the faith before us. Remember the prophets. Remember the sufferings of David. Remember the martyrs. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.

But if it is our lot to suffer for Christ:

Leave a Legacy of Faith.

If we are to suffer or even die for Christ, let us hold to the faith. May it be said of us that we chose death before abandoning the faith. Let us determine now, that those who carry on after us will remember our boldness in the face of pain and even death. Let us live and die good deaths. Let us be bold and brave, even in the face of pain. If we are put to the gallows, stand tall, speak clear, declare the truth of Christ, and die well.

But no matter what happens to us, if we suffer or if we gain victory, leave a legacy of faith. I would remind you that none of know which way this battle will go. We may find that we gain great victory through faith. We may find that we face great suffering. But the faith must be same. The soldier on the battlefield does not know if he will escape the sword by faith or be killed by the sword in faith. But his actions are still the same. He charges in. Live or die, he fights. In faith, he embraces both victory and death. May we take this to heart.

We may charge in to certain suffering and death. We may charge in to miraculous deliverance. But we charge in faith. We hold the line in faith. We stand tall, as bold and brave as we can, in faith. Let the armies of darkness tremble. If we live, we live by faith. If we die, we die by faith. But one thing is certain. We will not cave. We will not bow. We would rather die in faith than live in sin. May it be so.

Closing Prayer:

Offering:

Offertory Prayer:

Benediction:

1 Peter 1:13 “13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober (minded), and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”