Hebrews
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Walk by Faith Not by Works
Walk by Faith Not by Works
Warren Wiersbe tells the story of a man in Leeds, England who visited a doctor to have his hearing checked. The doctor removed the man’s hearing aid, and the patient’s hearing immediately improved! Turns out he had been wearing the hearing aid in the wrong ear for over 20 years!
The church’s focus is often placed in the wrong spot. We are to be people of faith and not just of works.
It is true that Faith without works is dead, but the Faith must come first.
Most churches operate in what they can do for God, which requires little faith. People are eager to give their hard work for God, but usually not their faith. They don’t mind doing the work that they can see, but struggle with trusting Him with what they can’t.
As we start the Hall of Faith chapter, we need to understand and be reminded that these men and women are here because of their faith that led to action. Not the action alone. What they did was because of who their faith was in. They trusted God and ran the race.
The Description of Faith
V. 1-3 give a description of what faith does and how it works
Warren Wiersbe says this on the description of faith: “True Bible faith is not blind optimism or a manufactured “hope-so” feeling. Neither is it an intellectual assent to a doctrine. it is certainly not believing in spite of evidence! That would be superstition. True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.”
“This faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matther what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown; but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.”
Tony Evans says it this way: “Biblical faith is man’s response to what God is saying to him. To exercise faith is to have confidence about an expectation without visible proof that it will happen.”
“Faith is only as good as its object. The object of our Faith is God.”
Faith fails when the object is not pure. People will fail other people because the object or person that their faith is in is imperfect and sinful.
V.1
Verse 1 reminds me of the scene in Santa Clause with Tim Allen where Judy the elf is explaining to him what he is seeing. He can’t believe that a polar bear is directing traffic. Then she says the famous line “Seeing isn’t believing, but Believing is Seeing.”
“Faith is the Reality or Substance as NKJV puts it. The Greek word for substance gives the sense of something foundational, basic, a concrete reality upon which other things are built.”
Faith in God is not built upon emotion nor is it flimsy. Faith is a solid certainty for which our hope is built upon the reality and existence of Christ.
Faith in God is not wimpy nor a push over. True faith in Christ is built on the foundation that God is God. He is real. He is the King. What He said is true down to the smallest thing. There is no white lie or fabrication of any kind. Faith is God means you take Him at His word and stand on it. Stand on it and never waiver.
The Tony Evans Bible Commentary XI. The Hall of Faith (11:1–40)
Notice that each of the heroes of the faith mentioned in this chapter acted on what they believed. Living by faith means living by God’s Word not human opinion or philosophy. It means we pray and prioritize the spiritual over the natural, the unseen over the seen.
Sometimes it cannot matter what everyone around you is saying. You stand on the word of God.
When Jordan and I were in the process of moving here, we had to stand believing that this is were God wanted us to be. We couldn’t stand on the fears that we had, or the unknown. We couldn’t stand on the fact that we were getting out of our comfort zone and away from family. We had to stand on the fact that God called us. His word is clear that our love for Him should be so far above everyone else that it looks like we hate our family even compared to how much we love Him.
Job even had to deal with standing alone. His friends and wife had turned their back on Him, but he stood on the word of God. He stood on the relationship he had with God and certainty that Christ is real and in charge. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Evidence
evidence—“demonstration”: convincing proof to the believer: the soul thereby seeing what the eye cannot see.
I didn’t understand why the Lord led me to start a Sunday School class almost 2 years ago. I didn’t know what He was up to, but I had to obey Him.
A year later when I believed the Lord was taking me out of music ministry into Discipleship I started to understand a little bit.
I don’t understand why God wants us in Georgia at this place and at this time, but I’m sure one day evidence will show some of the why.
The evidence or proof that the Lord gives helps us with faith as we live life. It helps us keep going in our walk with Him. The evidence is the blessing from God to keep believe in someone we can’t see or understand.
V.2
Because of their faith in a real God which produced hope, which produced evidence; the people had a good testimony. The evidence of their faith proved them to be right.
The elders had a good testimony because the faith they had in Christ produced evidence in their life that they had a relationship with a Holy God.
This should be the goal of every believer.
V.3
Verse 3 is the first test of our faith in God. If we cannot believe v.3 then you cannot believe the rest of the Bible. It starts with creation.
To boil it done, God created everything our of nothing just by the His word.
That is how powerful our God is. We should have strong faith because we are trusting in a Powerful Savior. Bro. Justin reminded us of that this morning that there is no problem that is too big for the Lord.