Hebrews 11:1-12:2 - What is Faith?

Pray

Father, thank you for the opportunity to hear from you now through your Word.

Please use me to speak into all of our hearts.

I pray that you would reveal your glory and the glory of your Son to us this morning, so that all of us can be changed from one degree of glory to the next.

We all want to be like your Son, Jesus, so please use my simple preaching of your powerful Word, and the power of your Spirit to change us into his likeness.

To live and love like him more and more.

To have faith like him and faith in him more and more.

I can’t do this on my own.

None of us can do this on our own.

We need you.

So, please, work a miracle in our hearts this morning.

We thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Intro

We are plugging away through the book of Hebrews, and this morning we’ve come to a pretty famous chapter known as the “Hall of Faith.”

It’s a list of a bunch of people from the Old Testament who proved their faith in God, and God commended them for it.

But why is the author of Hebrews talking about the faith of all these different people from Scripture?

Well, the previous passage explained the right, wrong, and enduring responses to Jesus’ sacrifice so that we will respond rightly and enduringly rather than responding wrongly.

And the right and enduring response is to keep on worshipping Jesus by continuing to remember his sacrifice in hope, continuing to serve him in love by serving and loving each other, and continuing to submit to him in… faith.

Faith is a big part of our right response to Jesus’ sacrifice, but even faith can be misunderstood.

So, the author of Hebrews explains exactly what faith is and what it should look like here in Hebrews 11:1-12:2.

He does this so that our enduring right response of faith will be in the right things and done in the right way.

We have a tendency to approach faith wrongly, to put our faith in our own experiences, our own understanding, and our own authority. 

This can result in wrongly demanding temporal blessings from God or healing based on a wrong idea of faith, or even abandoning God entirely because our faith was in the wrong things or applied in the wrong way.

Because we tend to misunderstand and wrongly approach faith, and because it’s so important to the right response to Jesus’ sacrifice, God has clearly explained it in our passage, in Hebrews 11:1-12:2, using examples from Scripture.

He’s explained three aspects of the proper object of our faith, and how all of that is ultimately faith in his Son, Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

He’s shown us how true faith is focussed on God’s Word, character, and authority and fulfilled in his Son, Jesus.

So, first, let’s read verses 1-16 of Hebrews chapter 11 and see how these examples encourage us to focus our faith on God’s Word.

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Hebrews 11:4 ESV

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

Hebrews 11:5–6 ESV

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:7 ESV

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Hebrews 11:8–10 ESV

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:11–12 ESV

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

Hebrews 11:13–14 ESV

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Hebrews 11:15–16 ESV

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

So, here we see a handful of examples of…

Faith in God’s Word (11:1-16)

Before the author of Hebrews gets into these examples he sets up our expectations for this section.

He defines faith in general, and he explains how he’s going to give examples of faith from the past and how all of us have faith in God’s Word, his powerful Word that he used to create everything.

He explains this all in a sort of…

Introduction to Faith (1-3)

Faith has to do with assurance and hope and conviction about things that cannot be seen.

This doesn’t mean there’s no evidence, or that faith is necessarily blind.

It means that apart from sight we have all the evidence we need to have assurance, to logically and rationally believe.

And it means that your belief is not just mental, it’s a conviction that significantly affects your actions, how you live.

This whole section is a list of examples of this kind of faith.

It’s known as the “hall of faith.”

This kind of faith is what God has commended people for by engraving their stories of their faith in varying detail in Scripture.

The very fact that these people and their acts of faith are recorded in the Bible means that God has commended them, he’s said, “look at their faith!”

And we’re going to do that because the author of Hebrews does that.

He goes through a biblical theology of faith beginning at the beginning.

By faith we, all of us, believe that God created everything in the beginning through his powerful Word, by speaking it into existence.

We weren’t there, so we don’t have our own sight to prove it.

We have God’s testimony in Genesis chapter 1.

God was the only one there, and he’s given us his first hand account of those events so that we can have assurance that it really happened that way.

As we get into the examples of faith from people recorded in Scripture, we’re going to see that they are grouped into different focuses.

They all had faith focussed on a certain aspects of who God is.

The first large section, as we’ve seen is believing God’s Word.

And the first few examples were specifically…

Believing God’s Instructions (4-7)

Abel believed God’s instructions about sacrifice.

He wasn’t there when God gave Adam and Eve the first example and implied instructions about sacrifice.

But he had those instructions nonetheless.

Cain also had those same instructions, but he disregarded them and had faith in his own understanding rather than God’s instructions.

And God commended Abel for believing him by accepting his sacrifice.

Enoch believed God’s instructions about seeking him.

He knew God was there, even though he couldn’t see him because God is spirit and no sinful human being can look on him and live.

He knew he was there, and instead of ignoring what he couldn’t see, he sought God like God has always wanted us to do.

Paul said in Acts 17:26–27 “And he (God) made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,”

Enoch did that, and God commended his faith by allowing him to avoid the first death, by taking him straight to heaven instead of having to die first.

This is from the middle of a genealogy in Genesis 5:21–24 “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

The phrase, “walked with God,” in Hebrew has connotations of doing what God wanted, pleasing God, believing and doing what God had instructed by seeking him.

Noah believed God’s instructions about the condemnation of the world.

He was warned that God’s condemnation was coming in a world-wide flood, and God instructed him to build a giant boat to escape that watery condemnation.

Noah’s righteousness was noticed by God, and God commended him for his faith by saving him and his family from that world-wide flood.

But in order for Noah to actually be saved he needed to believe God’s instructions and do them.

God instructed him step-by-step how to build the ark and how to use it to rescue himself and his family and a whole bunch of animals from God’s wrath against the sin and corruption of the world at that time.

And Noah believed God’s instructions even though he couldn’t see exactly how God’s judgment would come until it was all around him.

Again, Noah was commended for his righteousness because he believed God’s Word.

And even though he came way before Abraham, his belief in God’s Word, God’s instructions, and his conviction about it which affected his actions made him also an heir of that same righteousness that comes by faith.

The next set of examples is Abraham and Sarah who were given more than just instructions.

They were given promises, multiple promises.

And we can see in their response an example of…

Believing God’s Promises (8-12)

The first promise God gave Abraham was the promise of an inheritance, a land to inherit for himself and his descendants.

In Genesis chapter 12, God called Abraham to leave his home where he was born and raised, to leave his extended family and set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

But God didn’t tell him exactly where it would be at first.

He just said, go out to the place that I will show you.

Abraham had no idea where he was going.

He couldn’t see exactly what God had promised yet, but he went out anyway.

He believed God’s promise more than he believed what he could see right then.

The second promise God gave Abraham was the promise of a home.

When he finally laid eyes on his new inheritance from God, the land looked like it would be a good home, but he only wandered around it like a visitor, a sojourner, not actually taking possession of it in his lifetime.

He lived there until he died there, but he never took possession of it, he never put down roots, he only ever camped there.

And that was the situation for multiple generations.

How could he be content with coming that close to his promised inheritance but not taking possession of it?

Verse 10 of our passage explains that he understood something important about his inheritance.

The physical land was a picture of a greater spiritual reality.

Yes, his descendants would take possession of that land as an inheritance from God as God honored his promise to Abraham in later generations.

But Abraham understood that his inheritance that he was really looking forward to was not physical.

It was a city, a home, in heaven which God himself had designed and built for him.

He didn’t need to build a city in the earthly promised land because he already had a much better city to call home waiting for him in heaven.

The third promise God gave Abraham and Sarah was the promise of a family, descendants to inherit the land after him and to follow him to a better heavenly home.

In Genesis chapter 15, God promised to give them descendants that would be more numerous than the stars in heaven or the sand on the seashore.

But they didn’t have any children.

Sarah was barren.

But God had promised, and he made good on his promise by opening her womb even though she was well past the age of child bearing.

She initially laughed at the idea, thinking it ridiculous, and she even thought that maybe God meant someone else, like her servant, Hagar, would be the mother.

But ultimately she and Abraham did have faith and they acted on it even though all they could see was impossibility.

And God gave them Isaac, the son of promise.

There’s a common theme among these examples that believed God’s instructions and promises.

All of them, in spite of not being able to see exactly what God was doing, were…

Believing God’s Plan (13-16)

Specifically, Abraham died in faith without receiving the promised land, but he knew it would come, and he knew that it looked forward to something better elsewhere.

He was seeking a homeland, and not the one he came from.

He was looking forward, not backward.

He knew God had a plan, a good plan.

And even though he couldn’t see all the details of the plan, he had faith that God’s plan was worth waiting for, and it was worth looking forward to.

That kind of faith is what God commends.

That kind of faith makes God unashamed to be called our God.

That kind of faith earns us a share of the promised inheritance, a heavenly home, an eternal inheritance, in God’s family.

That’s God’s plan and we need to trust him to accomplish it in the best way possible regardless of what we see in this life.

So, we’ve seen some examples of faith in God’s Word which is so powerful is brought everything into being.

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah.

All of them believed what God told them, both his instructions and his promises, but ultimately, they believed God’s plan over their own plans or their own understanding.

Next, we’re going to see some examples whose faith was firmly rooted in God’s character in verses 17-31 of Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:17–19 ESV

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Hebrews 11:20–22 ESV

By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

Hebrews 11:23–25 ESV

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Hebrews 11:26–28 ESV

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

Hebrews 11:29–31 ESV

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

So, here we see some more examples of faith from Scripture, but these specifically had…

Faith in God’s Character (11:17-31)

We’re looking at Abraham again, but this time it’s a bit different, and we’re also going to look at a few generations after Abraham as well.

These are known as the patriarchs.

And the example of the patriarchs is…

Believing in God’s Faithfulness (17-22)

Remember how God promised Abraham a son, and he gave him a son?

Well, now God apparently wanted Abraham to kill him, to destroy the son by whom Abraham would supposedly have uncountable descendants.

That… doesn’t make sense.

Surely, God didn’t actually want him dead…

But Abraham went ahead with the sacrifice of his own son anyway.

You know why he did that?

Because he had two seemingly contradictory statements from God, but he believed God’s character of faithfulness over this apparent contradiction.

He knew that God is faithful, so he banked on God’s faithfulness to keep his promise and did what God told him to do anyway.

Our passage says in verse 19 that he thought that maybe God was going to raise his son from the dead, that way God would still be faithful to his promise, and still have Isaac sacrificed like he had instructed.

And that’s almost what happened.

Figuratively speaking Abraham did receive his son back from the dead because he had already done the deed in his heart.

But God stopped him just before the knife found its mark.

And Isaac lived.

Abraham’s faith in God’s character of faithfulness worked itself out in his actions of obedience to God’s instructions which seemed to contradict his promise.

Isaac lived and eventually he had twin sons, Esau and Jacob, and his faith in God’s character, God’s faithfulness to do what he promised, worked itself out in his actions to invoke future blessings on his kids.

For the sake of time I won’t go into detail on these blessings.

But basically, Isaac’s future-looking blessing of his kids was a prophecy and an extension of the promise given to his father, Abraham.

And Jacob, who stole Esau’s birthright and blessing, extended that same blessing based on God’s faithfulness to his sons, specifically his son Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

And Joseph also had faith in God’s faithfulness to do what he had promised when he predicted God’s faithfulness to bring his people out of Egypt and into the promised land.

Genesis 50:24 “And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.””

After God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, in Exodus 13:19 “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.””

None of these examples of faith had seen any visible evidence that they would inherit the promised land.

All they had was God’s promise.

But as time went on, their faith hung on because they focused on God’s character, his faithfulness.

The next examples are Moses, the Israelites, and Rahab.

And their examples are…

Believing in God’s Goodness (23-31)

This is a comparison between the goodness of God and the evil of the world.

Each of these people or groups of people chose to believe God because his goodness was way better than the evil they had experienced from the world.

Moses’ mom refused to follow Pharaoh’s order to kill all the Hebrew baby boys.

She saw that evil command, and she went against it because she had faith in God’s goodness that overwhelmed any fear of punishment from Pharaoh.

Moses himself, after he grew up in Pharaoh’s palace, as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter…

He chose to be regarded as a Hebrew rather than a prince of Egypt because he saw the evil of Pharaoh’s household, the evil of the Egyptian idolatry, and chose to side with God in his goodness.

Even to the point of receiving that evil, that mistreatment that he saw, as one of them.

He chose to join the oppressed rather than the oppressors because God’s goodness is way better than the evil of the world, the fleeting pleasures of sin.

And verse 26 connects his choice of mistreatment to Jesus.

That mistreatment is the same as what Jesus received.

The author calls it, “the reproach of Christ.”

He considered being mistreated for being associated with our good God, the reproach of Christ, more valuable than all the treasures of Egypt.

Moses defended one of his Hebrew brothers by murdering an abusive Egyptian guard, and he ran away.

Now, the story in Exodus presents Moses as running away in fear, but here in Hebrews it’s explained, not as a response of fear but a response of faith.

It’s entirely possible to have faith in God’s goodness and still be afraid of your circumstances, especially if the most powerful human being on the planet at the time is personally trying to kill you.

That’s the evil of the world, and it’s scary sometimes.

But God’s goodness is greater, and that’s what Moses was running toward even while he was running away from being killed by Pharaoh.

Even though he couldn’t see God, he still knew that God is good.

And that sustained him, and kept him going.

After Moses was commissioned by God to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt, God gave him instructions on how to be rescued from judgment against sin.

This is very similar to how God saved Noah and his family, but here, instead of a flood, he’s sending the Destroyer, the angel of death to kill all the firstborn in Egypt for their stubbornness and sin against God.

Pharaoh had resisted God’s command to release the Israelites through 9 previous plagues, judgments from God.

And with this tenth plague, God would bring the judgment of death.

But Moses knew that God’s judgments were just, and he also knew that God is good, so he believed God’s instructions for how to avoid that judgment.

And he gave those instructions to all of the Hebrew people so that they would be rescued by God’s goodness while he issued justice for the sins of the Egyptians.

After Pharaoh finally let them go, he changed his mind and chased after them until they were pinned between an uncrossable sea and an unrelenting pursuit of Egyptian chariots.

But God, in his goodness parted the sea so that his people could walk on dry land and be saved from the evil pursuit of Pharaoh.

All of them had to have faith in God’s goodness to step foot between those waves.

Otherwise they would have stayed stuck or been captured by the Egyptians.

Now, the Egyptians had no faith in God’s goodness, they only had faith in their own desires and the orders they had from Pharaoh to capture the Hebrews at any cost.

So, when they went to cross between the waves, they were drowned, and in his goodness, God rescued his people.

The next generation of Israelites were finally allowed to enter the promised land, and the first city they came to was Jericho.

God, told them exactly what to do to conquer this city to kick off their conquest of the promised land.

They believed in God’s goodness to give them this land inheritance he had promised to their ancestor Abraham so long ago.

And they saw the evil idolatry of the inhabitants of Canaan, and sided with God’s goodness.

They did what God told them to do even though it didn’t quite make sense with how sieges normally go.

I mean, marching around and blowing horns and shouting might work for a sports game, but not for attacking a heavily fortified city.

Unless God in his goodness is the one conquering it and giving it to you, and all you have to do is cheer for him.

One of the inhabitants of Jericho, Rahab, sided with God and his people believing more in God’s goodness than the evil around her.

She welcomed the Hebrew spies and had faith in God’s goodness to defect from Jericho to Israel.

And her faith was commended even more so by being a part of the lineage that would lead to Israel’s best human king, David, and Israel’s ultimate king, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

So, we’ve seen how the people from Genesis to Joshua had faith focussed on God’s Word and they had faith focussed on God’s character.

Specifically they had faith in his faithfulness and his goodness.

His faithfulness to keep his promises even when his commands or our circumstances seem to work against his promises.

Also, his goodness compared to the evil of the world.

Now, let’s look at verses 32-40 of Hebrews chapter 11 to see one more aspect of faith.

Hebrews 11:32–34 ESV

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Hebrews 11:35–36 ESV

Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

Hebrews 11:37–38 ESV

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

Hebrews 11:39–40 ESV

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

So, here we have a rapid-fire list of biblical examples of…

Faith in God’s Authority (11:32-40)

The author doesn’t go into detail with these people and stories, so neither will I.

If you are curious about their stories, you can read about them in Judges and 1 & 2 Samuel.

And you can read about the prophets throughout the rest of the Old Testament.

What I want to do in this section is draw your attention to how the Author categorized the circumstances and outcomes of these people while their faith remained steadfast.

All of them believed in God’s sovereignty over their circumstances, his authority.

But some were granted success, and some were allowed loss.

In verses 32 through the first half of 35, we can see the general examples of…

Believing in God’s Authority to Grant Success (32-35a)

All these guys: Gideon, Barak, Sampson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, all the prophets.

All of them believed in God’s authority in their circumstances for better or worse.

Beginning in verse 33 and going through the first half of verse 35 we get a list of the things God accomplished because of these people’s faith.

A list of the successes God granted to them because they believed in God’s authority.

The judges and kings conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, and obtained promises.

The prophets stopped the mouths of lions (Daniel), quenched the power of fire (Rack, Shack, and Benny).

They all at various times escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, and pur foreign armies to flight.

And both Elijah and Elisha, by faith in God’s authority, were able to bring dead children back to life to reunite them with their respective mothers.

These are some great successes that many of us will never even come close to experiencing.

But we can see their successes and the faith they had in God’s authority and have that same faith to possibly see him grant us our own successes.

But we can’t stop there because God isn’t only sovereign over our successes.

He’s also sovereign over our losses.

These very same people who were believing in God’s authority to grant them success were also…

Believing in God’s Authority to Allow Loss (35b-38)

They were tortured but refused to accept release.

They could have run away from their torture, but they stayed because they believed in God’s authority even over their terrible circumstances.

They looked forward to the resurrection, to a better life.

They were also mocked and physically punished and imprisoned.

They were publicly executed in the most brutal ways.

They were made homeless, impoverished, socially outcast, and abused.

The world threw all of this persecution at them, but their faith never wavered because their faith was not based on their circumstances but on God and his authority to grant both success and loss.

As Job said after all of his wealth and children were taken from him.

Job 1:21 “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.””

And after his health was taken from him and his wife turned her back on God, he responded…

Job 2:10 “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

Now, the last two verses of Hebrews chapter 11 are a sort of summary for the whole chapter and how we fit into this biblical theology of faith…

Believing in God’s Authority to Determine Perfection (39-40)

All these examples were commended in different ways for their faith, but none of them received what was promised in this life because the real promise is something better.

That something better is the fulfillment of all God’s instructions and promises, the fulfillment of all God’s faithfulness and goodness, the fulfillment of all God’s authority.

That something better is God’s plan that has been progressively unfolding from the beginning of time to the end.

And all of us who have faith from Adam and Abel all the way to you and me today and beyond get to be a part of it.

It’s God’s plan, and he has the authority to determine how and when it’s complete, finished, perfected.

That plan is what the conclusion of this section is about in chapter 12 verses 1 and 2.

The plan of rescuing all of God’s people from all time through the incarnation, sacrifice, resurrection, and rule of his own Son, Jesus Christ.

So, we’ve seen some wonderful examples in Scripture of true faith.

Faith in God’s Word, faith in God’s character, and faith in God’s authority.

We ought to have faith in God’s authority, his sovereignty over all things good and seemingly bad, all our successes and failures, being rescued from persecution or enduring it until death.

Because God’s plan is that all of us from the beginning of creation to the end when Jesus comes back, all of us are saved by the same faith because all of us have our faith focussed on the same thing, God himself.

But the reality is that God has revealed himself and his plan progressively over time.

Abel, Enoch, and Noah didn’t know as much about God and his plan as Abraham did.

And Abraham didn’t know as much as Moses.

And Moses didn’t know as much as David.

And David didn’t know as much as us!

But regardless of our knowledge, all of us from Abel to you sitting here listening to me today.

All of us have the same faith in God’s Word, character, and authority.

And God’s Word, character, and authority are embodied in his Son, Jesus.

That’s what the first two verses of Hebrews chapter 12 are about.

The reality that faith from the very beginning to the very end has always been in God’s Son.

So let’s read these verses together and see how this whole section applies to us.

Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

So, here we have the application and the reality that, from the very beginning, true faith has always been…

Faith in God’s Son (12:1-2)

We get two major application points to everything we’ve read in chapter 11.

And the first application is to…

Look at these Witnesses (1)

We’ve got a whole cloud of people commended by God in Scripture for their faith.

So, we ought to read about them and do what they did.

Believe God’s instructions and promises, believe in God’s faithfulness and goodness, believe in God’s authority regardless of your circumstances.

That’s what this cloud of witnesses has done.

But it’s interesting that the author of Hebrews calls them witnesses and not examples.

Yes, they are examples of faith, but in their faith they’ve experienced something that they are bearing witness to.

They’re witnesses of who God is and what he’s done.

They’re witnesses of God’s worthiness to put our faith in him.

So, look to these examples, but don’t just try to be like them.

Understand why they did what they did,

Understand why they had faith in God,

Understand why they abandoned their sin and distractions,

Understand why they kept having faith regardless of their circumstances,

Understand that God is worthy to put your faith in him.

These examples are simply witnesses to God’s worthiness.

The second application is to…

Look to Jesus (2)

The reality is that all of God’s Word, character, and authority are embodied in his Son, Jesus.

In various degrees of understanding, Jesus is the one these examples all looked to in order to have faith to begin with and to keep having faith regardless of their circumstances.

So we ought to do likewise and look to Jesus for our enduring faith.

The author of Hebrews says that Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith.

He’s the one who gives us faith to begin with, the founder, the author, the originator, the source, the alpha of our faith.

And he’s also one who sustains our faith to the end, the perfecter, the completer, the finisher, the fulfillment, the omega of our faith.

So, we ought to look to Jesus as the only worthy object of our faith, but we also ought to look to him as the ultimate example of faith.

One thing I did not highlight as we went through the hall of faith is the failings, the doubts, the sins, the weaknesses of all of these examples, these witnesses.

Their faith wasn’t faultless, and that should give us great comfort because our faith also isn’t faultless, but it’s enough for God to commend.

But Jesus’ faith is faultless.

And we can look to his example to see what true faith really looks like without having to sift through failures.

Jesus also had faith in God the Father’s words, character, and authority, and the culmination of all of that is the plan.

Jesus knew the plan inside and out.

He had all the details that we don’t have.

And with full knowledge of his Father’s words, character, and authority, Jesus considered the plan of redemption, the prospect of saving all of God’s people as, what?

Joy!

He considered it joy!

Because of that joy set before him he was able to endure the cross, a punishment so bad that most likely none of us will ever endure anything as agonizing or painful or heart breaking.

But Jesus endured it because of the joy he saw on the other side of the cross.

The joy of pleasing God the Father, and the joy of spending eternity with you.

He despised the shame of the cross and now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God interceding for us and waiting until the time that all his enemies will be defeated and he returns to rule and reign and throw all his enemies including Satan and his minions and death itself into the lake of fire never to return.

Conclusion

So, what is faith?

Faith is simply believing God’s Word, character, and authority instead of believing your own understanding, or the evil and lies of the world, or the lies of Satan that you deserve better in this life.

Faith is believing that God has a good and glorious plan that he is unfolding, and trusting him with the outcome and the process in your life.

Faith is believing in Jesus who gave us our faith to begin with, and he sustains it by showing us all that he was willing to go through because of the joy of doing what God the Father wanted, and the joy of spending eternity with you.

Faith is holding onto what God has said about his Son, Jesus.

Faith is holding onto what God’s character has proven to be in his Son, Jesus.

Faith is holding onto how authoritative God is and the authority he’s given to his Son, Jesus.

Faith is holding onto all of those things because he’s greater than our circumstances, and his plan is a joy for us.

And when we can see that joy like Jesus did, then we can endure, our faith can endure because our joy is the same as Jesus’ joy.

His joy is in pleasing God the Father and spending eternity with us.

Our joy is also pleasing him and spending eternity with him in his infinitely loving and satisfying presence.

So, look at these witnesses to God’s Word, character, and authority, and have faith like them.

But let their witness point you to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith.

Look to Jesus as the source and object of your faith.

And look to Jesus as the prime example of faith.

The prime example of the right response to his sacrifice.

Now, if you haven’t put your faith in Jesus, then what are you waiting for.

He’s clearly better than any alternative.

He’s more true than your own understanding.

He’s more sure than any other promise.

He’s more faithful than even the seasons or stars.

He’s more good than any earthly hero.

He’s more authoritative than any powerful ruler or government.

He is the only one truly worthy of your faith.

So, if you haven’t yet, then now is the perfect time to put your faith in him.

Jesus is the Son of God, God himself who became human and lived a perfectly sinless life.

And he died in your place and rose from the dead three days later so that you could be forgiven and adopted into God’s family.

And all you need to do to be saved from sin and death is put your faith in him because he’s done everything else.

Pray

Father, thank you for giving us such a clear explanation of faith.

I pray that you would help us to clearly see and understand your instructions and promises, your faithfulness and goodness, and your authority in any and every circumstance.

Help us to have faith like those you’ve commended in Scripture.

But ultimately, help us have faith like Jesus, and faith in Jesus, your Son.

Help us hold onto our faith in him even when life is difficult, but also when life is going well.

We need to remember who you are and what you’ve done.

And we need to remember who Jesus is and what he’s done.

Help us in our worship.

Help us remember you, submit to you, and serve you with everything we are.

Thank you for loving us, and caring for us, and forgiving us, and adopting us.

Thank you for doing all of that through your Son, Jesus.

It’s in his name we pray all of this. Amen.