Hebrews 11:1-7

Intro John 2:10

Previously in Chapter 10:

Main ideas:

1. Hebrews 10:1-4 The picture of the sacrifice in the OT

2. Hebrews 10:5-10 The plan of the sacrifice of Jesus (commentary on Psalm 40:6-8)

3. Hebrews 10:11-18 The perfect(ion) of the sacrifice

Jesus opened the way, so draw near to God (10:19-22)

Hold fast to the truth (10:22)

Be active with your Christian community (10:24-25)

Discard the sacrifice of Christ and be punished (10:26-39)

Be encouraged, God has stood by you before (10:35-39)

Chapter 10 wraps up the last main argument of the sermon. Chapters 11-13 are the outworking of this faith in Jesus.

Do you sit down on chairs without looking at them? Have you ever had a chair pulled out from under you?

Do you every drive by an accident and construct in your mind what happened? If you heard on the news that it was different, would you believe the news?

How do you recover from mistakes?

Hebrews 11:1-10

Main Ideas:

Faith explained. (11:1)

Faith saved our ancestors (11:2)

Faith gives understanding of the truth (11:3)

Faith at the beginning of human history (11:4-7)

Able

Enoch

Noah

As we go through this list, we have to ask ourselves why each of these men and women are on the list.

Everyone on the list either sinned or suffered spectacularly (except Enoch, but I have a theory).

Abel was killed for giving an approved sacrifice. (suffer)

Enoch was the last righteous person in the line of Cain. (possible suffer or sin)

Noah was a drunk and suffered the loss of the world. (suffer and sin)

Abraham was a liar and a rapist (sin).

Sarah laughed at God. She was complicit in Abraham’s sins. (sin)

Isaac repeated the lying of his father, took Hittite wives, lost land promised to his father, and sowed family division. (sin)

Jacob lied, tricked his family, and sowed division like his father. His slaves bore him children. (sin)

Joseph was sold into slavery and suffered in prison. (suffer)

Moses was a murderer. (sin)

Rahab was a prostitute. (sin)

Gideon was a hot mess of sins. Barak was shamed by a woman. Samson was a murdering, lying bro. Jephthah killed his own daughter. David was a murderer and womanizer. Samuel suffered Israel’s unbelief but also was a bad father.

Why are all these people on this list? Verse 2 tells us.

Hebrews 11:1–3 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

In the main Greek creation myth by Hesiod, Gaia (mother earth) was the 4th generation goddess from the original god, Chaos. According to Aristotle and later philosophers, nature began with an “unmoved mover”.

Abel

Hebrews 11:4 CSB

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.

How did Abel show faith?

Enoch

Hebrews 11:5–6 CSB

By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

How did Enoch show faith?

Noah

Hebrews 11:7 CSB

By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

How did Noah show faith?

Application