Hebrews 11:4-16

The Author Said at the End of Chapter 10…

That His Hebrew Christians Audience Shouldn’t Be Timid…

And Give Up Their Confidence and Confession in Jesus

They Should Be Bold and Faithful

And Chapter 11 is the Author Giving Them Examples of Their Faithful Ancestors

He Begins with a Definition of Faith that Tells Us:

Our Hopes are the Things We’ve Been Promised By God…

But that We Don’t Yet See/Experience

Faith is Trusting God to the Extent that We are Confident…

That We Will One Day See/Experience Those Things

This Theme of Being Confident in the Invisible Promises of God Runs Throughout the Entire Chapter

Hebrews 11:1–7 (NIV)

1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Hebrews 11:4 (NASB95)

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

Abel’s Faith Still Speaks Today

It Still Teaches a Wonderful Lesson

Those Who Act in Faith Toward God Will Be Considered Righteous By God

And the Righteous are Those Who Await the Resurrection

Why was Abel’s Offering Accepted By God and Cain’s Wasn’t?

Abel Offered the Best of His Flock and Cain Offered the Fruit of His Garden?

Abel Offered His Offering By Faith and Cain Didn’t?

We Aren’t Given Much Explanation, But it Doesn’t Matter Anyway

We Know Abel Trusted God and Acted Accordingly

And Because of that, He was Justified By God

Justification has Always Been Attained Through Faith

Hebrews 11:5 (NASB95)

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.

Because of Enoch’s Faith, He Never Experienced Death as Everyone Else Did

In the List of Descendants of Adam in Genesis…

Everyone’s Story Ends with “And He Died”

Everyone Except Enoch

Because He Lived a Life of Faith, He was Pleasing to God, and God Took Him

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB95)

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Enoch Had Faith and Therefore Pleased God

Without Such Faith, it’s Impossible to Please Him

The Author Gives Us 2 Areas Where Our Faith Must Lie

We Must Believe/Have Faith that God Exists

Though We Can’t See Him, We are Confident that He Exists

We Must Believe/Have Faith that He is the Rewarder of Those Who Seek Him (Seek to Live for Him)

Though we Can’t See the Rewards He has Planned for Us…

We are Confident that He Will Keep His Promises

Hebrews 11:7 (NASB95)

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Because of Noah’s Faith, He Believed in Something He’d Never Seen

God Warned Him that a Flood was Coming that Would Destroy the World

He had Never Seen Such a Thing, But He Believed it Because He Trusted God

That Trust Led Him to Build the Ark that Would Lead to the Salvation of His Family

His Faithful Obedience in Building the Ark “Condemned the World”

The Very Act of Faithful Obedience Condemns Those Who Refuse to Faithfully Obey

Noah Inherited Righteousness Through Faith in God

Again, Justification/Righteousness Has Always Come Through Faith

We are in the Same Position as Noah

We Have Also Been Warned of a Coming Destruction

We are Expected to Believe it Though We Haven’t Yet Seen it

We are Expected to Obey God’s Instructions on How to Survive this Destruction

We are Expected to Condemn the World By Choosing to Live in Open Faithfulness

And We are the Inheritors of Righteousness if We Continue in Faithfulness

2 Peter 3:3–14 (NLT)

Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood.

And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.

But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.

Just as Noah had Faith in Something He’d Never Seen…

We are to Have Faith in Jesus’ Return and Destruction of the Wicked

And We are to Live Holy and Godly Lives of Faith

Noah was Likely Judged By the World for Building a Giant Ark

Because His Ark was a Symbol of Their Condemnation

We are Judged By the World for Living Lives of Holiness and Godliness

Because Our Holiness and Godliness Condemns the World

But, Just as Noah Became the Heir of Righteousness Through His Faith…

We Will Inherit Righteousness Through Our Faith as Well

Hebrews 11:8–22 NIV

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

The Author Now Spends His Time Looking at the Father of the Faithful

Hebrews 11:8 (NASB95)

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Abraham had No Idea Where He was Going…

But He Trusted God, and He Went

He Couldn’t See the Inheritance God was Promising, But He Trusted Anyway…

And He Obeyed God’s Command to Go

When We Obey God’s Commands, We Don’t Always Know Where that Will Lead Us

Many Times it Leads to Difficult Decisions

It Can Lead to Hardships

Are We Willing to Obey God?

We Know an Inheritance is Promised to Us if We Do…

But are We Willing to Take Those Leaps of Faith with Him?

Hebrews 11:9–10 (NASB95)

9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

What Does it Mean to Live as an Alien?

To Live Somewhere that Doesn’t Belong to You

He Trusted God that an Inheritance was Waiting for Him

But When He Got There, the Land Didn’t Yet Belong to Him

The Same Promise of Inheritance Would Be Passed Down to Isaac and Jacob

But They Would Live as Strangers and Foreigners in the Land as Well

Because of His Faith, He Lived as a Foreigner in a Foreign Place…

Because He Trusted God Would Provide a City

This City Would Have Foundations

It Would Be Permanent, Whereas Their Tents Were Not

What City Were They Waiting On?

Hebrews 11:16 (NASB95)

16 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 a city for them.

Hebrews 12:22 (NASB95)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

Hebrews 13:14 (NASB95)

14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

Revelation 21:1–2 (NASB95)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

By Faith, We Await, with Abraham, a Greater, Permanent City…

Built By God that Will Last Forever

We Cannot See this City, But We Trust God that it is Coming

So We Live Like Foreigners on this Present World, Waiting for the Inheritance

Hebrews 11:11–12 (NASB95)

11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

Sarah Viewed Childbearing at the Age of 90 as Impossible

But She Trusted God Anyway

Faith is Not Based on the Probability of the Promise

Faith is Based on the Faithfulness of the One Who Made the Promise

And God is Very Faithful; He Always Keeps His Promises

We Must Trust God, Even When What He Promises Seems Impossible

We Might Be Tempted to Laugh at Such Ridiculous Promises, Like Sarah

But True Faith Recognizes the Absurdity and Trusts God Anyway

Hebrews 11:13 (NASB95)

13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Abraham, Sarah, and All Their Descendants Died Without Inheriting the Promises

How Did They See Them and Welcome Them From a Distance?

Through Their Faith

They Didn’t Actually See the Promises

But By Faith They Knew They Were Coming

Faith Allows Us to See the Invisible

They Said that They Were Strangers and Exiles in the “Land” (Promised Land)

Hebrews 11:14 (NASB95)

14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.

They Didn’t Consider the Promised Land Their True Home

They Said They Were Strangers and Exiles There

They Were Still Looking for a “Country of Their Own”

This Word = patris = “Fatherland”

It is Most Often Used to Refer to Someone’s Home Town or Homeland

Even While in the “Promised Land” They Desired Their True Home Town

Their “Fatherland”

Hebrews 11:15 (NASB95)

15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.

They Were Longing for Their Homeland

Does this Refer to Mesopotamia, Where Abraham was From?

The Hebrew Author Says No

If He Were Longing for that Homeland, He Could Have Easily Returned

Hebrews 11:16 (NASB95)

16 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 a city for them.

They Desired a Better Homeland; One that Comes From Heaven

A City that God has Prepared for Those Who Have Faith in Him

God is Not Ashamed to Be Called the God of the Faithful

He is Not Ashamed of Us