FAITH
FAITH
HEBREWS 11:1-7
Faith means taking God and his word seriously; faith grasps the unseen power of God.
The linking of faith and perseverance at the end of the previous study leads the writer to a more extended treatment of the subject. He begins by speaking of faith as “the assurance of things hoped for” where “assurance” translates the Greek hypostasis, “that which stands under,” and so is the “essence” or perhaps “basis.” He is saying that faith is all that we now have of the things still to be. It is faith that gives reality to those things (though not in the sense of creating them; faith simply lays hold of them). So with the following, “the conviction of things not seen.” We do not yet see the realities to come. But by faith we know that they will come. Faith gives us the conviction of their certainty.
Faith is therefore an important quality for Christians. Without it we lack spiritual perception. With it we enter in some measure into an apprehension of what God has done and will do. The chapter goes on to bring this out, with illustrations from the lives of some of God’s outstanding servants. First, the writer deals with the theme generally. It was by faith that the people of old received God’s approval (11:2). It was by faith that he and the people of his day recognized that creation had taken place and that “what is seen” is not the last word (11:3), a judgment which is far from being out of date.
This section contains references to three specific people. Abel’s offering was preferred to that of Cain because it was offered in faith. Enoch’s being “taken up” to heaven was due to faith, which elicits the important comment that “without faith it is impossible to please” God (11:6). Someone cannot reason themselves or work themselves into a place of acceptance of and acceptance by God. That is always a matter of faith. And Noah’s faith was a condemnation of the world of his day as he acted on his profound spiritual convictions. Faith always shows up unbelief for the shallow thing it is.
Consider Does reason have any place in Christian experience? If so, what?