Hebrews 10:38-39 “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance (confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence (assurance) of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony (ancients were commended for). 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things that are visible.
Vs1 Now faith is the substance (confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence (assurance) of things not seen.
The readers of these words were tempted just as we are, to place their confidence in the temporary visible things of this world, not in the invisible eternal realities of God. Instead of maturing by faith, they desired to live by sight.
Hebrews calls us to live by faith. Faith in God’s revelation has always been the way of life for God’s people.
This is a divine, supernatural, justifying, and sanctifying faith, not in ourselves, not in our faith, not in our works, but in God. All true believers have been endowed by God through the Holy Spirit with faith. The essential characteristic of faith is that it provides certainty about future things and things that are unseen.
Vs1 gives us a description of what faith does and how it works. Faith’s practical working in the lives of believers enables them not only to know an unseen God but to live a full and effective life for God.
Faith by its nature deals with unseen things but that does not mean they are unknown, they are expected but not yet realized or visible. Treasures in heaven-Our place in Heaven-absent from the body Vs1 Now faith is the substance (confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence (assurance) of things not seen.
Faith is the foundation of what holds up a Christian’s life just like a foundation is what holds up a house.
Faith is the substance, which gives confidence and assurance to the hoped-for promises.
Hope in Scripture is not a wish, a dream, or a fantasy. True biblical hope is an absolute expectation God’s word will come true. Hope is what should occur in every Christian when we read or hear scripture that points to a future reality.
Hope only comes when a believer by faith lays hold of a promise of God and anticipates its fulfillment. Marriage supper-crowns-we will be like him.
Old Testament saints, the ancients, and elders had this hope in life because of their faith in God and His promises. Faith is the present representation of a future reality.
Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the “sense” that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.
If you have the substance before you or if you can see it, there is no use for faith. Faith is needed for what we can’t see and can’t touch.
Present Suffering and Future Glory Romans 8:24b-25 But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Faith is a willingness to trust in, rely on, and cling to God and the promises He has made even though they are not yet a reality.
Vs2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony (This is what the ancients were commended for).
These great examples of godliness all had different circumstances and personalities, but they all had one thing in common — faith.
These Jewish Christians (this book addresses) were discouraged and thought of giving up on Jesus and Christianity. They needed a good testimony, and so they needed these examples of faith to break them out of discouragement.
These people of faith are commended to us as examples to follow. They will give us examples and principles from real-life situations that can be applied to any life or culture.
These heroes of faith bore witness to their faith by using it to overcome obstacles, perform miracles, sustain them through trials, and do great things for God. And by doing these things in faith developed their character. And it’s because of their faith they are commended before us by God in His book.
Vs3 By faith we understand that the universe (worlds) was formed at God’s command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
No matter what you believe about the creation of the universe it is a faith assumption because neither you, I, nor any other person was there.
Science has done little to offer answers to the origin of the universe. Science by definition is limited to the observable, measurable and repeatable, some scientists persist in speculation about the origin of the earth and of the entire universe, trying to reconstruct the process from what can be observed today. They make assumptions or leaps of convictions, theories far beyond their data and capacity to comprehend.
Since there were no human witnesses at the time of creation and since this event is not reoccurring today nor can any laboratory reproduce it, it is, therefore, necessary for us to place our faith in either someone’s assumptions or in the Word of God as to how the world came to be.
All people have faith and live daily by faith, (Romans 12:3) so it is natural to take a faith stand concerning the origins of matter and life, but the question is what is the object of your faith? (unless you believe, “in the beginning God….)”
By faith, we understand: Faith in God and God’s word is the key to understanding the origin of the universe. And my faith says God is the cause and creator of the universe.
I believe God called forth by His words all that is seen from nothing, or at least nothing, physical or visible.
In the natural realm, something can come out of nothing. But God is supernatural. He is beyond science and beyond our ability to comprehend, but He is not beyond our faith.
Honestly, any attempt to explain the universe, or our own being and nature, apart from God and His Word is a fool’s effort. These things can only be understood by faith in the revealed Word of God.
Faith comprehends that which the mind of man, no matter how brilliant, cannot fathom.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”
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- God’s greatest truths are discovered by simple faith. (mustard seed Luke 17)
- Faith is the only way to God and the only way to be approved by God.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith, it is impossible to please God,..”
Faith is understanding and accepting the Scriptures as being the absolute truth of the living God. Faith is about the integrity of the person you are placing your faith in!
Jesus, our once and for all sacrifice for our sins, intercedes for us and is our sympathetic high priest before God.
He removes our sins and promises to always do good to those who love Him. Faith in Jesus calms our fears, cushions our falls, gives us a peace that passes all understanding, a joy unspeakable full of glory and by faith, we are adopted into God’s family and our home in heaven is eternally secured!
Faith is living as if God’s promises are already in my hand, especially when the circumstances seem impossible by human effort alone!
How easy it is to have faith when standing upon the mountaintop–but true faith trusts in the integrity of God to keep His promise to do good to us even in the darkest valleys of tribulation!
And even if we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel! God is saying “don’t quit on Me, I understand it’s taking longer than you thought. I understand you are tired of waiting. I understand you’re frustrated, irritated, and aggravated. I understand, but don’t quit on Me!”
Even if there’s no money in the bank to pay your bills, your job is in jeopardy, your health is failing, and even when God feels like He is a million miles away, faith says that He has not left me nor forsaken me and always offers me a yoke that is easy, a burden that is light and shelter under His wings!
In life there will be times you “can’t see a solution, feel trapped, fear and anxiety are working overtime,” and it seems your life is in a freefall, but do not allow yourself to be consumed by the despair of living in this fallen world but instead look up and look forward to your eternal destination knowing, that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.
Even though trusting God in the valley of tribulation is one of the hardest things to do for us jars of clay that are so easily broken, put your faith in God and trust that God will always catch you when you fall and one day will lift you to heights that are inconceivable, joyful, peaceable and filled with His divine love!
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
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