FAITH’S HALL OF FAME
Hebrews 11
The classic chapter in the Bible that deals with faith practically is Hebrews ll. Volumes have been written as it pertains to this chapter. Men of all ages and races have been inspired and encouraged by the great example of those who lived before us-“so great a cloud of witnesses”. It is my thrill to address this chapter knowing that I can only touch the hem of the garment. May we study this giant pearl with the greatest of respect.
I. THE DEFINING OF FAITH (Vv. 1-3)
“Now faith is”. How much more can be given, in such few words, the meaning of faith than by just simply stating that “faith is”? We are destined for spiritual ruin when we live as though faith is not. Strong’s said this about faith as it is used in this first verse: “conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it”. We shall build upon that definition, complementing as we do the Holy Scriptures definition of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Vv.1). We could just as accurately say that “Faith is actuality” or perhaps, we could say that “Faith is reality”. We can say this because faith is real. It is not real in the sense that it can be tested or proved in a laboratory. It is real in the sense that it is something that God can detect and recognize. He approves when one has it and does not when one does not have it. (V.6). As we explore this foundational word “faith”, I wish to bring in other definitions as it pertains to this word:
Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary, excerpts;
Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thes. 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests.
Faith is the result of teaching (Romans 10:14-17). Knowledge is an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as an equivalent to faith (John 10:38; 1 John 2:3). Yet the two are distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent, which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the understanding. Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity (truthfulness or accuracy) of God.
Faith in Christ secures for the believer freedom from condemnation, or justification before God; a participation in the life that is in Christ, the divine life (John 14:19; Romans 6:4-10; Ephes. 4:15-16, etc.); "peace with God" (Romans 5:1); and sanctification (Acts 26:18; Galatians 5:6; Acts 15:9).
Davis Dictionary of the Bible, excerpts;
As far as a difference exists between belief and faith, belief is assent to testimony, and faith is assent to testimony, united with trust. Faith is an active principle; it is an act both of the understanding and the will. The distinction between belief and faith is that between "believe me" and "believe on me." In the Bible faith of belief is confidence in the absolute truthfulness of every statement which comes from God (Mark 11:22 & Rom, 4:3-5).
Unger’s Bible Dictionary, excerpts;
Viewed more particularly with reference to its intellectual aspect, faith is properly defined as the conviction of the reality of the truths and facts which God has revealed; such conviction resting solely upon the testimony of God.
There is an element that is intellectual; also an element, of even deeper importance, that is moral. Faith is not simply the assent of the intellect to revealed truth; it is the practical submission of the entire man to the guidance and control of such truth, "The devils believe and tremble". Thus in its beginning and completion faith is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
When regarding the Biblical definition of faith, we must understand what is being stated in verse number two as it applies to faith. “For by it the elders obtained a good report.” The elders who are being referred to are all those mentioned by name and then some who were not mentioned by name who were able to please God by the exercising of their faith. They received a good report based upon the fact that they pleased God. The Jewish Christians who were struggling to maintain their faithful fidelity needed to hear the testimony of those who were mentioned in our Text. Those of us who continue to live today need the same support by reading the story of how these early elders pleased God by living faithful lives.
The main reason that these people are worthy of mention in this great chapter is because they demonstrated faith and were recognized by God for doing so.
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (v. 3). The Hebrew mindset allowed the Jews to accept the fact that God is the creator God. This belief is inherent to the Hebrew, whereas with the Greek, it is of a different story. The Greek must be convinced that God is the Creator. Most who live in our culture today will have a Greek mindset rejecting that God created everything that exists from that which previously did not exist. As we approach these kinds of people, we need to have the understanding that we may need to give them the apologetics having to do with God being the Creator.
It takes faith to believe that God created everything that is from that which previously did not exist. Creation is entirely and act of God and as you approach these people who have been taught that there is no creation by God, they must be first introduced to the Bible and then be given an opportunity to believe what the Bible teaches. That means that faith requires knowledge as Romans teaches us in chapter number 10, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17). This verse indicates the source of faith. Faith has as its source the precious Word of God. Biblical faith cannot be derived from any source other than the Word of God and still be Biblical faith. That is the reason that we must embrace without compromise the entire Word of God and resist those who wish to tamper with it either by refuting it, polluting it or diluting it…
II. THE DISPLAYING OF FAITH (Vv. 4-40)
This next section of study in chapter 11 is for the purpose of observing and commenting on how the Lord listed and also displayed these elders from the past who lived lives of faith. These who are listed are not listed for never having failure in their lives; for they did. They are listed, instead for having faith in their lives. Some are mentioned by name, not because they are more important, but because they are more familiar to us. The ones who are not mentioned by name are just as preferred by the Lord as those who are not, because God is no respecter of persons. He is honoring them for their faith. While doing this study, we may not consider each person listed. If we do not, that does not mean that we are attaching a lesser value on the ones not mentioned in this study. As I mentioned earlier, volumes could have and have been written on this chapter.
A. Abel: The Man Who Witnessed for God. (V. 4)
Abel is very appropriately listed in “Faith’s Hall of Fame”. He was the very first martyr mentioned in the Scriptures. He obediently offered the sacrifice that was pleasing to God. He exercised faithful obedience to the Lord upon making his offering, whereas his brother Cain did not. In Cain’s jealous rage in finding that God had respect for Abel’s offering and did not have respect for his, he murdered Abel and was guilty of the first murder in the Bible. This was also the first fratricide mentioned in the Bible. (Genesis 4:1-17).
B. Enoch: The Man Who Walked With God. (Vv. 5, 6)
In Genesis 5:22, 24 we are told that Enoch walked with God. Enoch is a type of those who will not be required to go through the tribulation, but will be caught up in the rapture. One of the things that stand out from our Text in Hebrews concerning Enoch is that he had the testimony of pleasing God. He pleased God because he in some manner exercised faith. The sixth verse tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Verse five tells us that Enoch had the testimony of pleasing God. It will be most interesting when we arrive in heaven to find what it was that Enoch did that pleased God in this manner. We can only speculate, but I believe that he pleased God in his manner of conduct while living in a very wicked world leading up to the flood. The flood was God’s judgment upon the world just as the Great Tribulation will be judgment upon the world after the rapture of the saints.
C. Noah: The Man Who Was Warned by God. (V. 7)
People are exercising faith when they take the Word of God seriously. Such was the case with Noah when he was warned of God that something was going to happen that no one had ever witnessed before. He had no prior evidence upon which to build his faith. He simply trusted God at His Word. How important this is in both serving faith and in saving faith. Had Noah not heeded the warnings of God, he and his family would have been destroyed and so would the human race. We may think that it is not that important to take seriously God by not taking seriously God’s Word. I often encounter people who boast of being a Christian but never take seriously the warnings that are given to us in the Bible. We learned in chapter 10:31 that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” This statement is true whether one chooses to believe it or not. About belief and faith, Billy Sunday once said that you may not believe that there is a literal hell; you also may not believe that oranges or orange, but that does not change the fact.
Noah worked up to a 120 years building an ark, I am sure with much challenging ridicule, yet he built on. That is what characterizes the work of faith. People trust God enough to do what may neither be popular or politically correct.
D. Abraham: The Man Who Went For God. (Vv. 8-19)
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” He “went out, not knowing whither he went.” This marked his faith. He did not need to know; he simply trusted God. Many repeated times since then there have been countless missionaries and pastors who go out not knowing where they go. They trust God as did Abraham. Abraham went to a place while sojourning in the “land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise”.
Abraham’s pilgrimage was more than just an earthly one; it involved the heavenly. He looked for a “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He also was able to enjoy the promised blessing of having the son of promise born to him and Sarah when they were beyond the age of having children. He received the benefits of the Abrahamic Covenant.
With all of the benefits and the blessings that accompany ones faith, there was also the testing’s that came to him when he was called to offer up “his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” (Vv. 17-19) As we encounter the many trials that come to us as we walk in the faith, we must remember that the way that we handle these trials determines our testimony. The Lord is also pleased when we trust God as we exercise our faith.
E. Jacob: The Man Who Worshiped God. (V. 21)
Jacob may not have started out right, but he certainly ended right. Isaac blessed Jacob and Jacob passed this blessing on to his children and his grandchildren. David Guzik explains how faith enters into the picture when one does not start out right but later embraces faith. “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob: Isaac was really in the flesh, not in faith, when he first intended to bless Jacob and Esau. He wanted to bless Esau with the birthright for carnal reasons (he liked him as a more “manly” man, and he liked the wild game he brought home), instead of blessing Jacob, whom God had chosen.
Yet Isaac came to the place of faith when he discovered that he had actually blessed Jacob instead of Esau, Genesis 27:33 say Isaac trembled exceedingly. When Isaac trembled exceedingly, what was he troubled about? He was troubled because he knew that he had tried to box God in, to defeat God’s plan, and that God had beaten him. He realized that he would always be defeated when he tried to resist God’s will, even when he didn’t like it. And he came to learn that despite his arrogance against God’s will, God’s will was glorious.
So, where is the faith in Isaac’s blessing? After Isaac’s attempt to thwart the will of God had been destroyed, when he said of Jacob, and indeed he shall be blessed (Genesis 27:33). He knew that God had defeated his puny attempt to box God in, and he responded in the faith that says, “O.K. God, You win. Let Isaac be blessed with the birthright, and let Esau be blessed after him in his own way.” (Guzik)
F. Moses: The Man Who Withstood for God. (Vv. 23-29)
Moses was a man who could have chosen to have selected the temporal blessings and then missed out on the eternal. He could have enjoyed the benefits and the blessings of being called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, when he came to years. He also chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season”. He put aside in his heart the treasures of Egypt and forsook Egypt not fearing the king. The Word of God tells us in verse number 27 that he “endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” For one to endure as seeing him who is invisible must be looking through the eye of faith.
It certainly takes faith to continue and endure in the Lord’s work when there seems to be no clear sign or signal to usher one on. This is the reason that we should learn the importance of following and trusting the Lord in all that we do. We should trust Him when there is no visible sign. We like to see “fleece”, but we may just have to see Him who is invisible, instead. This is the way that we develop our faith by simply acting upon the Word.
Moses also partook of the Passover, and “the sprinkling of the blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them” (V.28). With the Egyptian army in pursuit, Moses led the nation of Israel to the Egyptians destruction. All of these events were listed in “Faith’s Hall of Fame” to show forth the faith of these ancient elders, thus receiving a good report.
G. The Many Others: Those Others Who Witnessed For God (Vv. 30-40)
These others who are listed either by name or deed only make up a small list of who is to be included in “Faith’s Hall of Fame”. The writer of Hebrews said “the time would fail me to tell of all who were faithful to the Lord. There are those today that would like for you to believe that there is such a small number who are faithful to the Lord’s work. This is simply not so. God is keeping His record and these that He has referred to should serve the purpose of causing us who are in the faith to “Look Unto Jesus”.
