Transcript

When I was growing up, summertime meant spending many afternoons in the main library in Norfolk, Virginia, where my mother regularly dropped off me and my brothers. I usually left the library with an armload of biographies of people who would become my heroes: men like Daniel Boone, George Washington Carver, and Abraham Lincoln. Those heroes of history inspired me to imitate their courage, perseverance, and character.

But think about this: the Bible is, in large measure, an inspired book of biographies. God often teaches us principles through the lives of people. And they are people just like us. They have strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes they succeed; and sometimes they fail.

Our Wisdom Journey now sails into the harbor of Hebrews 11. It is as if God’s Spirit condenses as many biographies as possible into the shortest amount of space. But His purpose is clear: God wants to inspire us to imitate their lives of faith.

We need to note the context here. Chapter 10 ends with the author expressing confidence in his Jewish Christian readers who are under tremendous pressure to compromise their faith in Christ and turn back to Judaism. The author has just encouraged them with his own belief that they are “not of those who shrink back . . . but of those who have faith” (verse 39). He is like a coach telling his team, “I know you can do it!”

The first thing we have here in chapter 11 is an explanation of faith in verse 1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This is not a formal definition of what faith is; this is a functional definition of what faith does.

Faith provides a foundation for our hope. The word here for “assurance” can be translated “confidence,” or “substance,” or “reality.” The original Greek term is hupostasis, which literally refers to something that “stands under” as support. So, faith is the foundation upon which our hope rests.

And what is our hope? We hope for things the Bible promises—things like Christ’s return for His church, a reunion of all departed believers in heaven, and our eternal dwelling in the Father’s house. So, faith gives us confidence in God’s promises.

The author writes that faith also produces in us, “the conviction of things not seen.” In other words, faith produces a certainty that invisible things actually exist.

Have you seen God? Did you see Christ die on the cross for your sins? Did you see Him rise again from the grave? Have you ever seen Satan or demons who fight in high places?

No, but you are convinced of all these things because of your faith in God and His Word.

How important is your faith and trust in God’s Word? Verse 6 gives us the answer:

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

In these verses, faith is defined. Throughout the rest of this chapter, faith will be demonstrated. This is how faith works out there in the traffic patterns of life.  

Each of these people mentioned in Hebrews 11 could be a lesson in our Wisdom Journey. But we have covered many of them already in our journey through the Old Testament, so we will take an overview approach to this chapter and point out some of the key descriptions of faith in action as seen in these individuals.

Here is the first description: A person of faith obeys God’s word even if it means standing alone. Verse 7 records: “Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen . . . constructed an ark for the saving of his household.” For 120 years, Noah preached while he built the ark (Genesis 6:3; 2 Peter 2:5). But in the end, only Noah and his family were saved. That is another way of saying that nobody responded. I cannot imagine preaching for 20 years without any response. Noah faithfully preached for 120 years without any results. He did it by faith.

Here is a second description: A person of faith endures the uncertainties of the present by focusing on God’s promises for the future. Abraham is our main example here when he obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland and head to a distant land. I love verse 8, which says, “He went out, not knowing where he was going.” How many of us would do that? Verse 10 tells us what motivated him: “He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”

He had been given God’s promise of a heavenly city. But Abraham was not the only one who was looking for that city. This passage mentions the faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah. Here is the summary of their remarkable faith:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar . . . they desire[d] a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (verses 13, 16)

Beloved, faith does not mean you get the life you always wanted on earth; faith is believing God will one day give you your best life in heaven. I am afraid many Christians want so much on earth today that heaven seems anticlimactic.

Here is a third description of faith in action: A person of faith is willing to forfeit immediate benefits for the sake of following God’s will. Verse 24:

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

Moses gave up the luxuries of a royal palace to lead the children of Israel through the wilderness.

Here is a fourth description: A person of faith is an imperfect person with an imperfect past who submits to the perfect plan of God. To make this point, the writer mentions people like Rahab (verse 31), Samson, and Jephthah (verse 32).

Rahab was a prostitute before God intervened in her life. Samson never conquered his immoral lust, and Jephthah was somebody we would call today a gangster or an outlaw. But God used each one of them as they trusted God’s plans for the nation of Israel.

Here is the fifth description: A person of faith refuses to excuse personal weaknesses and trusts in the power of God.

Through faith [they] conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war. (Verses 33-34)

God often empowers weak and timid people to fulfill His work. I have mentioned in the past how Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, once said late in life that he was used greatly only because he was weak enough and small enough for God to use. Hebrews 11 is filled with the biographies of imperfect people who were small enough for God to use.

This chapter is realistic. We see that especially in this last description of faith in action: A person of faith is willing to walk with God even when his or her faith creates suffering and pain and loss in life. Notice verses 36-38:

[But] others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy.

But I can guarantee, beloved, that when we meet these people in eternity, we are not going to hear any words of regret from them!

Let us live today on earth for what matters most in heaven. Let us demonstrate faith and trust in the power and plan of God—no matter what.