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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 11:3-7
Today, we come back to our study of Hebrews 11 where we are given an outstanding definition of faith which has two inseparable parts. The first is "what we hope for" and the second is "the assurance in what we do not see."
Faith is "what we hope for."
Our faith in the God of the Bible is what we hope for and our faith gives substance to that which we hope for the present time. Faith starts with a sense of dissatisfaction with the way things are now, and faith causes us to long for that which God has promised in advance.
Faith also is the "assurance in what we do not see."
The word "assurance" means the conviction that the unseen exists. Assurance is banking our lives on our hope in the promises of the God of the Bible. Biblical faith in the God of the Bible actualizes the truth for the future and commits to that actualization. And, it makes sense to do so given the history of the God of the Bible with the people of Israel. A careful reading of the Old Testament blows away the idea that faith is blind and is not based on fact.
As we come back into Hebrews 11, we are given several examples of people who lived by faith. Today, we will consider three of these examples: Abel, Enoch and Noah. As we will see, Abel illustrates worshipping faith. Enoch is the example of walking with God kind of faith. And, Noah is the example of working kind of faith.
Before we get to these three, let's consider v.3 of today's text which reads, "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."
Biblical faith values understanding more than sight, and it puts us immediately in touch with reality. When we trust our sight more than God's understanding, we have perched ourselves on the throne of God. Faith in the God of the Bible enables us to be patient with our reason to catch up to what God has promised and performed. Faith deals with facts but it also helps us to see reality before the facts arrive on the scene.
For example, science cannot tell us how human history is going to end, but by faith we know how it will end because God has already told us in His word. This is why faith pleases God, because it comes to grips with reality and God is the ultimate reality. Those who trust Him and His word, all the while ignoring the mocking taunts of those who think they know better, will enjoy for time and eternity the favor of the One who is best trusted with our hearts and our lives.
Now, let us look at the first three examples given in v.4-7 of today's passage. In v.4 of today's passage we read, "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."
The world's first brothers were Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They lived when the world was young, when everything was much different than it is today. Yet, though they enjoyed a life less hectic than we, they longed for something better, they hungered after God. This explain why they one day went to God with their own sacrifices. Their lives illustrate the fact that we will never be satisfied without God. And, that which we worship most is that which defines us most.
Abel worshipped the God of the Bible when he brought his sacrifice to God, but Cain chose not to worship God because his sacrifice did not fall in line with God's definition of how it should have been offered. God had required that the sacrifice had to involve the blood of an innocent animal. We cannot have God's ability until we are prepared to recognize the poverty of our own. That is what a blood sacrifice teaches. There must be a life laid down before one can have the life of God. We cannot have God's ability for our problems until we are first ready to lay aside any dependence upon our own. And, Abel was the first man to learn this truth, and we do well to follow his example of worship.
In v.5 of today's passage we read, "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."
Enoch was the seventh man from Adam and he is the first human after the Fall who is said to walk with God. At 65 years of age, Enoch began for the first time to enjoy the continuous presence of the unseen God of the Bible, and he related his life daily to Him. In doing so, Enoch found a fellowship that death could not interrupt. Enoch never died. God took him to heaven before he physically died. He was one of two men in the Bible of whom it is recorded that they never died physically, Elijah was the other.
The phrase "he was commended as one who pleased God" has to do with receiving approval. God approves of us when we operate on faith, when we lack the ability to make sense of a situation and we rely on the Lord to work things out. And, when we believe in Him we will walk with Him, we will operate believing He is our companion who actually guides us through life.
In v.6 of today's passage we read, "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."
Pleasing to God kind of faith believes that He exists and He rewards those who seek Him diligently. This kind of faith moves us to come to God on a regular basis. We do not go to any special place, no, we come to Him in our hearts as we live our lives. As we make decisions, we reference the Lord before we do so. When pleasing God becomes the determining factor for our decisions in life, life becomes easier. When we seek Him first, all other things in this life will be added unto us.
In v.7 of today's passage we read, "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."
Noah believed God when God told him that it would rain even though Noah had never seen rain. And, Noah believed God so much that for the next 120 years he worked at building a very large floatation device. Through the ridicule of all of his friends and acquaintances, Noah believed and worked on that Ark. He did this because God told him what would happen in the future, even though it did not make sense to Noah in the present.
To be able to bank our lives on someone who is invisible looks like the most preposterous thing imaginable to those who do not. The unsaved cannot comprehend this kind of spiritual faith because the Holy Spirit has not awakened them to the God of the Bible. All people live by faith, the difference is the object of our faith. We all ride in cars that cross over man-made bridges and we all ingest foods and medicines believing they are good for us. But, even though all people have natural faith, we don’t all have the ability to perceive God because believing in the God of the Bible is a spiritual kind of faith. Stay tuned tomorrow as we consider a few more of those who demonstrate what it looks like to believe in the God of the Bible.
