Hebrews 11:1-16

Hebrews 11:1-16

We come to what has been called the Hall of Fame of Faith. In the context of this letter to Christian Jews being persecuted and leaving the faith, the author presents some of the history on which they would have grown up. The readers were not given a new history or new information but were invited to join in the long heritage of the faithful. At the close of chapter 10, the author quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4, in which there is the promise of a coming, a call to live by faith, and an exhortation to not give up. Chapter 11 is a description of people who did just that.

Each character in this history is worthy of individual contemplation and study, but for our purposes we are going to look at a couple of general principles. Principles that would have been important to the first readers and can apply to our lives as well.

First, faith is not always, if ever, the perfect, whole, complete expression or conviction we might want it to be. Abraham was not always fully convinced about his heir; at one point he lamented that Eliezer of Damascus was going to inherit all that he had. Sarah was also a faith struggler. When God told her she would have a child, she laughed at God, not a particularly strong expression of faith. Sometimes faith lives in the same heart as doubt or questioning.

Second faith never exists apart from behavior or actions. We have often incorrectly understood the relationship of faith and works. But clearly when a person has faith, it always produces actions. Abel offered, Enoch walked, Noah built, and Abram left. We never see the presence of faith without an action or behavior to go with it. So much so that that behavior is a good indicator or evidence of what the faith is like, if it is there at all. If there is no action, then whatever is there is not real faith.

Third faith will cost you. Ultimately it will be worth the cost, but in the meantime faith will require giving up some short-term advantage for the long-term benefits. It is the confidence in the long term that makes the short-term decision so reasonable. Abram’s pursuit of the eternal city was at the cost of a secure life in Ur and spending a lifetime of being a wandering pilgrim. Faith is not easy, but it is absolutely worth the cost. 

“Help me, Lord, to live out my faith every day. AMEN”