You Christians have blind faith. You don’t look at what is before your very eyes.
Take a look at the evidence. How can you say that your God is good? Look at the tsunami, the cyclones, the epidemics, the devastation, the wars. Is that your God of love?
How do you know all this Christianity stuff is true? Wouldn’t it be better to base your life on something you can touch and feel, not something so remote as stories 2000 years old that we read for children at bedtime.
It will feel right, you will experience it yourself, and then you will know, not because you’ve read it in a book.
You’ve got eyes. Use them. Look around. Do you see dead men rising from the grave?
This is the sort of battle that faith has every day with sight. Sight because of sin says all these things to us. But ‘We walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7). Today, the challenge is the same as it was yesterday. Will you trust what looks attractive in your eyes? Or will you trust God’s word, and obey God, and do what is right in his eyes.
Remember Jesus told us of the danger of our eyes. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s the danger of what the people did in Judges. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. We cannot always trust our eyes.
Hebrews 11 musters arguments why we should live by faith and not by sight. Again and again, it shows the long term perspective of faith. It holds up examples of people who look beyond what they can see. These people, short-sighted in themselves, in faith look to God.
Have you ever seen a galaxy with the naked eye? I haven’t! Scientists tell us there are billions and billions of stars. And millions upon millions of galaxies. Have you ever seen these billions and millions with the naked eye in the night sky? You need a telescope. You need your natural vision enlarged and increased to see what is really there.
The same with these great heroes of Hebrews 11. They couldn’t see the things God promised with the naked eye. But God was their telescope. And by relying on God, their vision was magnified. Because God can see from the very beginning to the very end. So the heroes of faith substitute faith in God for their own feeble, near sighted vision. Instead of trusting their myopic eyes, they trust God’s telescopic vision.
Our author brings in the issue of faith because we need faith for the long haul, for perseverance[1].
He’s just said, in chapter 10 verse 36, ‘You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’ (Hebrews 10:36)
And then again, chapter 10 verse 38, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith’. (Hebrews 10:38)
So the engine room for keeping going in the Christian life is faith. The foundation of perseverance is faith. If you want to endure, you need to trust God. And that fits, because only God has telescopic vision. Only God sees the beginning and the end.
The author comes pretty close to a definition of faith in chapter 11 verse 1: Chapter 11 verse 1 says: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
There may be more to faith, but there certainly is not less. Faith has to do with seeing what we can’t see, in just the same way that a scientist sees what he can’t see with a telescope. Our telescope is the promises of God in the word of God.
One way of translating the word rendered ‘being sure of’ is ‘foundation’[2]. It is the thing which undergirds and stands under something to support it. He is saying that ‘faith is the foundation, the platform, the support, of the things hoped for’.
Again, the word translated ‘certain of’ might more literally be translated ‘evidence’ or ‘proof’[3]. Faith is the foundation of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
In other words, what will keep us going as Christians? Will it be the things we see with our eyes, that we can touch and feel? No. Tangible things will not enable us to persevere during suffering. Because our vision is too limited. And people fall away because of the things they see with their eyes and touch with their hands.
But faith stands in the place of the evidence of our eyes and senses. Just as a mighty and powerful telescope shows us things we can’t see with the naked eye. So faith serves to give us a sure foundation when ours cannot see that far.
Imagine a modern jumbo pilot, flying through a storm or fog. They have to fly only by their instruments. They have to follow instructions from the tower, because they can’t see other aircraft, or the runway, or anything. The cockpit window is impenetrable grey. So the pilot has to look elsewhere.
Imagine a ship lost at sea, disoriented, out of sight of land. And the Navigator has to work out their position by the stars and charts. Or a GPS, if they have one. No good looking around. It’s all blue sea as far as the eye can see. You need to look beyond land marks, to the skies – either the stars or the satellite passing overhead. This is the situation of the Christian. Our GPS, our guiding star, our instruments, our control tower, these are the promises of God. And in the place of our limited, short sighted vision stands faith in God’s word.
Hebrews 11:1-7 keeps telling us there were many things invisible, intangible, and unseen for our fathers in the faith. But faith in God gave them vision far beyond what their naked eye could see.
The first thing we must take on faith is creation. No-one was there, by definition, except God. So only God can tell us how the world was made. We cannot know the specifics of the creation of the world except by faith in God’s word.
We are told two specific things.
First, God spoke, and the creation came to be. Digging up dinosaurs or analyzing geological strata cannot tell us that. God made the world through his Word. And God’s Word has a name. The Word is Jesus Christ. We know that from Hebrews. Through the Son God made the universe (Hebrews 1:2 NIV)
Second, the visible creation came from an invisible origin. ‘The visible was made from the invisible’[4]. God is always bringing the visible out of the invisible. He did it at the beginning, when he created the universe ex nihilo. From nothing God made the universe. And God keeps re-creating from the invisible. We can’t see Jesus’ death and resurrection. That was in time past. We can’t see Jesus now, who’s in heaven. That’s in the fourth dimension. We can’t see the Spirit, who goes where he will. We cannot see the heavenly Jerusalem we’ve arrived at, though that’s what Hebrews 12 says about us. But it is what God says about us, so it’s true.
Take us as individual Christians. Maybe we are slow and dull and have not progressed enough, as were the Hebrews. But still our sins have been forgiven. Look inside, and we don’t look righteous. We still have sinful thoughts, and sadly sometimes, sinful words and acts. But by grace, God calls the things not being as being (Romans 4:17). He says, you are righteous, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so we are.
Or take the church in the world. We Christians in Australia are nothing as far as Australian society is concerned. The census says Christians are something like 65% of the population. But really, we are more like an insignificant and annoying 2%. The kingdom of God is practically invisible to a world which rejects God. But from the invisible, you and me, God will bring his visible Kingdom.
Now Christ’s Kingdom is a tiny little mustard seed. But when Christ returns it will be a mustard tree, seemingly fed on steroids and which overgrows and takes over the whole vegetable patch.
One day, Jesus, the one we do not see, will be seen by everybody. And when he appears, he will take those the dead in Christ -- those invisible to the world, because they’ve been buried or cremated. Jesus will and add to them those remain alive at Christ’s coming. And at the general resurrection he will fashion us together. And we will become a massive, all encompassing Kingdom of God. It will consist of trillions of trillions of people, more than the stars of the sky. Every one of them longing to see Jesus and waiting for his return.
And on the day that Jesus returns it will be so awesome, you won’t believe your eyes. But it will be true and real. So don’t believe your eyes today. If you won’t believe your eyes when you see Jesus when he appears, make a decision not to believe your eyes now. No eye has seen what God has prepared for those who love him.
The first three heroes of faith also demonstrate that faith overcomes the limits of human vision. Abel is the dead man that still speaks, verse 4. Enoch is the living man that can’t be found, verses 5-6 And Noah is the one who believes in things not seen, verse 7.
The first is Abel. Abel is not only the first righteous man mentioned in Hebrews 11. He is the first dead man in the bible.
But Abel had faith. That is why God accepted his offering. So, Abel is righteous, because he had faith. The righteous will live by faith (Hab 2:4).
So this dead man, Abel, still speaks to us. He tells us that we too can be righteous by faith, just like him. And one day, Abel will live, though he is dead. He will rise at the resurrection.
Next, we are reminded of Enoch who didn’t experience death. Abel is the righteous man who DID experience death. In contrast, Enoch is the righteous man who DID NOT experience death. Abel is the dead man, Enoch is the living man. But both are righteous by faith.
And that will be an important theme of Hebrews 11. Sometimes the heroes escape the edge of the sword by faith. Other heroes were put to death by the sword by that same faith. (Hebrews 11:34 cf with 37) One dies, one lives, and both have faith.
Please remember that. One Christian might get cancer, or have a stroke, or arthritis. Another Christian might live long with good health into old age. But both are heroes of faith. One has not less faith than the other, any more than Abel died by faith and Enoch lived by faith. Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. To live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But while Enoch lives, look for Enoch, and though he didn’t die, you can’t find him. Just like Jesus. Jesus is alive, but you won’t find him on God’s earth. For that is typical of faith. You cannot believe your eyes. You look and look, but you cannot see. Because faith is not about seeing, it is about believing that you will receive what you cannot see.
Noah also shows that faith believes what cannot be seen. Verse 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 comes by faith. (NIV)
God told Noah about a flood that would wipe out the ancient world. The flood could not be seen when Noah started building his 150 metre long, 3 story wooden box. The threat was invisible. And Noah was a mad man, a laughing stock, just like in Evan Almighty. He kept warning about cataclysmic floods when the weather’s fine. Nothing happened for a century. But Noah believed God’s word. And the wicked world was washed away. Noah was the first surf life saver. And his action, of trusting the word of God, made him an heir of righteousness by faith.
Our ark is a roughly hewn cross, built by Roman soldiers. And to the flotsam of the cross we cling in holy fear for salvation. The cross is our ark, and all who cling to it will be saved.
Next we have three heroes and one heroine, all from the same family. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob.. Each lived in the promised land as strangers and aliens, moving around as refugees and asylum seekers (Hebrews 11:9). They too lived by faith, not be sight. Read Hebrews 11:13 to 16:
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And when they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16 NIV)
They didn’t get all the things promised to them and their descendants. But do you know what they are getting? Heaven. They are getting the new heaven and the new earth. And every earthly thing they were promised pointed to the same heavenly things we look forward to. They looked forward to the new Jerusalem. And so are we. They looked forward to seeing Jesus the Messiah, their King. And so are we. And during their earthly lives, they didn’t get everything they wanted or even what God promised. And the same is true of us. We have to wait.
When we come to Moses, we see faith in the face of fear and fortune. Fear, because Pharaoh was very angry with him. Fortune, because Moses was a prince of Egypt.
But by faith, Moses’ stood firm against fear. His faith in the face of fear starts in verse 23 with his parents, who weren’t afraid of the Kings edict. And while Moses was at first afraid of the King and ran away after he killed the Egyptian, we see this was not where he finished[5]. In verse 27, by faith Moses left Egypt in the exodus and did not fear the Kings anger. In verse 29, by faith Moses walked through the Red Sea, while the mighty Egyptian army was drowned. That would have taken some courage, with those huge walls of water on either side. And his courage came from faith.
Moses, of course had choices. Moses could have been a prince of Egypt, with all the earthly treasures of royalty. But he chose sympathy and association with the oppressed Israelites. As a result, he became an oppressed fugitive himself. He did this because he was looking forward to a future reward.
Look at verse 26, what is said of Moses.
He regarded disgrace for the sake for Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. (NIV)
Moses chose faithfulness to God and his Christ. Yes, Moses looked forward to the coming Messiah. He identified with the people of God over princely treasures and fear of man. The same choice was before the recipients of the Hebrews. And it is before us.
There are many things that make our hearts afraid. Fear of the future, of pain, fear for loved ones, of poverty, of ridicule. Part of us wants the security that money can bring.
But we need to be like Moses. Look at verse 27 with me:
By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the Kings anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (NIV)
Notice the paradox at the end of the verse. Moses saw the invisible one. He saw the one who cannot be seen. So he kept going as a believer. Moses was looking away from what he could see. Moses looked to his reward. And it was not the promised land of Canaan, because Moses died outside the promised land. His inheritance was the heavenly Jerusalem, a city built by God, of which the one on earth was but a shadow.
Now, the Author to the Hebrews says he could go on. And so could I. But he says that he has run out of time. And so have I. There are too many heroes of faith. And indeed, we have even more than the Author to the Hebrews. Because we have seen the outcome of the New Testament. We have seen the faithfulness of the Apostles and their co-workers. And we have an even greater cloud of witnesses, the testimony of the last 2000 years of church history. Our Author only meant to write a short letter. Just like I only ever mean to preach short sermons! But he and I serve what we have lovingly prepared, for the good of God’s people.
So our author brings it all to a head in verses 39 and 40:
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (NIV)
Now, there is a sense where all these heroes did receive what was promised. Indeed, in verse 33, the Author has said that by faith they gained what had been promised.
But the point is this. Whatever these Old Testament saints were promised on earth, those promises pointed to better promises for heaven. Whatever earthly inheritance and blessing they received is nothing compared to the heavenly and eternal blessedness that is theirs and ours in Christ. And it is only together with us that they are perfected.
So when you are tempted to believe your eyes, remember how narrow and selective that evidence is, so limited as it is by time and space, human weakness and sin.
We live by faith, not by sight. There is a great ‘field of vision’ that cannot be seen with the naked eye. But we see it with the telescopic vision of faith.
The Old Testament consists of a great cloud of witnesses, exemplars of persevering faith. The New Testament promises an eternal inheritance with Jesus Christ our Lord. So, by God’s telescope, the bible, look back at the heroes. Through God’s Lens, look forward to the coming reward all can share with them by faith. And keep trusting in Jesus Christ until your dying breath.
Let’s pray.
[1] The opinion of Calvin
[2] Hypostasis, literally, that which stands under.
[3] Elegchos being evidence, that by which a thing is proved or tested.
[4] HCSB, Douay-Rheims, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, RSV. Ellingworth and Hughes support it.
[5] When did Moses leave Egypt not fearing the King’s anger? (Hebrews 11:27 and compare Exodus 2:11-15, 23; 3:11-13; 4:1,10,13-14,19, 10:24-11:8) The issue here is whether the author to the Hebrews is referring to Moses flight to Midian as the instance where he didn’t fear the King’s anger, or when he leaves the King in Anger after the plague of darkness and before the plague of the firstborn. Against the modern commentators on Hebrews, Bruce, Hughes and Ellingworth, who take the reference to Moses’ flight to Midian, I agree with Calvin that ‘I am inclined to regard this as his second departure, for it was then that he bravely disregarded the fierce wrath of the king’ Comm Heb, 297. The portrayal of Moses and a man of faith fits more adequately with what we read of Moses in Exodus 11:8.
The argument that the order must be chronological is not of great weight when we remember while the author generally adopts the biblical chronology, he does not do so strictly. Eg v13, which sums up Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and then he returns to Abraham in v14, and verse 32, where the names are out of chronological order. And even if we insist on chronological order, the author to the Hebrews may well be adopting a chronological order. Consider that Hebrews 11:27 refers to Exodus 11:8 (referring to Moses leaving Pharaoh and not seeing his face again; proleptically this is Moses leaving Egypt in a final way; the flight to Midian was not the final break with Egypt). Then Hebrews 11:28 refers to the institution of the Passover in Exodus 12ff, and Hebrews 11:29 refers to the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.