Hebrews 11:1-40
Faith in Action
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
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.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 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, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 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.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Luke 17:5-10
Jesus' Disciples Ask Him to Increase Their Faith
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Hebrews 12:1-3
Jesus Master and Finisher of Faith
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Romans 10:17
Faith Comes from Hearing the God and His Word about Jesus
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
John 17:17-18
God's Word is Truth
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
What is faith?...Is faith how we feel?...Is faith an emotion?...Is faith a blind leap in the dark?...What is the nature of one's faith?...Why is there such a thing as faith?...Did the ancient ones just make it up out of maybe seeing more in creation than there really is?...Or did the ancient ones make it up out of their fear of their own death and the fear of their family's deaths?...Or did myths and old oral traditions of the earliest of stories just get passed on from one generation to another and God just luckily survived throughout all of man's history?...
There some things that we do know about faith...One is that, there is no God without faith...Secondly, we are told that without faith it is impossible to please the Living God...Third we know that faith is something we cannot see, yet there are things around us that we do see that gives us faith, and this hope in the LORD...Faith is both about a hope and an assurance of goodness and righteousness in the future...When the author wrote the Book of Hebrews, the early Christians were being persecuted...The Hebrew's author gives us hope about faith...
The author also further explains faith to us...And he does it in a way that grounds faith in this hope and God's future assurances...The author writes that the foundation of faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurances about what we do not see...This is what the ancients were commended for...By faith we can see those things around us and better understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was at first something visible...And then the author goes on and gives us many people of great faith...The first three people talked about with great faith are Abel, Enoch and Noah...By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did...Abel knew of the greatness and goodness of God, and brought Him the best offering he could think of...And by his faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings...And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead...Enoch walked with God...And by his faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not have to 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...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...
And Noah was a good and righteous man, and he believed in God...And by his faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family...And by his faith Noah condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith...Noah built the ark because he believed in God...
At a time the Disciples may have felt weak in their faith when they were with Jesus, because they ask Him to increase their personal faith...When Jesus' Disciples ask Him to increase their faith He said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you...“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep...Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?...Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?...Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?...So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”...
The way Jesus answers this is hard to grasp...Can man increase his faith?...It is really not answered in a simple and conventional way...Jesus' answer is a humbling one...And we are to have a humble faith...There is a deep humility in faith, much like helping a servant...The least, the outcast, and servant are to be treated kindly and justly, at all times...We are all equal, master or servant, rich or poor, in our good times and our bad times...There is faith always to be found in forgiveness...His answer shows us that even from the smallest of faith, our faith can be strong...Faith to increase comes from the word of Jesus, and Jesus Himself...Jesus tells us the amount and size of our faith is not important...Faith comes from reading the gospels and hearing the Word about Jesus...His Word is Truth...The Truth is to be followed...We have a duty to follow the Truth...Therefore, faith in Jesus is the right thing to do...We have only done the right thing, when we are faithful to Him...Our reward for our faith is found in heaven, by His grace and mercy...