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.
When thinking about the below Watergate argument for belief in Jesus and His resurrection, Hebrews 11 stands as a chapter that relates to the evidence of our Savior...Often called the "Hall of Faith," this chapter moves from the famous patriarchs to a massive, unnamed group of believers who endured horrific persecutions not because they had seen the physical Jesus for three years, but because they were entirely convinced of the Truth of the message...This chapter serves as a historical bridge, showing that the power of the Gospel wasn't limited to a small "inner circle" in Jerusalem; it was a fire that consumed the lives of ordinary men and women who were willing to be "destitute, persecuted, and mistreated" for the sake of a heavenly kingdom...They represent the "cloud of witnesses" who prove that the evidence for the Resurrection was so grounded and certain that it could sustain a person through the most lonely and painful of ends...
The original Twelve Apostles, who walked with Jesus daily during His three-year earthly ministry, and the vast multitude of believers who came after still believed in His Teachings and Truth...For the Twelve, their conviction was rooted in direct physical experience—they saw the miracles, heard the Sermon on the Mount in person, and touched the scars after the Resurrection...However, the power of the "Beyond the Twelve" movement lies in the fact that thousands of others, like those described in Hebrews 11 or the early converts in Acts, never had that three-year "apprenticeship meetings and discussions and being with Him"...They believed based on the testimony of the witnesses and the internal moving of the Holy Spirit, yet they were just as willing to face execution and family rejection as those who had sat at the table with Him...
This is a central point in the Colson argument...If the Resurrection were a lie, it might be possible (though unlikely) for a small group of twelve "insiders" to maintain a conspiracy for a short time...But it is historically impossible for that lie to spread to a secondary group of people who didn't even have the benefit of those three years of personal friendship to sustain them...These "second wave" believers had every earthly reason to deny the message—loss of property, social standing, and biological family—yet they held fast to a Truth they had "not seen" with their own eyes...This demonstrates that the evidence for the Gospel was so overwhelming that it transformed even those who weren't part of the original inner circle...
The latter half of Hebrews 11 specifically addresses the high cost of this belief, mirroring the "family against family" warnings Jesus gave in the Gospels...The text mentions those who "wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground," people who were effectively cast out of their societies and families because of their allegiance to Christ...This aligns perfectly with the Colson Watergate comparison: a conspiracy of lies usually falls apart when the participants are faced with the loss of their homes, their status, and their kin...Yet, these believers chose the "reproach of Christ" over the treasures and pleasures of the world...They provide the ultimate verification of the Twelve’s testimony because their sacrifice was not based on a desire for power or a shared secret, but on a secondary encounter with the Truth that was so real it made the comforts of a biological family seem small in comparison...
Furthermore, Hebrews 11 concludes by noting that "the world was not worthy of them," highlighting that their conviction created a fundamental rift between them and the secular or religious systems they left behind...This is where the epistles' warnings about "fiery trials" and "suffering as a Christian" find their heartbeat...By looking at these nameless thousands who followed the Twelve into the arena of martyrdom, we see a movement that cannot be explained away as a localized hoax...If the Twelve were the "foundation," these believers were the "living stones" who proved the foundation was solid enough to hold the weight of the entire world’s opposition...This chapter serves as the ultimate proof that the influence of Jesus was—and is—a historical force capable of turning a daughter against her mother and a man against his own life, all for the sake of the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...
The Watergate argument (in more detail) is believing in Jesus, as discussed by Chuck Colson...He presents a compelling psychological and historical case for the validity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ...Colson’s unique perspective as a man who sat at the right hand of the President of the United States allowed him to see firsthand how even the most brilliant, loyal, and powerful individuals crumble under the pressure of maintaining a conspiracy and holding onto a big lie...He noted that the Watergate cover-up involved twelve of the most influential men in the world, individuals with every resource at their disposal and every motivation to keep their secret to protect the presidency and their own careers...Yet, despite their power and shared interests, the lie began to disintegrate in less than three weeks because the threat of prison and personal ruin was too great to bear...This serves as the primary "control group" for his argument, proving that human nature is hardwired for self-preservation when faced with the consequences of a known falsehood...
The strength of the "Watergate Argument" is significantly amplified when we look beyond the original twelve apostles to the "secondary" witnesses who were not part of the inner circle but were so transformed by the message that they too chose death over not believing in Jesus...While the twelve were in a position to know if the resurrection was a lie, the thousands who followed them in the first century were in a position to evaluate the evidence provided by those witnesses and the supernatural power attending their message...These believers, many of whom are mentioned in the New Testament epistles, faced a specialized form of social and physical pressure that mirrors the "breaking point" Colson described in the Nixon administration...However, unlike the Watergate conspirators who turned on one another to save their careers, the early Christians and the early Christian apostles held together even when their own families turned against them...This fulfills the sobering prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 10, where He warned that His Truth would set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother...
This division within families that Jesus had talked about is perhaps the most painful "consequence" a person can face, often exceeding the fear of physical imprisonment...For a first-century Jew or a Roman citizen to embrace Christ meant the potential loss of inheritance, social standing, and the very protection of the family unit...When Jesus spoke of a person’s enemies being those of their own household, He was describing the ultimate test of conviction that Colson’s argument touches upon...If the resurrection story was a mere rumor or a poorly constructed myth or legend, it would never have survived the intense scrutiny of families who saw their loved ones being led to the lions or the stake...The fact that so many chose the "Way" of Christ over the comfort of their biological families suggests they had encountered a Truth that superseded even the most basic human instincts for belonging and safety...
We see this reflected throughout the Epistles, where writers like Peter and James encourage the "scattered" believers who were enduring "various trials" and the "fiery ordeal" of persecution...These people were not dying for a secret they were helping to hide; they were dying because they were convinced that the testimony of the Twelve was grounded in historical reality...Colson’s comparison reminds us that while twelve men might theoretically try to hold a lie for a few weeks, it is impossible for a growing, diverse population across different cultures to maintain a high-stakes "hoax" when the price of that hoax is their own blood...The epistles serve as a written record of this resolve, showing a community that was "rejoicing" in suffering because they believed the "Truth" was worth more than their very lives...
Ultimately, the expansion of the church under such brutal conditions proves that the influence of Jesus was not a temporary emotional high, but a fundamental shift in the understanding of reality...When the "inner circle and early Christian followers" remained unshakable, their certainty became the foundation for others to build upon, creating a chain of conviction that the world could not break...This makes the resurrection not just a story for the Twelve, but a historical anchor for every believer who has ever had to stand alone against the pressure of the world or the rejection of their own kin...It confirms that the One who called Himself the "Truth" in John 14 truly does provide a life that is stronger than death and a peace that surpasses all earthly understanding...
When we read about the Twelve apostles (who were not twelve of the most influential and powerful men of their time), the contrast is staggering and provides a valid, logical foundation for belief in the resurrection story...These were not men of high political standing or immense wealth; they were fishermen, tax collectors, and ordinary laborers who found themselves at the center of a world-changing event- the resurrection of Jesus...Following the crucifixion, they did not flee into obscurity to save their lives, but instead stood in the very city where Jesus was executed to proclaim that He had risen from the dead...The validity of the argument rests on the fact that the apostles were in the "inner circle," meaning they were in a position to know with absolute certainty whether the resurrection was a manufactured myth or a physical reality...They knew the Truth of Jesus, their Master and Teacher…Unlike a modern believer who accepts the story by faith, the apostles were primary witnesses who would have known if they had simply stolen the body or hallucinated...
Colson’s argument emphasizes that while people may die for a lie they believe to be true—such as a cult member following a charismatic leader—they will never choose to die for a lie they know is a lie...If the resurrection were a hoax, the apostles would have been the architects of that hoax, and therefore would have known there was no eternal reward waiting for them on the other side of an executioner’s sword...For forty years, through stonings, beatings and whip lashings, shipwrecks, and eventually martyrdom, not a single one of the original twelve recanted their testimony to save their skin...This endurance suggests that they weren't just "sincere" in a religious sense, but that they were reporting a historical event so transformative that it rendered the fear of death irrelevant...They had seen the One who called Himself the Truth, and having touched His wounds, they could no longer be intimidated by the threats of men...