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By Faith in Hebrews 11
By Faith in Hebrews 11
Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God. Faith has been said to be the 'basis' of our acceptance with God. That is not the same as saying it is the ONLY condition for being saved by forgiveness through Jesus.
One CAN believe and NOT obey even as the demons do (James 2:19). One can believe that Jesus is the Christ and yet, for fear of men, refuse to confess Him before men (Matt. 10:32-33). The parents of the blind men refused to speak about Jesus when questioned about their son. John says that "His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue" (John 9:22). John then records that "… many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (John 12:42-43). Such faith can be described as a faith 'THAT' but not as faith IN.
Such is the most elementary concept of faith. It is a faith that believes 'that'… One must believe that – that God is and that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him (11:6). There are many such ‘thats’ which we believe to be true. The faith that relates us to God is deeper than this. It is a faith that ‘believes in’, that trusts, that shows itself in action.
In Hebrews 11 the concept of faith in God by those who believe IN God is connected with action words (verbs). By faith Abel offered, Noah built, Abraham obeyed… etc. Go through this chapter and mark/circle/highlight all the verbs connected with ‘by faith’! Trusting God is doing what He says.
Somehow this discussion today always gets turned into a discussion about 'earning one's salvation' and 'being a legalist'. Were Abraham and Noah, legalists? No. They were not trying to earn their salvation; they trusted what God told them. In fact, their lives were not about ‘being saved’, but living in the presence of God, walking with God. Such a life is a life of complete trust in God. He says go, you go. He says build, you build. To do otherwise is to not trust God. This willing submission to God's word was a natural response by one who trusts God.
Are you trusting Jesus? What verbs are connected to your faith?
Hugh DeLong
