JOURNEY OF FAITH
( The Meaning of Faith - January 23, 2022)
Series Big Idea: "Faith in God's promises enabled Old Testament saints to claim God's promises and experience salvation"
Sermon Big Idea: "Faith is the actual possession of things hoped for, and the reality of things not seen"
Key Scripture (Hebrews 11:1)
This morning we are beginning a brand-new series of sermons I am calling “Journey of Faith.” So, what is faith? How do we get it? Where do we place it? For the answer to those questions, I want us to examine one of the greatest chapters in all the Bible. Hebrews chapter 11. It is traditionally known as “God’s Great Hall of Fame.” These are the men and women who have believed God down through the centuries and are listed as great by the author.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews offers several examples of how to live in faith, no matter what situation or circumstance you may find yourself in. There are times when all of us feel that we can’t see God at work around us. When we are feeling like that the writer says we should look back to His followers in the past as an example. This chapter gives many real-life examples as an answer to the question “How can we have faith in the middle of pain and suffering?”
Over the next several weeks I want us to look at what the author of this Book said to this community of believers that were struggling to keep their faith. My hope and prayer are that we will all learn what faith is, how to have it, and where to place it.
So, what is faith? Well, the Bible never really gives us a complete definition of faith. It does discuss faith and the importance of it though. The Bible tells us that we must have faith and believe in God and tells us the wonderful things that happen to those who believe in God. It gives us numerous examples of men and women who didn’t believe in God and what happened to them. Nowhere does the Bible explicitly define faith. But our verse this morning gives us the best explanation we can find. It is a description of faith.
Hebrews 11:1 (CSB)
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
What is faith?
1. Faith is Acting on what is believed in
The word “reality” in this verse means the foundation, assurance, title-deed, and guarantee of the things hoped for. Faith here is being described as an act. So, faith is first Trusting all that God is and says. It is Believing all this God is and says. It is Having Confidence in all that God is and says. It is Hoping for Something because God exists and has promised it. Faith is an act of the mind and the heart.
But if our interpretation of this verse is right, then faith is more than an act, it is actual possession of reality.
2. Faith is Possessing the thing believed in
Is that not what the definition “title-deed” I gave you earlier is saying? The person who holds the title or deed to property possess the property. It is already his. Holding the title or deed to property and possessing it is more than assurance and conviction. It is possessing reality. It is holding something that has substance and is real.
So, looking from God’s perspective, don’t we already possess His promises? He has already seated us in the heavenlies, and we already possess eternal life. It is not that we are going to possess it, we already possess it. Faith is possessing the substance of the promises of God, the evidence of things not seen. Look at it like this. The fact that I already possess eternal life, is the basis of my assurance and conviction. Believers will never teste or experience death.
Conclusion:
Faith is both and Act and a Possession of the thing believed. It is believing and trusting in what already exists; in something we can possess. It is true, we may not be able to see it at the moment, but it is real and it is existing and we can possess it by believing and having faith in it. We can possess it now! We can’t see it but we can actually possess the substance of it by believing and entrusting our lives to it.
Biblical faith doesn’t deal with the unreal, imaginary, or fantasy. Biblical faith is the knowledge, experience, and possession of things hoped for. True biblical faith deals only with truth and reality. It’s knowing what is real! It is experiencing what is real! It is possessing what is real!
Kevin DeYoung has a good illustration regarding the role faith plays in our salvation. He speaks of walking out on frozen Lake Michigan. The initial step out onto the frozen lake is an act of faith, but it is not his faith that keeps him from falling into freezing water but the thickness of the ice (Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism [Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010], 117). So too with us, it is not our faith that saves us, but it is the confidence we have in the work of Jesus that saves us. And that is the gift Paul is talking about in Ephesians 2. There is nothing we do that makes us right with God; it is all a work of God.
Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
English Standard Version Bible
King James Version Bible
Christian Standard Bible
Water, Mark, ed. Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
NIV, Archaeological Study Bible, eBook: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Duane Garrett, and Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
NIV, First-Century Study Bible, eBook: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context
Zondervan, Kent Dobson, and Ed Dobson
Belleville, Linda. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. Tyndale House Publishers, 2009.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Victor Books, 1985.
Richards, Lawrence O. The Bible Reader’s Companion. Electronic ed., Victor Books, 1991.
Jamieson, Robert, et al. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.
Blum, Edwin A., and Trevin Wax, editors. CSB Study Bible: Notes. Holman Bible Publishers, 2017.
Mohler, R. Albert, Jr. Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. Holman Reference, 2017.
Barry, John D., et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Lexham Press, 2012, 2016.
Guthrie, George. Hebrews. Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
Allen, David L. Hebrews. B & H Publishing Group, 2010.
Lea, Thomas D. Hebrews, James. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.
Guthrie, Donald. Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary. InterVarsity Press, 1983.
Dockery, David S., editor. Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.
Water, Mark. Key Word Commentary: Thoughts on Every Chapter of the Bible. AMG Publishers, 2003.
Brannan, Rick, and Israel Loken. The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible. Lexham Press, 2014.
Stanley, Charles F. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version. Nelson Bibles, 2005.
MacArthur, John F., Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006.
Radmacher, Earl D., et al. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary. T. Nelson Publishers, 1999.
Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Thomas Nelson, 1992.
Brooks, Keith. Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the New Testament. Logos Bible Software, 2009.
Hughes, Robert B., and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Tyndale House Publishers, 2001.
Anderson, Robert. Types in Hebrews. WORDsearch, 2005.
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