1 Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. 2 For therein the elders had witness borne to them. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear. 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. 5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: 6 And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 for he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised: 12 wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable.

      13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things make it manifest that they are seeking after a country of their own. 15 And if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

      17 By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 even he to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was nigh, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. [57] 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a goodly child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that the destroyer of the firstborn should not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace.

      Faith is a simple principle, easily learned; but it has a multitude of various applications in human affairs--as the same law, showing itself in many manifestations; the same melody, ringing through unending variations. When you say that faith is an implicit reliance upon God through his word, it is all summed up. But see now how this reliance appears in the acts of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Israel, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David, Samuel and the prophets, changing its manifestation according to the peculiar circumstances of each case.

      The first instance given us is one of sacrifice--the first shedding of blood with a view to atonement and remission of sin, itself a prophecy according to God's will of the great Sin Offering to come. Now, although we have no record of God's messages to men in those days, we are bound to conclude that God must have offered man access through the bloody sacrifice, and must have given directions concerning the offering of the same; for not only would it be impossible for human wisdom to hit upon such a means of worship and approach to God, but even if it had been of Abel's ingenuity that he thought of bringing that kind of sacrifice, it would not have been of faith in such a case, for faith comes by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Abel, therefore, relying upon God's word and the promise of acceptance connected with it, brought a sacrifice well pleasing to God. Cain, on the other hand, relied not on God's word of instruction and promise, but, rather, followed the light of reason, his sense of the fitness of things, and brought a sacrifice of his own devising. This is the bloodless religion of the world which survives unto the present day in many forms--the deistic religions, the aesthetic religions, the philosophic religions. To this Cain religion belong all those systems that reject the Sacrifice, the blood of Jesus Christ; and every scheme of worship and service that has been invented by man. It is an important lesson, and one which the great majority even of professed Christians have never yet learned, that not every act of worship, nor every sacrifice (though it may commend itself ever so much to our reason) which is offered with good intention, is, therefore, acceptable to God. Our worship and approach to God must be in God's way, by the true Sacrifice, and by faith.

      Of Enoch we are told that he walked with God. His faith brought him into communion and fellowship with the Almighty, a sense of his presence and nearness, and a life according with it. To him God was real. He lived as in the sight of God; and who would do evil while God is at his side? Moreover, he walked with God; in God's ways--where he knew God would be with him--and was so little influenced by the appearance of things that are seen that he consulted and chose God's way only, and that in [58] everything. He was one of those who through "faith wrought righteousness" (verse 33), and, therefore, he was translated that he should not see death, for he had been well pleasing to God.

      Noah's faith came by the word of God, as faith does in every case. He was "warned of God." The things of which God told him were yet unseen, future--yes, as far a human wisdom could see, improbable and impossible. So Noah relied on the word, and had nothing else to rely on. God's warning filled him with fear, and he took God's proffered way of safety. The rest of mankind were doubtful as to these matters. Some gave the word as preached by Noah (2 Peter 2:5) no credit at all; others played "agnostic"--professed to know nothing about it, and "they knew not until the flood came and took them all away" (Matthew 24:39), which thing is repeating itself today in reference to the serious warnings of God to the wicked, the prediction of their fearful destiny just at hand. But Noah believed God and feared. His faith worked and obeyed to the letter. Yet it was faith that saved him, not works; but works made his faith perfect and efficient before God. It is evident here that faith does not exclude the strictest obedience or the hardest work. Noah staked his time, his labor, and his capital on God' word, and (humanly speaking) incurred the risk of loss and ridicule for the sake of his convictions.

      Most noted of all men for faith stands Abraham. Reared in the midst of idolatry, he hears God's messages, the call to leave his kindred and country, and obeys. He put confidence in the Author of the commandment, counting him trustworthy, left the consequences in his hands, and so went out, not knowing whither he went. Thus his faith conquered his love of home and kindred and his fear of the unknown lands and the unknown future. He became a wanderer and a pilgrim on the earth, steadfastly looking for the unseen home of God of which he had heard in the promise. His faith staked home and kindred and property and life upon God's word; so that, if the promise could have failed, he would have lost all. He and the heirs with him of the same promise committed themselves to a steadfast life of faith (compare Hebrews 10:36-38), preferring to walk by faith and hope, although the way back to their old home and its tangible advantages stood continually open. Sarah's faith also, basing itself on the faithfulness (reliableness) of Him who had promised, gave her light and hope where human reason saw no hopeful prospect, and through faith she received a power above the natural. See the beautiful description of faith in Romans 4:18-22.

      But it was in the sacrifice of Isaac that Abraham's faith reached its climax, for in that son all hope was centered. Before the son was born, Abraham depended solely upon the promise. Now he is apt to trust in Isaac. So Isaac himself must be given up, that faith may indeed be shown to rest upon that which is not seen, in God's power and faithfulness rather than in any visible prospect. And Abraham did not hesitate. He loved his son, but he loved God supremely. He saw in his son the fulfillment of the promise, and could not see how the promise could be redeemed if Isaac died. But Abraham never stopped to consider what things looked like. God spoke; that was enough. His simple logic was: God is true; therefore the promise cannot fail, contrary appearances notwithstanding. If God chooses, he can bring Isaac back from the dead; for is he not the child of promise, and did not God bring him forth, as it were, out of death in the first place? So Abraham offered up his son. In sacrificing him he received him; in losing him he found him; and in giving him up he obtained him forever. This is God's way of giving back to us everything we sacrifice to him sweeter and better a hundredfold.

      We must pass hurriedly over the remaining names. It will not be difficult now to show just how faith manifested itself in Jacob's blessing and in Joseph's making mention of the departure of Israel. Nor is it hard to understand how Moses could make his strange choice, for it was to him a greater privilege to be one of God's people than to belong to the royal family of Egypt. As he understood it, God's promises were sweeter, surer, and more enduring than all the pleasures and treasures and glittering glories of the court; "because he was looking ahead to his reward." Moses was not foolish, though "men of this world whose reward is in this life" would call him so. Faith does not make men unreasonable; it simply gives them a higher reason, a truer reliance, a higher motive, and a greater object for which to work and live. And it has always been true that men who followed after the things that were seen became debased and corrupted in their pursuit; while those who lived unto the things that are not seen, as revealed in the word of God, were ennobled and purified. It is, then, man's true life to live by faith; and his true goal is not here, but among "the things unseen"--in God himself.

      So lived all these heroes of faith; so must we live, if our lives are not to be eternal failures. With Abel, we draw near to God by the blood; like Enoch, we walk with God; with Noah, we fear and prepare, that we may be able to stand in that day; and, like Abraham, we become strangers and pilgrims (Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 13:14; 1 Peter 1:11; Colossians 3:12-3), looking for the better country; choosing, with Moses, rather to share ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. In all these things we follow Him who lived wholly unto the world unseen and unto his Father's will--the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

      Our Father, it is your will that we should seek after the things unseen, inasmuch as they only are true and abiding and eternal, and the visible world and the lust thereof passes away. Yet how we are in bondage to the things that are seen, and how low we rate you and your reward because these things do not appeal to our present senses! Therefore are we despondent and without peace; for "You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they rest in you." Lord, help our unbelief. Help us to make the first trusting steps, that thus we may be led into a deeper faith. May we, in humble and obedient study of your word, come into touch with your unseen universe and obtain that pilgrim spirit which characterized our father Abraham. Help us, after the example of your servants of old, to seek and find you a God so faithful and true that we may learn to rely wholly on you, staking life and goods and talents and all we have and are upon your word, and by faith to win the final victory through our intercessor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

      The next lesson is Hebrews 11:32 to 12:2.

      Look up the history of the names in verse 32 and see how they showed their faith.

      What kind of successes did they make through faith?

      What failures did they endure by faith?

      Were men of faith universally successful and victorious?

      Why does the Lord refer those Hebrew brethren and us to these examples?

      Can we accomplish similar things by faith? Was not that in the age of miracles? How, then, can it encourage us?

      Chapter 12: What cloud of witnesses does he speak of?

      What is the "weight" we should lay aside?

      What is "the sin that so easily entangles us?" [60]

[LOH3R 57-60]