Heb 11:1-12:2 Heroes of the Faith

Intro

I want to begin by emphasising that faith is not something that comes from ourselves it is a gift of God, also we see many places in scripture that faith without ensuing works is dead, as James put it somewhat ironically ‘Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’ As if anyone can show anybody else something without demonstrating it. Yes faith does have a component of belief,  confidence and trust in God, but if it doesn’t work itself out into what we do and say in our relationships to God and to others we are deceiving ourselves and do not have true faith. We can do lots of things without true faith and lots of people do, that is why Jesus one day will say ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt 7:23) On the other hand in the parable of the sheep and goats in Matt 25v31-46 the only difference is what they did.

So whilst good works can disguise us as being of the faith, not doing good works is evidence that we don’t have faith.

Having said that lets look at Hebrews 11:1-12:2.

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.  3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

  4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

  8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.  11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

  13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

  17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,  18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”  19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.  20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.  21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.  22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

  23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,  25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.  26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.  27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.  28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

  29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.  30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.  31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

  32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,  34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.  35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.  36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,*n1 they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—  38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

  39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,  40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Abel

Gen 4:1-5  1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”  2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.  3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,  4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,  5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

We don’t know who taught Abel and Cain to bring an offering or what that offering was supposed to be, it could have been Adam and Eve, it could also, and is more likely, to have been a direct request or teaching of the Lord for them to bring an offering, as He was clearly still speaking to men directly unlike today where he speaks to us through the words of scripture. We often spend too much time debating what the difference between the offerings of Cain and Abel were and point to the content of offering as the blame when the real issue was the state of their hearts. Abel brought his offering in faith whereas Cain did not, and when God spoke to Cain to ‘do well’ he would not turn away from the sin, clearly his desire was for the things of the world and not for the things of God, the offering was most likely brought with the wrong attitude, or just because that is what was required, rather than with an attitude of bringing joy to the Lord and recognition of the need for something, or someone, to die in his place. Because he would not repent and do what he had been asked he followed the sin that was crouching and murdered his brother. The only reason we highlight Cain’s failure and what his attitude was, is because that is all we really have as a contrast to understand how Abel’s offering was brought in other words what Cain didn’t get right Abel did.

Enoch

Gen 5:21-24 21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.  22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.  24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not,  for God took him.

We know very little from scripture about Enoch other than that he lived on earth for 365 years and then God took him and one reference in Jude 1:14 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,  15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” We don’t know what pleased God so much about Enoch clearly he was a prophet of God as we see in Jude, considering that in those times people were living into their 800’s and 900’s the fact that he was taken so early must have been significant and it would have been noticed by his parents and siblings and other peers. V6 of Hebrews 11 reminds us that ‘Without Faith it is impossible to please God’ in other words everything we do outside of trusting the Lord for His guidance and His strength, and His ability infused into us is displeasing to the Lord or as scripture puts it ‘as filthy rags’ (Isaiah 64:6) the rags spoken of being menstrual cloths.

Noah

Gen 6 11-22  11 Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.  12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.  13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.  15 This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.  16 Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.  17 For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.  18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.  19 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.  20 Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive.  21 Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.”  22 Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

1 Pet 3:19-20 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,  19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,  20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Many know the story of Noah fairly well and when we consider how long it must have taken to build the ark, that probably there was never even any rain before the flood, how must Noah’s preaching have been ridiculed, how must people have looked at the ark and laughed, some think that 120 years mentioned in Gen 6:3 regarding the number of days of men, may be the length of time that Noah was building and also preaching (1Pet 3:20) and therefore the time that God was giving for others to repent of their evildoing, if that’s true 120 years and not one soul turned, how strong must Noah’s faith have been, we would hardly do something for a few weeks or possibly even a few days before we give up. Yes we don’t have God speaking directly to us, but what things that we know we should be doing do we give up so easily when we don’t see results, what things that we do that we shouldn’t be doing do we struggle to give up because they hold us, or we hold onto them, stronger than the wisdom found in God’s word in other words our faith isn’t strong enough to overcome. Whether it was 120 years of building and preaching or just a few years Noah’s faith is a tremendous example to us of perseverance in the face of ridicule, hatred, and peer pressure.

I want to remind us at this point of 12v1,2 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Let’s think on these examples to strengthen our resolve and encourage us to hold onto the Faith that the Almighty God has given us to do that which he has commanded.

Next week we’ll look at Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses