Examples of Faith

In this episode Brother Jonathan talks about faith and examples of Biblical faith from Hebrews 11 in Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Sometimes we wonder how it is that we are to walk by faith. In this episode Brother Jonathan discusses how scripture tells us to.

Here are the notes for this episode:

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Examples of Faith

Introduction The important distinction to be made is that faith is man’s part. It is the sole condition of salvation. So in describing things such as obedience, receiving promises, and prayers you’ve got to remember that we’re only describing man’s part now. Man’s part is visible to us while God’s part is unseen. We may at another time go over God’s part in all this in more detail. Suffice it to say that it is because we are focusing on man’s part that it seems so man centered. I don’t want anyone to think that there is not the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer, His leading, and so forth. It’s because we’re talking about examples of faith and trying to examine exactly what man’s part is that we must focus on this side alone. There is a lot of imbalance in the teaching about faith today. Some people describe it as passive, “Oh yeah I believe in God.” If you’ve listened to our last episode you know already that that is contrary to the very idea of Biblical faith. I hope that today as we look at some of the examples set forth in scripture you will see it more clearly. I hope also that as we look at these scriptures we might be provoked unto greater faith and confidence in God. Lead in to the Subject of Faith “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39) These verses lead in to the subject of chapter 11, and the subject is faith. The first part of v. 38 is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 where it is stated clearly that the just, that is the man who is justified in the sight of God, is a man that lives by faith in God. He doesn’t make a one-time “decision” of faith. He LIVES by faith. It’s an important distinction. Nowhere does the Bible teach a “decision of faith” as many people practice today. Any time it does mention a decision of faith, in the sense of choosing to serve God, the emphasis is clear that the person either followed through with their decision or didn’t. A decision in and of itself is meaningless if it is not followed by a conscious and intentional committal of the will to do that which God has commanded. I may just as well say, “I have decided to go to the grocery store.” You could ask me then, “Well, did you?” A decision means nothing without a conscious act that follows. The Lord, and the Apostles, openly preached for men to repent and turn from their sins to God. They did not preach about crying unto God until He changed their minds in sense. God doesn’t force obedience. All salvation and walking teaches a continual conscious surrendering of your will to do God’s will. Now that is man’s part. God’s part is to enable him by His Spirit. Man humbles himself and yields his will to God’s rightful authority, and God leads the man by His Spirit as the man continues in that state. Consider the following verses, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” (Colossians 2:6) And also, “Keep yourselves in the love of God,” Jude said. As a man first humbled himself to cast himself wholly upon God’s mercy in salvation at the beginning he is to continue in that state of dependence and trust the rest of his natural life. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s move on. Now, it’s important to note that in the second half of v. 38 the words, “any man,” are not supposed to be there. The words, if you read a KJV like myself, are in italics. This shows you that those words are not a direct translation from the underlying Greek text, but they are inserted by the translators to make a better flow in English. Here, however, these are inserted for no reason that is apparent but to change the meaning of the passage. It ought rather to be translated, even from the Textus Receptus, saying, “but if HE draw back.” The “he” there referring back to “the just” man referenced in the first part of the verse. The implication of this supplied phrase is to keep the reader from questioning the doctrines of eternal security or the perseverance of the saints. The verse clearly lays out that though a man is justified before God presently, by his presently walking by faith in God, he can draw back to perdition. Perdition meaning Hell. The KJV translators were Calvinists mainly so it is not hard to understand why they would see a problem with this verse. Now I am a KJV supporter. It is the version that I use and endorse. This addition though has no support even in the Textus Receptus, or the Traditional Text. The KJV translators had the integrity though to make plain that they inserted the words by putting them in italics. So there wasn’t any deception on their part then, but just a bad decision in the philosophy of their translating here. Moving on now… The writer of Hebrews mentions persecution against the Jewish Christians and the strong temptation to return to dead Judaism. Judaism had no claim in the sight of God because the Jews had rejected the new covenant and their messiah. Those Jews that cast off their faith in Christ as Messiah and Savior returned only to death and eternal damnation. The writer here is saying that he was persuaded better things of those to whom he was writing. In essence saying, “We’re not like the faithless who have turned back, but we’re continuing in faith to the end.” These believers that he was writing to had already endured great persecution, and they had “joyfully” endured it he said. They were showing a steadfast faith in Christ that was patiently bringing forth fruit to perfection. It’s for this reason that the writer could confidently say that he was confident that they’d endure to the end. It’s interesting to note that there are historical accounts by Eusebius and Epiphanius that the Christians who were still dwelling in Jerusalem were warned by God to leave Jerusalem not long before it was besieged by the Romans in 70 AD. This epistle is believed to have been written not long before that time period. Every Jew in the city, it is said, was either killed or taken captive after Jerusalem was taken. So then every Jew which turned from Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem was either killed or taken captive because they had separated themselves from the congregation of Christians. Truly then, they not only died spiritually by drawing back from the faith, but they most likely also died physically. It’s recorded historically that not one Christian life was lost in the destruction of Jerusalem, because those that were faithful heeded the warning God gave the congregation in Jerusalem. This is just another example of not only the blessed preservation of those who endure in the faith, but the certain destruction of those who turn back. Definition of Faith “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) “faith” here is “pistis” in Greek, meaning, “trust, confidence in God,” or, “the state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted.” In this definition of faith is seen that the strength of faith is the reliability of the one in whom faith is placed. Just as how your confidence in a person depends upon your knowledge of their character. For the Christian, we are to strengthen our faith by regularly thinking deeply on the fact that God has promised us certain things explicitly and that He cannot lie. (Tit. 1:2) God has promised, and He cannot lie. That is the strength of a Christian’s faith. We as believers and followers of Christ hear what God has promised in His Word, trust that what He has promised He is able also to perform, and place our hope in receiving the promise. It’s important to remember that all of God’s promises to believers are conditional. Simply put, if you are not abiding in Christ, living for Christ and shunning the world’s enjoyments, and seeking Him and loving Him more day by day: then you have no business expecting the promises of God. Now I’m not saying you’ve reached some state of inability to sin, but you are to be growing more in love and devotion to Christ daily. And the proof that you are is seen by others in how you live. You are to be separated unto God. He is your portion, and you therefore don’t need the pleasures of this world system. But we see here that “faith is the substance of things hoped for”. The word underlying “substance” is “hupostasis”, which can mean, “the essential or basic structure/nature of an entity, substantial nature, essence, actual being, reality”; and the best way I’ve ever heard the concept of this overall statement explained is this: “In faith things hoped for become realized,” or, “in faith things hoped for take on reality.” The promises are made real for the believer through their trusting confidence in God’s ability and willingness to perform what He has said. Conversely, it can also be stated this way, “without faith things hoped for would have no reality.” If the promises of God are realized in the life of the believer by their faith, then when there is no faith the promises are not real to the person. I’m sorry to say that that is the majority of people who go to church. God’s not real in their life and neither are His promises. It’s because they don’t really have faith in Him. They’re usually trusting in a decision they once did. The verse continues, “the evidence of things not seen.” Here, underlying “evidence” is the word, “elegchos,” which means, “proof, conviction.” The idea being set forth that faith is the proof, or conviction, of things that are invisible. Think about it as your faith in God’s Word being the “act of presenting evidence for the truth” of God’s promises being true. This can only be done by your works bearing witness to your faith. The world cannot see a trusting confidence of your mind, but they can see that trusting confidence in God’s promises lived out in your life. They can see that you live as though God’s promises are real. They can see that you live expecting God to return and destroy this world. They can see that you expect to have give an account to God for every idle word that you speak. This is the essence of what James said in his epistle about faith without works being dead, because if your faith doesn’t move you to act and live differently than the world then your faith isn’t biblical faith and you are not in Christ. So if we put this all together to get a good understanding of what the first verse is showing us we could put it together like this, “In faith things hoped for become realized, and it is the proof of those things that are invisible.” “For by it the elders obtained a good report.” (Hebrews 11:2) The subject continues along the same lines that it has been throughout the whole book: the superiority of the new covenant of faith in Christ over the old covenant of law and works. Everything has been: Christ is better than Moses, Christ is better than the angels, the law was only a shadow of the things to come and not the very things themselves, OT sacrifices can’t make you perfect before God, Christ is a better High Priest, Christ has a better priesthood, the old is done away and the new covenant is here. All of this really seeming to bolster the faith of the saints in their trials of faith and persecution which they were enduring. The meaning being, “There is nothing but certain death and eternal damnation if you draw back: you can’t return to the Law of Moses.” Here, the writer begins to set out the pattern of the OT saints for them to consider. The fact is that the OT saints didn’t please God by the works of the Law of Moses but by faith in God. Paul also teaches this elsewhere in the NT by pointing out that Abraham was justified by God when he showed faith in God. This was done over 400 years before the Law. Believers are the spiritual seed and brethren of Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ, and we’re told that the blessing of Abraham (i.e. salvation and the promise of the Spirit) comes to us as we “walk in the same steps of faith as faithful Abraham.” (Rom. 4:9-12) Again, notice that it is walking by faith and not just a “decision of faith” you one-time did. It is a conscious and willful choice to live by that continual reliance upon the faithfulness of God to do as He has promised. Just like we talked about last episode. So, the majority of the rest of the chapter is the setting forth of examples of saints who exercised faith in God and obtained a good report by Him. That is, they pleased Him. We’ll consider a few of these examples now and see what we can learn, but first let’s look at v. 5-6. Pleasing God “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6) There is a connection here that needs to be seen. It was “by faith” that Enoch “pleased God.” This connects verse 5 with verse 6 where it is stated very emphatically that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Enoch pleased God by his faith in God. If you look back to Genesis to what it says about Enoch, it says that “Enoch walked with God” (Gen. 5:24) So there is the picture of walking by faith. As we’re told in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” Enoch walked with God because his trust and confidence was in God. The result was that God delighted in him. Verse 6 goes on to say “for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” The word “for” beginning this part seems to elaborate on WHY it is impossible to please God apart from faith in Him. We have a two-fold reason given: “he that cometh to God must believe that he is,” this is not just saying that you have to not be an atheist. It is the understanding, and belief, that God is exactly as He says He is. It is a real belief in the omnipotent, omnipresent, eternal, holy, righteous, loving, and just God. This is actually a very important part of abiding in Christ. There is a continual walking with the realization that God is truly ever-present with His children. Christ said, “I am with you alway.” When a believer truly begins spending time daily meditating on the reality of God’s existence and presence--that He knows every thought, word, and deed of your heart and mind, and that He truly does uphold all things by His word and power—it truly changes the way in which you walk and live. “and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” You must believe that God rewards. Implied in this is God’s willingness to react and respond positively and manifestly to his children’s diligently seeking Him. There must be an expecting that if you seek Him diligently that He will reward. That doesn’t mean financially necessarily, and it doesn’t mean materially necessarily. There are so many verses in scripture that speak about God responding to you seeking Him. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” (Proverbs 8:17) “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (Jas. 4:8) “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (Proverbs 1:23) The willingness of God to do good to those who seek Him is something that really changes the way you pray the more you think on it. These two things put together are the basis of the normal Christian life. It is the basis of a relationship with God. You seek Him, and He reveals Himself. You put away sin and seek Him, and He lets you find Him. You draw nigh to Him, and He draws nigh to you. You can see how that this kind of faith—that of relying upon the truthfulness and reliability of God’s promises and His willingness to do all that He has said He would do should you meet the conditions of those promises—you can see how this profoundly sets forth a different kind of living than that of a passive “oh yeah I believe in God.” Biblical faith is that which hears the promises of God, believes that God is able and willing to perform His promises, and intentionally seeks to meet the conditions of those promises. It is relying on God as a basis of life. Example of Noah The first example we’ll look at is Noah. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7) Before we go over this let’s consider what’s recorded about this specific act of Noah in Genesis. “And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth…Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” (Genesis 6:13, 22) Noah had found grace in the sight of the Lord we’re told in Genesis 6. Let’s think about Hebrews 11:7 point-by-point: God warns Noah of things not seen as yet (i.e. the coming worldwide flood and destruction of the whole earth) Noah believes God’s warning and is moved with fear. (i.e. he believes that judgment is coming because God told him so) Noah prepares an ark for him, his family, and the animals and provisions according to God’s specific instructions. Because Noah obeyed God’s warning and instructions as to how to be saved from the coming judgment his household is saved. The testimony of Noah’s actions are that he condemned the world and became an heir of righteousness. We see the first thing here is that God warned Noah. God made a clear warning about the judgment that was coming. God revealed His word. This is like the believer being warned of the coming Judgment day for all mankind in which everyone of us will give an account of himself to God. God has warned us of the consequences of sin, and has given us instructions as to how to be preserved through it. Noah believes God’s warning and obeys His instructions. God told Noah what to do. Effectually making complete provision for Noah to escape the judgment. As believers, we have been instructed in the word of God about what is pleasing to God and what we are to be doing in this world till the day of judgment. If we believe God’s word, we will be moved with fear and obey His instructions. God preserves Noah through the judgment by the means that He instructed Him. God told Noah to build the ark. God sent the flood and rain. God destroyed the world. God preserved Noah’s family through it all. Noah’s part was simply to believe God and obey, and the Lord did the rest. God has instructed believers, and our part is to believe God and obey. If we meet those conditions then God will preserve us through our coming judgment. Noah’s actions openly testified of the coming destruction of the earth. He shunned the world because he understood that it’s days were numbered. The world’s ways, pleasures, and vanities would all be soon destroyed so Noah had his eye on that which would come after their destruction. There is coming a day when the Lord will return in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and them that obey not the gospel. As Peter said, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:11-13) A believer knows that God is watching and that He is going to destroy this entire world-system with its ways, its pleasures, and its vanities. Therefore, we live for that which is coming after it is all gone. If you believe God’s word at all, you will be daily being purged from the ways of this world and all affections to it. “If any man love the world the love of the father is not in him” we are told. And in another place, “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself”. You see then that the result of biblical faith is a life that is lived to receive the promise. It is a different life. It is a life that belongs to God. Biblical faith is not something just tacked-on to someone’s already well-established and planned out life. It is that which governs it. Salvation is you yielding your will and life and affections to God’s absolute authority. Example of Abraham “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10) Let’s consider this passage from Genesis. “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” (Genesis 12:1-4) I want you to notice that Hebrews says very clearly that “by faith Abraham…obeyed”. You can begin to see that the pattern of these OT saints is that when God said something the faith that they had moved them to obey God. They actually believed God and relied upon the truthfulness of His words. They lived their lives relying on God to do what He said. Most people today don’t do anything this way, or they abuse it and go to an extreme the scriptures do not teach. Relying on God does not mean tempting God. I’ll say this in passing. The danger of the Positive Confession/Word of faith movement is that they teach people to claim that which God never promised. That’s because of some other blasphemous, and actually occultic, teachings that they spread. God is not going to sanction the lusts of your fleshy mind. But you can trust Him to do as He has promised you: holiness, salvation from the power of sin, a changed life, and eternal life in the world to come. As you meet the conditions of faithful obedience you can expect these things because He has promised them. Abraham was given a promise. God told him to separate himself and, in essence, go out to a wilderness that you don’t know, where you don’t have anyone else, and there serve me: and I will bless you. Abraham, we are told, didn’t know where he was going out to. He was in a strange country we’re told. But because he believed God’s promise of blessing he obeyed and went out. The result, we know in retrospect, is that God did exactly what He said. Not only did He make of Abraham an entire nation, but He also made him the “father of many nations.” Every believer in Christ is said to be a child of Abraham by faith in Christ. Abraham in the NT is set forth as the quintessential example of faith for us to follow. Here we see the pattern of: God makes known his word with a conditional promise, Abraham believed God and obeyed God’s instructions, and God did exactly what He said. There is a verse to be noted before we leave-off talking about Abraham. Look at verse 13: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-16) The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not get to see the fulfillment of the promise of God in their lifetime. They never got to see Moses leading 2 million children of Abraham through the Red Sea. They never got to see Mt. Sinai as God descended on it. They never got to see Joshua lead the children of Israel into the promised land and subdue it and set up their own nation. But it did happen just as God promised. They never “received the promises” in that sense in their own lifetimes. They did receive them though by faith. God had promised and He cannot lie. The result of Abraham’s faith was that He rejoiced and embraced the promises. They looked for it and expected it. There is a warning stated just after this verse here. It doesn’t appear to be a warning, but it is. We’re told that if Abraham had been mindful of the country that he separated himself from that he might have had an opportunity to return to it. As believers, we are called out of this world to walk as a peculiar and separated people. I promise you, that if you allow yourself to be mindful of the world, its ways, pleasures, and its vanities, then you will make an occasion for yourself to return to it. Declare yourself to be a pilgrim and a stranger in this world, and your testimony will be that you’re seeking a different city whose builder and maker is God. It’s that city spoken of by John in Revelation. Set your sights on the inheritance that comes by faithful continuation in holiness unto God and you’ll keep yourself from an opportunity to draw back unto perdition. But if you play with fire, if you try to keep one foot in the world, you’ll find that foot sooner or later caught in a snare. Example of Moses “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction 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 in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:24-27) First we see that Moses “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter”. The reason for this is because it’s a greater honor to be called a son of Abraham than the son of an earthly king’s daughter. I’d rather be a Christian than a lost man who owns the world. The Christian has joy and riches in heaven without end when it comes, but the lost man who owns the world must give up his riches and head to the judgment where he has no hope. Moses chose rather to “suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season”. Moses “esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” How is it that Moses could give up all of the privileges of Egyptian royalty, the greatest kingdom on the earth at that time, and choose instead to suffer joyfully? It’s because he had “respect unto the recompense of the reward.” Moses understood that the pleasure of the world are temporary and only promise eternal death. So he wisely looked unto the joy of the world to come. He had his eye fixed on that which could only come from the God of Heaven. It’s been well-said that when you give up the world in order to serve God you don’t really give up anything at all. The only thing that you do is trade in the temporary for the eternal. “…for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (v. 27) Moses walked in this world by faith. He believed that God is, and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. It says that he endured in this world with the knowledge of the reality of God’s existence and person ever before his eyes. Moses does seem to be an example of the man Christ spoke of in a parable who found a pearl of great price in a field and went and sold all that he had to possess it. Christ said for us to count the cost of being his disciple. Modern Christianity teaches that God asks nothing of you and that it doesn’t cost you anything to be His follower. I tell you that it will cost you the world and your life, but your only trading in the temporary for that which is eternal. Pattern of Faith So what is it that we can draw from these examples? I believe it is clear that the simplicity of faith is hearing God’s word, believing it, obeying it, and God doing that which He promised. I don’t think that’s an oversimplification. There are so many applications that one could make. Prayer is the simplest. God says for us to bring Him our supplications. James said that we have not because we ask not, or we have not because we ask inappropriately—meaning with a carnal mind. But let’s consider the great commission real quick. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Christ begins by stating that He has all power, in the sense of authority, in Heaven and earth. Then He says, “Go ye therefore.” The reason that He commissions us to go and preach the gospel, or to make disciples, is because He has all authority in Heaven and earth. He ends the commission by stating also that He is with His followers continually. Think about it: He has all power and authority, and He’s with me as long as I follow Him. I’m reminded of a quote from Hudson Taylor:  “All God’s giants have been weak men, who did great things for God because they believed that God would be with them.” It’s that same pattern as we went over last episode. It’s as if Christ is calling you to Himself and promising that He’ll uphold your footsteps so you may come to Him. Your part is to believe Him and step out. God will do what He promises. So begin to seek out of the book of the Lord God’s promises and commandments. Obey the commandments, and claim the promises. We can sum it up as Christ did in John: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21) Intentionally seek Him and obey Him. Give God every area of your life. Let Him govern it all, and just love Him and trust Him. A lot of people reason at the back of their minds that they want God to manifest Himself to them in some way, answered prayer or some miracle, before they can commit themselves to obeying Him. That’s not how it works. Faith precedes God’s moving, and faith moves the believer to obedience. Closing