Faith - What Is It?

Hebrews 11:1-7

There are many expressions about faith. For example - “keep the faith” - it means to believe in, trust, or support someone or something when it’s difficult. Like when you’re a diehard fan of a team. The fans of the Tottenham Hotspur are among the most diehard; supporting a team that hasn’t won a trophy since 2008. They wish the team would win another trophy. So keeping the faith is not so much about believing in something tangible or logical - but it’s a feeling, a strong wish. You wish for something to be true or to come true. But that’s not faith. Similarly, there are those who try conventional medical treatment, and when it doesn’t work, they put their faith in alternative therapies which have little or no peer reviewed research. That’s also a wish that’s founded on a strong feeling. But having a strong feeling or a strong wish about something is not faith.

But this is how many people define faith - not objectively, but subjectively. Once, a philosophy teacher took out a jar full of beans in a class he was teaching. He asked the students to guess how many beans were in the jar, and to write down their answers on one common sheet of paper. Then next to those estimates, he asked them to write another list of what their favorite songs were. When the two lists were complete, he revealed the actual number of beans. The whole class was supposed to look at their guesses to determine who had the closest answer. And there was a winner. Then he turned to their list of favorite songs and asked whose song was the most right answer. All of them protested. They said there was no right answer - a person’s favorite song is purely a matter of taste. Then he asked the million dollar question - “is faith more like determining the number of beans or more like choosing your favorite song?” Very surprisingly, most of them said that faith is up to your feeling, what you wish to be true - like your choice of a favorite song, rather than what is factual or objective. Today we want to see what Christianity says about faith. Is it a feeling, a wish, or something objective?

There are 2 propositions from this passage. Firstly, faith is affirming, trusting, and being confident in an objective truth about the unseen. Secondly, faith produces dependance on, desire for, and determination in God despite opposition.

Firstly, faith is affirming, trusting, and being confident in an objective truth about the unseen. Faith is not a feeling or a wishful attitude. No matter how much faith I have in myself, I can’t ever score a goal - even against a Hotspur goalie. Neither can I ever be the emperor of Japan - no matter how much faith I have. Similarly, a person may be deathly ill, moments from death - but sometimes we hear people say - “just have faith, he will recover.” Faith is not magic. It’s not a wishful attitude or a feeling. Like if you can generate enough passion, your wishes will come true. That’s not faith. But faith as defined by the Bible is based on reason. Verse 6 says, “he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Faith is based on objective truth. In other words, you must believe in the truth of God’s person and God’s promises. You must affirm it. You must believe that he is God, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. The Bible teaches clearly that we are sinners - for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It teaches the penalty for sin - for the wages of sin is death; for it is appointed once for man to die, but after this the judgment. But it teaches an escape from that judgment - for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, should not perish but have everlasting life. And his son Jesus paid that penalty - for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. He didn’t remain dead, but triumphed by resurrecting - and this was witnessed. 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 says, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He arose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, and that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some have fallen asleep.” Jesus rose from the dead - you don’t believe me? Over 500 people witnessed it - most of them are still living - ask them. It’s a religion of evidences. And the Bible asserts that he ascended into heaven, rules from heaven, and he’s coming back to judge the world. To be saved from judgment, one must believe in him, and trust him to save you.

These objective truths were preached, and many believed. Faith requires objective information. But many also rejected it. This is because faith requires more than objective information. It requires a trust in it. He that comes to God MUST believe that he is. There must be conviction. A person must say, yes, I agree that Jesus died for sinners. But there must also be confidence. True faith is marked by a diligent seeking of God. Why? He’s a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Now, the demons believe in God and they tremble. They are quite orthodox in their faith and their agreement that Jesus is God; but there is no commitment to follow him. You see, faith is not a feeling, faith is a trust based on objective truth. A story is told of a famous tight-rope walker who responded to challenges to his craft by walking from the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls to the American side on a tight rope. He brought many items across, including a wheelbarrow which he brought back and forth. Asking the crowd if they believed he could carry someone across, they all cheered yes; when he asked for volunteers, the crowd remained silent. No one committed themselves to him. Faith is not faith, unless there is trust, unless there is diligent commitment or confidence.

Now, granted, this objective truth is not always seen or tangible. But it is based on revelation. We see this in verse 1 - “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There are things hoped for which are not seen. No one has ever seen God before. But yet we believe he exists. No one has ever gone to heaven and come back. But yet we believe there’s a heaven. That’s because faith is the substance or foundation of things hoped for. Faith gives assurance. If you have this faith, it bolsters your hope that these things exist. If you own a title deed to a property in another country, even if you’ve never been there, you’re confident that when you get there, it’s yours. So faith is a title deed. It’s a guarantee that when we die - because of what Christ has done on the cross - we go to heaven. Faith is also the evidence or the proof of unseen things. We believe in God, in the Holy Spirit; we trust that when we believe in Jesus, we’re saved - something happens spiritually to us. We can’t see any of these things; but our faith is evidence of these things. We live by faith and not by sight.

So how is this faith still objective when these things can’t be seen. Our faith is objective because we believe in an objective body of truth - God’s revelation - the Bible. God says these things exist, we believe it to be true. That’s why by faith, we understand the origins of the universe, as having been created by God by his word. Verse 3 - “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God’s Word tells us. So we believe it. No one can understand the origin of the universe unless it’s by faith. There was no human witness to creation. And this was the kind of faith the ancients had - verse 2 - they were commended for it, it was well reported of them. They heard God and believed.

Noah had never seen rain or a flood, but he built the ark as God commanded, because he believed what God said was true - verse 7 - “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.” And you know what? It rained. Abraham and Sarah were told they’d have a son - but they were so old - he was 99 and she was 89. It was so far-fetched; but Abraham believed God. And you know what? At 100, and she 90, they had a son. Abraham agreed to sacrifice his son when God told him to. And he was willing; it never happened, but he was willing. Why? Verse 19 - because he reasoned that God could raise the dead. Faith is the substance and the proof of unseen things. It is the conviction that God will do what he says. And we are given these examples so that we may know that faith in God is a reasonable thing.

Secondly, faith produces dependance on, desire for, and determination in God despite opposition. The author gives the example of 3 men who lived by faith - Abel, Enoch, and Noah. How did they live by faith? Abel lived by faith and it produced reliance on God. Verse 4 says, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” We’re told that Abel brought to God a sacrifice. The sacrifice was better than Cain’s. It was done by faith. Now what was the difference between Abel and Cain’s sacrifice? In Genesis 4, both of these men wanted to please God. But what can sinners do to please a holy God? Abel brought an animal sacrifice - it was killed, its blood was spilled. Cain, on the other hand, brought something else - not a blood offering - but the fruit of his own labor - he worked on the fields and he brought his harvest to give to God.

What was right about Abel’s and wrong about Cain’s? Now, verse 4 is where we find that answer. When Abel brought that sacrifice, it showed that he was righteous. A person is right with God, not because he is perfectly obedient because it’s impossible. Or that he performs all good works, for he can’t. He needs a sacrifice to appease God’s anger. And by that sacrifice, he becomes right with God. God forgives him. Abel knew that.

Cain, instead, came with his good works - the works of his hands - what he was able to cultivate. He thought he could appease God by his works. Abel by faith, knew he needed to rely on God for forgiveness. His faith produced reliance. Cain denied his guilt and need for salvation - he thought he could work for his salvation. Cain refused to offer a sacrifice with a believing heart. He would not kill a lamb for his salvation, yet he showed no qualms in shedding the blood of his own brother. Listen to what Scripture says of him. 1 John 3:12 says that he “was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.” He was called the son of the devil. Jude 11 gives a warning to all not to go the way of Cain - the way of self-will. To live by faith is to accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, it is to rely on him. That’s Abel.

The second example is Enoch. Enoch lived by faith and it produced a desire to please God. Verse 5 - “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.” Enoch pleased God. He lived a life that delighted God. Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God.” He is only one of two people that the Bible explicitly says walked with God. Now, what does that mean? I’m sure it wasn’t that he walked literally with God - God is a Spirit and has not a body like man. It simply means that he walked by faith - like Abel, not trusting in his good work; he walked by obeying God; he walked by following God. And this he did for the 300 years he lived. His walk was not for one day, but for all of his life. As verse 6 says, he diligently sought after God. And God rewarded him - he was taken up into heaven - his faith showed itself in his reliance on God and it reaped the reward.

The last example is that of Noah. Noah lived by faith, and it produced courage in his life. Verse 7 says, “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.” By faith, after he was warned of God of things to come, he feared - he feared God - and he prepared an ark. Now, you might ask, how was there courage? In three ways. Firstly, Noah displayed courage because he was living in contradiction to the rest of the world. Genesis 6:11-12 say, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” The world was wicked. But what does the Bible say about Noah? Genesis 6:9 says, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” It takes courage to live differently from the world.

Secondly, Noah displayed courage because he was living in preparation for judgment. Matthew 24:37-38 - “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.” There was courage to be different. The rest of the people were eating and drinking - giving no thought about judgment. Noah was building the ark. Friends, there’s a final judgment coming - it is appointed once for man to die - you will die, but after this the judgment. Even one sin will be judged by eternal punishment - are you considering the state of your soul?

Thirdly, Noah displayed courage by preaching to the people. His faith demanded it. Not only was the ark a very large symbol of coming judgment, but Noah warned people. For 120 years, he preached to the people. 2 Peter 2:5 calls him a preacher of righteousness. And this wasn’t easy, especially when there were many scoffers around. Noah was a crazy preacher to others - but the message was something he believed in. Do you believe in that message - to believe in it - to escape that judgment? In the midst of this corrupt generation, one person stood alone, loving and serving God. That’s faith.

What is faith? It’s not a preference or a wish for something to happen. It’s also not given up at a whim. Faith is affirming, trusting, and being confident in an objective truth about the unseen. Faith produces dependance on, desire for, and determination in God despite opposition. The Bible states objectively that we are sinners deserving judgment. But God gives a way of escape. We are to trust in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. And such faith will be revealed in our life - to depend on God, desire after him, and to continue with him despite opposition.

But friends, I’m not merely presenting what faith is. The Bible is also clear that faith is a command. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved! You can’t come to God with your good works, you can only come with sacrifice - but not one of yours, but the one that God provided in Jesus. To those who hear, know that God who has given himself as an atonement for sinners, calls and commands you to believe in him. May you see his love for sinners and accept it humbly and gladly.