Faith
hebrews 11:1; romans 4:16-24

Faith is not a foreign language. It is not mysterious. It is a part of our everyday life. We have faith in the auto mechanic. We have faith in the manufacturers. We have faith in those who build airplanes. We have faith in the food processors. And yet, when it comes to faith in God, that simple dependence eludes so many of us! A missionary to Africa was having trouble translating the word faith into a particular dialect. He searched for a suitable word, but he couldn’t seem to come up with the precise phrase that would do justice to the concept of faith. Then one day, he heard an African use a phrase he had never heard before. He interrupted the man and asked to hear the phrase again. And suddenly, he knew he had found the term for faith. It was a single African word meaning ‘to rest your whole weight upon.’ That’s faith! That is what God’s Word will foster in your heart! Just rest your whole weight on it! It’s not going to collapse. God isn’t going to fail. God’s Word is the anchor for your faith.

Hebrews 11:1 is sometimes incorrectly used as a definition for faith. It is not a definition, but rather explains the nature and characteristics of faith. In other words, when we look at this chapter and start with verse 1, the writer proceeds to tell us exactly what faith looks like in action. And so, when we are told that it is the assurance of things hoped for, we return to the Old Testament to see what the old patriarchs looked saw as their assurance. In the Old Testament, we find they rested on the promises of God.  God had promised the coming of the Messiah, Who would deliver them and take away the sins of the world. Those who trusted God believed God's promise and they acted on every word. That is what faith is. It is acting on what God has said and living in a hope that is so real that we have absolute assurance.

It is not just thinking that something may happen. Neither is it longing for something to happen. It is believing with absolute certainty. Since everyone has some form of faith, we must distinguish the faith of Christians from the faith of the world. Christians believe God despite what the world will say. The Christian believes God despite what seems to be unreal and impossible. As a result, his assurance is based on the promises of God. If God said it, for the believer, the issue is settled.

The promise of Abraham was embodied in God’s covenant with him. Abraham was told that his descendants would be heirs of the world. (Genesis 12:3, 15:6, 18:18, 22:18)  The problem, is Abraham had no offspring. There was no son born to him and Sarai! And Abraham was old. This is what the Bible means when it says his body was dead. And Sarai, his 99-year-old teenybopper bride was right behind him age-wise. It was against all hope that God’s promises would be kept. But verse 19 tells us Abraham believed God without weakening. The promises were four-fold:

1. The promise involved a land (see Gen. 15:18-21) in which Abraham's descendants would live, yet it would not be possessed until some five centuries later, when Joshua led the Israelites in their conquest of Canaan. Abraham believed God to keep His promise even after he passed off the scene.

2. The promise also involved a people, who would be so numerous that they could not be numbered, like the dust of the earth and the stars in the sky (Gen. 13:16; 15:5). Eventually, Abraham would become the "father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5; cf. Rom. 4:17). Abraham believed despite what seemed logically impossible. What seemingly impossible things are you believing God for in your life?

3. The promise involved a blessing of the entire world through Abraham's descendants
(Gen. 12:3).

4. The promise would be fulfilled in the giving of a Redeemer, Who would be a descendant of Abraham, through Whom the whole world would be blessed by the provision of salvation. That promise to Abraham was, in essence, a preaching to him of the gospel (Gal. 3:8).

As a result, when the redeemer, Jesus Christ, came, we all, both Jews and non-Jews, were blessed with the provision of salvation. It is by the grace of God that we receive this promise. It is guaranteed to all believers, because it is our faith that incorporates us into the family of God so that we become a part of the offspring of Abraham. This is what Paul means when he says this is not only to those who are of the law, the Jews, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. We, as non-Jews, are connected to Abraham through our faith, and so we become an heir of Abraham through our faith. This, too, is a part of God’s promise which was made to Abraham in verse 17, which states, “As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations.’” He is our father in the sight of God, in Whom he believed—the God Who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Abraham didn’t look at his physical situation. Verse 20 reminds us that he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strong in his faith and gave glory to God. He was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised. Faith is to believe God despite how we feel, despite what is going on in our lives. Faith is believing the word of God. Despite his human frailties, because he believed God, God credited Abraham with righteousness. The good news is that this was not just written for Abraham; it was written for us all, so that when we trust God, we have hope. And like Abraham, we are made righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ!

Bibleway Ministries