“By Faith We Understand” (Heb 11:1-22)

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (vs1-3).

Faith gives the kind of understanding that you live by.  It isn't mere assent to doctrine, but life and deeds back it up.  Believing makes me I live by what I believe.  Therefore, faith leads to devotion, for “by faith we understand”.

It is never dead.  Therefore, believe unto the changing of your life.

Secondly, faith pleases God and makes us pleasing to God. We read, “[Enoch] had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (vs5). Faith justifies, even as Noah “condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (vs7). It relies on God.  We believe Him, so we live for Him, denying the flesh and the world, even as Abraham “waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God”. (vs10).  Faith gets the promises miraculously, because God gives believers what we need, for “by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised” (vs11).

Faith is living for another reality, the world to come. Even as “these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (vs13). Faith obeys God, believing the promises are valid and sure, even as Abraham, “when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son... concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (vs17-19). Faith receives the blessings that God's promised because faith sees the future through God's word and blesses whom He blesses. We worship God, lean on His will, and plan for eternity, even as, “Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones” (vs20-22).

These attributes of faith are clear: it produces acceptance with God, obtains promises from God, and it lives and DIES by the word.