The FAITH Chapter ~ Hebrews 11

[Tammy Roesch]

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

I love this chapter...it's one verse after another, one Patriarch after another, that shows us that TRUE FAITH is not just an INTELLECTUAL belief.  TRUE FAITH translates into righteous acts, obedience and LIVING FAITH. That is the kind of FAITH that will carry us through the hard days coming to faithful Christians.

[Sower]

1 hour ago, Tammy Roesch said:

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

I love this chapter...it's one verse after another, one Patriarch after another, that shows us that TRUE FAITH is not just an INTELLECTUAL belief.  TRUE FAITH translates into righteous acts, obedience and LIVING FAITH. That is the kind of FAITH that will carry us through the hard days coming to faithful Christians.

 

TRUE FAITH

So then faith cometh by hearing,

and hearing by the word of God.    Romans 10:17

Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.     Psalm 119:11

In the beginning was the Word

The word was God

[appy]

Faith spoken of in the book of Hebrews is the assurance and confidence of something that is certain to happen, that God has promised us. The obedience it is speaking of; is the FIRM belief in spite of life's circumstances that the future promise of eternal life will come true. It's what we hope for. Jesus' work on the cross has given us hope and assurance. We never have to wonder. It is FACT.

It is by God's grace, that we have hope, and assurance of what is to come.

When a person has a firm belief in Christ and the promise of salvation, these things soon follow and flow from the person. Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We can not earn salvation by trying to be good enough to merit God's favor. We don't need to try to earn it. For salvation is a free gift. If we had to earn it by being good enough, it would not be a free gift. So faith is indeed an intellectual decision to forego our lower nature and trust God. We stand firm in spite of all the sorrows and suffering in this life.

The obedience God wants from us

John 6:29
Jesus told them, “This is the will of God, that you believe in the one he has sent.”

[TCC]

15 hours ago, Tammy Roesch said:

TRUE FAITH translates into righteous acts,

My life verse is actually Heb 11:6. 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.

If we look at the first paragraph in Hebrews 11, I believe what we see is the examples of what it looks like when we God proves to reward. I tend to focus on this for a reason, but please let me know your thoughts...

 

 

11 Now faith is the certainty of things ^[a]hoped for, a ^[b]proof of things not seen. ² For by it the people of old ^[c]gained approval.

³ By faith we understand that the ^[d]world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible. ⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying ^[e]about his gifts, and through ^[f]faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. ⁷ By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, ^[g]in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

 

If we juxtapose this with Jesus and the cursing of the fig tree. This may seem odd to compare. But the fig tree was Israel cursed representatively for not believing in their own messiah. What is AWESOME is what Jesus says in contrast. 

 

 

Mark 11:20-26 ²⁰In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" ²²"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. ²³"Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." ²⁶

Matthew 21:18-22 ¹⁸Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. ²⁰When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. ²¹Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. ²²If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

 

So the connection between Mark 11, Matt 21, and Hebrews 11:6 looks reciprocal, no? Like KNOW GOD AS A PROVER OF REWARDING. HIS HEART IS TO REWARD YOU. WHEN YOU KNOW THIS HEART AND CHARACTER ABOUT HIM...YOU WILL NOT BE LIKE ISREAL. I think this is a little different than looking at whether or not it is intellectual ascent. And gets to more the issue of trust in His character, nudging our focus perhaps away from us to Him, no?