The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet 1980 Hebrews kc 19-1
"What is faith?" Believe it or
not, most Christians do not know
for most have not read the Word
of God.
In our last study, Paul made a strong appeal to us by
explaining
that we need to "Hold fast the profession
[conviction] of our faith
without wavering (for He is faithful that
promised)".
In order to do that, i.e. to hold fast, we are going to
have to believe and trust in God
by knowing with "full assurance"
that He is faithful to every promise He has ever made...
to those who diligently seek Him.
Of course that precludes that one
must first know what the "promises" are
He has made to those who love and
serve Him.
Believe it or not, most Christians
do not know
for most have not read the Word
of God
and fewer yet have ever diligently
(sincerely) studied it to show themselves "approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15)"!
So "What is faith?"
And if a person has it, doesn't common sense tell us there
must be some reason,
some foundation we can point to, that causes them to
possess it?
Well, today as we begin this 11th chapter of Hebrews,
Paul is first going to explain to us what faith is
and then bring forth the testimonies of those who possessed
it
and acted upon it during their many trials and tribulations
demonstrating to us that God indeed IS FAITHFUL!
(By the way, none of the people Paul will discuss in this
11th chapter
exercised their faith in believing and trusting in God
because
they were afraid of burning in hell,
but rather for
their love of God and the hope of the fulfillment of His glorious promises.)
Here then is the definition of "faith":
Hebrews
11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.
Since it is so important to understand what Paul
is teaching us here concerning faith,
let's dig a little to gain a deeper understanding, beginning
with taking a closer look at the word "substance"
which is translated from the Greek word hupostasis.
"Hupo" is a preposition which means "under" or
"underneath" (like "sub" in sub-stance)
and "stasis" (from histemi) means "to stand"
(like "stance" in sub-stance) or "support".
"Hupostasis" therefore means the foundation (under you)
upon which you stand to support your convictions (faith),
i.e. your belief in the faithfulness of God to keep His
promises (the things hoped for).
That foundational support had
better be the Rock, the Word of God,
or as it is written you will be
swept away in the great flood of lies and deception in these last days.
The question therefore is: "Do you
follow Christ, the Word of God,
or do you follow men's church traditions
like most Christians?"
The reason for the question is
that if you do not know
and do the things He commands,
why would you expect Him to reward you at His coming?
Consider what Jesus Christ has to say on the matter:
Luke
6:46-49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Christ tells us in the following
verse what He wants us to do.
[47]
Whosoever
cometh to me, and
heareth my sayings,
and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Here is what to do: Open
your Bible and prayerfully go to Him, to Jesus Christ, the
Word of God, and hear His Voice, and then do
as He commands... not the commands of preachers and ministers who
tell you that following their church traditions are pleasing to God.
Why?
Because if all you ever do is go
to church and follow after the traditions of men,
though you "think" you stand (1
Cor. 10:11-13), you will have no "substance",
no foundation under you upon which
to "hold fast without wavering",
(Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold fast
the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that
promised)."
The point is, if you work in the
field, if you plow and dig deep into the Word of God
and lay that foundation under you,
then you are indeed a "wise"
and unshakable servant of God who
shall be able to hold fast without wavering.
[48]
He is like a man which built an house, and
digged deep, and
laid
the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream
beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded
upon a rock.
[49] But he that
heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an
house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and
immediately
it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
So ask yourself another question: "How
much substance supports my faith?"
Dr. Bullinger in his "Greek Lexicon
and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament", Kregel Publications,
pg. 746, defines substance (hupostasis) as: "what is set or stands under;
underlayer, prop, foundation;
that which lies at the foundation of a
matter; confidence;". He also points out in the Companion Bible, pg.
1839, that the word "substance" was "used of title-deeds in the Papyri"
(Companion Bible, pg. 1839).
If you have a "deed" to something, it is the proof, the
evidence, that you own it!
You see, the Word of God (the
Bible) is that title-deed that is the proof
of your inheritance,
for if you are a child of God you
are an heir to the promises God has made to those who love
Him,
even the promise of eternal life
as a joint-heir with Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:17 "And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;
if so be that we
suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together."
Think about it for a moment.
If you possess the legal deed to an estate, for example,
even though you may have not even visited the mansion,
you still have the evidence in the title-deed you hold
that it belongs to you, right?
Paul is going to make the point that our forefathers who
had unwavering faith
because they "believed" God and what He said was true,
all died never having received all the promises.
For example, Abraham "who looked
for a city which has foundations,
whose builder and maker is God",
though he never possessed it had the faith,
i.e. he knew with certitude, that
someday he would!
Hebrews
11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
The phrase "obtained a good report" is derived from
the Greek word "martureo"
which means to "be a witness".
You "see", our elders not only pleased God as His faithful
servants but we have their testimony,
their "good report", their witness
to the immutable
fact that God keeps His promises... every single
one of them.
However, we must believe and endure,
having patience knowing that all things work according
to His will!
That takes the exercising of "faith"!
Advertisers know well how that many people are convinced
by
testimonials,
even those of complete strangers like in an Infomercial,
that a product or service is good and worthwhile having
or pursuing.
But we have the testimonials of
our own family,
our elders and forefathers who have all TESTIFIED to
the
faithfulness of the Word of God.
Seeing then the witness of their
trust and faith (belief in God),
serves to increase our faith by underlying the foundation
upon which we stand.
Again, that is why Paul exhorts us so in 1 Cor. 10:11-13
to "take heed"
to the things which are written because they show us
that God IS faithful to all
His promises.
Here is what he writes after speaking about Moses and
our forefathers:
1 Cor.
10:11-13 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they
are written for our admonition,
upon
whom the ends of the world are come.
[12] Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standethtake
heed lest
he fall.
If you are going to make it to the end, through the
darkest hour of this final generation (Mk. 13:13),
you are going to have to have trust and faith in God...
not in believing some non-Biblical
fairy tale that He is going to rapture you away
and take you out of tribulation...
but in having the faith to "holdfast without wavering"
which is the subject Paul has been speaking about since
the 23rd verse of the last chapter (Heb. 10:23).
Therefore, if you take the time to read and understand
all the testimonials in the Word of God
you will find supporting evidence through the witness
(testimonials)
of all those who have gone before us that the following
verse is true,
the point being that GOD IS FAITHFUL!
His promises to you, to be with
you unto the end and reward you for your faithfulness,
are as sure as the sun coming up
in the morning!
However, you must believe and step
forward and claim the title-deed to those promises.
[13] There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
In other words, you are not
going to be tempted (tried) with anything not covered in the Word of God!
Furthermore, as the evidence of the witnesses show
He always does,
your Father will provide a way for you escape from falling
whereby you may stand
and holdfast without wavering,
and be able to endure unto the end!
(Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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