This past Sunday I returned to my series in the book of Hebrews...
PERSEVERING FAITH - Faith in the Unseen
I am going to begin by asking a few questions. I want you to listen carefully. There is a distinction I want you to see.
- How would you and I live today if we believed absolutely that God existed and loved us completely and had a destination for us that made all the world pale by just one square foot of its turf?
- How would we live if we believed that God cared about our every action and every concern and wished to reward us magnanimously for our faith?
- How would you and I live in the face of opposition if we believed in God, really believed as if our whole lives depended on him and his?
You might be thinking, "Yes I believe absolutely. I will believe no matter what. I would die for Jesus. Is that what many of you are thinking? Is that what many of you believe?
- How would you live differently if you did not believe? Would there be much difference?
Do you see what I am getting at? Why is the distinction between these questions important?
Guthrie - "If all I am and have and do differs little from my unbelieving neighbour, then I have embraced their world and their values and fool myself by saying I am living for another world and kingdom values. My life must be radically different in what I embrace - the values of a heavenly kingdom."
There will be a radical change, there will be a difference. The two will in many ways not look alike.
I heard it illustrated this way: (David Platt)
Lets say I came late to church today. Wilf had led the last song and you were waiting for me show up. It was 11:00 and after about 5-10 min of waiting I run through the door and rush up to the pulpit and I humble apologize being late. And I began telling you why I was late. It just so happened that as I was coming to church today on the QEW, I blew a tire on my van. And as I was trying to fix the tire, the tire rolled out into the middle of the road and I ran out to get the tire and a big Mac truck smashed right into me...and it hurt! But I got up a finished changing my tire and got here as quick as I could. That's why I am late. There would be a least one of two things that you would be thinking: 1) I was flat out lying to you; 2) I had lost all perception of reality. Why would you be thinking one of these two things? Because if I was to be hit by a Mac truck going highway speed and I am are standing right in front of it, a very noticeable change would occur to my body. Am I not right in saying that? I would not be able to get up and change the tire and rush to the church to preach. The physical structure of my body from the impact of the truck would prohibit me from doing some things, right? There would be a noticeable change...
That is kind of like what it would be for the Christian...when God saves you and fills you with his Holy Spirit, there has to be a noticeable change. Sadly, in the church at Rome in the first century, this noticeable change was becoming less and less. These second generation Christians were beginning to compromise and not live radically for Jesus Christ.
Because people in the past faced: i) Public ridicule and persecution; ii) Felt the pain of identification; iii) Sympathized with those incarcerated. Perhaps brought them food. Roman prisons were not like the prisons we have today. You didn't necessarily get three square meals a day; iv) Confiscation of their property - maybe an eviction. The pressure was pretty intense...so what the author is doing here, first of all, is giving a...
I. Call to a Persevering Faith (chs 1-10)
He wants them to persevere in living boldly for Jesus Christ. He does not want them to sit back be just pew warmers. He has been telling them that it is worth it to lose everything for the sake of Christ - that it is worth it to suffer for Jesus Christ.
It is worth it because of who Jesus is and what He has done. Let take you back through a quick review - Jesus is superior. Jesus is better. Chapters 1-2 - who Jesus is - Jesus is worth everything because He is Jesus. Chapters 3-10 - what Jesus has done. He's worth everything, which is clearly illustrated in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
The reward will be much greater in the future than all of the wealth the world can produce. All what you have is worth nothing compared to our future possession...this is whats motivates these Christians to radical perseverance in their faith in Jesus Christ and their proclamation of Jesus Christ. So, the book of Hebrews gives a call to a persevering faith, an overcoming faith, an overcoming fear, temptation, doubt.
That is chapters 1-10...that is review. As we get into chapter 11...which is a very popular chapter throughout the generations of the NT church, it has been called the great "Hall of Faith", here the author talks about this faith more, describes it more.
And so secondly, he gives a...
II. Characteristics of Persevering Faith (11:1)
One commentator describes this verse as..."Poetic in its cadence, panoramic in its historical sweep, and imminently relevant in its challenge, this chapter calls the believer to faithful endurance by use of voluminous testimony from the lives of ancient saints." Note that he is not talking about saving faith here. He is talking about persevering faith.
This chapter is one of the most popular in the Bible. Many people over the history of the church have found great encouragement, exciting, inspiring. But I want to point out 2 dangers in approaching this chapter that are highlighted by Guthrie in his commentary.
1) "I'm no hero" complex.
The list in this chapter is pretty impressive...even more impressive because they made it into the pages of Scripture...and because they were are in the bible, it is no wonder that they did what they did. As a result, we view them with a "superhero" mentality, something that is unattainable by us ordinary people. We may see ourselves as powerless to live extraordinary lives of faith. If we think that, we miss the whole point of the Hebrews chapter 11...this life of faith is normal for the people of God, for you and me. This is what he is trying to communicate to the Christians in Rome...this is the "mere Christianity" as C. S. Lewis describes it.
"The author's whole program is to call struggling, sometimes bumbling Christians to live boldly by faith. He calls us - with all our habits and hangups, warts and worries - to action. We are called to step out of step with the world, hop up on the stage of history, and take our place in God's roll call of the faithful. Of course we are inadequate; but so have been all others who have evidenced the grace of God. It would not be grace otherwise." - Guthrie
2) Misunderstanding faith.
i) Faith in God's goodness to me - health and wealth gospel...life of ease, blessing and bounty...if this is not happening, I must not have enough faith. Yes God is a giver of good gifts (James 1:17); but sometimes they come in odd packages (James 1:2-4); ii) Faith-equals creed - NT does refer to faith as a set of beliefs, but most often it is something more dynamic, more active; iii) Blind leap in the unknown - and trust that things work out, contrary to what is true; iv) Life of reflective devotion - synonymous with spirituality.
A. Faith is forward looking
Note the connection with hope - hope and faith are inseparable. This is what faith does. It points us to future.What does this mean?
"...faith binds the believer securely to the reality of what he or she does not (yet) see, bit for which he hopes." - Ellingworth
The word "assurance" is too subjective. The word designates an objective reality, realization, guarantee.
- Noah, Abraham, Moses
B. Faith involves confident action.
I went Friday afternoon to see these street preachers in action. Faith is not passive. It takes confident action. Iit does not put off action...
C. True faith involves living boldly in response to the unseen God and his promises.
I read an illustration about how there was a significant shift in the posture of Eastern European Christians during the 1970's.For year members of the underground church had met in secret, used code for communication, rarely talked on public telephones, and wrote pseudonymous essays or underground papers. Believers in Poland and Czechoslovakia decided that this posture of fear must change, so they began to live boldly, meeting openly, signing their names and addresses to articles, and handing out tracts on street corners. They paid they price, jail time, but they reaped a much greater reward as the infrastructure of communist ideology began to crumble before their eyes. A rag-tag group of peasants, poets, and clergy brought down a seemingly impregnable ideological fortress - by faith...
I read about how in May 1990, the May Day Celebration was carried out inn Red Square as dusk began to settle on the USSR. Myriads of troops and tanks filed through the Square in an impressive, oppressive show of force as banners and pictures of Marx, Lenin, and Engels pointed to the sky. Communist leaders watched the scene from a seemingly unapproachable platform, as the common person was held back by barricades. Suddenly eight men began pushing their way through the barricades. The police and the army tied to run over and stop them, but six of them got away and rushed between tanks to the front of the platform while Gorbachev looked down. One of the shouted, "Mikhail Sergeyevich, Christ has risen!" and lifted and 8 -foot cross into the sky...and the crowd responded with a great swell, "Christ is risen, indeed."
III. Examples of Persevering Faith (11:2-7)
Because of their faith, the saints of old were commended by God.
A. Creation - Gen. 1:1
B. Abel - Gen. 4:1fff
C. Enoch - Gen. Gen. 5:21-24
D. Noah - Gen. 6:8, 22 - he did not have Vanderzwaag construction helping him!!!
What is it for you? How does Christ want you to live boldly for him? What area of your life are you keeping for yourself?
God did not save you to be a spectator in Christian ministry.
How are you serving Christ outside of your family. Maybe talking to your neighbour...not just talking about talking to your neighbour. Maybe your faith is too private. How are you serving Christ in the church? How are you using your gifts to glorify God?
