God commends those who live by Faith in Him

Hebrews 11:1-7 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  ² For by it the people of old received their commendation.  ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.  ⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.  ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  ⁷ By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."

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·       The letter to the Hebrews was being written to a church that was in a certain setting. The church has experienced a hard struggle with sufferings. Many of them had been thrown into prison for their faith and they had watched their brothers and sisters be thrown in jail as well. They faced public reproach, persecution and physical affliction. They were tempted to shrink back. They were tempted to think that maybe this persecution; maybe these troubles meant that God’s promises in Christ were not true.

·    At several points in the letter to the Hebrews, the author has used warnings, as well as promises and human examples to exhort the reader to continue on in the faith.  This text comes after a sustained passage of warning.

·       The author of Hebrews has been speaking about how dangerous it is to take the gospel lightly. Then he follows this warning with encouragement and reminds them of how the church had previously endured public reproach and affliction.

·       God, through the author, is now encouraging the listener to persevere in the faith. This is because what is needed is perseverance in faith through times of difficulty, trials and various kinds of sufferings. So, one of the important purposes of the entirety of chapter 11 is to give examples of those who have persevered – those who didn’t shrink back; those who had faith and so preserved their souls.

·       The author of Hebrews lays out for us how, from the very beginning what pleased God was a life of faith – prior to the law and in fact, even prior to Abraham. The kind of life that God honors has always been a life of faith.

·      What lead to salvation at the outset of the human race was faith in God – faith that God would reward those who seek Him. So, the author walks us through the earliest examples of faith in God from the first generation after the fall onwards.

·       It is important to remember though, that the examples the author gives are not to be used as a formula of “if we do x, then y will happen”. The examples are a demonstration of what living by faith looked like in the lives of God’s people, through various settings and various times. Their examples show us that faith is belief in God; having confidence in Him, in His character and nature and believing that God will reward those who seek Him.

·       By showing us examples from Abel onwards, he paints a picture of the redemptive purposes of God throughout the ages, until God’s plan of redemption is accomplished in Jesus.

·       Hebrews uses examples to show what it looks like to live in light of God’s promises and yet experience reproach in the world. One might think that if one experienced suffering, then God wasn’t faithful to His promises.

·       But the examples that are given through chapter 11 are of faithful men and women who faced situations that seemed hopeless. Their lives proved that God really is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him and their lives proved that God can be fully trusted to be faithful to His Word of Promise.

An overarching message of these first seven verses is that through faith, we are commended by God.
 

Main Idea: Through faith, we are commended by God
 

·       So, why do we need faith? We need faith to persevere in the Christian walk. We need faith because life is hard and we don’t have the strength on our own. We need faith because we are prone to look to our own abilities and become hopeless when we fail. We need faith in order to come to God. We need faith in order to please God.

·       Verses 1&2 introduce the theme of being attested to by God through faith. Verses 3 and 7 have to do with the creation and destruction of the world – both things that can’t be seen. And the author is making four points from Creation, Abel, Enoch and Noah, each of which is introduced with the phrase “by faith”.

·       Verse 1 says,

 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

·       This verse isn’t meant to be an exhaustive definition of faith in the book of Hebrews but it is meant to show some of the key aspects of the faith in the Old Testament witnesses.

·       Another way of putting this verse would be to say that “faith lays hold of what is promised as something real, though as yet unseen”.  Faith grabs hold of what is hoped for as something that is real. It gives us a surety that what we hope for is real.

·       Faith gives us a solid certainty about the future. The idea of hoping in future salvation runs throughout the letter to the Hebrews and is directly tied to the promises of God and the future inheritance that are yet to be attained.

·       So what are the “things hoped for”? The church has always hoped for Christ’s return, the resurrection, the world to come, entering into God’s Sabbath rest, receiving our eternal inheritance and reigning with Christ in the new Jerusalem.

·       Faith enables us to enjoy now the full certainty that we will receive these things in the future. It gives us strength and empowers us to live a life that is pleasing to God. It enables us to be unshaken in a world of difficulties. It enables us to see that God is at work all around us in everyday situations and circumstances. Faith shows the existence of reality that can’t be seen with our objective senses. Faith enables us to confidently step out and obey God, even though we don’t see how it will all work out, because we know that we can trust God and that God will reward us.

·       Verse 2 lays out the truth that the people of old received their commendation from God by their faith. And the rest of chapter 11 is going to unpack example after example of what it looks like to live a life of faith in God.

·       The reason God gives us this chapter is because we need to see faith worked out – we need to see faith in the reality of life. We need to see others that have lived a life of faith despite the hardship. And we need to see the evidence that this kind of faith in the unseen is rewarded by God.

·       It is hard for us to see reality sometimes. Our perspective gets off. But it is faith that enables us to see what is really true. And the first point we are going to unpack from these verses is that:

1. by Faith we see God’s reality

·       the first statement that illustrates the statement that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen” is in verse 3, where it says,

 “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

·       By faith we know that the entire universe – all of time and space - was created by God’s powerful Word. The author knows that the original listeners already believe that the universe was formed at the command of God. Parts of the universe can be seen but you cannot see the origins of the universe.

·      The author is pointing out that they can see the creation around them, even though it was made out of nothing – it was unseen. They know and understand by faith that God made everything from reading and understanding God’s Word, even though they didn’t see it happen. They understand and believe that scripture says God made the universe by His command and they trusted this key truth.

·       The author is saying is that God’s Word is an invisible, unseen power that produces results that can be seen. When you look all around you and see creation, it testifies of what you can’t see. Creation is itself the sure evidence that there is a Creator.

·       When you look in a microscope at the complexity of life at a molecular level, it testifies to God the Creator of all. A human cell is so complex that it would be impossible for even one cell to evolve with all of the different parts required to create, store and transport energy. DNA, RNA, mitochondria and Golgi bodies all function together and all require each other, all at once, to function.  It would be even more impossible for all of the differentiated cells that we have to evolve all at once together, at exactly the same time. But this is what would be required to sustain even one human cell, much less our life.

·       Coordinating a project with many working parts can be very difficult. But can you imagine coordinating thousands of little ecosystems all working together, all perfectly balanced? If you look around at the delicately balanced eco-systems of the world, it is evident there is a designer and a creator coordinating it all.

·       If you look at the heavens and see that even the slightest adjustment in our planet’s orbit or the orbits of the heavens around us would result in the impossibility of life on earth, it testifies that there is a Creator.

·         If you drive by a beautiful home, you are sure that someone built it.  How much more should we expect that someone designed all of the beauty and complexity of creation? But you must have faith to see this. There are many who are blind to this truth and look for any and every other explanation as to the origins of the universe, even though they are harder to believe than what the Bible tells us.

·       But faith enables us to see truth and see God’s true reality. In verse 4, the author tells us,

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”

·       The author is beginning to show that God commends a life lived by faith in Him.

·       So he shows us through the example of Abel that,

2. by Faith Sacrifice is rewarded

·       Verse 2 told us that the men and women of old received commendation by God for their faith. Each person is introduced with the phrase “by faith” to show that their lives were characterized by faith in God.

·       The text tells us that through faith Abel was testified to be righteous… God commended Abel by accepting his gifts. And later in verse 6, the author makes a very important connection: that without faith it is impossible to please God. So the author is unpacking what Genesis is silent about from what he knows about God and how man can approach Him. Genesis just tells the account of how Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. When it came time, each brought an offering that would have appropriately suited their vocation. The Genesis account of Abel tells us,

Genesis 4:4-7 “The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted?

·       Because it is impossible to please God without faith, the author can say confidently that it was by faith that Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. If you remember, in Hebrews 10:38, the author quoted Habakkuk and said that “the righteous shall live by faith”. Since Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God and found favor with God, he was commended as righteous. And since Abel’s sacrifice was accepted and thus he was commended as righteous, it follows that the difference between Abel and Cain was that Abel was living by faith in God and made his offering in faith and Cain did not.

·       By faith Abel brought a better sacrifice than Cain, by faith he was approved as righteous and by faith he still speaks to us.  That is, his voice still speaks to us in the scriptures, of the kind of faith that is pleasing to God. Abel’s life is meant to show us that when we make sacrifices by faith, it is commended by God.

·       Then, Hebrews moves on to show us that

3. by Faith Drawing near is rewarded

·       Next, we are given the example of Enoch:

⁵ “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”

·       In Genesis, 4 and 5, we have a long list of the genealogy of Cain and Seth. And in each mention of someone’s name, it says bluntly “and he died”. That is, all the way until you get down several generations to Enoch and Enoch stands out for a couple of reasons.

·       The first reason that Enoch stands out, is that except for Abel finding favor with God and being accepted by Him, no one else is notable for their relationship with God. But Enoch stands out like a sore thumb.

Genesis 5:22-24  “Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  ²³ Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.  ²⁴ Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

·        The early Greek translation that the book of Hebrews used says that “Enoch pleased God”. Enoch was the first person mentioned who had a close relationship with God that was pleasing to God. Not only does it mention this fact once though, the Bible mentions it twice that Enoch walked with God (or Enoch pleased God).

·       The other thing that stands out as very different from everyone else in the genealogy account, is that it doesn’t say that Enoch died. It says, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him”. Most interpreters would rightly acknowledge that what this means, is that Enoch never died because God took Enoch to be with Him directly, bypassing death.

·       The fact that Enoch walked with God and was commended by God taking Him and skipping death testifies that Enoch was a man of faith in God. Enoch was well-pleasing to God and lived his life by faith.

·       In verse 6 we have the universal principle that:  “without faith it is impossible to please God”, as well as a parallel statement that makes the same point: “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”.

·       In this chapter, the phrases “without faith” and “impossible” are contrasted with “believe” and the idea that one “must” or “it is necessary”. 

·       Pleasing God is synonymous with drawing near to God. It was said that Enoch pleased God or walked with God. He was near to God.

·       Way back in Hebrews 4:16, we saw the theme of being called to draw near to God. We’ve been told to come into His throne of grace and it is really the expression of an on-going relationship with God, a relationship that believes in God, trusts in Him and seeks Him. It is the new kind of relationship with God that was promised in the new covenant and now made possible through the mediation of Jesus Christ through His death and ascension to the throne-room of God

·       Just like it is impossible to please God without faith, it is absolutely necessary for a person to believe in order to draw near to God. The kind of faith that is necessary is to believe that God exists. Not just that some God somewhere exists, but that the God of the Bible exists as He says He does and the Bible demonstrates and makes plain.

·       We must believe in the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in these last days through the person of His Son. Faith involves believing that God exists and secondly, that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him. This idea is found throughout Scripture. Following are just a few examples:

Psalm 14:2  The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

Psalm 22:24-26  For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.  ²⁵ From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.  ²⁶ The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

Psalm 34:4-10  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.  ⁵ Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.  ⁶ This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.  ⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.  ⁸ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  ⁹ Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!  ¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Psalm 69:32  When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

Acts 15:16-18  After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,  that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.'

·       This text in Hebrews isn’t just saying that God gives rewards in the earthly sense, although that is often true. What it is saying is that God is the one who rewards; He is The Rewarder.

·       Enoch received his reward when God called him up to be with Him in heaven. Moses looked forward to his reward rather than the rewards of Egypt and he received fellowship with God.

·       We who believe in God have a title deed to our inheritance, that is kept in heaven for us and we will be greatly rewarded for the life that we now live in the flesh. Until then, our reward is anticipated by the privilege we have of drawing near to God now.

·       So what does it mean by saying that God is a rewarder to those who seek Him? It means that He doesn’t just give rewards to those who seek him sincerely, He is Himself the Reward. He gives us of Himself now and He will one day give Himself to us and we will experience all the fullness of joy in His presence.  We will one day experience a complete satisfaction, where all of our longings and desires will be purified and then completely satisfied in God Himself.

·       But in the here and now, we are often called to obey without seeing and understanding why, so the author of Hebrews gives the example of Noah. He writes,

  ⁷ “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith”

·        The last point we see from this verse is that,

4. by Faith Obedience is rewarded

·       In Genesis 6:9 it said, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”. He walked with God like Enoch, and he was righteous like Enoch. The thing we see in this example is that Noah was warned by God about something he had never seen and could not see.

·       Noah was told it would rain when he had never seen rain. Noah was told about a flood when he had no concept for what a flood would be. Noah was told to build an ark in the middle of dry land.

·       It would have all seemed absolutely ridiculous to someone who didn’t have faith in God. But Noah had such faith in God that although he had never seen rain and didn’t understand what a flood might be, he practically responded to God in obedience. Noah responded obediently to God’s Word and began to build an ark because he believed that the day that God had spoken about would come true.

·       Noah was the first one to be spelled out in the Bible as clearly taking God at His Word in faith that God would do as He had promised. Without sight, he believed and showed his trust in God by taking action based on God’s Word.

·       Noah wasn’t afraid of the destruction – instead He reverently feared God. He feared God more than man, even though he would have been open to the public reproach of those in his day. No doubt, many would have mocked him over the years while he built this huge ark on dry land. But Noah put his trust in God to save him and his family from the rains. His obedience contrasted with the disobedience and unbelief of the world around him and thus condemned the world and their disobedient unbelief.

·       God found Noah righteous because he immediately believed what God said. And because of his faith, he became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith, just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all who place their faith solely in the promises of God.

·       The message for the first listeners to the book of Hebrews, and to us as well, is that God delivers from death all who trust in Him. God saves and God rewards all those who persevere in faith in Him.

·       In these short, seven verses of chapter 11, it is clear that through faith we are commended by God. No doubt, this passage encouraged the people this book was written to originally. There is no doubt that we are meant to be encouraged to place faith in God’s Word because we too will be commended by Him.

Potential Application Questions:

1. How does knowing what the people that the letter of Hebrews was written to went through provide encouragement to you to persevere in faith?

2. What are some ways that you can be tempted to try to be commendable to God? How can this wrong view of God be seen carried out in our relationships with others? (hint: fear of man)

3. How is it freeing to know that we are commended by God, through our faith in God?  How should this personally effect how we approach what we do?

4. Share a story with the group about a time that God gave you a sure faith that He later brought to be, even though it seemed impossible at the time.

5.  Often, it is hard for us to see what God says is really true. Where are some areas where you struggle with believing that God’s Word is true? How is God calling you to respond, step out in faith and obey Him?

6. How does knowing that “by faith, sacrifice is rewarded”, even though it may not be in this life, change the way you view the sacrifices you are called to make for God?

7. What would living with an eternal perspective look like for you?

8. Sometimes sin and doubt can keep us from drawing near to God, because we fear His punishment. But, the example of Enoch shows that God rewards those who draw near to Him. How does this inspire us to draw near to God ourselves?

8. We can feel like obedience is drudgery at times. How does knowing that God rewards obedience done by faith encourage you to obey God in faith yourself?