Read Hebrews 11:1-3
We begin a course of examining the topic of faith in this service. It’s a word we often use but don’t always understand.
For those who went through Hebrews with me in the First Light Service last year, much of what you hear this morning will sound very familiar, if you were awake and listening. If you were there and it’s all new to you, here is your second chance.
The word faith is used very few times in the Old Testament. It appears at least 245 times in the New Testament. Paul is the likely culprit for such a large number, but Jesus also used the term.
It’s sometimes hard to distinguish between the modern words believe and faith, so exact counts vary based on translation, but faith is a big word in this age. We begin in the 11th chapter of Hebrews.
If you were wondering how we would begin to tackle this topic of faith, now you know.
There are very few definitions in the Bible, but Hebrews 11:1 has one worth noting. It is the definition of faith.
Listen to verse 1 of chapter 11 in Hebrews in these translations.
NIV: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Holman’s: Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
This translation also offers this variant: Now faith is the assurance of what is hoped for, the conviction of what is not seen.
New Living: Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
King James: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This is believing is seeing. We can’t see it but we know it’s there. We believe just as if we saw it wit our own eyes.
Anyone been to the Colosseum in Rome? It’s quite the deal. I didn’t get to see it until a couple of years ago coming back from Africa. When I went, I was sure it would be there. It was.
Do you believe it’s there? Have you seen it? A picture? Nobody can fake a picture. Somehow you believe it to be there.
Anyone have a cell phone or smartphone or watch you can talk on or Star Trek communicator?
Your phone says MOM on the caller ID. If it said TOM you would let it go to voice mail. I know how you do me.
You answer and a voice sounds like your Mom. Is it your mom? How do you know. Can you see her? Can you see the signal come and go from your phone?
Sometimes when the service is slow, I can see the signal . Not!
But I have faith that’s my mom or my wife or my kids or grandkids on the other end.
We have a lot of faith in things of the world. Now we are told to have faith in things we can’t see just as if we could see them.
Paul would complement this by saying that we walk by faith not by sight. That’s having such faith—believing even though we can’t see—that we walk, we act, we do things based on what we cannot see.
We have faith in some things of the world. How about faith in God. For example?
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
It didn’t just happen. The unexplainable has an explanation but we have to take it by faith.
We were not there.
There is no YouTube video in the archives.
We have faith that God brought everything into existence.
Even those who try to come up with stand-alone scientific explanations have to have faith in their theories. They were not there either. Nobody was taking notes.
Either way, you have to have faith in what you believe about creation. Either the word of God is true or your theory of cosmic beginnings is true, but you must put your faith in one or the other.
There is no seeing is believing. We weren’t there and there is no snapchat video.
We take it on faith that God did this. Others take their theories on faith but faith is there one way or the other.
The author here says that the ancients were commended for their faith.
Let’s venture briefly to John’s gospel. You know the story. Jesus rose from the dead, entered a locked room and appeared to the disciples, except Thomas was out.
Thomas said, I will believe it when I see it myself. I want holes in the hands. I want to see where the spear went in his side. SEEING IS BELIEVING.
Jesus comes back some days later. Thomas is present. Jesus tells him to see what he needs to see. Thomas says in shocked belief: MY LORD AND MY GOD.
He doesn’t even need to put his fingers through the holes.
Jesus tells him that he believed because he saw. Then Jesus said: BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND HAVE BELIEVED!
That’s what we are talking about to begin this time of examining faith.
We have not seen; yet we believe!
Here is the King James Version again:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This is tangible belief for what the world sees as intangible. The world chooses to substitute wordy theories for faith. The world thinks it believes what it believes based on intellect.
The problem is at the root of all the supposed intellect is a premise of faith when it comes to the beginnings of everything. You must take by faith that God spoke everything into creation or that everything came about by some other means, but either way, we must take it by faith.
Everyone takes something by faith. It’s not always the word of God.
We say that we believe the word of God. It’s true. The world says you can’t get there from here, even though they must take much of what they have built up as fact on a foundation of faith. It’s not faith in God, but you can only extrapolate your theories so far until you must take something on faith.
The world says that we are crazy. You can’t get there your way. We say, I’m already there.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Let’s once again think about the beginning of all things. This is from the beginning of John’s gospel in the New Living Translation.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
This is what we believe. We believe it by faith. We believe it as much as if we were there watching. This is faith.
This is our starting point for the next few weeks. I know that we have a memory verse for this month, but I want us to take this first verse from the 11th chapter of Hebrews, in the King James Version, and make it our memory verse for our faith excursion.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Amen.
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