Hebrews 11 Faith
1) Without faith it is impossible to see or please God.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them , not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Heb 4 v 2.
Are you here this day hearing the word but not profiting from it because you do not have faith? You do not trust it? You despise and ridcule it.
Faith is the underlying trust in God. It is the foundation of what Christianity is all about. Faith in God, that complete trust in God.
If you do not have faith then the Word of God will not profit you. You will go from here much the same person as you came, with out God, without hope and without eternal life.
a) To see God.
Believe that he is.
If we do not believe in God, then how can we expect anything of Him.
It is not intellegent design, or creationism that will persude men to believe in God but rather faith. Which is the antidote to unbelief.
It is thier unbelieve that makes them an athiest, evolutionist, and not the other way around. Creation and science points to God. Yet due to unbelief men cannot see it.
b) To please God.
Hebrews 11 v 6
It is a firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform all that he has promised to us in Christ.
Faith is the firm assent of the soul to the divine revelation and every part of it setting its seal that God is true.
It is faith that has stood the test of time.
Faith believes God in respect to the past, to the present in every trouble, affliction, joy and happiness, and trusts God for the future.
Faith is the means by which we are justified.
Hebrews 4 v 2 Gospel being mixed with faith.
If the gospel is to have any effect in the lives of those around us it must be mixed with Faith. Faith is the prerequisite to beginning the Christian life.
So that when a man or woman comes into the church, we are not wanting them to remain, or to feel comfortable, or to enjoy our company.
But rather to exercise faith.
It is by faith that we come alive to God.
3) Faith is the means by which we live to God.
For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. Heb 11 v 2.
The just shall live by faith Hab 2 v 4.
For we walk by faith 2 Corinth 5 v 7.
The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God. Gal 2v20.
Faith is the exercise of our Christianity.
In Holy Living.
The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.
Gal 2v20.
Purifiying thier hearts by faith Acts 15 v 9
How do we become more holy? By faith seeing who God is, see His character and attributes we see that holiness is at the heart of His character, and if at the heart of his character then we must be holy to be like Him.
Be Holy for I am holy. 1 Peter 1 v 16
If we are to know anything of holiness of is to be by faith in Christ. It is to be by the imputed righteoussness of Christ.
There is nothing quite as bad as self righteous people, particularly english people.
It was the effect of the empire, it is the effect of the religious right, and the liberal left, a morality that is based upon thier own ideas, biblical or otherwise which does not continually depend upon faith in Christ.
I rejoice every time I hear an older Christian saying Lord have mercy on me a sinner, it is the sign of continued faith in the mercy and grace of God.
How we ought to fear when we start taking of saints inside the church and sinners outside of the church.
We are sinners saved by Grace and any righteousness we have is a gift of God in Christ.
As bunyan put it
we are beggers showing beggers where to find bread.
As the Apostle Paul said;-
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.
Not was chief but am chief.
By faith the heart is purified, we are not only justified, and conscience purified, but the work of sanctification is begun and carried on. M Henry Acts 15 v 9
By faith we see God.
We understand the world was formed by God’s command.
And in seeing God we fear him.
The closer to God and Christ we become the more we will keep his commandments because of his greatness.
In gospel proclaimation,
If we do not have faith in the gospel that it is the power of God to salvation.
Why do we expect that people will be saved.
If we do not have faith in the Gospel we will forsake proclaiming the Gospel. we will end up doing other things. We will try and teach morals we will try and make the church simply a nice place for christenings, weddings and funerals.
And in so doing the church has lost her charter, her great commision, her purpose for existence.
In good works.
James 2 v 14 – 20 What does it profit my bethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him…. Thus faith by itself if it does not have works is dead.
In Prayer
Prayer is the engine of all Christian faith, life and works it drives all that we do, or it ought to.
Prayer without faith is useless, it is but unbelief.
We pray because we have faith in God.
Prayer puts faith to work.
we do we just pray for things which cannot be qualified, that cannot be seen to work, for those people with cronic problems with little faith that they will be made well.
Rather ought we not pray for big expansion of the kingdom?
James 5 v 13 – 18
The prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.
Conclusion.
We my freinds are at a cross roads, we either have faith in God and boldly proclaim the gospel.
Or we put our feet under the table and become a traditional backwater of irrelevancy.
