Hebrews 11

Those who are credited with the righteousness that God requires will live by faith. This is what the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk wrote. It has always been this way. The Old Testament people of God lived by faith, and we must live by faith. Though the Law came through Moses, Moses lived by faith. Faith expresses its true nature in love for God and neighbor, which is the fulfillment of the Law.

What is faith? Faith is not the same as sight. If a person sees something he once longed for and it now has his name on it, he no longer has to trust in the promise of a gift-giver who had once said that he would bring him that present. Now he has it. Now he sees it. His new happiness is not faith.

Faith builds on the solid foundation of the promise of God. It is sure of the gift because it is certain about the Giver. Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It is a way of life that God has always commended.

The speech of God is the true foundation on which all faith is securely built. God showed the power of His Word from the beginning of creation. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. The Word of God is more sure than what our senses can perceive. Our eyes may deceive us, but God's Word is always true. He can bring forward things that are visible from His storehouse of all that is invisible to the eyes of flesh.

From the earliest accounts of our spiritual heritage, the people of God have lived by hearing, believing, and following God. Abel's sacrifice was made by faith. His pathway in obedience to the Word of God subjected him to a brutal murder by the hand of his own brother, yet he preferred the Lord's commendation of him as one who was righteous rather than the preservation of his life. Now he lives above with men like Enoch and Abraham. These men knew that God was real, and they believed that He would reward those who diligently seek Him.

Noah had to obey the Word of God concerning the building of an ark before he saw one drop of rain. His faith saved his life and that of his whole household. The world that would not see the truth of God's judgment was condemned, but Noah and His family were saved.

Abraham, our father in faith, believed the promises of God, along with his wife Sarah.. How far could they see beyond the gift of even one child? Yet we are told that they were looking far beyond to the gift of heaven. Together with their son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob, they were “looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” These people suffered, but they also heard the Word of God and believed.

God made great promises to the patriarchs from whom came the 12 tribes of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not receive the Promised Land in their lifetimes, but they died in faith. They were looking for a better land than Canaan. Over the course of their journeys, some earlier, and some later, they learned to believe in a new world that could never be taken from them, a world that would be secured through the fulfillment of the promise of God. Now they live in that better country, and God is not ashamed to be called their God.

When Abraham was tested through a commandment that seemed beyond his understanding, he obeyed the Word, trusting that God had the power to raise the dead. Through wrenching moments of testing the promise continued from generation to generation, and the people of faith buried their dead in faith, assured that God's Word would never fail.

If we follow the stories of Moses, Joshua, the judges, and David, we will see the same common truth. Those who did not have strength in themselves, heard the Word of God and believed. They were tested and had to make difficult choices. Their ultimate joy was not in any earthly Jerusalem or in the ceremonies of Old Testament worship. They set their hearts on things above, knowing that the promises of God would be inadequate unless death itself was defeated. What good are all the blessings that can come to a man in this life if there is no hope beyond the grave? They heard the promises of God concerning a life of bounty that had to be better than the finest kingdoms on earth, and they believed that God would secure those promises for them through His own faithfulness and grace.

This kind of faith is what enables a man to suffer with outcasts rather than deny God. It is not about good people, but about a powerful and reliable God who people like Rahab, Gideon, and Samson hear and believe. It empowers prophets, apostles, and unknown worshipers of the Lord to face the brutality of their countrymen because they have found a new life among those who hear the Word of God and keep it.

All of these men and women of faith were looking for a life beyond this mortal world. They did not receive what was promised during their lifetimes on this earth. They would be made perfect together with all the people of God in the place where the Word becomes sight, and where life is free from the sting of death.

These great brothers and sisters prepared us for Jesus, the greatest Man of faith. He has secured the promises of God for us with His blood. The very best figures of the Old Covenant, whether we know their names or not, would all have chosen Jesus rather than the comforts of powerful people who demand that we turn away from our Lord and His church. This is what it must mean for you to believe. Through this gift of faith the righteous live for God and worship Him, despite the greatest trials and difficulties that we can ever imagine.