Remember back when you were a child, when your birthday or Christmas grew near. There was always a special item that you hoped you’d receive each year. You’d hope and hope, and sometimes you got it, and often you didn’t. Now as adults, we still hope for things. Perhaps for the money and time to take a special trip, or maybe a larger house where you all aren’t bumping into each other all the time. We all have our hopes for things. Our Scripture passage for today, from the Book of Hebrews, speaks of both faith and hope, however this is a much different type of hope. Let’s look into the passage and see what we can learn about both.
The beginning point of faith is believing in God’s character, that He is who He says He is. The end point is believing in God’s promises, that he will do what He says He will do. Faith is the confidence that the Lord will do what He has promised. It is not simply wishful thinking. It is the absolute conviction that God is willing and able to accomplish all He has promised regardless of our circumstances or obstacles. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises, even though we don’t see them yet, we demonstrate true faith (vs. 1).
True faith is not obtained or based on scientific evidence, but on divine assurance. True faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is not based upon the senses, but rather on the Word of God. Faith gives assurance of our future hope of the resurrection, of Jesus’ return, and our glorification in heaven. It gives evidence of present realities that are unseen, such as our forgiveness and Jesus’ intercession for us in heaven.
Christians are people who should not only have faith, but should also be people filled with hope. In the New Testament this word is not the wishful thinking that we usually take the word to mean, such as in the examples I gave at the top of this page. It is not that “I hope I can visit Hawaii someday” type of hope. That is just wishful thinking, and that might happen, but then again it may very well not. Hope as described in the New Testament Scriptures is an expectation, trust, and confidence. Hope underlies all of our Christian beliefs. When we read the word “hope” in the Bible we can think “trust”.
Faith is important, as believers from the past lived by faith, and divine approval was granted to them (vs. 2). Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews highlights many of these believers.
As our passage continues, the author says that we believe by faith that God created the universe out of something which cannot be seen (vs. 3). God called the universe into existence by His Word. He declared that it was to be, and it was.
Our passage then highlights two early Old Testament believers who showed great faith in the Lord, Abel and Enoch (vs. 4-5). Both Abel and his brother Cain knew what God required. However only Abel obeyed the Lord, and Cain did not. Abel offered his sacrifice and acted with faith. Cain acted in unbelief. His heart was not right with God. Through Abel’s faith he left testimony to all succeeding generations that a person comes to God by faith to receive righteousness. In Genesis we read that Enoch walked with God (Genesis 5:22-24). He pleased God because he had faith. Without such faith it is not possible for anyone to truly walk with God or please Him.
Genuine faith does not simply believe that a Divine Being exists, but that the God of Scripture is the only real and true God who exists. Not believing that God exists is equivalent to calling Him a liar (I John 5:10). Believing that God exists is only the beginning. Even demons believe in His existence (James 2:19). God will not settle for mere acknowledgment of His existence. He wants a personal relationship with us.
As we read in verse 6, we cannot please God unless we are convinced that He not only exists, but also that His plans for us are good, acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). Faith in God is the only way to receive from Him. Faith pleases God, especially when we trust Him enough to walk in His will. Faith comes to us by hearing God’s Word (Romans 10:17). So the best way to grow and strengthen our faith is to get into God’s Word and read the message of Jesus.
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