Faith is powerful. Society often turns to scientific research for answers. In science, three things need to add up; Can it be observed, can it be measured, and can it be repeated? But not all things can be observed. God questioned Job. “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? And where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Faith provides a sure means to understand and navigate the world in which we live. It gives us power to understand because it is focused on the work of God through Jesus. What is faith, what are some examples, and how does it affect our lives?
What is faith?
First, we look at what it is. The author tells us it is the substance of things we hope for; it is evidence of things we don’t see. It is how we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God. It is the way we come to God because it requires a belief in His existence and an understanding that He rewards those who seek Him.
Examples of Faith
Next, we consider examples in the faith chapter (Hebrews11). We consider the list from Abel to the martyrs, marching into history as heroes of faith. They died in faith, because many of the promises were yet to be fulfilled. They were living beyond what they could see to a heavenly city. Abraham obeying God at the sacrifice of his son Issac, the mother of Moses sending him down the Nile in a basket, the walls of Jericho crashing down, but Rahab surviving, because they believed beyond what they could see even to the point of death, people the author writes, “of whom the world was not worthy.”
How It Affects Us
Finally, how does it affect us? We are not complete without these heroes. They showed us the faithfulness of God and His promises. Even with Abraham, God revealed Himself a layer at a time, creating a foundation that the church of Christ continues to be built upon. The God who led Abram and his barren wife to begin a people more than the stars of the seas, to deliver those people from slavery in Egypt through the blood of lambs spread on their doorposts, to prophets who pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, who came not only to rescue the Israelites but all who come to Him in faith. We have these witnesses to the walk of faith to embolden us to lay aside every weight, and the sin that clings to us, to run with endurance the race that is set before us.
What is faith, what are some examples, and how does it affect our lives? Sit with Hebrews 11.
