“ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrew11:1-3)
It’s very important that we have a very clear understanding of what faith is before we proceed any further.
In one of the most popular portions of scripture, faith is defined as the substance of things hoped for. If you have hope for anything, faith is what gives it substance. Faith gives you every reason to affirm something is yours before you see it with your physical eyes. Why? Faith is the substance of things hoped for; it calls real those things that are not physically observable. It calls them done NOW!
Faith is also defined as the evidence of things not seen, that is, the evidence of unseen realities. I do not see those things with my optical eyes but they’re real to me. They’re so real you can’t take them away from me. Faith is the evidence of unseen realities. That means it is proof of the existence of something that is not tangible to the senses.The Amplified Bible says,
“…Faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see {and} the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]”
Faith is the title- deed. If you bought a piece of land, you wouldn’t carry the land with you everywhere, telling everybody, “See the land I bought.” You would have documents to that land called “a title-deed.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a title-deed is ‘a document containing or constituting evidence of ownership, you can simply pull out your title-deed to the land and show them as proof of ownership. That’s the evidence of unseen realities.
The land is real, but because you can’t carry it around with you, they may not see it in your office. However, you have your proof of ownership- the title-deed; - something they can look at and say, “Yeah, you’ve really got that land.”
Faith is not in the realm of the five physical senses, since it is the proof of things we do not see and perceive by our senses. It is also transcends the realm of reasoning and the mind. It’s a spiritual force, an attribute of the human spirit. That’s why I always like to define faith as the response of the human spirit to the Word of God.
Today’s English Version of Hebrew 11:1 says, “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” Faith makes a certainty of things we don’t see with our optical eyes. Therefore, faith is not an irrational leap in the dark but a leap on God’s Word. It is believing what God’s Word has said concerning anything and acting that way.
Now let me quickly point out here that there’s a difference between faith and believing. Many people don’t understand that difference.
Someone who’s suffering from a form of sickness might cry, “Oh God, I believe! Oh God, I really know You can do it. Do it for me today! Heal me Lord!” He doesn’t realize it but that’s not faith. All he’s doing is expressing his believing.
That fellow might be discouraged and unhappy if he doesn’t receive healing, because he’ll think to himself, “If I’ve ever had faith in my life, that was one time I had faith!” He’ll be wondering, “Oh God, why didn’t I receive?” not knowing that what he had was not faith at all.
Faith is the corresponding action to what you believe. I said earlier that faith is the response of the human spirit to the Word of God. For the one who is sick, when he hears the Word that says “By whose stripes ye were healed” and believes it, his response or corresponding action to that Word will be to begin to declare “By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed!” He should start acting as one who’s been healed and as a result, begin to do the things he couldn’t do hitherto, due to that sickness.
Now, when he declares that he is ‘the healed’ by the stripes of Jesus Christ, his declaration is not going to be based on his feelings, but on the Word of God that says he was healed.
James made reference to this aspect of faith when he said,
“My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!... Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. Now you see how Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, "Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him." That's how Abraham became God's friend. You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe.” (James 2:14-17; 21-24) CEV
For faith to be faith and not just believing, it’s got to have some action to it. That’s what James is telling us here. Your faith in God is demonstrated by your action.
You Can’t Please God Without Faith
“BUT WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: FOR HE THAT COMETH TO God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6)
The Bible unequivocally states that “without faith it is impossible to please him (God).” It didn’t say “without love” or “without prayer” or “without righteousness.” I’m not saying these aren’t important, for the Word of God lets us know they all are. What I’m saying is, it’ll take faith to activate and appropriate these and many more blessings that are in the Word of God to your life.
Some have tried religiously all their lives to be holy, to walk in love or to pray, yet they couldn’t please God because they haven’t learnt to walk by faith. It’s impossible to walk in any of these successful without faith. You’re not expected to pray yourself into faith. How else would you be able to pray to the God you don’t see? How do you know He’s really up there listening to you? It’s got to be by faith! So, you see, you do have faith. But now you have to learn how to make it work.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himselfmore highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3)
You believe the Bible is the Word of God and you study it, but you weren’t there when it was written. You simply have faith that it’s really God’s Word. That’s where it all begins. Faith is fundamental; it’s the foundation for without faith you can’t even be born again. It takes faith to come to God;
“…for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6)
Hebrew 11:2 lets us know that by faith the elders obtained a good report. This is referring to men who have gone before us as examples, the patriarchs of faith such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah and Elisha. The contemporary English Version says, “It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God” (Hebrew 11:2)
Hebrews 11 is popularly referred to as faith’s hall of fame. It’s a rich, inspiring and challenging catalogue of men and women who had fantastic testimonies of how they pleased God and did exploits in their generations because they walked by faith. They obtained a good report from God. He scored them highly for their faith, but the things they did and said, Hallelujah!
The Example Of Noah
The Bible specifically exemplifies Noah as a man greatly blessed of God because he walked by faith in a generation that didn’t acknowledge God. By his unwavering faith in God, he condemned the sinful world he dwelt in at the time.
One day, God looked upon the earth and was appalled at what He saw. The Bible says,
“…GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:5-8)
God was ready to destroy the whole earth along with every last man and beast in it, but one man, Noah, found God’s grace, because he was a man of faith. God told Noah He was going to destroy the world and gave him specific instructions on how to build an ark and select pairs of animals that will be preserved from the deluge. Being a man of faith, Noah followed all of God’s instructions to the letter. No wonder the Bible says in Hebrew 11:7 that he:
“…being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
ABRAHAM: THE FATHER OF FAITH
Another great example of faith is Papa Abraham. God spoke to him one day and told him to get out of his father’s house and leave his kindred and country to a land that He would show him.
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” (Genesis 12:1-4)
God didn’t tell Abraham where to go, yet the Bible says he launched out of his country, having no idea where he was going. He left by faith!
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Hebrews 11:8)
Abraham lived as a pilgrim throughout his life because he knew by revelation that the Promised Land God spoke of wasn’t a physical one but a spiritual one.
Also, when the Lord promised to give him a son in his old age, he believed. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20). When God asked him to offer that son as a burnt sacrifice, he simply obeyed because he knew “that God was able to raise him up, even from the idea” (Hebrews 11:19).
That’s what faith is all about – responding swiftly to God’s instructions and doing everything He tells you. That’s how you can please God in your life. Abraham was called ‘the father of faith’ and ‘the friend of God’ because he lived by faith in God’s Word. This is the life to which we’ve been called as Christians 0 the faith life!
The Just Shall Live By Faith
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” (Hebrew 10:38)
Everything in the Kingdom of God functions by the principle of faith. That’s why the Bible says the just shall live by faith. It didn’t say the just shall live by holiness or righteousness, but by faith. This shows just how important faith is and why the ‘faith-message’ should be taken very seriously by anyone who desires to live a successful life in God’s Kingdom.
Everything about your life is hinged on your understanding of this important subject of faith. You can’t understand righteousness without faith, just as it’s impossible for you to demonstrate the God-kind of love without faith. The Bible says “faith worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6), love also works by faith.
Without faith, you wouldn’t function well on your job, in your business, family, academics, finances, health or ministry. You can’t even keep the devil under your feet where he belongs without faith!
In today’s world, where there’s so much evil and wickedness, you can only walk in love and live peaceably among all men as the Bible instructs to do, by faith. It takes faith to listen and not respond in bitterness when someone speaks evil of you. It takes faith to remain unruffled and still love those who criticize and despitefully use you. It takes faith to hold your head up and not let what your critics say cause you to react negatively. It takes faith not to wish evil for those who hate, mistreat and misjudge you.You see, the faith way is the way, the only way for the Christian.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himselfmore highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as GOD HATH DEALT TO EVERY MAN THE MEASURE OF FAITH” (Romans 12:3)
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