Sunday, February 7, 2010

Real Faith



Faith is essential to the Christian life. And since you might be snowed in or simply enjoying a leisurely moment, I decided to drop you some words and thoughts on the subject. This is actually an installment of our current sermon series entitled, “Real Faith.”

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

From the first speck of light that penetrated the darkness and divided the sky, to the creation of birds of the air, animals of the land and fish of the sea. From the creation of man and woman to walk in a garden paradise and praise their creator, to the consequences of giving-in to temptation and yielding to sin. From the blood of the innocent crying out for righteous justice, to the blood of Jesus calling out to the souls of sinners. And from the advance of the church against the very gates of hell to the glory that we shall know when we see him face to face. All of these things, past, present, and future are understood by faith. Not just any faith but real Christian faith in the God of Christianity.

The Christian faith is assuring, insuring, and enduring. So assuring that the blind hymnist, Fanny Crosby, (in 1873), was able to pen the words, “Blessed assurance, Jesus in mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.” So Insuring that William Williams (in 1774) was able to compose the words, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak but thou are mighty, Hold me with Thy powerful hand. Bread of heaven…feed me till I want no more. So Enduring that Charles Wesley (in 1740) was able to write, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul, let me to thy bosom fly. Hide me O my Savior hide, Till the storm of life is past. While the nearer waters roll, whole the tempest still is high! Safe into the haven guide. Oh receive my soul at last! Faith is spiritual life in action. And one thing is for certain, it takes faith to successfully navigate the rigors of life. Faith in chance or fate is risky business. But faith that is assuring, insuring and enduring is founded upon the Savior.

Frankly, the Definition of Faith is not easily derived. We have often taken Hebrews 11:1 to be a formal definition of faith. Writes Leon Morris: “More likely, this is an observation concerning the nature of faith. The writer is bringing our attention to significant features of faith.” One observation is that the “is” in the phrase, “Now faith is…” indicates to us that Faith is a present and continuing reality. It tells us there are realities for which we have no physical evidence. Nevertheless, by faith, we know they exist. It tells us that Faith is a living thing. It tells us that Faith is a way of life. It tells us that Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, which is a good thing because our senses can yield uncertainty. They can fool us because they operate by feeling and, thus, are not fully reliable.

Another observation is that “Faith is the substance…” Substance is also translated surety, confidence, and assurance. The word in the Greek is Hypostasis. The literal translation is: “that which stands under.” It is the substructure; it is the foundation underneath the structure.

On Michigan Ave in Chicago stands the 24th-tallest building in the world. The John Hancock building. Built in the 1960s it contains some of the highest residential units in the world. It is characterized by the distinctive X-shaped external bracing. It was an architectural icon of its day. The Building design eliminated the need for inner support beams. The design allows 5 to 8 inches of sway in 60mph wind. It can withstand 132mph winds. There is enough steel in the frame to make 33,000 cars. The frame, alone, weighs 46,000 tons. Its four corner columns weigh up to 100 tons each. It contains over 1,250 miles of wiring and enough aluminum to cover 12 football fields. It contains enough glass to produce a single 5ft foot thick sheet of glass 13 miles long. The building itself weights 384 million pounds. But the only reason it can stand is because of its’ foundation. Its’ lakeside location required caissons (water tight structures) to be sunk 190ft into the ground in order to reach a foundation of bedrock.

Faith is the hypostasis, it is the bedrock, of all that the Christian believes and hopes for. The foundation of our faith is the Word of God. Our faith has to grow to a state where it simply takes God at His word. The goal is for our faith to develop to the point that we wholeheartedly trust and obey. Forthrightly, obedience to God’s word is, in and of itself, an act of faith. Remember, Faith never grows in a disobedient heart. “True Bible faith is confident obedience to God's Word, in spite of circumstances and consequences.”—Warren Weirsbe

A third observation is the phrase “word of God.” It’s usage in Hebrews 11 is not the same usage of “word” as in the gospel of John 1:1-3. John reveals to us that the Word of God is Jesus the Christ. The Greek word used is Logos. He further reveals that, everything that was made, was made through him and, apart from him, nothing could have been made. But in Hebrews the Greek word is rhema. Rhema refers to the utterance by which God summoned into existence all things that previously had no existence. Again quoting Leon Morris:

“Belief in the existence of the world is not faith, nor is it faith when men hold that the world was made out of some preexisting ‘stuff.’ But when we understand that it was the Word of God that produced all things, that is faith.”

Observe that the writer of Hebrews states that faith is the evidence of things not seen. It reminds us that, just as the eye is the organ that enables physical sight, which enables us to see the visible, faith is the organ that enables spiritual sight enabling God’s people to see the invisible. The point is, in creation, the visible things did not originate from visible things. The visible things originated from the invisible words of the invisible God. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalms 33:6; 9). The bottom line is the writer wants his readers to know that this world, this solar system, this universe is God’s doing. We did not see it come into existence but by faith we believe it.

A major and significant example of faith is the testimonies of the elders of old. The author of Hebrews uses for his next object lesson the example of the “elders.” This is a reference to the heroes of the Old Testament. Though they did not physically see the object of their hope they, nevertheless, saw it very clearly through the eyes of faith. The writer does not compile his list of heroes in order to stress a theme of biblical heroes. To the contrary, the writer places his emphasis on faith and the biblical heroes are the examples of it. Their testimony is offered as proof that things that are outwardly unseen are visible through the eyes of faith.

“…There were many men who had nothing but the promises of God to rest upon, without any visible evidence that these promises would ever be fulfilled; yet so much did these promises mean to them that they regulated the whole course of their lives...”—F. F. Bruce

These heroes in Hebrews 11 were true living examples of faith. Yet, I can’t help but to think that, if you and I had made up the list, most likely, none of these names would have made the list, nor would yours or mine. This is because the list is made up of Lovers and Liars; Destroyers and Deceivers; the Affluent and Adulterer; the Helpless and the Homeless and the Prideful and the Prostitute. It is hard for us to accept that God would use sinners such as us. What the names on the list have in common is not their failure but their faith. Not faith in themselves; not faith in another person; not faith in just any god but faith in the living God, Creator of the universe, captain of souls. What a reassuring thought, that the creator of the universe cares about the souls of men and uses sinners such as I.

So, remember, faith is spiritual life in action. Therefore, my encouragement to you is, as your soul navigates the rigors of life, may it be by a faith that is learning to trust and obey. May it be by a faith that seeks to please Him. May it be by a faith that is evidenced both by creation and the testimonies of men and women of faith from times past. More importantly, may it be by a faith that has come to know that reward in the future is secured by the invisible God, creator of the universe and captain of souls.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).

One final thing you should know. As imperfect as you are, by faith, your name has already been added to the list of heroes. Not in the book of Hebrews, but in the heart and mind of Jesus.

Just a few faithful words, from the faithful heart and mind of Victor