Faith Defined

Faith Defined

(Hebrews 11:1-3)

Yearly Theme:  “Love Does…”

Series Title:  Substance of Faith

December 1^st, 2019

Something to think about:

As we come to the final month of 2019, and our theme of “LOVE” for the year, we look at the aspect of love from the New Living Testament translation in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 that describes a love that “never loses faith.” 

The best way to describe this kind of faith requires us to look deeper into the Biblical definition of faith.  So, in order to do that we will be focusing on Hebrews chapter 11, commonly known as the “Hall of Faith.”  As we explore the type of love that never loses faith, we need to first understand what faith really is:

Hebrews 11:1-40 (NLT)

¹  Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2  Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

3  By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. (Continue reading in your Bible, or on the screen).

Author and Biblical scholar, William Barclay, wrote,

“To the writer of Hebrews, faith is absolutely certain that what it believes is true and that what it expects will come.  It is not the hope which looks forward with wistful longing [as in Hannah’s story]; it is the hope which looks forward with utter conviction.”[1]

The key point this morning is this…

Key Point:  “Faith is confident assurance devoid of things seen.”

1. Faith is the hypostasis of things hoped for (substance, confidence, essence, or assurance).

Faith is the “substance, confidence, essence, or assurance” that what we hope for will actually happen.

2. Faith is the elenchos of things not seen (proof, conviction, or evidence).

Faith is the “proof, conviction, or evidence” of the things that we cannot see.

Something to take home:

The early 20^th century evangelist, Oswald Chambers, wrote this about faith:

“Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.”[2]

How is your faith?  What is your faith rooted in?  Does your faith have substance, confidence, and assurance that what you hope for will actually happen?  Does your faith give witness through conviction and evidence of the things you cannot see?

We all have faith.  The question is:  What do you have faith in?  We all love.  The question is:  Who, or what, do you love?  When love and faith are rooted in the eternal, unchanging God of the Universe, there is nothing that can shake us.  However, when our faith is rooted in the temporal and imperfect, we find ourselves sinking amidst the toils and turmoils of this life.

Again, it’s important to remember…

Key Point:  “Faith is confident assurance devoid of things seen.”

[1] William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: The Letter to the Hebrews, (Westminster John Knox Press:  Louisville, Kentucky; 1976) 128.

[2] Oswald Chambers, Run Today’s Race, (Discovery House Publishers; Discovery House Publishers; 2015).