Hebrews 11:1-40
by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy. (10:14) Therefore since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Christ we have a great high priest Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings hold unswervingly to the hope we profess consider how we may spur one another on, not giving up meeting together, encouraging one another
Warning: It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (10:31) Encouragement: You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (10:36) we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. (10:39)
What is faith? Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (11:1)
1. Believing that God is creator of everything By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (11:3) For since the creation of the world God s invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1)
2. Believing that God exists 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. (11:6)
3. Believing in the world to come By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (11:8) By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. (11:9) For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (11:10)
3. Believing in the world to come Instead, they were longing for a better country a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (11:16)
4. Believing in God s plans even when we don t understand them By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (11:17-19)
5. Believing that disgrace for Christ is of greater value than the fleeting pleasures of this world By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh s daughter. (11:24) He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (11:25) He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. (11:26)
5. Believing that disgrace for Christ is of greater value than the fleeting pleasures of this world These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (11:39-40)
Living by faith means 1. Believing that God is creator of everything 2. Believing that God exists 3. Believing in the world to come 4. Believing in God s plans even when we don t understand them 5. Believing that disgrace for Christ is of greater value than the fleeting pleasures of this world