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Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 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.
WHY is Hebrews 11:1 so often quoted among Christians? It’s a balm for uncertain times, isn’t it? And we know that in many ways each day is uncertain. To stay on a steady course in our relationship with God, we need hearts that hold a certain hope of God’s unmovable presence to claim our lives as his own. How do we have that faith? We first understand that our faith is God’s gift to us. From heaven’s throne, God has granted our hearts the desire to know who he is. He opens our minds to know his deeply personal commitment to save us into eternal life. He points us to the future to know what that salvation means for our life evermore. We learn these truths in the Bible’s pages that reveal our Creator’s power to steadfastly move his purpose from the Garden of the Fall to the Living Waters of Redemption. Faith is sure when we understand faith is not a work we must do, but it is the catalyst that forms our lives each day. Faith is the means to believe God exists and has worked for mankind’s good since creation. The Old Testament is a testimony of many faith-filled ancients. These are people God chose to fulfill his purpose at particular times in history. The remaining verses in this chapter will focus on Abraham and mention many others as examples of these ancients steadfast faith. Our faith is certain, too, when we know that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) Even though no one witnessed God’s creation, by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command. What we see now in the heavens and on the earth did not exist until God said they would exist. We remember and quote Hebrews 11:1 because faith must be the foundation of our lives. And in turn, faith must be the essential element of the church’s existence. If we attempt to follow Jesus and be Jesus’ church with material goals and human effort, we may succeed for a time. But a true gospel ministry will only expand when faith empowers God’s work in our individual and corporate lives. Faith allows us to be persistent, to persevere and be patient when the Lord seems slow to answer. If we are truly a faith-filled church, God will bring about what we hope for, perhaps not in our time, but he will do so in his time. Hebrews 11 is a testimony of our LORD God’s great, saving work among us. With a view of the past we can now look ahead to surely expect Jesus’s full restoration of the kingdom of God on earth. Comments are closed.
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February 2025
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