Lessons From Hebrews – Lesson 11
We ended last week with one of the verse stern warnings to Christians that are found in the book of Hebrews.
Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Heb 10:31 [It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Lord shall judge his people. This warning is for his people. I will recompense saith the Lord. This is not talking about losing your salvation. This is not talking about eternal judgment in hell.
This is talking about doing willful despite to the spirit of grace and receiving the chastening hand of God. As we have seen before in this book, after a stern warning, Paul follows it with some encouragement. Paul tells them to look at their own example of their past.
Heb 10:32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
Heb 10:33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
Paul tells them to remember when they got saved. After they were illuminated, then they endured afflictions for Jesus. In fact it says a great fight of afflictions. They were made a gazingstock.
They were called names. People called them things like a cult. Or a traitor and I am sure much worse. This happens to new Christians today. They get called Holy Joe, or Bible Thumper, or Jesus freak.
Paul has hammering it home to them to not quit. He gave them the truth of how Jesus is better than anything else. He is worthy. He has given them warnings about the chastisement of God.
Paul is telling them don’t quit. Keep going. Now it is like he is saying. I know that you can do it. How do I know? Because you have already been thru it. They have already shown that they can take it.
Paul now reminds them how that they were a blessing and were doing the work of God even when they were enduring a great fight of afflictions.
Heb 10:34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
Even in the trial they had compassion and had the joy of giving to help Paul. He is reminding them of what a blessing that was. And he tells them to remember where they had their focus.
Their eyes were on the future. They were focused on heaven. They had an eternity with their Saviour in view.
You get your focus properly on an eternity with Jesus and that changes how well you can handle trials in this life. You realize that this life is but a vapor. That this is not your home, you are just passing thru. It might be hard here, but it really is just a blink of an eye.
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Paul is reminding them that is where they used to be. They had the right focus, it let them be a blessing to others. They used to have the trials in perspective. They had victory. It gave them great confidence. The point is being made, don’t leave that. Remember your own example in the past. Return to that.
Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Heb 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Don’t quit. Don’t lose patience. In due time after you have done the will of God, the promise will come. Jesus is coming back. He will not tarry. He has a set appointed hour. He will not be late.
Heb 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Verse 38 does not teach that you lose your salvation. It does not say that God will disown you. It says that God will not be pleased with you.
Heb 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
It is like Paul is saying I believe in you. Look at what you have already done for the Lord, what you have already endured. But we are not of them who draw back.
Now comes the great faith chapter. We are seeing it in its context by going verse by verse thru this book. We have seen Jesus is better, Jesus is better, Jesus is better. Don’t quit. Don’t quit.
Remember your own example of faith. I believe in you.
Now look at the example of the faith of others.
You are not alone. Others have gone before you. They also had to wait for God’s promises. They also endured hard things. Look at their example and do likewise. Live a life of faith until the end.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Heb 11:3 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.
We are not going to be able to spend much time on all these verses. Going to go thru it pretty fast. Maybe someday we can come back and do a series on just chapter 11. There is a lot of great stuff in this chapter. This is kind of a quick overview type of series.
Verse 3 we see that Theistic evolution is not compatible with the Bible. The worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
The things which are seen. Rocks, Plants, Trees, Fish and so on. Were not made of things which do appear. So a lizard was not made from a fish. A rabbit did not come from a cat. Air was not made from a big ball that exploded. Nothing evolved. God did not use the process of evolution. God declares in His word that the worlds were framed by the word of God.
Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Psa 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Psa 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
Psa 33:9 For he spake, and it was [done]; he commanded, and it stood fast.
That is the God we serve. That is the God we have faith in. Our faith rests in the Almighty. The reason we can have great faith is because we have a great all powerful Almighty God.
Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Persecutions of those who believe in a blood saving sacrifice by faith have been persecuted by those who believe in works from the very beginning.
Abel’s sacrifice was a more excellent sacrifice because it pictured the cross and the Lamb of God. It was a way to show your faith in the coming sacrifice of the true Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
A sacrifice acknowledges sin and need for forgiveness. Abel’s sacrifice was one that denies human merit or works. It was the innocent dying for the guilty.
Abel’s sacrifice was one of obedience and faith and he became the first martyr.
Cain also offered a sacrifice, but not the one blood sacrifice prescribed by God. Cain offered his good works, the fruit and vegetables, the labor of his own hands. He brought an unbloody sacrifice and was rejected by God.
Cain believed in God. He was religious. He brought a sacrifice. But Cain was not righteous. He refused to come to God God’s way.
Abel has been dead a long time. However, his faith is still being talked about today. That is what it means, he being dead yet speaketh. His example is still speaking to us today. Abel had a saving faith.
Abel tells us about the worshipping faith in which God declares you righteous.
Enoch tells of walking faith.
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Heb 11:6 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.
Enoch’s walk of faith began at the age of 65, with the birth of his son Methuselah. He walked with God for 300 years. That equates to 109,500 days. And he did it in an ungodly world.
Walking speaks of fellowship. It speaks of agreement. Walking speaks of companionship.
Enoch could not see God. He did not have many scriptures. But he had faith and walked with God in a dark world. And we are told before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Faith pleases God. In fact you cannot please God without it.
Heb 11:6 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.
Abel tells us about the worshipping faith in which God declares you righteous.
Enoch tells of walking faith.
Noah tells of working faith.
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, 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.
Notice the progression here 1st a saving faith, then a walking faith, and then a working faith. This order is not presented by accident. Faith is to produce a progression.
The first thing a saved man does is worship God, then he is taught to walk with God, and then he is to work for God. He is to do all three.
Do you see the case that Paul is building? It is faith that saves. Faith is all that saves. It is only by faith that you are declared righteous.
But that is not all faith does. Faith is enough to save and Faith is enough to walk with God and Faith is enough to work for God
It is faith that has the power to see you escape hell, It is faith that empowers you to walk with God and it is faith that enables you to work for God.
Don’t stop your faith with getting saved. Remember the context of the whole book. Paul is telling these Christians to not quit.
The just shall live by faith. After showing great examples of saving faith, walking faith and working faith, we now see the patience and trust of faith.
Abraham has been called the father of faith.
Heb 11:8 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.
The first thing Abraham is commended for is his obedience.
Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.
Abraham on sojourned in the land of promise. The only piece of ground he ever owned in the promised land was the plot he bought to bury his beloved wife Sarah in.
The land was promised but never possessed. Abraham lived year after year after year believing that promise even though he did not yet receive it.
It would be easy to be patient and demonstrate great faith over a short span. For example if we knew Christ would come for sure next month, it would be easy to live for Him. I mean it is only a month and He will be here.
But to keep on keeping on for years, for decades, and for a life time. That takes real patience. Abraham had that kind of patient faith.
Remember the context of the book. The Christians that Hebrews was written to had lost patience waiting on the promises of God. They were thinking about throwing in the towel. They needed to be reminded of the great patient faith of Abraham.
We need the patience of faith as we look forward to the promise of our faith. We have seen saving faith, walking faith, working faith, the patience of faith.
And now we see the miraculous results of believing faith.
Heb 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Heb 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
Now you might be thinking, but did not Sara doubt. Did she not laugh, and then later take matters into her own hands and give Hagar to Abraham to have a son. Yes she did. But after that she obviously decided to believe God and have faith in His promise even though they were incredibly old.
None of her lapses of faith are listed because Heb. 11 is a record of faith, not failures and unbelief. It lists the victories, not defeats.
“God is not keeping a record of our failures so that He can rebuke us. Rather, He is keeping a record of the victories of our faith so He can reward us.” – Wiersbe
Sara saw something miraculous thru faith.
Heb 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
All they great heroes of faith listed above all died in faith. They still believed even though they had not yet received the promises. They were still persuaded of them. They still embraced them.
They saw them afar off. They knew that God could not lie and that He would make good on His promise. They had the patience to wait. Even if the promises are not delivered until Heaven.
Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Heb 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
God is pleased with this kind of unwavering enduring faith. Faith that remains in God’s promises even after waiting decades with no answer. Patient faith that is willing to wait for heaven.
Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.
Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son],
Heb 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
Heb 11:19 Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Here we see faith tested. Abraham was commanded to do something which was beyond reason. He was commanded to do something which seemed to contradict the promise he had been given.
Abraham responded by faith. He believed God, even when he could not understand. He walked by faith and not by sight. He believed God when he did not know where he was going, when he would receive the promise or why God commanded him to offer up his son.
Faith can survive testing.
Heb 11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Faith sees into the future.
Heb 11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, [leaning] upon the top of his staff.
Heb 11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
They possessed the promises. They didn’t have to see them fulfilled to count them as real. To them it was as good as done.
Heb 11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw [he was] a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Here we see a courageous faith. A faith that says no. A faith that puts God’s truth, God’s people, and God’s ways above ease and pleasure.
Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Heb 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Heb 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
What wonderful examples of faith in God’s power.
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Heb 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [of] Barak, and [of] Samson, and [of] Jephthae; [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets:
Heb 11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
The life of faith in NO WAY guarantees an easy road.
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth.
What a summary of the trials of faith. And they all obtained a good report through faith, even though they had not received the promise.
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
They had great faith and without complete revelation. They had very little scripture.
We have more than they did. We have complete revelation. Jesus has come. We don’t live in the shadows, and types, and foreshadowings. We live with the complete revelation of Jesus fulfilling all of that.
We have more revelation and more promises than they had. We have recorded for us many more examples of God’s power and His kept promises than they had.
They had great faith. Shouldn’t we?