The Superior Faith (preaching resource for 8/10 and 8/17/25, 9th and 10th Sundays after Pentecost)
This post exegetes Hebrews chapter 11 providing context for the Epistle readings on 8/10 and 8/17/25. the 9th and 10th Sundays after Pentecost. Insights are drawn from Warren Wiersbe (The Bible Expository Commentary) and F.F. Bruce (The Epistle to the Hebrews).
Introduction
Prior to chapter 11 in Hebrews, we learn that Jesus is the Superior Person (chapters 1-6), with the Superior Priesthood (chapters 7-10). These truths form the basis for the Christian faith, namely allegiance to and trust in Jesus only. This faith is Superior Faith because it is greater than that offered by the old covenant. Because they were being persecuted for their trust in Jesus, the original Jewish Christian readers of this book were tempted to return to the inferior faith of the old covenant. It’s easier for all of us to trust in the known and visible than to trust in the invisible realities of God.
Hebrews chapter 10 ends with this exhortation:
My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:38-39)
The author then devotes chapter 11 to continuing this exhortation to live by faith—to do so is the essence of Christian ‘maturity’ (Heb 6:1). Chapter 11 continues this exhortation to live the Superior Faith with two parts: faith’s description and faith’s demonstration.
1. Faith’s description
Hebrews 11:1–3
1 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.
Rather than defining faith, the writer describes it: Faith has to do with things future (“what we hope for”, 11:1a) and unseen (“what we do not see”, 1b). The NIV (being sure of what we hope for) describes faith as confidence in God’s promises. The KJV (‘faith is the substance of things hoped for’) suggests that what is hoped for becomes real (substantial) through the exercise of faith. This is not magical thinking. Rather, the reality of what is hoped for is confirmed for us in our experience when we live by faith in God’s promises. Faith is thus the ‘proving’ or ‘testing’ of invisible realities: the existence of God, his faithfulness to his word and his control over our world. If this description of faith seems abstract, its meaning becomes more concrete in the illustrations that follow. For such faith “the ancients were commended” (Heb 11:2 and compare Heb 11:4, 5, 39). In the record of Scripture, God testified to their faith, and so made them ‘witnesses’ (Heb. 12:1) of true faith for us.
The first illustration of faith takes us back to creation: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command” (Heb 11:3a). The point here is that God is in control. He is in control of nature and history, past and present. Thus every generation of believers can trust his promises about the future, no matter what it may cost them. When the writer says “what is seen was not made out of what was visible” he alludes back to the description of faith in Heb 11:1. Faith discerns that the universe of space and time has an invisible source and that it continues to be dependent on “God’s command” (literally, ‘God’s word’). Such faith is based on the revelation God has given us in Scripture and a trust in God’s sovereign power. What he promises in his word we can ‘take to the bank.’
How do we grow in faith? We walk with those who live by faith. The remainder of the chapter is a brief walking tour through the Old Testament examining the lives and labors of men and women who have lived by faith (though often quite imperfectly—this is real life, not fantasy). In each example we find the same elements: (1) God spoke to them through his word; (2) their inner beings were stirred; (3) they responded in obedience; (4) God bore approving witness about their lives.
2. Faith’s demonstration
Hebrews 11:4–40
a. Abel—faith worshiping (v. 4)
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
The background story here is in Genesis 4:1–10. Abel was a righteous man because of faith (Matt. 23:35). God had revealed to Adam and his descendants the true way of worship, and Abel obeyed God by faith. In fact, his obedience cost him his life. Cain was not a child of God (1 John 3:12) because he did not have faith. He was religious but not righteous through faith. Abel was the first martyr of the faith.
b. Enoch—faith walking (vv. 5–6)
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 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.
Our faith in God grows as we fellowship with God. We must have both the desire to please him and the diligence to seek him. Prayer, meditating on the Word, worship, discipline—all of these help us walk with God. Enoch walked with God in the wicked world, before the Flood came; he was able to keep his life pure. Enoch was “taken” (translated) to heaven and seen no more. Abel died a violent death, but Enoch never died. God has a different plan for each one who trusts him.
c. Noah—faith working (v. 7)
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Noah’s faith involved the whole person: his mind was warned of God; his heart was moved with fear; and his will acted on what God told him. Since nobody at that time had ever seen a flood, Noah’s actions must have generated a great deal of interest and probably ridicule as well. Noah’s faith influenced his whole family and they were saved. It also condemned the whole world, for his faith revealed their unbelief. Events proved that Noah was right. Jesus used this experience to warn people to be ready for His return (Matt. 24:36–42). In Noah’s day, the people were involved in innocent everyday activities and completely ignored Noah’s witness (2 Peter 2:5).
d. The patriarchs—faith waiting (vv. 8–22)
8a By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went…
The emphasis in this section is on the promise of God and his plans for the nation of Israel. The nation began with the call of Abraham. God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but they had to wait twenty-five years for the fulfillment of that promise. Their son Isaac became the father of Jacob and Esau, and it was Jacob who really built the nation through the birth of his twelve sons. Joseph saved the nation in the land of Egypt, and Moses would later deliver them from Egypt. Such faith-filled waiting for God to fulfill his promises is difficult, yet a person of living faith waits for the fulfillment of God’s purposes in God’s time. And while waiting, a faithful person continues to obey God…
1) even when he doesn’t know where God is taking him (vv. 8–10)
8 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. 9 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. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham lived in tents because he was a stranger and pilgrim in the world and had to be ready to move whenever God spoke. Christians today are also strangers and pilgrims (1 Peter 1:1; 2:11). Abraham had his eyes on the heavenly city and lived “in the future tense.”
2) even when he doesn’t know how God’s promises will be accomplished (vv. 11–12)
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-- and Sarah herself was barren-- was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Both Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children. Yet they both believed that God would do the miracle (Rom. 4:13–25). Unbelief asks, “How can this be?” (Luke 1:18–20). Faith asks, “How shall this be?” (Luke 1:34–37),
3) even when he doesn’t know when God’s promises will be accomplished (vv. 13–16)
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 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.
None of the patriarchs saw the complete fulfillment of God’s promises, but they saw from “afar off” what God was doing. These men and women of faith lived in tents, but they knew a heavenly city awaited them. God always fulfills his promises to his believing people, either immediately or ultimately.
4) even when he doesn’t know why God is working the way he is (vv. 17–19)
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Why would God want Abraham to sacrifice his son when it was the Lord who gave him that son? All of a future nation’s promises were wrapped up in Isaac. The tests of faith often become more difficult as we walk with God, yet the rewards often are more wonderful. And we must not ignore the obedient faith of Isaac.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.In Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, we have four generations of faith. These men were not perfect, but they were devoted to God and trusted his Word. They were men of faith. And that is what we are called to be.
e. Moses—faith warring (vv. 23–29)
23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
For the parents of Moses to hide their baby son from the authorities was certainly an act of faith. The account is given in Exodus 2:1–10. Their son Moses also became a person of faith—revealed here in three great themes from Moses’ life.
1) The refusal of faith (vv. 24–25)
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
As the adopted son of the Egyptian princess, Moses could have led an easy life. But his faith moved him to refuse that and identify with God’s suffering people. True faith causes a believer to hold the right values and make the right decisions. The phrase “pleasures of sin” does not refer only to lust and other gross sins. The phrase describes a way of life that we today would call “successful”—position, prestige, power, wealth, and freedom from problems.
2) The disgrace of faith (v. 11:26a)
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt…
Moses left the palace and never went back to the old life! He identified with the Jewish slaves! Men and women of faith often have to bear disgrace and suffering. The Apostles suffered for their faith. Are we willing to bear disgrace to follow Christ?
3) The reward of faith (vv. 11:26b-29)
…because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. 29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
God rewards true faith—if not immediately, at least ultimately. Over against “the treasures in Egypt” Moses looked ahead to “his reward.” As one commentator notes: “Moses chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible.” Moses’ faith enabled him to face Pharaoh unafraid, and to trust God to deal with the enemy. The endurance of Moses was not a natural gift, for by nature Moses was hesitant and timid. This endurance and courage came as the reward of his faith.
The faith of Moses was rewarded with deliverance for him and his people. (See Ex. 11–13 for the Passover account.) Faith brings us out (Heb. 11:27), takes us through (Heb. 11:29), and brings us in (Heb. 11:30). When we trust God, we receive what God can accomplish; but when we trust ourselves, we receive only what weak humans can accomplish. The experience of Moses is proof that true biblical faith means obeying God in spite of circumstances and in spite of consequences.
f. Joshua and Rahab—faith winning (vv. 30–31)
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
The account of the conquest of Jericho is found in Joshua 2–6. Joshua was Moses’ successor as leader of Israel, and he succeeded because he trusted the same God that Moses trusted. God does not change, he blesses faith and judges unbelief. The Jericho victory involved not only the faith of Joshua and other Israelites—it also involved the faith of Rahab, a non-Israelite prostitute who trusted in Israel’s God. As a result…
- Rahab was saved by grace. The other inhabitants of the city were marked for death, but God in his mercy and grace permitted Rahab to live.
- Rahab was saved through faith. What she knew about God is recorded in Joshua 2:8–14. She knew that Jehovah had delivered Israel from Egypt and that he had opened the Red Sea. But that was forty years before! She also knew God had defeated the other nations during Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Josh. 2:11). God honored that faith.
- Rahab was saved unto good works. True faith shows itself in good works (James 2:20–26). In faith, Rahab went to work: she protected the spies, put the cord in the window as directed (Josh. 2:15–21); she apparently won her family to faith (Josh. 2:13; 6:25), and in every way obeyed the God of Israel.
Not only was Rahab delivered from judgment, but she became a part of the nation of Israel. She married Salmon and gave birth to Boaz who was an ancestor of King David (Matt. 1:4–6). Imagine a pagan harlot becoming a part of the ancestry of Jesus! That is what faith can do!
g. Various heroes of faith (vv. 32–40)
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
There are many examples in the Old Testament of men and women who won victories of faith like those referred to here. These people were not perfect (in fact some, like Samson, were far from perfect). But the point seems to be that faith can operate in the life of any person who will dare to listen to God’s Word and surrender to God’s will.
- Gideon was a frightened farmer, yet his faith grew (Judges 6:11–7:25).
- Barak won a resounding victory though he needed Deborah to bolster his confidence (Judges 4:1–5:31).
- Samson (Judges 13–16) yielded to his fleshly appetites, yet he trusted God to help and deliver him and, in the end, was willing to give his life to defeat the enemy.
- Jephthah (Judges 11:1–12:7) most likely dedicated his daughter to the Lord and to perpetual virginity on the basis of the “law of vows” (Lev. 27).
- David subdued kingdoms and wrought righteousness. Then there are unnamed people like Daniel whose faith “shut the mouths of lions”, and the three Hebrew boys who overcame the power of the fiery furnace. The unnamed women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11:35 have their stories given in 1 Kings 17:17–24 and 2 Kings 4:18–37.
The transition in Hebrews 11:35 is important: not all men and women of faith experience miraculous deliverance. In fact, some were tortured and died for their faith. The word translated “others” in Heb. 11:36 means “others of a different kind.” These “others” had faith, but God did not see fit to deal with them in the same way he dealt with Moses, Gideon, and David.
Comment: The ‘health and wealth gospel’, promulgated by ‘Word of Faith’ and other televangelists and churches, says, in effect, if your faith is strong enough, God must bless you, or heal you, or prosper you—whatever you claim through your “word [proclamation] of faith.” But this assertion does not line up with Scripture or with the centuries of experience of God’s people. Some people of strong faith are not delivered, healed, or prospered. This passage in Hebrews records the fact that many unknown men and women of faith were not delivered from difficult circumstances; yet God acknowledged and honored their faith. Frankly, it often takes more faith to endure than it does to escape. We should trust God and obey him in faith even if he does not deliver us (see Dan. 3:16–18).
Man’s estimate of these heroes of faith was low; so men persecuted them, arrested them, tortured them, and in some cases, killed them. But God’s estimate of them is entirely different. He said the world was not worthy of them. But faith enables us to turn from the approval of the world and seek only the approval of God. If God is glorified by delivering us, fine. But if he sees fit to be glorified by not delivering us, that is fine too. We trust God, and we never conclude that the absence of deliverance means a lack of faith on the part of one of God’s children.
We note here that faith looks to the future (Heb 11:40), for that is where the great rewards are found. The people named in this chapter (and those unnamed) “did not receive the things promised” (Heb 11:13) but they had God’s witness to their faith that one day they would be rewarded. One day all who place their trust in God to save them (and not in anything else, including in their own faith) will share the heavenly reward.
Conclusion
Today we give thanks for these saints of old—they were faithful during difficult times. We are also humbled to know that we are the ones who have received the “better blessing” (Heb. 11:40). These faithful saints of old only saw these blessings from a distance (John 8:56), but we enjoy them “up close and personal” today in and through Jesus.
We conclude by noting that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). But this kind of faith is readily available to us as God’s gift through Jesus. It grows as we listen to God’s word (Rom. 10:17) and fellowship with him in worship and prayer. Faith is possible to all kinds of believers in all kinds of situations. It’s not a luxury for a few “super saints.” Rather, it may be experienced by all of God’s people.