Hebrews 11: 1 – 16

May 6, 2022

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

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.

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.

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.

14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

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.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 2. strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. (Oxford Languages Dictionary)

Many years ago, my sister-in-law, may she rest in peace, gave me an Amplified Bible. I think it’s a great resource for seekers as it is very elemental and spells things out for someone who may not quite understand the Bible otherwise. I guess she thought I was one of those people or perhaps she had been one herself – in any event, I love this Amplified for the terrific Concordance it has in the back. If you are unfamiliar with a Concordance, it is an alphabetical listing of important words (in this case …) found in the Bible along with a citation of the book, chapter, and verse where the word can be found. Just for fun, I opened the concordance to the word ‘faith’ – from Deuteronomy to the Book of Revelation, there are 162 citations; these citations don’t include the ones for the words ‘faithful’ (56), ‘faithfulness’ (22) or ‘faithless’ (7).

Of course, it doesn’t take counting Bible references to the word ‘faith’ to understand how important that word is to the Christian religion. This verse says it all: 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. We also have this: 2Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight“. Jesus assures us – “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” We are that ‘they’ – we are well over two thousand years away from when Jesus walked with us on earth and yet we believe. We have faith (complete trust or confidence) and because we do, we are blessed. We are many times blessed.

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