Chuck Larsen

Abel pleased God by his faith and through his death he speaks to us of Jesus. But Jesus’ message in the blood is far superior. It is one of forgiveness while Abel’s is a cry for vengeance. Enoch pleased God by his faith and he speaks to us in the fact he didn’t die! He was “taken” into the heavens just as Jesus was at his ascension. The only commendation God gave to Abel and Enoch was on the basis of their faith.  Abel is the hero of his story because he was the righteous one unjustly slain by his brother. Enoch is the hero of his story because he pleased God and God “took him” into heaven. Abel speaks of Jesus in his death. Enoch speaks of Jesus in his being taken into heaven beyond death. Then the writer of Hebrews moves on to share the important principal that will prevail in the lives of all the Old Testament people he mentions in chapter 11. Faith is the essential ingredient for pleasing God.

The writer of Hebrews takes some liberties when he writes about Abel and Enoch. There is no mention in the Old Testament concerning their faith, trust or belief in God. But they both pleased God according to their Old Testament accounts. Our author wants us to understand that there is only one way to please God. Abel offered a sacrifice that God accepted but not on the basis of the sacrifice itself but on the basis of Abel’s heart. Enoch didn’t offer anything to God or do any deed that we can see. Yet both pleased God on the basis of one thing only. Therefore Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Cain offered a sacrifice as well but God did not accept it because Cain did not have “faith” in God. You can do good deeds, offer sacrifices, and not please God. You can also offer no sacrifice and do no good deed and still be pleasing to God. It’s only faith that pleases God.

Faith is trusting that God has good intentions towards you regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself. This is going to be the case for all the people mentioned in the rest of the chapter. Only faith pleases God. God spoke in the days of old through various ways. Abel and Enoch believed, had faith, in God’s Word and pleased God. But in our day, as we read in the 1^st chapter of Hebrews, God speaks to us in His Son. He is the far superior message than the blood of Abel. We are called to believe in Him. This means we must trust God and rest in his sovereignty over the details of our lives.  Faith involves believing in His existence but also in the fact that he “rewards” those who look for him in the circumstances of their lives. I like the way Long explains these two dimensions of faith. He says, “To believe that God exists is to have a profound ‘conviction of things not seen.’ To believe that God rewards those who seek him is not to look for crowns or Cadillacs—such baubles and trinkets demean the idea of holy reward—but for a Sabbath rest (see comment on 4:1–11). The reward of faith is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises for mercy, peace, and salvation, ‘the assurance of things hoped for’ (see 11:1).”^[1]

^[1] Thomas G. Long, Hebrews, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1997), 117.

Salvation has always been by faith alone. God spoke to Israel in various ways in the past. Those who trusted God and His revelation, His Word, were proclaimed “righteous.” Not by keeping the laws or by sacrifices or by rituals but by believing God and His promises.  In chapter 11 of Hebrews many of the Old Testament heroes were commended for their faith, not for their works. After explaining that “Faith” is trusting God to be in control and to have our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our life circumstances, the author of Hebrews says in 11:2, “For by it the people of old received their commendation.”  When talking about all the Old Testament characters that are listed in Hebrews chapter 11, one commentary says, “The heroes of faith have one thing in common: they put their undivided confidence in God. In spite of all their trials and difficult circumstances, they triumphed because of their trust in God. For the author, faith is adhering to the promises of God, depending on the Word of God, and remaining faithful to the Son of God.”^[1]

Notice that this commentator uses the phrase “undivided confidence.” The Prophets, the Angels, Moses, the Law, the Priesthood, the Tabernacle were all means God used to speak to man in times past as the writer says in Chapter 1. But now, all those things were shown to be just shadows of the redemption that Jesus would bring to earth on God’s behalf.  God speaks to us in these days through His Son! Jesus speaks to us now and deserves, no demands, our undivided attention. The writer has already told his readers to focus their attention on Jesus. He told them to keep looking to Jesus. He told them that “abiding” in Jesus was to give their full confidence to His finished work on their behalf. His many warnings concerned slip-sliding away into a religion of self-effort. Faith is not, and it never has been, part trusting in Jesus and part trusting in one’s own efforts, rituals and sacrifices.  Faith, saving faith, is going all in on Jesus! It’s putting all our eggs in his basket. It’s trusting completely and solely on Christ’s work and having no confidence in the flesh.

Saving faith is often illustrated as the Focus on the Family website does by getting in the wheel barrel. It tells of a man named Calvery who in 1892, “…pushed a wheelbarrow over a tightrope stretched across Niagara Falls. After performing this feat, he turned to his audience and asked, ‘Now that you’ve seen what I can do, do you believe I can do it again?’ ‘Yes!’ replied the crowd. ‘Do you think I can do it with another person in the wheelbarrow?’ said Calverly. ‘Yes!’ was the enthusiastic response. ‘Well, then,’ said Calverly, ‘who wants to climb in?’ Genuine New Testament faith means getting in the wheelbarrow. It’s not just a question of standing on the sidelines and saying, ‘I believe.’” (See https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/faith-works-and-salvation/.  Faith is getting into Jesus’ wheelbarrow!)

^[1] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, Exposition of Hebrews, vol. 15, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 310.

The theme of Hebrews chapter 10 seemed to be faith and waiting. Believers can “rest” in God’s finished work while they wait for deliverance from the trials and struggles of this life.  It’s often referred to as “patient endurance.” It might be seen as resting or abiding in the promises of God trusting that they will come true even when things in life don’t seem to support that idea. I’ve often argued that faith isn’t just believing that God exists but it’s believing that He is positively disposed towards you and that he has your best interest foremost in mind regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself.  It’s about accepting God’s unconditional love for us as he demonstrated on the cross of Calvary. Hebrews 11:6 will say that clearly. But the writer opens up Hebrews 11 with a description of faith in general terms. He writes, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

The Handbook for translators says, “A suggested translation would be ‘Those who trust God are sure that he will give them what they hope for; they are certain that things they do not yet see are real.’”^[1] Guzik says, “Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the ‘sense’ that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.” He then goes on to argue that the “sense” of faith can be trusted even more than our sense of sight. He quotes Morris and Bruce to conclude his comments. “Faith has its reasons. The Bible doesn’t recommend a ‘blind leap’ of faith. But the reasons can’t be measured in a laboratory; they have to be understood spiritually. ‘Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying that it has its reasons. Its tests are not those of the senses, which yield uncertainty.’” (Morris) ‘Physical eyesight produces a conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order.’” (Bruce)^[2]

Pfeiffer explains, “The guiding principle of the Christian life is faith. This is not simply a psychological factor, however. To some people faith means believing that you can do a job better than you have done it in the past, or believing that a loved one will rise from his bed of sickness. There may be real value in such ‘positive thinking,’ but this is not the meaning of faith. True Biblical faith has God as its object. We believe God and trust His Word. That Word does not tell us that we have any reason to expect to be the richest merchant on Main Street. It tells us, on the contrary, that we will have tribulations and that as Jesus’ disciples we will have crosses to bear. It assures us, however, of grace to bear them. Faith has a backward look. It declares that God has done mighty acts in days gone by. Faith also has a forward look. It declares that He can be trusted for the future.”^[3] We believe that God speaks to us now through his Son as the author asserted in the first verse of the first chapter of Hebrews. God speaks through Jesus and tells us that he loves us and has our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our circumstances. Faith trusts that to be true! Jesus, as God’s revelation to mankind, is the object of our faith.

^[1] Paul Ellingworth and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1994), 251.

^[2] David Guzik, Hebrews, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Heb 11:1.

^[3] Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962), 90–91.