Can We Believe What We Can’t See?
Introduction:
Can we believe what we can’t see? The original audience of the book of Hebrews did. They stood their ground in the midst of suffering. They were publicly exposed to insult and persecution and stood by their brothers and sisters in Christ when they experienced the same. They sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of their property. They did all of this because they knew and believed by faith that they had better and lasting possessions that were awaiting them (Hebrews 10:32-34). The rich rewards of faithfulness could not be physically seen, but by faith, they regarded these to be just as real as the things that can be seen.
What happened? The readers have taken their eyes off of the Lord and His promise for future reward and have instead focused their attention on the hardship and suffering around them. They are considering the option of throwing in the towel by going back to Judaism, instead of continuing to trust God and persevere faithfully. At this moment of crisis, they have to make a decision. There are two paths from which they have to choose under these circumstances.
Persevere Or Shrink Back
The way of faith Or The way of retreat
Trust God and continue to publicly identify with Christ- Or Turn back to Judaism-
Whose revelation of the Father is the best; Who is the best a bankrupt system
High Priest, Whose work is superior. with nothing to offer.
Just as their choice is clear, so are the consequences of each choice.
Rich reward, God’s pleasure, Or Death under God’s
& victory in the end because of faith in God. judgment of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
because of unbelief.
What was needed for these believers to remain faithful to Christ and press on through the severe times they were enduring? The key to their perseverance was faith in God. They needed to trust Him, focusing not on the things around them, but on the promises for the future they anticipated and hoped for based on the promise of God.
Dwight Pentecost makes a good point here: “The Christian cliché about being ‘so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good’ perhaps doesn’t hold water. According to this passage, our ability to be any ‘earthly good’ for the cause of Christ is based entirely on what we know in our minds to be true about our ‘heavenly’ position. Based on what is true from a heavenly perspective, we can live victoriously in this earthly realm.”
Recognizing the critical importance of faith to their situation, the writer provides in Hebrews 11 several examples from history of great men and women of God who have trusted Him in the face of adverse circumstances. These examples are given to encourage God’s people throughout the ages to follow in their footsteps.
The writer begins chapter 11 with a working definition of faith and then proceeds with a long list of examples of people who risked their lives, who were willing to pay a high price, if need be, because they trusted God.
Working Definition of Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3)
Faith is being sure of things hoped for.
It is the confidence assurance that God’s promises for the future will come to pass.
Faith deals with future matters, things expected, but not yet realized. Faith isn’t wishful thinking about what might happen in the future. It is confidence of what will certainly happen, based on the promises of God who can’t and won’t lie.
Faith is the God-given conviction that what we can’t see exists.
It is being just as certain that things we can’t see are as real as things we can.
The rich rewards of trusting God and faithfully persevering under trial can’t be seen like rocks and trees, but God given faith allows us to regard these as being just as real and certain as what we can physically see.
Illustration: A little girl walked up to her daddy who was reading a book and asked for a dollhouse. The father promptly nodded and promised to build her one, then he went back to reading his book. Soon, he glanced out the window of his study and saw his daughter’s arms filled with dishes, toys, and dolls, making trip after trip until she had a great pile of playthings in the yard. He asked his wife what their daughter was doing. She responded, “Oh, you promised to build her a doll house, and she believes you. She’s just getting ready for it.” That’s faith. That is being sure of things hoped for and certain of what cannot yet be seen.
Faith’s starting point is understanding the universe was formed at God’s command
By faith, we understand God brought the universe into existence by His command. Man was confronted with a physical universe already in existence when he came on the scene. The universe he sees was not made out of visible material, but by God’s command. Because there were no human spectators present at the time of creation, for us to understand how the universe came into existence, we are utterly dependent on God to reveal it. We have to trust in the Creator’s testimony of how the universe was framed.
Our understanding is not based on physical evidence we can see, but on faith in His Word. God said that He created the universe, that settles it, and by faith we understand this fact.
Why is faith in what God has said about the creation of the world a critical starting point? If we don’t trust God’s Word that He created it all, would we ever trust God for anything else? If we don’t trust God with regards to what He has said about His being responsible for the creation of it all in the beginning, will we ever trust Him in regards to what He says about where the universe is heading in the future? We will only trust God for what He has promised for the future if we trust Him for what He has revealed about past–namely, that He is responsible for bringing the universe into existence. It is important that our trust in God be operative both in our looking back to the past and looking ahead to the future.
Examples of Faith (Hebrews 11:4-7)
Abel’s Example (11:4)
By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain.
In what way was Abel’s offering a better sacrifice than that of Cain? The traditional view is that it was a superior sacrifice because of the material Abel used. In other words, flocks are better than fruit. Abel’s sacrifice was better because he used an acceptable animal. Cain’s offering was inferior to Abel’s and disqualified because of his use of the wrong materials.
The problem with the traditional view is first of all, there is no indication from the text that this was a sin offering that required a blood sacrifice. There were other offerings made in the Old Testament besides sin offerings and other materials for offerings besides sacrificed animals. The Old Testament speaks not only of sacrificial animal offerings, but also of grain offerings. These were offered as an act of gratitude and regarded as acceptable to God.
The writer of Hebrews does not state that Abel’s sacrifice was superior because of its bloody character, nor does Moses make this point in Genesis. Rather, the writer of Hebrews says his offering was superior because it was offered in faith. An important clue for interpreting Hebrews 11:4 is found in Genesis 4:3-4. Notice the following contrast between the two offerings, “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from the firstborn of his flock.”
He offered the first and the best of his flock.
Cain only fulfilled his obligation and gave God something. His offering was not presented with faith. He didn’t bring his best (the firstfruits) as an appropriate acknowledgment and expression of worship to His God. Abel, on the other hand, brought God the first, the fat, the best in gratitude and tribute to His God.
How was Abel’s sacrifice a demonstration of faith and therefore superior to Cain’s? How was Abel demonstrating confident assurance in things hoped for and conviction about what he couldn’t see?
He trusted God, not his flocks or his income.
Cain, just gave something, but nothing special. If you study the accounts in Genesis 4 that describe his children, you will learn something very interesting about what was important to their father. They became great builders, great farmers, great musicians, great artists, great tool makers. Their trust was in their accomplishments, but they evidently didn’t have any time for God. Their concern was making a name for themselves, not submitting to God’s authority and pleasing Him. Like father, like sons in this case. It should be no surprise his kids turned out this way. Cain, in just giving some, and not his best, demonstrated trust not in God, but in his accomplishments, in what He could provide for himself. He couldn’t convince himself to give his best–how then would he be able to take care of himself?
Abel, on the other hand, gave off of the top, not from the bottom of the barrel, and thereby demonstrated faith in God to take care of him. He wasn’t lamenting the loss of his best animals, wondering how his needs would be met. He gave God an appropriate expression of honor and worship by offering his very best and trusted Him to provide for his need. Abel did just what is prescribed in Proverbs 3:9- “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase.”
The result of Abel’s faith:
Abel obtained God’s testimony that He was a righteous man.
Abel trusted God and gave Him his best, therefore, like Abraham, “His faith is counted to Him for righteousness.” It wasn’t through Abel’s sacrifice that he obtained righteousness, but through faith that produced obedience.
Abel left a lasting legacy, even though he died prematurely.
Instead of changing his course when God communicated His displeasure with Cain’s offering, Cain attacked the one who was living by faith and desiring to please God. Even though Abel died young, his legacy continues today. As the text says, “And by faith, he still speaks, even though he is dead.”
What did Abel’s example communicate to the original audience of the book of Hebrews? Abel, because of his superior sacrifice, was killed by his brother. Likewise, these believers might be killed by their unsaved Jewish brothers if they continue to trust in the superior sacrifice, who is Jesus. What does Abel say by his example?
Abel still speaks: “Trust Jesus even if you are killed for your faith in Him.”
Trust God to reward you for seeking to please Him, even if you have to die for your faith in Him. The rewards ahead for pleasing God now, even if it means we have to die, are worth it.
We sometimes will hear the objection, “A person has to live, doesn’t he?” The Bible is clear, “No, we don’t have to live!” We have to trust God and remain faithful whatever that means for our lives.
Enoch’s Example (11:5):
When we consider the genealogical section of Genesis 5, in which a brief account is given of the life and example of Enoch, we discover that he was a contemporary of Methusaleh , who was his son, and Lamech who was his grandson. Lamech of course was the father of Noah. What was life like on earth when these men lived? While Enoch disappeared from the scene 69 years before Noah was born and close to seven hundred years before the flood, the wicked culture that brought God’s judgment was already in force. We learn this from the prophecy that is attributed to Enoch in Jude 14-15- “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’”
For 365 years, Enoch lived in the midst of a terribly evil, depraved society. How did Enoch conduct himself in days like these?
By faith, Enoch walked with God in a culture dedicated to selfish, ungodly living.
If evil men would be judged for speaking harsh words against God, how do you think these people treated Enoch, God’s servant, who warned them of this approaching judgment? Even so, Enoch faithfully preached God’s message, warning people about what was coming.
In Jude 14 where we read Enoch’s words, “See, the Lord is coming...to judge,” the text can also be translated in the past tense– “See, the Lord has come...to judge.” Though what Enoch preached was yet future, he considered God’s warning to be such a sure thing that he regarded it as a done deal. Enoch warned of an all encompassing judgement of “everyone.” No such judgment like this had occurred up to this point in history, but Enoch took God at His Word. If God says judgement is coming, it is as good as done.
Even though everyone else around Enoch was characterized by ungodly living, he walked with God. He didn’t just go through the motions of life, He had continual fellowship with God. He walked step by step communing together with his God. I wonder, considering how Enoch lived, if his translation to be with God was much of a change or interruption to what he was used to.
The result:
One day, Enoch was suddenly taken from this life. No one ever found him because God took him away.
Enoch never experienced death.
Enoch didn’t die. He walked with God and kept on walking.
Enoch pleased God.
Like Enoch, we live in a society that is in many ways characterized by evil and ungodliness and is just as certain to be judged. Just as Enoch’s culture spoke harsh words against God, our culture is similar in that it scoffs at God. 2 Peter 3:3-4- “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’” Peter goes on to explain how these scoffers will deny both God’s creation of the world and His judgment through the flood.
Just as the time between Enoch’s warning of judgment and judgment actually coming was many years, considerable time has transpired between Peter’s warning and its realization-- in fact we are still waiting. Peter warns, “By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment.” This still hasn’t happened yet. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, but is exercising His patience, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
How do we respond in days like these? Do we faithfully proclaim the good news and warn people of coming judgment in hopes they might turn to God in faith? Do we walk faithfully with our God, even though the world around us is characterized by selfishness and ungodliness? Do we trust Him that just as He has promised, there will one day be a group of believers who will be walking with God and will keep on walking when Jesus comes for His church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)? Living for Jesus can be difficult, but the rich rewards for faithful perseverance are worth it. Do we trust God that this is the case--that any price we have to pay now is worth it in view of the rewards of faith we will enjoy later?
The Importance of Faith (11:6):
Without it, it is impossible to please God.
The text doesn’t say that without faith it is difficult to please God. It says that without faith, it is impossible. The only way to live a godly, obedient life that evokes God’s pleasure is to live our lives trusting in His guidance and leaning on His sure promises. Is it your greatest aim in life to hear these sweet words of our Master’s pleasure in us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” If so, we must live by faith.
The only way to come to God:
Believe He exists
If we don’t trust our unseen God exists, that He is all the Bible claims Him to be, we won’t ever come to God.
Believe He rewards those who seek Him.
If we don’t believe God rewards those who seek Him, we will never come to Him with our best! We will never pay the price for being faithful to Him in a world heading in the opposite direction. We will never be willing to risk having to let go of our property, lifestyle, dreams, finances, comforts, ease, security, or time if we don’t trust that Godwill reward us for faithfulness. The willingness to accept the costs required of those who faithfully follow Jesus won’t be there if a person insists on making choices on the basis of what he or she can see. We can’t see God’s promised rewards. They still await future consummation. We have to believe what we can’t see, that God’s rewards are real and sure if we are to come to God and walk in the footsteps of the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 who exemplify for us what faith looks like.
Noah’s Example:
Noah lived during a time in world history when everyone around him was absorbed in a pagan, evil, ungodly society. There was an earlier time when a distinction existed between the people of God who identified with Him and the pagans who lived their lives without Him. That distinction was gone. The Bible tells us that every intent of the heart of all people was only evil all the time except for one, Noah. Noah was totally alone. Noah was the only one who cared about pleasing God. He was the only one on planet earth known for righteousness, blamelessness, and a faithful walk with God. Noah was the only one known for his faith. Noah’s stance wasn’t popular, he found himself going completely against the crowd, everyone else was doing something different, but just the same, He trusted God.
By faith, Noah believed God’s warning about a universal flood and built an ark.
The people had never seen anything like the flood God warned them was coming. There had not yet been a time of universal judgment of any sort. From the perspective of what can be seen, this didn’t make any sense. But God said it was coming, Noah believed it, and spent 120 building an ark because God told him to. Noah trusted God and did what He said.
During a time when no one cared about God, he courageously preached righteousness. By modern standards, Noah would have been considered a failure. Church growth experts would have questioned what Noah was doing wrong. Only Noah’s family responded to his preaching. Everyone else ignored him, but Noah kept preaching anyway. He was faithful to keep trusting God and doing the right thing even though everyone, but his family didn’t appreciate what he had to say. That’s faith in what you can’t see. What Noah preached and prepared for was 120 years away, but He trusted God and demonstrated his trust by doing all that God commanded.
The results:
His family was delivered.
Noah’s family responded to his preaching. They, by faith, stood with Noah and followed him into the ark.
He condemned the world.
Noah trusted God and his faith was demonstrated by a completely separated life that was different from the rest of all mankind, thereby affirming their condemnation. When we stand alone for God, it will sometimes look and feel like we have the short end of the stick, that we have a “raw deal.” In the end, it is we who will experience deliverance and reward and it is the unrighteous who will be condemned. It looked to the Hebrew believers like their unbelieving persecutors had it better. From the perspective of what can be seen, that was true, but from the perspective of what can’t be seen, but is just as real, that was definitely not true.
He became an heir of righteousness.
Because of Noah’s faith, God declared him righteous. He believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness—the kind of righteousness that comes only by faith.
Implications For Our Lives Today:
This text is challenging for us to apply. Why? We aren’t going through the kinds of suffering and persecution the original readers of Hebrews had to endure. Our decision to publicly identify with Christ does not presently bring severe persecution. We aren’t afraid of the possibility of being killed after this church service because we follow Jesus. We aren’t worried about losing our house or job because we are Christians.
Our situation compared to that of the original audience is different. They needed to trust God that persevering through suffering and experiencing loss for Christ’s name was worth it in light of the rich reward that was ahead of them. By faith, they needed to regard those unseen realities as being just as real as the suffering and persecution that was in front of them.
While our situation today is not the same, our need to trust God is just as critical. What do we need to trust God for? We need to trust God that this world is not our reward.
Consider for a moment one of the purposes for which God allows His church to exist in a time of peace and safety as opposed to persecution and suffering. In 1 Timothy 2, we are exhorted to pray for our leaders. Why? So that we may live peaceful and quiet lives. Why? This pleases God who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Peace and safety is a better environment for the spread of the gospel than times of unrest.
We need to trust God that giving ourselves to faithfulness to the spread of the gospel and to discipleship is a worthwhile way to spend our lives. When living in a day in which we can be completely indulging ourselves and living for the good times just like everyone else, it takes faith to trust God that this world is not our home and that the rewards for sacrificially giving our lives for His purposes is the better way to go in light of the rich rewards that await those who are faithful.
While suffering and being persecuted for our faith doesn’t presently threaten our physical well-being and property as it did for the readers of Hebrews, the faithful follower of Christ will nonetheless sense the things that people of this world so often cling to threatened because of their decision to faithfully follow Jesus. How will we respond then?
As faithful followers of Christ, we will publicly identify with Christ and proclaim the good news of Jesus when the opportunity arises. We will faithfully say in a world that is intolerant of our faith in Jesus– He is the only way to heaven. For doing so, our popularity might suffer. We might be teased and called names. We might observe people talking about us behind our back. Will we persevere, trusting God that the rich rewards for faithfulness are worth it?
As faithful followers of Christ, we will faithfully make disciples of others, a task that we will find to be life consuming. Precious time will be given as we teach others what it looks like to live in obedience to our Lord. There will be activities and opportunities we might have to forego because of our commitment to reproducing what God has done in us in the lives of others. There are a lot of other things we could be doing and will miss out on. We might find ourselves having to pass on opportunities for advancement or greater income at work, not wanting the demands of a job to keep us from faithfulness to the task of making disciples.
When faithfully following Jesus and publicly identifying with Him threatens the things of this life that so many people cling to–How will we respond? Will we focus on the things around us and try to hold on to them? Or Will we trust God that the rewards for faithful perseverance are real and well worth the things we might have to let go of on earth in our faithful pursuit of Jesus?
This sermon is entitled, “Can we believe what we can’t see?” I began my sermon with this question. However, the real question is, “Will we believe what we can’t see?”
Will we persevere as faithful followers of Christ when we thereby risk losing our stuff, our dreams, our comfort & ease, our security, our lifestyle, our safety, our schedule, our very life?
Trust God that the present losses we incur for persevering as faithful followers of Christ are worth it in light of the rich rewards that are ahead.