Sermon Tone Analysis

What is Faith?

What does it mean to have Faith?

[Illustration] The Cliff

A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down.

The following conversation ensued:

“Is anyone up there?”

“I am here.

I am the Lord.

Do you believe me?”

“Yes, Lord, I believe.

I really believe, but I can’t hang on much longer.”

“That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about.

I

will save you.

Just let go of the branch.”

A moment of pause, then: “Is anyone else up there?”

[Explanation] That’s what a faithless life looks like.

You’re hanging by a tree branch, about to fall to your eternal separation from God and God reaches out and tells us how we can be saved, we just have to trust, trusting an immaterial being you cannot see can seem extremely scary but when we first let go of being in control and allowing God to be in control that shows our first step in faith.

today we are going to answer the question, [sermon point] what does it mean to have faith because without faith we can know there is a creator, but we must have faith that the creator is the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

So, if you can turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11, we are going to answer what it means to have faith so turn with me to and while you’re doing that I’ll give you an overview of the book of Hebrews.

[historical background] Hebrews is an interesting book because it gives no author and people would like to claim that Paul wrote it, maybe one of Paul’s closest colleagues Barnabas is the author.

we are not for sure but we are sure it is God’s Word.

In order to know what we are reading we have to look at the context of when it was written and to whom it was written.

So, the book of Hebrews is a letter written to a group of Hebrew Christians who have in their generation not yet experienced persecution but can look back in the past and remember the persecution that had happened to Christians, these Christians had a high risk of persecution to come which means that this letter was written in the middle of two great times of persecution.

The first was in the time of Nero approximately AD 64 and then next was in the reign of Domitian about AD 85.

The letter was written to a church that had great teachers and leaders, a church that previously suffered persecution, a church that was not directly founded by any Apostle.

When we sum it all up, we can say that Hebrews is a letter written by a great teacher to a little group of Hebrew Christians in Rome.

He was their teacher; at the time he was separated from them and was afraid that they were drifting away from the faith; and so, he wrote this letter to them insuring that the Christians stayed the course even though there was possible persecution.

So, we pick up in .

Passage: NASB

“1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

[Explanation] Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

before we can understand what faith is, we must first define the word hope here that is used.

the word hope when used in the bible is different from what us as westerners would think of hope as.

[Illustration] when we use the word hope we are usually hoping for something like a Duke to lose every time to UNC regardless of the sport, it’s not something that we know will happen we just hope it happens.

when hope is used in the NT it refers to a desire for a future outcome that is absolutely sure based on our trust in the promises of God, we can be fully confident about the outcome.

[Quote] R.C. Sproul said in his book What is Faith?

“when God gives His people a promise for the future, and the church grasps it, this hope is said to be the “anchor of the soul” ().

An anchor is that which gives a ship protection against aimless drifting in the sea. the promise of God for tomorrow are the anchor for believers today.”

so, since faith is the substance of things hoped for, faith is of such significant value and the implication is that faith communicates the essence of hope.

Point 1: Hope is Faith looking forward.

I can have hope because I have faith in the one true God.

verse 2 is connected with the proceeding verses from verse 4 and onward where the author shows why the men and women of old through their faith in God gained approval.

Verse 3, 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

as I said before you have to put faith in the one true God that created all of this, He designed this world out of nothing (so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.)

Contradicts evolution when looking through the lenses of the Bible.

[Illustration] A group of distinguished scientists and theologians gathered in Washington, DC, to participate in the Cosmic Questions Conference.

They discussed issues such as these: "Is there a God?" and "Can we believe that there is purpose and design in the universe?"

Some of the participants answered those questions emphatically, "No!"

No God, no design, no purpose.

But others, like John Polkinghorne, a British scholar and former president of Queens College at Cambridge, held staunchly to the opposite opinion.

A noted physicist, Polkinghorne argued that the answers lie "beyond physics."

[Explanation] You see without the Bible, scientists are baffled by the universe.

They can guess and come up with theories all they want but they have no authoritative answers to the cosmic questions.

The Bible alone tells us where everything came from, why everything exists, and what lies ahead.

In , Job learned that it was God who “laid the foundation of the earth”.

When scientists and the general public cannot find the answers, it becomes more prevalent that the Bible the Word of God is the ultimate authority and through having faith that God is the creator of everything there we will find rest for our mind and peace for our soul.

verse 4

[Passage] 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

[Explanation] This is a part of history that we all remember, the first killing of man.

Cain killing Abel.

within this passage the author is conveying that there is two people giving offerings.

A Godly man and a carnal man.

Abel is the Godly man and Cain is the carnal man.

how can we tell between a Godly person giving in faith and a carnal person giving in church?

[Illustration] I’ll explain one way, to glorify God and to enjoy God; the children of God not only work for God but enjoy working.

A child of God will live a life that shows a response towards God that will be distinct from the outside world.

A life that will gain approval.

In contrast a carnal man is content with giving what they can instead of giving everything and work only what they feel they need to and there is no true back and forth relationship between God and the soul.

Cain was content with only giving of the fruit of the ground he believed would be sufficient for God and that showed he had no relationship between God and his soul when he sacrificed while Abel gave his firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions, Abel gave and more.

A Godly man or woman will give and give more out of the generosity of their heart.

remember it’s not about what Cain and Abel scarified it’s about how each of them gave, an identity of their hearts that showed who had faith in God and who did not.

Point 2: Faith is the means by which we live in response to the commands of God.

verse 5

[Passage] 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God.

[Explanation] We cannot come to God if we don’t believe there is a God.

we cannot seek to please God if we don’t believe that God exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Enoch demonstrated his faith by seeking to please God.

[Illustration] You know, people want to feel better, reduce stress, and shed pounds.

There’s an exercising company in Japan with a fitness philosophy of walking 10,000 steps a day, experts advise starting slowly and working toward a higher goal, realizing each day that every step counts.

Isn’t that how Enoch was?

He stayed spiritually fit by “walking with God”, which the Bible describes as an intimate, growing relationship with the Lord.

“Enoch walked with God three hundred years” ()

To walk with God, we need to keep in step without running ahead or lagging behind.

Along the way, we talk with the Lord, listen to Him, and enjoy His presence.

We trust His guidance when we cannot see what lies ahead.

It is not just the destination that is important, but the journey of faith that we take.

The important part here is not that Enoch got taken up and did not die but that Enoch had such great faith that he walked with God every step of his three hundred years on earth.

And because Enoch had such great faith, verse 6.

[Passage] 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Enoch pleased God because he believed and had faith, Enoch was rewarded and we can be too if we continue to walk with God.

[Explanation] We can have all the knowledge in the world yet still are incapable of knowing God on His level so we have to have faith to connect our knowledge of God with our belief and from there we begin to serve Him with a heart of motivation to please Him and receive the rewards.

Point 3: Faith is central to the motivation of the human heart to live in a way that honors God.

Lets go on…

[Passage] 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

Noah’s faith is demonstrated in the remarkable building project he undertook solely on the fear that God will destroy everything and Noah was pretty confident in God’s promise.

Noah’s faith was justified while the world that did not heed God’s warning were destroyed.

[Illustration] Let’s compare what this means today, how many of us have been warned of something and didn’t prepare or know someone who didn’t prepare?