Sunday Class Notes: September 15

By Faith

Today’s Text: Hebrews 11

Introduction

This is the famous chapter on faith. It follows from the introduction to the subject in 10:35-39, and falls within a context in Hebrews to bolster the theme of perseverance through trials and persecution. It contains 17 examples of faith from the Old Testament and one that is associated with “we” for a total of 18. It begins with a general definition of faith in verse one, transition in verse two and then the “by faith” statements filling out the remainder of the chapter.

Points of Interest

11:1-2: Verse one is a twofold definition: “Faith is” (1) the realization or essence “being sure” of what we hope for and (2) the proof or conviction; being “certain” of what we do not see. The transition occurs next, and is interesting in that it points out that for having these two certainties, the “ancients” were “commended”. Of course the “ancients” are the Old Testament forefathers (characters) who will be discussed next.

While it really isn’t practical to discuss so many examples in this handout, the following chart lists the 18 examples, and the most relevant items will be mentioned the class.

Verse	Person	What they did “by faith”
2	Ancients	Were commended
3	“We”	Understand the creation
4	Abel	Offered a better sacrificeWas commended as a righteous man Still speaks from the dead
5	Enoch	Avoided death
7	Noah	Buit the arkWas commended as a righteous man Became heir of righteousness
8	Abraham	Left home for an unknown land
9		Made his home in tents like a stranger in the promised land
11		Became a father when too old
19		Reasoned that God could raise the dead
20	Isaac	Blessed the future of Jacob and Esau
21	Jacob	Blessed Joseph’s sonsWorshipped
22	Joseph	Spoke of the exodus, instructed about his bones
23	Moses’ parents	Hid baby Moses for three months
24	Moses	Refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughterChose to be mistreated with the people of God Regarded disgrace for Christ as better than the treasures of Egypt
27		Left Egypt
28		Kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood
29	The people	Passed through the Red Sea
30		The walls of Jericho fell down after the people marched around them
31	Rahab	Was not killed with those who were disobedient

After these examples are 6 more verses in which “the prophets” are credited with 20 more deeds.

11:10-16: In these verses, we see an amazing set of facts: Abraham and his heirs were looking forward to the fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham through Jesus Christ. Abraham is a co-heir with Christ, we Christians are co-heirs with Christ: the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham is in Christ. There are two parts of that covenant. First, is the promise of offspring, more numerous that the stars of the heavens, and that all nations of the earth would be blessed. This of course is fulfilled by Abraham’s descendants through Isaac… and ultimately through the saving work of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. The other part is the land promise. Abraham’s descendants lived in the promised land, but they were looking forward to our day, because the ultimate fulfillment would be eternity in heaven for all of God’s people through Christ. (See Gal. 3:29; Eph. 2:19; Rom. 8:17; 1Pet. 1:4) Verses 11-12 show the offspring side of the covenant, and in the next verse we see a note of encouragement: “All these people were still living by faith when they died.” This has a special note in this section that urges Christians to hold onto the faith through persecution and trial. They didn’t fully realize the fulfillment of the promises, for they were far in the future, but note: they admitted that they were strangers “on earth”. This implies that home was not on earth; neither were the promises. In 14-16 the author tells us that the people were not looking for an earthly home, but a city that God would prepare for them, a heavenly home. (cf. John 141-3). Again, it is clear that the ultimate fulfillment of the land promise is in eternity with Christ in heaven, not in the Middle East.

11:26: Notice here that Moses realized that there was something far greater to be had than all of the riches and possibilities Egypt had to offer. He chose to be with his people, who were slaves of the Egyptians for the sake of Christ (Messiah) because his future would be far greater with God than with earthly riches. The association here with Christ is interesting to note for the man through whom the Law was given. Moses, the Lawgiver saw that his future related to Christ, as opposed to keeping Law! Of course, Hebrews is quite explicit about the inadequacies of the Law relative to salvation.