THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE BY FAITH
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: The Righteous Live By Faith
Main Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-6; Genesis 4:1-16; Genesis 5:21-24
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Faith can wane and weaken in the waiting and in the trials of life. Pastor Ryan introduced us to Hebrews 11 where the “Hall of Faith” or “Heroes of Faith” have been helping renew faith and trust in God for centuries. In this message, Pastor Ryan defines what faith is in the context of Hebrews 11 and everyday life. We also learned the foundation of faith is believing God exists, He created the universe, and He is pleased when we seek and worship Him. Hebrews 11:6 says, without faith, it is impossible to please God. It pleases God when we have faith to seek, worship, and trust Him!
Notes:
When you need to build your faith there is no greater place to go than Hebrews 11!
The setting and context:
Hebrews 10:19-39 is a call to persevere: persevere in fellowship and being together, in love and good deeds, persevere in holiness and purity, and persevere in being faithful to God in the midst of suffering for Him.
Read Hebrews 10:35-39
With this backdrop and the current climate in their lives the author writes a powerful list of everyday people who face unknown and impossible situations. These men and women become heroes of the faith because they persevered when they put their faith in God. What they experience can not be explained except it must be God! From these examples and many more, we recall the faithfulness of God and grow in our trust in Him.
Hebrews 11 (entire chapter)
And with this setting let us read this chapter. May these words build your faith in God.
Hebrews 11:1-6
This week I’m going to take plenty of time to help us grasp what faith means in the context of Hebrews 11. This will help us frame what it means and looks like to live by faith, today.
What Is faith?
V. 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (NIV).
The author isn’t giving us a formal definition of faith here as much as he is connecting his listeners to the type of faith the people had that he uses as examples.
Faith is having confidence and trust in God for a future promise that will be inherited and for a spiritual reality that is presently invisible (His presence with us).
For example: I have faith (confident trust) that Jesus’ blood pardon’s me from the FUTURE wrath of God on judgment day but I also have faith (confident trust) that God’s presence is with me NOW to give me peace and strength.
Faith in Hebrews is belief, trust, and confidence in God that enables the believer to press on steadfastly whatever the future holds.
The greek word for faith, pístis, is used 24 times in Hebrews 11 and means the sense of a. “confidence,” “certainty,” “trust,” then b. “trustworthiness,” and c. “guarantee” or “assurance” in the sense of a pledge or oath with the two nuances of “trustworthiness” and “proof.” Another form is pisteúō which means “to trust” (also “to obey”). Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985).
In this chapter, faith is man’s response to what God has said. It takes seriously the message of God’s revealed truth in holy Scripture. It does not merely agree with God’s word, but acts upon it. Brown, R. (1988)
Faith…“anticipates the future. It does not place its reliance on that which is merely visible to our physical sight. It is the assurance of things hoped for. The ‘faithful’ characters arrayed in chapter 11 did not simply live for the passing moment; they realized that there was far more to life than the immediate and temporary scene. Life was a pilgrimage. They knew that there were better things ahead because, in one way or another, God had told them so. And they preferred to believe that word rather than the flimsy promises and facile assurances of the world around them.”
Secondly, it evaluates the present. It would be wrong to imagine that the believer has no interest whatsoever in contemporary life. Indeed, the Christian looks far more closely at the immediate scene than the unbeliever. The person without any clear faith often accepts things simply as they are. If money comes his way, then it is obviously his to enjoy. If he is confronted with an opportunity for sensual pleasure, he will take it, regardless of its immediate effects or ultimate consequences. He does not necessarily sit down to consider whether it damages him or hurts others; that is not his concern. But the man or woman of faith possesses the conviction of things not seen. Such people look beyond the situation as it can be perceived by natural vision or enjoyed by the physical appetites. They do not look simply at their circumstances; they discern the activity of the invisible God (11:27) in their present situation and are able to endure. Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all (pp. 197–198). InterVarsity Press.
Foundations of Faith
The author doesn’t jump right into examples where people had to take leaps of faith. You can’t The author begins with the fundamentals or foundations that lead to living by faith which are:
Faith that God exists and that He created the universe.
Faith that seeks, worships, and fellowships with God.
You can’t trust a God you don’t believe exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him. We must begin with the basics. Verses 3-6 cover this but are not in order.
V. 3 Faith believes God created the universe by His Word. This takes faith because we were not there but we do exist. Science has not proven how life has begun, just theories. Meanwhile, the Bible already affirms that we came from His Word which is unseen. People will ask, “But where did God come from?” I always ask back, “Where did energy and matter come from?” There had to be a source for these things. The skeptic’s usual argument is God had to be created. But if something had to create God then you have what I call the fallacy of the “greater God continuum.” If God was created then there is a greater being than Him, and that would keep going on for eternity… What we do there is create the eternal God we already believe to exist in the Bible.
V. 4 Faith worships God
Abel is commended as a worshiper of God.
Why did God accept Abel’s offering but not Cain’s? Some believe the quality of Abel’s sacrifice was better; others believe the quantity was better. Others believe it was because Abel offered a blood sacrifice and Abel’s was a grain offering. These suggestions miss the point. Scripture only tells us that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.
The apostle John gives us more insight into Cain’s heart: “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous” (1 John 3:12).
Its acceptability was not simply that he made a blood offering and a valuable offering (‘the firstling of his flock’), but also that he gave a sincere offering. Abel offered a pure heart as well as the best gift…God sees not only the value of the sacrifice, but the heart of the giver - Brown, R. (1988)
This can be one of those lessons for us, today. We can appear to bring an offering or worship or serving to God, but God sees and knows our hearts. He knows whether our worship is from the heart, a show to keep an image, or whether we are serving Him or for our own glory.
V. 5-6 Faith believes God exists and walks closely (in fellowship) with Him.
Notice the stark contrast between the two examples: Abel’s life was taken but he continues to speak or inspire worship from the dead and Enoch was taken and never died.
A life of faith matters when you are alive and after you die.
To walk close to God means to live in righteous fellowship with God.
Enoch’s faith in God was evident by a life that walked in close fellowship with Him. Enoch’s life is in stark contrast to the world at that time. Wickedness was increasing to the point that God expresses his plans to destroy all living things in the coming chapters.
Enoch’s faith reminds us that “all life belongs to God and our righteousness has to extend to the whole of life. Those who possess true faith walk with God day after day.” -Brown, R.
Belief in God’s existence means a commitment to his presence and involvement in every part of our lives. Those who seek him in everyday life can testify to his goodness. In a thoroughly secular society, and because of our preoccupation with material things, it is easy for us to ignore God’s existence and it is common for us to overlook God’s grace. He is the rewarder of those who seek him. He does not merely reveal his existence to us but proves his generosity.-Brown, R. (1988)
A relationship with God begins by faith and continues by faith.
I don’t think it’s a mistake that the author begins this chapter with faith that believes God exists, believes in God to seek Him, and offers a life that worships and walks with Him. God wants to be in a relationship with us more than anything else and that begins with faith. What good is it to say you have faith in God but have no relationship with Him? To say you believe but not seek, worship, or walk closely with Him? Back then it was by faith in sacrifices to be forgiven, today, it’s by faith in THE sacrifice of Christ that forgives and covers our sins. By faith in Christ, we begin a relationship with God. Do you believe God exists? Then by faith seek Him, trust in Him for salvation, trust in Him to come and dwell in your heart, and learn to walk with Him. It begins with trusting Him and continues by trusting Him.
Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 849). W.B. Eerdmans.
Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament
Brown, R. (1988). The message of Hebrews: Christ above all InterVarsity Press.
Discussion:
What is faith according to the sermon?
Faith is needed for what in Hebrews 11:1-6?
What are the basics or foundations of faith that we all must begin with?
The righteous LIVE by faith…What does this mean?
What spoke or stuck out to you from this message?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!