Read Hebrews 11:7-22

Faith is not to be confused with a warm, fuzzy feeling. In faith Noah built an ark on dry land, working in “holy fear” of unprecedented high water. By faith, he knew it was coming. Faith is not always easy. Abraham, trusting God, offered his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Faith is an act of will, a conscious decision to believe God rather than people. When Abraham left home, he did not know where he was going. In faith he departed. What do you suppose his old friends in Ur said when they found out he had no destination? He had that two-story idea. The tents he lived in were temporary. Somewhere there was a permanent, glorious city built by God.

God doesn’t seem to dwell on the past. The writer lauds persons who looked to the future. Abraham was not alone in his faith. The generations of his family mentioned here—Isaac, Jacob, Joseph—didn’t live to see the promises fulfilled. But they died in faith believing a better country lay ahead, a heavenly one.

“I am going…to prepare a place for you,” Jesus said (John 14:2). Later, John, who heard Jesus speak those words, saw a vision of the city that is God’s creation and wrote of it. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth….the Holy City” (Rev. 21:1-2).

The persons named here would have understood both sayings. Their vision of faith included Messiah.

Read Hebrews 11:1-6

Is the writer taking time out from his book to include some biographical information that interests him? No, this chapter is an integral part of what he needs to say to make his case.

He has just gotten through instructing us to move forward in faith (Heb. 10:39). Now he illustrates the point.
If you think argument about creation is new, read these verses. Those of us who believe God created the universe are criticized for not being able to explain every last detail of how he did it. The writer assures us that we can never prove the whole thing. God created the universe out of nothing. I have no idea how he did it or how long it took in earth years. Scripture teaches that a thousand years are as a day to the Lord (Psalm 90:4).

If you believe that the old animal sacrifices foreshadowed Christ’s death as the once-for-all sacrifice for all human sin, you are not alone. The writer ticks off examples of faith chronologically, beginning with Abel, the fourth human being, Adam and Eve’s second son (Gen. 4:2). Here is a list of persons who, in faith, looked forward to the reality you have experienced. He begins with the classic definition of faith. He interrupts his list to repeat the same thought. Without being sure of what you hope for and certain of things you don’t see, you won’t get far with God.

Read Hebrews 10:32-39

Nobody knows to whom the book of Hebrews was originally written, except that those first readers were evidently Jewish. We learn here that they had suffered for their Christian witness. They were publicly insulted and had their property unlawfully seized. But notice what else these people did. They stood in solidarity with others who were mistreated, sympathizing with those in jail for their faith.

Although this is an appeal to memory, the thrust is forward. Only rarely should we look back. What is the secret of their victory? It’s the book of Hebrews’ two-story view of life again. These Christians knew they had “better and lasting possessions.” Earthly belongings are not the real, permanent things. Our true possessions, of much greater worth, are the rewards found in heaven, at home forever with the Lord. The writer says, “Remember how you lived in the Lord’s victory during hardship before? Do it again. Don’t falter. Just a little while, and you will come out victorious.” Always he instructs us to be encouraged. He quotes the prophet Habakkuk who tells us not to look back in gloom, but forward to the Lord’s glorious return. The writer has moved from exhortation to warning to encouragement. We are enjoined to courage and joy in the face of trouble because of the hope of Christ’s second coming, and our eternal reward. Have courage, he says. The Lord could return at any time. Happy day!

Read Hebrews 10:26-31

God takes human sin seriously. People make jokes about doing wrong, but God doesn’t.

Why do people do wrong? Original sin, we say. Adam and Eve sinned, and we inherited the tendency. Well, yes, that’s true. What else? What lies behind greed, gossip, murder, stealing, and lying besides the inherent weakness of human nature? Selfishness? I want my way no matter what. I’m self-centered. I am the hub of my universe. Self-satisfaction? Do I consider myself wiser than God? I can run my life quite well, thank you. I don’t need God’s help. Besides, he might ask me to do something I don’t want to do. Or we may believe the devil’s lie that we must run our own lives because God does not really have our best interests at heart. When we believe that, we are forgetting that God died to deliver us from our sins. He loves us and wants the very best for us or he would not have bothered.

God loves us, but sometimes even he is powerless to save us from ourselves. Not wanting robots bobbing up and down before him rather than true, voluntary worship, he made us with something called free will. We can turn away from God if we want to. Only trouble is, if we do that, finally God will have no choice but to say, “Sorry, I cannot admit you to a heavenly home. You turned it down long ago.”