Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
The evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
I love that verse…the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is frequently defined
as a confidence or trust in something or someone, a belief that is not based on
proof, or a belief in anything. Today I want to present the idea that faith is
more than all of those things.
In John Piper’s sermon titled
“What Faith Knows and Hopes For”, he defines faith as “a spiritual apprehending
or perceiving or tasting or sensing of the beauty and sweetness, and
preciousness, and goodness of what God promises—especially his own fellowship,
and the enjoyment of it.” Faith is simply more than placing your trust in
somebody or your belief in something. Faith is the reason you can place your
trust in somebody or your belief in something.
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as
the substance of things hoped for. The Greek word for substance is hupostatis and it literally means a
setting under or a support or foundation. Think about that…Faith is the support
for things hoped for. The Greek word for hoped for is elpizo which means to expect or confide but the root word of elpizo is elpis which means to anticipate. Faith is the support for things
anticipated. You know that they are coming, but you haven’t seen them yet. It
is the evidence that they are coming. It is the evidence or proof that they do
exist. Faith is the foundation.
The Bible describes faith in
so many different ways. Just look at some of these:
Ø
A way of walking:
o
“For
we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Ø
A
means of protection:
o
“In addition to all this, take up the shield
of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil
one.” (Ephesians 6:16)
o
“But
since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and
love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thessalonians
5:8)
Ø
A
purifier or cleanser:
o
“God,
who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to
them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he
purified their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:8-9)
Ø
A
door:
o
“On
arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had
done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts
14:27)
Ø
A way
of life:
o
“For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘the righteous will live by
faith.’” (Romans 1:17)
o
“Clearly
no one is justified before God by the law, because “The righteous will by
faith.” (Galatians 3:11)
Ø
A
mystery:
o
“Holding
the mystery of faith in a pure conscience.” (1 Timothy 3:9)
Ø
A
fruit
o
“But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23a)
Ø
A gift
o
“For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God—“ (Romans 2:8)
Ø
An
assurance
o
“Let
us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies
washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)
Faith is so much more than
simply trusting or having confidence in someone or something or even believing
in something without evidence. Faith is what supports those things. It is the
foundation. Faith provides the evidence. It is the reason we are able to trust.
It is the reason we are able to believe. Without faith, we can’t believe, we
can’t trust, and we can’t hope.
“Faith is a God-given ability
to trust the future that God has promised you.” –John MacArthur
“Faith
makes all things possible…
Love
makes all things easy.”
~D
L Moody
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