WHAT IS FAITH

WHAT IS FAITH?

Most explanations of Faith leave me with quite a bit to be desired. It seems that most Christians today are "geared" for "getting" from God. Leaders are taking advantage of that lustful longing, and teaching mostly about the "getting" faith.

"Believe for your miracle today" is the principal theme we hear.

But I am fairly well convinced that the real meaning of Heb 11:1 does not lend itself to such a theme, if we take it in its context.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The writer of the Epistle to The Hebrews (be it Barnabas or Paul) is making a contrast between the way Israel knew God under the Old Covenant, and the way we can know Him today.

The Old Covenant provided ceremonies as a substitute for a correct relationship to God, ie. a life that was free from the outworkings of the nature of sin in the life of the person. Ceremonies, and human priests were the only contact with God they were privileged to know-- UNLESS.

Unless, that is, that God should choose to REVEAL the CONTACT OF FAITH to the individual. He did this to some whom He chose. The choosing of individuals to whom He would reveal Himself was by a criteria as yet not known to me. I will have to leave that in His department.

As I see it, the Faith written about in Hebrews is that element of trusting in the Messiah (before Calvary, and Jesus after Calvary) for the ultimate destiny of their souls. The Old Testament believers of Faith continued to observe the ceremonies of the Law, but their REAL CONFIDENCE was in the provision God had made in Jesus Christ.

Indeed, all of the ceremonies POINTED TO JESUS, if their eyes could have seen it. BUT IT CAME ONLY BY REVELATION FROM GOD.

The same is true of us today. We cannot be TAUGHT Faith to believe in Jesus for Salvation.

The Spirit REVEALS Faith to us, or we don't get it. The same "conviction" that draws us to Jesus REVEALS Faith to us.

Hebrews 11 is telling us that the people who did the exploits (and triumphantly endured the persecutions and tortures) were people to whom God had REVEALED the same Saving Faith that He reveals to us when we are drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit.

It is a DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP TO GOD than was commonly known in the Old Testament.
No wonder the key word of Hebrews is "BETTER".

We could put an ADDENDUM TO THE 11TH CHAPTER OF HEBREWS, and say that BY FAITH:


Paul became the Apostle who wrote most of the New Testament epistles-- was stoned, imprisoned, etc. etc.

Peter delivered the sermon on the Day of Pentecost that caused the salvation of so many. He said to the lame man at the gate Beautiful, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I unto you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

William Tyndale translated the Bible into everyday English, and his translation was to
become nearly 70 % of the King James Version of the Bible.

John Huss, as he was being killed for his resistance to the existing powers of the Church, said, "You can kill the Goose (Huss), but in a hundred years there will come a Swan (Luther) whose song you can not still, who will accomplish what I have tried to do."

Martin Luther did accomplish the beginning of what is called the Reformation of the Church.

There are many others, but this will suffice to show what man can do as a RESULT of a REVELATION and ANOINTING OF GOD for a specific purpose.

God is anointing men yet today, and history will hail them as having done exploits for God, though they are in low esteem today. We still garnish the sepulchres of the Prophets, but fail to recognize them in our midst.

Turn your Faith loose! DO WHAT GOD HAS CHOSEN FOR YOU TO DO! OBEY THE ANOINTING ON YOUR LIFE!