Without Faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Without faith we have no hope. But let us read Hebrews 11 carefully, and we will see how many amazing things can be done with and through faith.
Men and women of faith…
>. still “speak” after they are dead, their lives of faith bearing witness to the truth
- “condemn the world”
- “bless” others and “worship”
- “give instructions” that reflect confidence in the resurrection, “looking ahead to the reward”
- forego the “pleasures of sin” so as to be sure of a place in God’s kingdom.
Men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 are “commended”. Not all did great things. Not all they did was heroic. Whatever they did, however small, was the outcome of their convictions. It proved they were genuine. It proved their hearts were right with their God. They knew God’s purpose and simply fitted themselves into it.
Take Rahab. She is not commended because she gave up her trade, though we can assume that she did. She is on God’s honor roll for one quick decision: to put her own life on the line to save two Jews. But that one decision says it all. It reflected Rahab’s deepest conviction. In this crisis of her life, so deep was her faith in the hope of Israel that she was unable to bring herself to betray two strangers because they were representatives of God’s covenant people. Faith makes us do things like that. According to Hebrews 11, it can even make us into a lion-tamer or a fire extinguisher.
But many of the things faith makes us do are quite simple things, like praying towards Jerusalem or blessing our children and grandchildren. We don’t have to be heroic to show God that we have true faith. One of the very simplest things faith inspires in us is a passionate desire to be at the Lord’s table.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One