Coromandel Baptist Church

Sundays 20 July and 10, 17 August, 7 September 2008 Hebrews 10:32-11:40

Faith That Does Not Fail

There is a close connection between the content of Hebrews 10 and the theme of Hebrews 11. In Hebrews 10:22 the writer has spoken of the fact that believers can draw near to God ‘in full assurance of faith’. The importance and place of faith has been highlighted as early as Hebrews 4:2, where the cause of the Old Testament generation’s failure to enter the rest was that their hearing of the gospel was not united with faith in all who heard. While it is difficult to settle on the best translation of this verse—one group hearing with faith and the other not (e.g. the ESV has “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened” or the NJB “We received the gospel exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who did listen”) or the same group of faithless hearers (e.g. NASB “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard”)—the point remains that true hearing is only possible by faith. Moreover, true hearing is obedient hearing, hence the close connection between unbelief and disobedience (e.g. Heb. 3:18-19).

In the latter part of Hebrews 10, the emphasis falls on faith’s persistence in times of tumult, not least when these are brought about by suffering for the sake of Christ. The Hebrews had initially experienced such deep trials with joyful faith, willingly identifying themselves with those who were prisoners for the sake of the gospel (Heb. 10:32-34). Now it seems that they were pulling back from such devotion to their suffering brothers and sisters and that they were retreating from the love that such devotion indicated (cf. Heb. 13:1f.).

In this context the writer quotes from Habakkuk 2:3-4. In its original situation the quotation is making the point that the righteous (just) of the Old Testament period of Chaldean conquest of Judah had to live by faith. This means that they (in contrast to the proud, whose spirit was exalted within them) lived by faith that the conquest by this bitter and hostile enemy was not a sign of God’s abandonment of his people, but of his covenant faithfulness to them. The people of faith needed to trust God humbly in the midst of the judgments, knowing that the working out of his wrath in this manner was a sign of his covenant faithfulness, not a denial of it. God was just and faithful to judge Judah—as also later to judge the Chaldeans for their sin—but we need to recognize that this outworking of his wrath was mercy for his true people.

The writer’s great concern is to urge his readers to continue in faith, despite the sufferings they are currently experiencing, knowing that true faith is the faith that persists in the face of difficulty. It is not that persistence leads to true faith, but that true faith is evidenced by persistence. Difficulties are not a sign that God has either abandoned his people or is displeased with their display of trust in his merciful provision of Christ. Rather, the sufferings of this life prepare us for the glory of that which is to come, on which our hope is to be fully set. Even if we know the Father’s discipline in this life (as in Heb. 12), this is not for the purpose of destruction, but salvation. Where our souls are wedded to the possessions of this creation, our affections for the One who is truly our Shield and Reward will grow dim.

In chapter eleven, the writer gives a wonderful exposition of the nature and effects of faith. Hebrews 11:1-2 and 11:39-40 form bookends (the technical term is an inclusio) which frame his discussion, which is full of examples of true, active and abiding faith. The writer traces through the whole of history: from creation through to Noah (11:3-7); Abraham and the patriarchs (11:8-22); Moses and the believers of the generation who entered the land (11:32-31); and the faith of the generations that followed, right up until the hearers’ own day (11:32-38). His point all the way through is that the principle of Habakkuk 2:3-4 has been worked out again and again in the lives of God’s people. That the Hebrews (or any of God’s people since) should have to live by the same principle is therefore not to be thought of as strange!

We can distil the following points out of the many different examples that the writer brings to our attention.

• Firstly, God speaks! Hearing what he says is only possible by faith, and the evidence of hearing is that those addressed obey his commands.
• Secondly faith is always based on the promises of God, which in turn reveal his character. This means that faith does not arise from within us, but is a response to the grace and covenant faithfulness of God, brought to us in his word and guaranteed to us in his promises.
• Thirdly, faith functions on the basis of God’s faithfulness. The stories in Hebrews 11 are replete with impossible and inexplicable outcomes, due not to the abilities of the persons concerned, but to the faithful action of God in accomplishing what he has promised.
• Fourthly, faith always lives with a future look. Hope and faith in this chapter are almost synonymous. Faith always looks beyond its own circumstances and its own period in history to the coming fulfillment of the promises. It is possible, then, to die in faith, without receiving all the promises in one’s own life, but to be utterly assured that they will be fulfilled. The endurance of faith and the orientation to the future fulfillment of the promises are two sides of the one coin. Endurance and hope are inseparable.
• Fifthly, faith of this sort always stands in marked contrast to the affections of this world and to the hopes which cause those affections to be set on things that are seen. Example after example shows how the true people of faith have always eschewed the things of this world’s glory (possessions, security, fame, reputation, etc.) because they have been possessed by the certainty of a greater glory to come.
• Sixthly, true people of faith are misunderstood by the world, often rejected and frequently persecuted, but this simply indicates that they were and are people ‘of whom the world is not worthy’ because they belong, not to this world, but to the world to come.