Today we continue to look at the hall of faith as recorded in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11.   And we have spent several weeks looking at various Old Testament characters who exhibited faith, the kind of faith which Hebrews says in chapter 10 results in righteousness,  which in turn results in life.  

Last time we looked specifically at how faith  perseveres unto death, and even beyond death, to lay hold of the promises of God.  The title of that message was Facing death through faith.  I would encourage you to go to our website and read that message if you missed it last week. I don’t want to review all that I said last week, but rather press on in regards to this subject of facing death in faith.  Death is inevitable for all men. Heb 9:27 says “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  But there is a choice that is given to us in the gospel.  And that choice is to believe God, to have faith in God, and receive life that continues after the physical death of this body, or to disobey God, and to receive eternal damnation.  

Now though the focus of our sermon today is on Rahab, and her faith, there is verse 29 we don’t want to skip over which mentions the faith of the Israelites as they passed through the Red Sea.  And I would just mention that in that example we see the choice between life and death pictured very clearly.  The Israelites after leaving Egypt were caught between the Red Sea in front and the Egyptian army behind, and hemmed in by mountains on either side.  They were facing death, but they believed in God’s word, and they were saved by marching through the Red Sea, as though they walked on dry land.  

The Egyptians though, they were disobedient and unbelieving.  Time and time again God had given them the word of God through Moses, accompanied by signs and wonders from on high, and yet they continued to harden their hearts.  The result was that even when they finally gave in and let the children of Israel go, they changed their minds and pursued them with the intention of doing them harm.  And so though they had an equal courage to that which the Israelites had, and went boldly into the Red Sea on dry land, they did not have faith in God, and in fact were disobedient to what God had said that they should do, and so God caused the waters to return so that they were all drowned.

Now this illustrates the essence of the gospel.  Man is under the condemnation of death, and by faith in God we are granted life.  That’s the essence of the gospel.  And in a short form, that’s what is illustrated in vs29. It also illustrates that faith must be founded in the truth.  The Egyptians illustrate a type of faith in going into the Sea, but it is not united in truth and so it failed. Faith is not a saving entity in and  of itself.  It is faith in the truth of God.

The author then proceeds to give another illustration,  exhibiting in part the faith of the Israelites, and in part the faith of Rahab the Canaanite.  Now Rahab is who I would like to really focus on here today, and yet we are going to touch on a lot of other things in relation to our study of her faith.  But as a precursor to that, I must mention  the fact that Rahab’s inclusion here in this list of the heroes of the faith, is a really remarkable thing.

First of all, it’s remarkable in that she is a woman.  Of all the Old Testament heroes mentioned in this text, Rahab is the only woman to get prime billing.  It’s very interesting when you think of all the women of the Old Testament, and yet Rahab is the only one that is singled out as a woman of faith.  Now some of you perhaps are ready to raise your hand and say what about Sarah, wasn’t she mentioned in vs 11?  And you’re right, she is mentioned.  But if you were paying attention a few weeks ago when we got to that text, you will recall we spoke of the fact that the original Hebrew indicates it was the faith of Abraham and not Sarah who was being commended.  Remember Sarah laughed at the prophecy of the Lord?  But, irregardless, many translators believe it should be better interpreted as “By the faith of Abraham, Sarah received the power to conceive…”

But my intention is not to debate that again today.  Sarah as well as many other women such as Deborah and Esther and Ruth have many exemplary traits which are given as examples to us.  But I would point out that the author of Hebrews choses to highlight out of all of them, Rahab.  And that is extraordinary because of two things.  One she is a Gentile, a Canaanite, belonging to the city of Jericho, the enemy of God. And secondly, that she is a prostitute.

Now of the first point, from our perspective, being a Gentile is not such a big deal.  But from a Jewish perspective it was everything.  Gentiles were considered on a par with dogs.  And in those days, people didn’t have the same view of dogs that we have today.  They didn’t make pets out of dogs.  They didn’t buy them expensive toys and food and spend hundreds of dollars on them at the dog salon.  They didn’t pick up their poop from the sidewalk.  Dogs were considered a public nuisance.  And Jews considered Gentiles as dogs.  They despised them.  So for a Gentile to be brought into the family of God, when Jews thought they were the only ones deserving of God’s grace, was a real shocker.  And as you know, we all are Gentiles.  We too were outside of the covenant of God to Abraham.  But God has extended his grace to us by faith in Him, that as Galatians 3:7 says it might be the children of faith who are the sons of Abraham, and not just the descendants from the flesh.

The second point we can more easily identify as problematic.  And that is that Rahab was a harlot. Notice, even the author of Hebrews writing hundreds of years later still gives her this title.  Harlot.  There are some sins that go before us, and other follow after.  1Tim. 5:24  “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their [sins] follow after.”  Being a harlot seems to be one of those sins that do both.  It’s hard to lose the stigma of being a harlot in any age, no matter how contrite they may later be, or what they may later become.

But the fact is that sin is sin.  And most of us have committed sins that are just as grievous, if not worse than harlotry. The only credit we have is our sin is not so obvious.  But there are no such things as secret sins.  We may think so, but God sees all things, and He sees our hearts. Heb. 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” So there are no secret sins.  But we tend to look more disdainfully on those whose sins go before them.  Those sins which have immediate, drastic results like addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, etc.  We look down our noses a lot of times at such people caught up in those sins, and yet the sins of jealousy, lust, covetousness, idolatry, rebellion, hatred, lying, and such things we do not judge as harshly.  Because perhaps they are not so easily seen by others, and we hope are not so evident in us.

Nevertheless, God sees all.  And He certainly saw the sins of Rahab. And yet she is commended for her saving faith. Well, that’s God’s way of letting us know that the gospel comes to people who are in the natural sense unlikely prospects for God’s grace.  Jesus said I have come to seek and to save those that are lost.  We aren’t good prospects for salvation because of our merits, or because of our morals, but we are good prospects because we are sinners.

So Hebrews commends Rahab for her faith.  Twice in the account in Joshua 2 it says that she was spared because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.  But if you read the story, then you know that there is a problem with the way she does that.  The king hears of the spies and he sends men to Rahab’s house to seek them out, and demand that she give them up. Rahab had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.”  So she deliberately deceived the king’s men.

Now perhaps I would be better off to avoid this subject, but I can’t help but comment here because so many commentators over the centuries have made this out to be a sin on the part of Rahab.  And their argument is that if she would have told the truth, God would have delivered the spies another way.  But while I don’t doubt the purposes of God will be accomplished, I don’t know if I wholeheartedly agree with the premise that what she did was a sin.  And that is because the whole idea of a spy is to deceive, isn’t it? And these men sent by Joshua were spies. If you go into a land to spy out the land, the fact is you’re going to have to be devious, deceiving if you expect to be successful.  And so the question is, is it permissible to deceive in such cases.  At that point, I think Rahab had decided to be true to God rather than be true to her country.  Her theology was already established, and this was her chance to act in faith to God rather than in fidelity to her nation.  Her nation was an enemy of God.  

And I realize that this raises a lot of sticky questions that are not easily answered. Some of you may be familiar with the story of Diettrich Boenhoffer.   He was a pastor and theologian in Germany during the time of Hitler.  And he participated in some degree in a plot to overthrow Nazi Germany and specifically to assassinate Hitler.  And eventually he was captured and hung at the galllows, just three weeks before the Allies liberated the prison camp. He is considered a modern day martyr for the faith.  And yet there are some questions that arise from his working as a intelligence officer for the Nazi’s.  And yet at the same time working secretly to overthrow the government and assassinate Hitler.  I’m not sure how much subterfuge he had to do in order to do that.  But isn’t subterfuge in reality false representation?  Are we going to say that a Christian could never be a spy in a foreign country?  I think we are sometimes too quick to judge that which we are never likely to have to endure ourselves.  But I mention this today not to be controversial, but because there may come a day in our lifetime, when we may be faced with similar situations and have to make decisions as to what to do.  I will say one thing dogmatically.  It’s never right to deny Christ under any circumstances.  In vs35 we find the statement that people of faith who were persecuted did not accept release so that they might obtain a better resurrection.  I think that refers to them not recanting their faith.  Christians in particular during Roman times were given the option of recanting and they would be freed.  It’s never ok under any circumstances to deny Christ.  Because our faith is expressed in our confession of faith.  So as a Christian, it’s unthinkable that we could ever deny our faith for the purpose of saving our lives or any other lives.   

Well, I’m not going to try to answer every question there, other than to say that Rahab is commended for her faith in regards to how she treated the spies.  Now there is another aspect of Rahab which is given as a type to us.  And that is she was a part of a condemned people.  God pronounced His judgment upon the land of Canaan, and particularly upon the people of Jericho.  They were under the condemnation of death.  They were destined for destruction.  For 40 years they had watched the Israelites, and seen the power of God manifested towards His people.  Little did most of the Jews realize as they traveled through the wilderness  that they were intended by God to be a testimony to a watching world.  And yet most of the time during those years all they did was complain.  They turned again and again to rebellion and complaint and mumbling against Moses.  And so God was not pleased with them and let that generation die in the wilderness.  

But nevertheless, the Gentiles living in Canaan and it’s surrounding areas had multiple witnesses to God’s grace towards Israel.  Rahab recounts in Joshua 2 what their perception had been of the events since the Jews were delivered from Egypt.  She said in Joshua 2:9-13 “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard [it,] our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”

That’s a pretty incredible testimony, isn’t it?  This is from a  woman who had no scriptures, had no prophet, had only the testimony of  God’s faithfulness in the life of the Jews, and yet from that she manages to come to faith in God.  That illustrates something that I have said many times, and that’s the greatest sermon that is ever preached is lived out in the life of a person transformed by the Spirit of God.  You are preaching a message to the watching world around you by your day to day life.  They may not seem to listen to what you say, but they see the way you live your life, and that speaks more to them than any sermon. And that goes for your family as well.  They are watching what you do more than hearing what you say.

So God had determined that Jericho is going to be destroyed, Rahab is one of the citizens of the city of Jericho and in this condemned city, she belonged with the others as condemned men and women. That, of course, reminds us of what this world is like, for that is what we all are naturally as we are born. We are part of a condemned world. We are condemned men and  women. The Bible makes it very plain that by virtue of the one sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden, all have sinned and are condemned.  But just as salvation from death came to Rahab on the basis of faith, salvation from condemnation comes to us on the basis of faith.

Now let’s look at this faith of Rahab.  Her faith comes not as a result of hearing about the love of God.  But her faith comes in response to learning of the judgment of God. She knows that God is going to destroy her city.  And she responds in faith to that impending judgment.  I think that we tend to minimize the judgment of God today.  We dare not speak of hell.  Of judgment against sin.  But without God’s judgment then there is no appreciation for the cross.  Before we can appreciate the love of God, we must come to understand the justice of God and learn to fear God. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”  So on the basis of that fear of God she asks for salvation from death for herself and her family.

Then in response to her confession of faith, the men offer her exemption from death.  But only if she does what they tell her to do.  Notice vs14,  So the men said to her, “Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.” … 17 The men said to her, “We [shall be] free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,  unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood [shall be] on his own head, and we [shall be] free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood [shall be] on our head if a hand is [laid] on him.”

I believe it was Clement in the first century who first published a sermon on the typology of the scarlet cord as a type of Christ.  When Rahab hung the scarlet cord outside the window upon the wall of Jericho, it was a sign of her faith in God.  It was obedience to the command of the spies.  If she failed to put out the cord, if she failed to bring in her family members under her roof, then she and her family would perish along with everyone else in the city.  The basis of our salvation is  suggested by that cord of scarlet that was hung from the window, fastened in the window. When we think of the fastening of the cloth hung from her window, we think of the Lord hanging on the cross, and we are saved by His shed blood for us.  So the scarlet cord is a foreshadowing of the cross of Christ.

Many years ago I used to deal in antiques and specialized in antique American Indian items.  And one of the things I used to look for were old Navajo blankets.  The ones that were really valuable were ones that had the very early dies.  And one of the first dyes that they had access to came from trading with the Spanish, and it was called cochineal.  Cochineal was used to make scarlet thread from ancient times.  It was derived from crushing a tiny bug.  And so it was very costly.  So perhaps there is even some symbolism to be found even in the cost of the dye.  Scarlet was a very costly dye color then as well.  And furthermore it came as a result of crushing.  Isaiah 53 says, “He was crushed for our iniquities.”  Rahab did not realize all that cord symbolized, but she had faith in what had been revealed to her, and was obedient to it.

Well, the story is familiar to all of you, I’m sure.  The Israelite spies made it back to the camp of Joshua, and the Lord instructed the Israelites to march around the city for 6 days, never uttering a word.  And on the seventh day, they were to go around 7 times, and then let out a shout and the walls would fall down. I can imagine the townspeople of Jericho watching this from the walls.  These walls by the way were immense.  Moses is recorded as saying that they reached up into heaven.  And Rahab her home built into the outer wall, so that her window faced out of the city.

But I can imagine how the citizens must have reacted to the sight of a million Jews marching around the city without saying anything.  It must have seemed bizarre, maybe even comical after a while.  I imagine they hurled insults and various objects at them, calling them names and so forth.  They ridiculed them, I’m sure.  And I can’t help but think of the correlation to the verse which says that “The word of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us who are being saved, it’s the power of God.”  

Why seven days?  Is 7 a magic number?  I don’t think so.  Seven represents completion in the Bible.  And for seven days God gave them time to repent and they did not. I believe that the possibility of salvation by faith was extended to Jericho just as it had been to Rahab.  And yet they hardened their heart during the patience of God, whereas Rahab prepared her house.  Peter says in 2 Peter 3 that we are to regard the patience of God as salvation. God patiently waited 120 years during the time of Noah before bringing on the flood, and yet no one was saved but Noah and his family.  The invitation of God stands until the patience of God runs out.  And one day the patience of God will be completed here on earth in our day as well, and the door will be shut, and the wrath of God will commence upon the condemned. I wonder if we truly believe that.  If we did, I can’t help but think we would be more fervent in our appeals to those that are lost.

But by faith the result is that the condemned sinner is brought to safety. And we read in Joshua chapter 6: 25, “And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day.”  After the walls collapsed, which must have killed most of the people especially as they were probably standing on the walls, the Israelites rushed in and slew every living creature as God commanded. And then they set the city on fire. And Rahab being saved from Jericho, which is burning, is a beautiful illustration of the saving of a brand from the burning, and an illustration of the destruction of the heavens and earth by burning as Peter describes in 2Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

Notice also the witness of her faith.  She brought her family under her roof, having convinced them of their need to trust in the God of the Israelites.  And as a result they were saved from destruction.  Any Christian who has been converted and has no concern for his own family, does not bring them before the Lord in prayer, does not seek opportunity to say something to them concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, his faith is a very doubtful kind of faith. The very first thing that she’s concerned about is her family.

I am sure that you all here are concerned about the faith of your family.  And yet I will ask you, when you have the opportunity to invite them to church, where they can hear the gospel preached, where they can see the testimony of Christ being lived out, do we find an excuse for not bringing them?  Do we seem to care only about our own destiny and not really about our loved ones? In Charles Spurgeon’s message on Rahab he says, “The spirit of proselyting is the spirit of Christianity, and we ought to be desirous of possessing it. If any man will say, “I believe such and such a thing is true, but I do not wish any one else to believe it, I will tell you, it is a lie; he does not believe it, for it is impossible, heartily and really to believe a thing, without desiring to make others believe the same. And I am sure of this, moreover, it is impossible to know the value of salvation without desiring to see others brought in.”

And that leads us to another  aspect of her faith, which is the exclusivity of salvation.  There was no salvation anywhere else. In John chapter 10, the Lord says, “I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, shall go in and out, find pasture.” And elsewhere He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.”  There is but one place of salvation, when Jericho is destroyed, and that’s Rahab’s house on the outside wall of the city. One safe place! Today, there is one safe place and that place is Jesus Christ!  There is one safe place, and that is where the word of God is preeminent and authoritative and true, in the house of the Lord.

There is  another place in scripture where Rahab is talked about and that is found in James 2:25 “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?  For just as the body without [the] spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  So the faith of Rahab was a faith that was working.  It wasn’t just a profession of faith.  Notice back in our text in vs 31, it says that Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient.  So there is a link between faith and obedience.  Faith requires action.  It requires stepping out in obedience to God’s word.

And, finally, Rahab’s faith provides a picture of spiritual blessing. In Matthew 1:5-6 we read that a prince of Judah by the name of Salmon was the father of Boaz by a woman named Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king, and thus of the line of Jesus Christ.  Think of that, Rahab, a harlot, brought into the family of God, not only brought into the family of God, but in time married Salmon, a prince of Judah, and from the prince of Judah there has come the true prince, making her one of the great, great-grand mothers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Rahab, the harlot, shows that no one need despair at the judgment of God coming upon the world. As Paul said “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”  Faith in Christ results in life everlasting for those who were formerly condemned to destruction.  I hope that you have such faith in Christ, and have committed your life to live for Him.  There is hope in none other.  And I trust like Rahab, you will see the blessing of God upon your life, as you live in His service and that you will see the salvation of your family, through the witness of your faithfulness.  If you do not have the assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ, then believe in Him today, and call upon Him to save you.  

Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

In our study of Hebrews we have come to the great faith chapter, chapter 11, and the author is giving a roll call of the heroes of faith.  He introduced this doctrine of faith in chapter 10 vs 38, saying that “my righteous one shall live by faith.”  And we have said that the emphasis given in that verse is on “shall live.”  So he says that righteousness is granted on the basis of faith.

Then, you will remember he described faith in chapter 11 vs 1, saying, “Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.”  And in our message last week we concluded that based on the context of that statement we might say faith is being sure of what we hoped for, and certain of what we do not see, as revealed by the word of God, so that we might live in accordance to that faith.

And that brought us to the hall of fame of faith, in which he gives illustrations of living faith in the men of old.  He started with Abel, who was an example of the worship of faith, then Enoch, who illustrates the walk of faith, then Noah illustrates the working of faith.  We looked at all three of those men last time.  

Now this week we begin to look at his account of the faith of Abraham.  Abraham is often called the father of faith, or the father of the faithful.  In Romans 4:16 Paul says that salvation is of faith “according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”   And it’s interesting that all  three major world religions consider Abraham as their father, Christians, Jews and Muslims. 

Abraham’s faith illustrates all of the aspects we have seen so far in the previous men of old, and then some.  He is a great example of living faith.  He is the premier example of saving faith as well.  We are given Abraham as an example of saving faith in Romans 4:3,  Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23, all of which say essentially the same thing, which quote from Genesis 15:6, which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

In other words, Abraham is given as the premier illustration that men are saved by faith and not by works. He was justified by faith in the Lord. But as James says, faith without works is dead.  And to that end, James says that faith produces works.  James 2:21-23  “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?  You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;  and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”  In other words, Abraham was justified by acting on that faith, not just by passively believing, but actively trusting and then acting upon that belief in what God had promised. 

Now that sort of living faith is what I think the author of Hebrews wants to illustrate here.  That not just a profession of faith, but  a life of faith that is essential to the Christian life.  I have determined that there are 7 characteristics of living faith that are illustrated for us here in the life of Abraham.  There are many things that can be learned from the life of Abraham, but these 7 characteristics are given to us here in this passage, and I think that they are all examples that are for our benefit, if we are to truly live by faith and receive approval from God.

Number one, Abraham illustrates the obedience of faith.  Vs 8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” 

Notice first that Abraham was called by God.  The scriptures clearly teach that God calls men and women to follow Him, to become His disciples. There is a sovereign call of God that is God’s prerogative, and I confess that I do not understand how it works.  But I am satisfied that He is just, and He is good, and that He has come to seek and to save those that are lost.  But though I do not understand His call, yet I believe it’s His divine right, and no man comes to Christ unless God draws him. 

But though that may be true, it is also true that it’s man’s responsibility to respond in obedience to that call.  And somehow God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are both in play.  I am not responsible for God’s call, but I am responsible for my obedience to that call.  And Abraham was found faithful because he was obedient to the call of God.  He went out from the land of Ur of Chaldee, a pagan country, the land of his fathers, who were idolators, and he went out following the call of God.  He acted in obedience to the word of God.  It’s so important to recognize that if Abraham said he believed God but remained where he was, then it would be evident that he did not have faith.  But he was obedient to God’s call, which was the evidence of his faith.

And that an example of  faith according to vs 1, isn’t it? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, as vs 1 indicates faith is the evidence of things not seen.  Faith steps obediently into the unknown being assured that what God has said promised was true.  Let’s not ever minimize the importance of obedience. Faith and obedience are inseparable.  As James said, your obedience by your works is evidence of your profession of faith.  Bottom line, if you say you love God, but don’t do the works of God, then either you are a liar or God is.  I would suggest that the evidence for your faith is your obedience. 

Obedience doesn’t mean perfection though.  Anyone who has studied Abraham knows he wasn’t perfect.  He fell short several times in his life.  But his faith justified him so that when God recounts the life of Abraham he says he was considered righteous in the sight of God because of his faith.

Secondly, Abraham lived by faith. This has already been said, but it’s illustrated in vs9 “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign [land,] dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;  for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

I think a lot of us are happy to consider ourselves saved by faith, but then we live according to what we think is the reality of the world.  Abraham was in the world, but not of the world.  He didn’t live in a palace, which he probably could have afforded, simply because he was looking for the city of God.  His citizenship was in heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem.  Some of us are living like we are going to be here forever.  I remember many years ago when I was a successful antiques dealer, I built a big brick house in the Williamsburg style.  And I spared no expense in making sure all the details were correct for the period.  I had wide plank flooring throughout, 10 foot ceilings, four fireplaces, the works.  And I told myself that I would live there all my life, and then I would pass it on to my kids and they could live there, maybe their kids after them.  But God had other plans.  He took my house away from me that I might not be so attached to things of this world, and to have my hope fixed on the house which God is preparing for me.  Abraham didn’t put down roots  in this world.  He was looking forward to what God had prepared for him, and furthermore, he separated himself from the idolatry of the world, even to the extent of leaving his family.  Nothing was more important than being close to the Lord.

Thirdly, Abraham looked by faith. Vs10, “he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  Another way of saying that might be that Abraham kept his eyes upwards.  He had a spiritual perspective.  He saw through the lens of hope in a future which God promised him.  He was not focused on the reality of his present circumstances, but he was focused on eternal things.  That eternal perspective is illustrated in vs 13, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” 

Listen, there is a real temptation in evangelical circles today to think of the Christian life in terms of the physical, and not the spiritual.  We want to ascribe faith to the idea that God wants us to be successful, God wants us to be healthy, wealthy and wise. God wants us to live our best life now, and that means that we get to have our cake and eat it too.  I used to think that way when I was an antiques dealer.  I thought that being a Christian meant that God would bless me financially and materially, and bless me in regards to my health.  I had to go through some really difficult times, financial ruin, physical illness, seeing my career go up in smoke, and the loss of those things that made me change my perspective, from me being the center of my world, to God being the center of my world.  Abraham kept looking up.  He had a spiritual perspective and looked for fulfillment of God’s promises in eternity.

The fourth aspect of faith we see in the life of Abraham is the power of faith. Now vs 11 illustrates this principle.  But there are some problems in the translation.  And the best translators think that this verse is speaking of Abraham’s faith in regards to Sarah’s ability to conceive.  Now I can’t explain that, since I’m not a Hebrew scholar.  But those that are think that is the proper meaning of this text.  Anyhow, it takes two to tango, as they say, so I think it’s fair to include both Abraham and Sarah as having the power of faith to conceive, though they were both physically well beyond their time in life when that would have been possible.  

So vs 11 should read, “By faith Abraham also together with Sarah received ability, or the power to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since he considered Him faithful who had promised.”  Paul said in Romans 4:19 concerning Abraham, “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

You will remember that God gave Abraham the promise 25 years before that he would have a son, and yet God waited until there was no human possibility any more in Abraham or Sarah’s bodies, until he was 100 years old before bringing about the conception of Isaac, that we might know that the power of God is not limited by what is humanly possible, but His power is made perfect in our weakness. God is the God of impossibles.  Jesus said in Mark 10:27 “With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”  But as a caveat, let me remind you that the impossible was according to the promise of God.  God promised it, with man it was impossible, but God’s power overcame man’s weakness.

The next characteristic of the faith of Abraham is he had faith even in death. Verse13 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.  And indeed if they had been thinking of that [country] from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

Abraham and his heirs were convinced that God would fulfill His promises to them, and even in death they continued to look forward o the fulfillment of those promises.  They believed in the promises so fully, that their faith was not diminished by death.  And that is because faith believes that eternal life is from God, and though this body may pass away, they will continue to live through Him.  

Christian faith confidently looks beyond death, because we believe in the promise of everlasting life.  Jesus said in Mark 12:26 concerning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, “But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the [passage] about [the burning] bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’?  “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living…”  In other words, Jesus was saying that the patriarchs were still living. 

And Jesus said in John 11:26 “everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”  Well, Abraham certainly believed in that, because Jesus said later, that Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56).  Hebrews 2:14 tells us that Satan keeps us in bondage through the fear of death, but Christ has died to take away death and render him powerless.  That’s the triumph of our faith; death has lost it’s power.

The 6th characteristic of the faith of Abraham is probably his most famous, and that the testing of his faith. In vs 17, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;  it was he to whom it was said, ‘IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.’”

Abraham’s offering up of Isaac was the supreme demonstration of his faith.  All of the aspects of faith were tested in this great event.  The test of one’s faith reveals the character of one’s faith. And Abraham’s test of faith revealed the character of his worship.  In fact as I’ve often pointed out, worship is first mentioned specifically in the Bible in this context.  When Abraham is about to leave his servants and travel on to the mountain alone with Isaac, he says in Genesis 22:5, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” What an amazing way to speak of sacrificing your child, as worship to God. I’m ashamed to consider how we have trivialized worship today, merely clapping hands and watching people sing.  The first point of worship is sacrifice, and that is, according to Romans 12:1 primarily laying down your bodies, your life, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.  

So Abraham offered up his son, which he had waited faithfully for 25 years to receive from God, and he called it worship.  Next  revealed  in this test is Abraham’s obedience.  Abraham didn’t delay, he immediately got up early the next morning and set out on the three day journey to Mt. Moriah. He was obedient even though it must have broken his heart.  He was obedient even though it must have been unbearably hard.  He was obedient even though he could not see how it could possibly work out.  He was obedient because he valued friendship with God as more important than any human relationship.  Thus James said Abraham was called the friend of God.  Jesus said, “How can you say to Me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say?”  If you love the Lord, then you will be obedient to the Lord and put Him first above all else.

The other primary aspect of Abraham’s test is that it revealed his faith in the face of death.  Abraham not only believed in life after death, but he believed that God was able to raise the dead.  Our author makes the point that Abraham had received a specific promise; that “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.”  So Abraham believed God’s promise so completely, that he knew that somehow God would have to raise Isaac from the dead in order to fulfill that promise. 

Notice also the text I read from Genesis 22 while ago, Abraham said “the boy and I will go over there, and WE will worship and return to you.”  So Abraham had supreme confidence in the promise of God, and in the power of God to raise even the dead.  What faith!  But again, I want to remind you that in every circumstance, in every testing, Abraham’s faith is founded not on his own preferences or wishes, but upon the promises of God.  Faith without an underlying promise of God is not faith at all, its’ just wishful thinking.

The last point is almost a restatement of the previous one, Abraham calculated his faith. The text says considered, or in other versions its accounting, or considered, or reasoned.  All of which are trying to express the idea in our modern lingo that Abraham did the math. Our faith is founded on the promises of God which cannot fail.  He considered all that God had said, all that God had brought about, all that God had promised concerning the future, and he calculated that God was able to raise the dead.  Now I’m sure that Abraham had never seen anyone ever raised from the dead before.  But when he considered all that God had promised and what God had done, he deduced that was God’s only option.  Because he knew that God kept His promises, His word will not fail.  

And though none of us have ever witnessed someone being raised from the dead, we believe in the promise of God that we who are dead in Christ will rise first, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with the Lord at the last trumpet, and we will live forever with the Lord.  I hope we believe it as fervently and calculatingly as Abraham did.  After all, we have the resurrected Jesus who has gone on before us, being witnessed by 500 people after his death.  Abraham had none of that.  

But what else Abraham saw and believed in this is something special as well.  And that is the author says “from which he also received him (that is Isaac) back as a type.”  What that is referring to I have already mentioned.  But in this illustration of the ram caught in the thicket to provide a substitute for Isaac, was a parable or a type of Jesus, who was the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.  And in light of that illustration, many believe is what is meant by Jesus saying, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.”  

In other words, Abraham recognized what God was promising.  That through Isaac, His seed would be called, through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed, and He that was to come would be the one who would crush the serpent’s head, by offering Himself as our substitute, to take our place in death, and God would raise Him from the dead, and seat Him on the throne of majesty on high, as our Savior and Lord.  Abraham saw figuratively at that point Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God who would take away the punishment due to us.  No wonder Abraham rejoiced to see that day.  He received life for his son, and in the ram caught in the thicket he saw the antitype of Christ, the Savior of the world.  

Well, that’s the faith of Abraham.  It’s saving faith.  It’s faith to live by.  It’s faith to die by.  It’s a life of faith.  But that life of faith must have a beginning.  We are born again by faith in Jesus Christ.  To believe in Him is first and foremost believing in who He is and what He came to earth to do for me, and what He ever lives to do as my High Priest.  And my response to His call is to repent of my sins, and turn from the world and follow Him in obedience.  And God said my faith is credited as righteousness.  By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, its a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. I pray that you respond to Him in faith today, and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, that you may receive new life through Him and that you might continue to live by faith that we might have victory over sin and the world and even death. 

As we finished up the last chapter, you will remember that I said that the writer was making an introduction into the life of faith.  He has spent 10 chapters telling us who Jesus Christ is, and what He came to do, and what He is now doing, and what He will do in the future. And if we are going to be able to draw near to God, it must be through Jesus Christ, and by Jesus Christ. And that is our goal, to draw near to God, to be reconciled to God, to have life through God.

But if we are to draw near to God, then it must be by faith in what Jesus has done, by faith in what He is doing and what He will do, and faith in what He has told us to do. And so the writer concluded chapter 10 with one tremendously important principle in vs38, “My righteous one shall live by faith.”  And we said that the emphasis in that verse is on the words, “shall live.”  It is a living faith.  It is  trusting and acting in faith in what God has said.

So in chapter 10, faith was contrasted to knowledge.  Knowledge without living faith was shown to be what faith is not.  In this chapter then we are told what faith is.  And that is how the writer starts the chapter, by saying what faith is.   But rather than giving us just a definition of faith, the writer tells us what faith does.  This famous chapter known as the faith chapter, or the account of the heroes of faith, is full of the works of those heroes.  As James said, “faith without works is dead.”  And these are examples of living faith.

Here, the word faith indicates the belief or knowledge which leads to faithfulness, and the hope that without seeing, believes it true, and acts accordingly.  So this is not simply a doctrinal definition of faith, but statement of what faith does, and enumerated by many illustrations of men and women living in faith.

In vs 1, then, the author says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  It’s a parallel statement, a two part description of what faith does.  Faith is the assurance or some versions translate “substance” of things hoped for.  Both are indicated here, meaning the basis, the confidence of things hoped for. .

Now lest we run away with that statement and conclude that everything we might wish for is therefore Biblical faith, on the contrary it means that which is true.  And the evidence of that being true is that our hope is founded upon the scriptures, upon the word of God. Faith is not wanting something to be true, and then wishing it to be true, and therefore it can become true. The “things hoped for” are not mere figments of the imagination; their basis is the word of God, and therefore they are true though not yet realized. Faith is believing God’s promises to be true, though there might not be any evidence that it is true.

The early church father Chrysostom said, “Faith gives reality or substance to things hoped for.”

Last week I said that faith looks back at what God has done, and what God has said.  And in vs 1 we see that hope is an essential element of faith, in that it looks forward to what God has promised to do.  That forward looking apect of faith is indicated in the phrase quoted in the previous chapter, the just shall live by faith.

And the second part of that description is that faith is the evidence or conviction of things not seen.   We see the ground wet in the morning, and though we did not see it rain, and there may be no clouds in the sky, yet we believe the evidence indicates that it did rain.  So we see the evidence of God and His promises fulfilled, though we were not there to see all of them.  We believe in the evidence of scripture, both in it’s prophecy and in it’s fulfillment.  We believe in it’s historicity and it’s authority to determine our life, and then act on that faith.

So then faith is being sure of what we hoped for, and certain of what we do not see, as revealed by the word of God, so that we might live in accordance to that faith.  

In vs 2, the writer adds, “For by it, [for by faith] the men of old gained approval.”  Literally: obtained a good testimony.  They obtained a good testimony from God.  They gained approval from God.  Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”  That is merely an embellishment on the statement in chapter 10 which we have been quoting, “My righteous one shall live by faith.” Our righteousness comes on the basis of our faith in God.  That is how we get approval from God. 

That principle is stated in Philippians 3:9 which says, “and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”  So we gain righteousness through faith, specifically faith in Christ’s atonement for our sin.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, [God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  Through our faith in Christ and His work, God transfers our sin upon Jesus, and His righteousness upon us, that we might be approved by God, that we might draw near to God and receive life through Him.

Now notice that they obtained a testimony from God that they were righteous.  Vs.4, “through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying…”  So the testimony of God is the testimony of scripture, that these men of old were righteous before God because of their faith. And we will be looking specifically at this testimony in the weeks to come as we go through this chapter. 

So we that believe are also testified by God in His word that we are righteous, and we appropriate that testimony by faith in His word.  For instance, we believe Romans 3:21-22 which says, “But now apart from the Law [the] righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,  even [the] righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.” That is the testimony or the witness of God that we are righteous, approved by God.

That approval that results in righteousness is restated negatively in vs 6.  “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  Without saving faith, it is impossible to be found pleasing to God. Without faith, it is impossible to be approved by God, impossible to draw near to God.  

As Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father except by Me.”  So we come to the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ, by faith in His righteousness, by faith that His sacrifice was acceptable to God, and efficacious for me, and that He is our Mediator who even now ministers for us in the spiritual realm, ever living to make intercession for us. And that faith in Him, results in our righteousness before God, that we might draw near to Him through Christ’s blood.

Now we are going to look at four testimonies today of the kind of faith that the writer is talking about.  The first is found in creation itself.  In vs 3 it says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”  This verse is critical because it shows that faith is founded upon the word of God. The foundation of our hope is the word of God.

And at the very beginning of the word of God, in Genesis, is the account of creation, where God spoke and things were created out of nothing.  Evolution believes that things evolved into more complex things.  But there had to be something from which it evolved.  Water, for instance, is an essential compound to evolution.  But evolution cannot account for how water existed.  Evolution depends upon the existence of matter.  But creation depends upon God who created something out of nothing by His word.

Psalm 33 says in vs6 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.” And in vs 9 “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

That which was not seen, became visible according to the word of God.  And in the same way, our faith looks forward in hope that what is not yet seen will one day become visible.  Paul says in Romans 8:24-25 “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Perhaps that’s why Abel is the first man to be spoken of as a man of faith, and not Adam.  Because Adam had seen God, and Abel had not.  So the first example of faith is found in vs4, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”

Everyone is familiar with the story of Cain and Abel.  Abel was a herdsman, and so he brought a lamb for his offering to God, whereas his brother Cain was a farmer, and he brought the first fruits of his crop.  The scripture says that God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice, but He did not regard Cain’s.  Now Abel’s sacrifice was offered in faith.  But that does not mean that if Abel had brought a fruit offering in faith God would have accepted that as well.  Faith, you remember is founded upon the truth of God’s word.  Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

So although it is not stated fully, it is believed that God gave an example of the kind of sacrifice that He would accept when He slew the animals in order to make clothing for Adam and Eve after their fall.  The picture of the blood being shed  and then being clothed in righteousness cannot fail to be seen in this example.  I believe that Cain deliberately disobeyed that illustration by God and decided that his offering to God would be according to what he thought was acceptable.  So he brought an offering based on his works, and Abel acted in faith according to what God had shown Adam and Eve. He may not have fully seen the significance of the blood being shed from a lamb for the forgiveness of sin, but nevertheless, he was obedient in faith to what God had declared.

What is apparent again and again in the testimonies recorded in this chapter, is that faith is tied to obedience to the word of God.  And also it should be noted in this example of Abel, that faith does not always result in a physical reward here on earth.  Abel died because Cain murdered him in jealousy.  But God Himself testifies to the righteousness of the faithful. Abel’s blood still speaks to us, reminding us of the value of the hope of eternity.  

And one more note, is that though Abel is dead in the flesh, yet he still speaks.  I think that speaks to the fact that the dead in Christ are alive and waiting the resurrection. Jesus speaking to the Jews said in Matt. 22:32  ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”  That’s another illustration of the vs, “My righteous one shall live by faith.”  The life that God gives as a result of faith in Christ is eternal life, and they who believe in Him shall never die.

That principle is illustrated further by the second example of faith who is Enoch.  Not a lot is said about Enoch in the Bible other than he was the father of Methuselah, and that he lived 365 years.  Then the famous line in Genesis, “Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.”  In the Greek translation of the Hebrew text, there is an even closer association with our text, in that it says, “And Enoch pleased God, and he was not, for God took him.”  The writer of Hebrews quotes directly from the Septuagint repeatedly, and so it’s evident that was what he had in mind here.

Look at our text in vs5, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”

What is noteworthy about Enoch’s faith is that it pleased God, because he walked with God, therefore he walked according to God’s word. Psalm  119:9-11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping [it] according to Your word.  With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments.  Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” 

Enoch walked with God. I don’t think that necessarily has to be taken literally, that he walked with God in person. I think he is presented here as a man of faith, therefore believing in things he could not see.  So to walk with God means he was in daily fellowship with God, he was in agreement with God.  Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”  So Enoch walked by faith according to God’s word, and God was pleased with him.

Again also we see this reference to those of faith not tasting death.  Enoch was taken up because his faith was pleasing to God.  We too who are of the faith will never die, but will be taken to Paradise, to await the resurrection at the last trumpet, and we will be with the Lord forever.  And we are reminded in vs 6 that if we would be pleasing to God, then we must have faith, for without faith we can never be found pleasing to God.  We must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  

One more illustration here this morning, to finish up those who lived during the age of the antediluvians.  And that age appropriately ends with Noah.  Vs 7, “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”  

Noah had never seen rain, much less had ever seen a flood. And yet he believed God who said it was going to rain, and he built an ark in obedience to God’s word and it was credited to him as righteousness.  God’s word was the substance upon which he acted, and in obedience he built an ark according to God’s word.  What an amazing testimony he gave to the world, preaching as it were, of the judgment to come for 120 years.  He never saw a convert.  But our text does say that through his faith, he brought salvation to his household. 

Oh, that we might be men and women like Noah.  Firmly, resolutely being obedient to the Lord’s word, in spite of the fact that it is unpopular, in spite of the fact that the world thinks we are crazy.  And somehow our faithfulness in preaching the message of the truth, we might save our families from the coming judgment.  The Bible teaches us that it is appointed for a man once to die, and after that the judgment. The only hope for the world is that by faith our judgment  is transferred to Jesus Christ, and by His sacrifice we receive His righteousness. 

And we are told that Noah’s faith resulted in him becoming an heir of righteousness.  To be an heir is to receive something which you did not earn, but receive as a gift of Him who has died.  And we receive righteousness by faith in Christ. 

The key verse in all of Hebrews is “My righteous one shall live by faith.”   Saving faith, Biblical faith is first of all faith in God’s word.  It’s faith in Christ’s atonement as efficacious for my sin.  It’s walking in agreement with God’s word, acting in accordance to His will, trusting and abiding in Him.  Faith is believing in His promises, acting in obedience, standing firm in the midst of persecution or ridicule, and by that perseverance being a testimony to a watching world, and just as importantly a testimony of living faith to our families.  And such faith results in becoming an heir of salvation, even eternal life, that we will never die, but live forever with the Lord.  

Are you a man or woman of faith today?  Do you believe His word, and believe that Jesus died for your sins, that you might be approved by God?  I trust that you will have faith to follow Jesus, and walk with Him and trust in Him as your Savior and Lord.  The promise of righteousness is given to all who draw near to God by faith in Christ Jesus.