The Purpose of Faith

Hebrews 11:24-40

By D. Marion Clark

Introduction

What good is faith? It's a personal question I wrestled with. I was frustrated with my spiritual life and ministry. I wanted to know why, despite my efforts, I could not experience God the way I wanted or have the success I thought necessary. Yes, yes, through faith I was saved, but what about the faith to make me victorious in the Christian life? All I was experiencing was mediocre results even in the times when I really willed myself to show faith. It is this text that eventually gave me the answer.

Text

The context of our passage begins at 10:19 and continues through the end of the letter. Verse 23 best states the theme: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Evidently some trials arose, and the author exhorts the believers not to shrink back from the Christian faith but rather to carry on. Chapter 11 is his motivational speech, using the examples of biblical heroes to demonstrate what can be done by faith.

Verse 1 offers a definition of faith, basically making the point that faith is conviction. The person of faith is not one who says, "I think this might be true" or "it sounds pretty good" or "I like it well enough." He doesn't believe because the church tells him to or his parents or his friends. Faith, the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for sin, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return at the final resurrection, is a conviction that drives his life.

The heroes the author presents could not have articulated these points, but they would have affirmed that God is their Redeemer and that they looked to a "better country — a heavenly one" (16), which is what the final resurrection is about.

Now, what did their living by faith do for them? Abel was able to please God with his sacrifice.

Enoch also was able to please God with righteous living. Noah was able to built the great ark that preserved life on the earth. Abraham, by faith, left his home and traveled to a foreign land to establish the homeland and lineage of God's people. His faith enabled him to offer up the very son through whom God's people were to come. Isaac and Jacob carried on the lineage, looking to the promise to Abraham being fulfilled. Interestingly enough, what's picked up about Joseph is not his work in Egypt, but his hope in the future return to the promised homeland.

Then we get to Moses. First, his parents risk their own lives to hide him. Then Moses himself leaves his own privileged position in Pharaoh's family to identify himself with God's people and lead them out of Egypt. The climax of this exercise of faith is the passing through the Red Sea.

This faith carries on into the homeland — the collapse of Jericho's walls and Rahab's saving of the spies.

By faith these heroes committed all these wonderful acts for God and God clearly took care of them. He protected Enoch permanently from death. He saved Noah from the flood. He blessed Abraham in his new homeland and saved Isaac. He took Isaac and Jacob to old age and to see their families grow. He blessed Joseph and brought him great power. He saved Moses as an infant and arranged for Moses' mother to raise him. God did mighty acts of power through Moses that brought down Pharaoh and Egypt. In the nick of time, he delivered the Israelites through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army. He tore down the walls of Jericho and destroyed the city, but protected Rahab.

This is good stuff! Look at what can be done by faith. I want to tell you now, you can do these same things. You can be victorious by faith. You can overcome illness; you can overcome whatever trials you may be facing: that person who is a thorn in your side; that bad job or lost of job; living alone or living in a bad marriage; shyness or being overbearing; being slow of speech or too quick to speak; addictions of any kind. Whatever your trial, you can be victorious by faith.

Listen to the Hebrews author:

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again (32-35a).

The Problem

So then, why am I not experiencing the same things? That's what I asked when I would read such passages and stories, or when I would read biographies about great Christians. Why, though I pray and try to live for God, do I experience so little result? I can think of three reasons why our faith may not produce the results we desire.

1. Too Little Faith

One reason may be that we do not possess the faith we think we do. In truth, we have too little faith. Jesus noted this as a strong reason for failure.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:19-21).

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:29-31)

"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:32)

Examining the depth and trueness of our faith is something we must constantly do. It is easy, as Peter, to boast of what we will do for Jesus in the secure moment, only to cave in when the real test comes.

2. Sin

The other problem may be sin in our lives.

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers (1 Peter 3:7).

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:15,16).

The principle in these passages is that God listens best to those who examine their hearts or open their hearts to be examined by God and repent of their sins. It may well be that covering and coveting a sin is hindering our faith.

3. Just Because

And then there is "just because." Let's go back to our text. We stopped in mid-verse.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised (35-39).

What happened to the victories and miraculous deliverances? The Shunammite woman had her son brought back to life by Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37); yet there is the story of the woman in 2 Maccabees 7who watches each of her seven sons be tortured to death before she herself is killed, all because of their refusal to transgress the law of God. (Though not considered on the level of scripture, the story would have been accepted as historical.) Elijah overcame any who tried to harm him. Jeremiah had to endure jeers while being beaten and put in stocks. He was later put in prison and finally into a muddy cistern. Tradition had it that he was eventually stoned to death in Egypt, while Isaiah was sawn in two. Were they less faithful to God than Elijah who was taken into heaven by a chariot? Were the ones forced to wander in the desert less faithful than Joseph or Daniel who lived in royal houses? Why did God allow Herod to kill the apostle James, but miraculously free the apostle Peter?

Where is the victory? And yet, all of these men and women who were killed or defeated were commended for the same thing as the ones with the victories - their faith. By faith they died. By faith they were impoverished. What went wrong?

Nothing went wrong. The author is holding these guys up with the conquerors. Lack of faith was not their problem. Precisely because of their faith they suffered. No indication of sin being the culprit. Indeed, if we were to examine the lives of the victorious heroes, their very sinfulness must make us ask how their faith could be effective. Murder, adultery, deception, lying — there are not traits that we typically connect with heroic faith.

What we are left with is "just because." The "just because" is always to "glorify God." It always arises out of God's wisdom, righteousness and (for his people) his love, and it is always for our good and his glory and pleasure. He has purpose. Sometimes from a distance we can see how his purpose is worked out; other times we can't.

Purpose

Now, if these heroes all had faith and were commended for the same faith, what common benefit did faith achieve for them, both the victorious ones and the down-trodden? It kept them faithful. What is the purpose of faith in our lives? To make us faithful to God. And it is being faithful to God that matters. This is the greatest lesson I have learned as a Christian.

Here is how this answer helps me.

First of all, it keeps me focused on what matters. What matters is not getting circumstances to go my way, but to follow the way of faith regardless the circumstance. It is to say with Paul: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12-3).

It is to have the courage of Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego, who refused to worship idols even if their God should choose not to save them from death. For as Paul would later say, For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:7,8).

What matters is to be faithful to the Lord. It is to hear him say when our time to leave this life comes, Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21).

This answer also keeps me from focusing on futile questions. The "why God" question is a big one. I need to be careful here. When bad things happen, it is fine for you to cry out to God and ask the question why. He can handle it. You can't be more despairing and accusatory as Job or David. Just don't expect a satisfying answer, one that makes you understand it all. I've reached the point where I avoid that question when something bad happens to me, and for sober reasons.

One is that I realize my waiting to question the goodness or fairness of God only when bad things happen to me reveals my self-absorption and warped sense of justice. I worry that God will reply that bad things happen to good people all the time, indeed, better people than I; why is it, then, when the bad happens to me that I most passionately complain? More godly and innocent people than I have suffered worse than I.

Another reason I don't ask God why is that I fear his reply to my accusation that he is not treating me fairly. "Oh, you want fairness? You want to be treated according to what you really deserve?" That's okay. I'd just assume not get into what I'm really like and really deserve.

Primarily the reason, though, that I avoid the question is that God and his ways are too great for me to understand. As God said it best in Isaiah 55:8,9: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways... As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It's not that I can't understand anything about God and his ways; it's just that I am limited to what he reveals in Scripture. He is not trying to hide secrets from me, but as a finite human creature, I can understand only so much of the infinite Creator. And what is revealed keeps me busy enough pondering his wonders and gives me such faith as to trust him in what I cannot understand.

Another "why" question is the attempt to have God explain what deficiency we have that will make things right once we have corrected it. Is there a sin keeping us from victory? Is our faith not strong enough? These are good questions to ask, but we get into trouble thinking that once we correct whatever it is we need to correct, then God will make everything okay. Once my lesson is learned, then the trial will end. Maybe, maybe not. Maybe your trial will end before you even learned your lesson. Or maybe your trial is your gift from God to glorify him. Paul wanted to get rid of the physical affliction that was a "thorn in his flesh." Here was his answer:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Paul said the reason for his affliction was to keep him from becoming conceited because of the special revelations he had received. Conceited or not, Paul's destiny was set forth for him when he was converted. As the Lord told Ananias: This man is my chosen instrument... I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16). To suffer was Paul's life-long calling, and yet he characterized God's call on his life this way: The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:14).

Conclusion

Has life been tough for you? Are you struggling through trials? I hope not, but you will — some of you more than others, some through more grievous trials; some through longer trials.

Those heroes of the faith, by the way, can empathize better than you think. It did take twenty-five years for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham of even a single descendant. After twenty-four years when God promised again that Sarah would bear a son, he said, "Let's just let Ishmael have the blessing." Ishmael himself was the result of Abraham's faith lapsing. In his old age David was hunted down by his own son. Indeed, what everyone had in common was that none of them received what had been promised (39).

The point is that trials will happen to all of us, and there is no rhyme or reason from our vantage point as to who gets what. But what we can know is that he who made his promises is faithful. You see, we did get the promise. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect (40).

That promise is Jesus. He has come. He himself proved to be faithful to God even unto death. And God proved faithful to raise him and exalt him to the highest place. As Hebrews 12:2 says: let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

That joy set before Jesus is the same joy that awaits us who live by faith in him. And that is what matters.