The Heroes of Our Faith
There are “Halls of Fame” all over the world, each one dedicated to putting up on pedestals the memories of the great heroes of whatever passion we might pursue and admire — baseball, hockey, fire fighters, knitting… well, just about everything. We all see value in taking time to recognize those who have excelled at their exemplary pursuit for the activity we admire. The writer of Hebrews now proceeds from the initial challenge not to be encumbered and entangled with our sinful world. He is going to challenge us to run with endurance our “life race” to our final victory in Christ. He encourages us about this challenging course by reminding us of those who have already crossed the finish line.
Hebrews 11 presents us with examples of the “great cloud of witnesses” referred to in Heb. 12:1. That assembly of faithful believers in God that have lived in past ages past, we know of them and their faith in God from the pages of Scripture, and we are privileged to be counted in their midst as we follow in their footsteps of faith. This is a marvelous parade of people who have come to know God and have a faith relationship with Him that impacts their life — they have chosen to walk by their faith in God as they faced their challenges, failures, trials and Satan’s attacks. Reminded by their examples, we know by experience that trust (faith) in God is essential for our walk as Christians.
Rather than elaborating further on the nature of our faith, the writer now lays out the practical expression of that faith which we have taken as our own. We are led into the great “Bible Hall of Fame” of Hebrews 11, a review of a select group of exemplary believers (starting with a roster of believers mentioned in chronological order before expanding to larger assemblies of God’s faithful followers). As we scan the Word of God, there are probably some others that we might have suggested be included, but this is the group that God chose for the writer to hold up before us as primary examples of living a persistent life of faith in this sin-driven world.
This passage is a profound transition from the rich doctrine of Heb. 1-10 to the practical Christian living of Heb. 12-13. All the biblical teaching we might engage in is fruitless if we don’t live the truth in our daily walk. Hebrews 11 makes that clear.
Faith Defined, Heb. 11:1
Faith is…” — Like a lighthouse shining its light out across the deep oceans of God’s Word, guiding us through all of the human drama and trauma and 
clinging to the character and acts of a loving God, we guide our life according to this great axiomatic truth. Faith is the substance of our hope.
One of the most effective ways to study a passage of Scripture is “word study”. This refers to expanding our understanding of all that the specific words may mean. There are a few notably good translations of the Bible StayintheWord uses the New American Standard translation. The NAS is one of the best “all-around” translations of the Bible currently available, but there have been many trustworthy Bible scholars who have participated in producing other translations such as the NKJV and the ESV. We also have the benefit of marvelous computer apps such as e-Sword, and very resourceful web sites such as Blue Letter Bible, Precept Austin and Bible.org which help to guide us in our study of God’s Word.
Studying through Hebrews gives opens to us a deep mine of treasure to be drawn out of the text. When we approach such a foundational statement as we find in Heb. 11:1, we have the opportunity to pause and carefully ponder all of what the author might have had in mind in this verse as inspired by God. Note that we “gain approval” from God by our active and continued faith. After all, He is our creator, and holds the worlds together by His power (Col. 1:16). From the cornerstone understanding of God’s creation, we learn and experience that God’s power and wisdom will prevail in our life as we place our confidence in Him. The writer proceeds to establish our confidence in that truth by its being evidenced by many heroes of our faith.
Bible Study Journal
Here are a few thoughts to consider as we begin our Bible study exercise of Heb. 11:1. Write your own thoughts for each of these bullet points in your Journal.
- Consider a possible better translation : “faith gives substance to things anticipated…”
- Deepen the definition of assurance: (well-grounded) assurance, confidence, conviction, substantive belief – proof (or conviction) of reality of things we can’t see yet.
- How does “hope” work when joined with “faith” in real-life terms, specific things we expect (full confidence) to acquire?
- Consider both both subjective and objective perspectives:
- subjective, committing my life to act based on things that we will gain in the future based on present behavior, convinced about things we do not see or hold yet
- objective, the evidences of God’s promises seen in results observed through history in the acts of God as recorded in Scripture
A Tour Guide Through the Hall, Heb. 11:3-40
The writer proceeds to walk us through halls of biblical history focused on those who demonstrated their faith by their faithful lives.
- Noah: “being warned of things not yet seen, in reverent fear constructed an ark…” (Gen. 6:13-22)
- Abraham: “obeyed when he was called to go out… for he looked for a city whose maker is God.” (Gen. 11:10)
- Sarah: “received power to conceive… because she considered him faithful who had promised.”
- Abraham: “offered up Isaac… accounting that God was able to raise him up.”
- Moses: “chose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin… because he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward… He endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
It is a worthwhile exercise for you get your study journal out and go through each of these faithful servants and write down everything you can remember about them. Then go back in your Bible to one of the key passages for their life and make notes about what you learn about them. Especially think about how they can impact your life and the faith you demonstrate. The tour begins with two contrasting examples, one with no faith and the other full of faith. Abel and Enoch were separated by about 800 years, but God never gave up the search for those who would place their faith in Him. Ever since the fall, God has been seeking out those who would claim God’s salvation gift. They both had a heart for pleasing God, and the writer underscores the importance of that in Heb. 11:6.
These verses raise up the essential truth about God which mankind has always grappled with: HE IS – He is Who He says He is – He will do what He says He will do. From here, the writer takes us into the “main hall” and proceeds to point out successive examples of those who believed God and placed their life of faith in His care
Bible Study Journal
In order to extend your study in Hebrews 11, read through the whole chapter and, as you read, do the following in your Journal. Keep in mind that this chapter lays out before us the rich history of faithful followers of God which we are a part of (Heb. 12:1-2) – a great cloud of witnesses. The testimonies of their lives challenges us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
- Write the name of every person or entity mentioned, each on a separate numbered line with verse number. Try to note something about how they demonstrated their faith in God. How many did you list? Wow!
- Using whatever notes you have in your study Bible, or just by looking the person up in the Old Testament, write the key Bible references for their story.
- Think of the people that aren’t mentioned by name, but relate to one of the general group references of people. Perhaps you can think of some people that are named elsewhere in the Bible that fit into one of the groups referenced (vv. 29, 30, 31, 33, 34,35, 36, 37, and 38).
Note: Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New American Standard Translation.
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