Now
Faith Is
The scripture has several ways of
expressing what a man does when he exercises saving faith in Jesus.
Sinners are saved by grace through FAITH (Ephesians 2:8-9). They TRUST
in Christ (Ephesians 1:12). They RECEIVE Jesus and BELIEVE on his
name (John 1:12-13). They CALL UPON
the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). They OPEN THE DOOR
of their hearts and let Jesus in when he knocks (Revelation 3:20). All
these biblical expressions represent what a man does at the moment God
saves him from his sins.
Some express the salvation formula as
“accepting Christ as personal Saviour.” I don't care much for that
phrase. While I get the sentiment, there exists no biblical reference
to men “accepting Christ.” When Jesus saved me at age twelve on my
knees by my bedside, I had no thought of accepting Christ. I did,
however, have a heart-felt desire to be saved from my sins by trusting
(believing on) Jesus, calling on his name and opening the door of my
heart. A truly biblical discussion of “acceptance” in the matter of
salvation has nothing to do with whether a man has accepted Christ, but
whether God in Christ has accepted him (Ephesians 1:6).
The one exception is found in 2
Corinthians 11:4, where Paul expressed concern over the Corinthians
accepting 'another' gospel they had not heretofore accepted. When
someone accepts the gospel, they no doubt accept the Christ of the
gospel. But this is an indirect reference. I prefer to use the direct
references of scripture—trusting, believing, receiving, calling upon
and opening the door of the heart.
In Hebrews 11:1, often referred to as
“The Faith Chapter” of the Bible, Paul provides a more detailed
definition of faith:
“Now faith is the substance of
things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Now
is a logical now. It connects the
truth Paul is about to introduce (11:1) with truth immediately
preceding it (10:22-39). In those verses, Paul mentions “full assurance
of FAITH” (10:22) and “the just shall live by FAITH” (10:38). In
10:38-39, he contrasts those who draw back unto perdition with those
who BELIEVE to the saving of the soul, expressing confidence both he
and his Jewish readers belong to the latter group. Having
made these references to faith, he 'now' proceeds to explain
the essence of
saving faith and illustrate how it manifested itself in lives of OT
saints.
Faith
is πίστις
(pistis), “a conviction of truth, belief (with the
predominate ideas of trust, confidence).” In the NT, it is used 244
times. It derives from a verb meaning “to persuade.” Faith is
conviction born of persuasion. Persuasion is the child of repetition.
Please do not criticize your preacher for repeating himself. Repetition
is the breeding ground for persuasion. When persuasion gives
birth to rock-solid conviction, your church is better off for the
repetition. Faith is far more than 'accepting' a set of facts. It is a
persuasion about Jesus Christ that results in trusting him!
Paul defines faith as both substance and evidence in terms
of what a
believer hopes for and yet remains unseen. Substance is ὑπόστασις
(hypostasis), “a setting or placing under.” It refers to that which has
a foundation that's firm, a substructure. It's used five times in the
NT. In two instances, it's translated “confidence.” The other three
usages are in Hebrews. In 1:3, Paul declares Jesus to be “the express
image of his [God's] person [substance].” Since Jesus is the express
image of God the Father's substance, he MUST be God in the flesh. Jesus
iterated this truth when he told Philip: “he that hath seen me hath
seen the Father” (John 14:9). In 3:14, the writer urges us
to hold
stedfast “the beginning of our confidence [substance].” The reason
believers can “hold fast” is because faith has substance. The substance
we hold to is Jesus—an “anchor” of the soul, both sure and stedfast,
who's entered within the veil of the heavenly Tabernacle
(6:9).
I grew up in Miami. Back in the
1950's and '60's, it was common to
drive down Collins Avenue and observe pile drivers sinking huge
concrete pilings into beach sand to establish a firm foundation for the
hotel that would rest upon it. Those concrete pilings were a
substructure for the hotel even as Jesus is the foundation of our
faith.
In 11:1, the writer says: “Faith is the substance of things
hoped for.”
The verb hoped for
is ἐλπίζω
(elpizō), “to expect with confidence.”
There is no “hope so” in biblical hope. It is a confident expectation
God will perform all that he has promised. Biblical hope NEVER
disappoints those who possess it (Romans 5:5). Our expectation of
FUTURE glory is the Christ who NOW lives in us (Colossians
1:27).
The writer adds: “The evidence of things not seen.”
Evidence
is ἔλεγχος
(elegchos), “a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested.” It's
used twice in the NT. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul used it to describe the
profitability of scripture to provide “reproof” (evidence) of what is
right versus wrong, of what is agreeable to God's will and what's
contrary to it. If your fingerprints or other DNA is found at a crime
scene, it would serve as 'evidence' or proof you were there. The words
substance
and evidence
are inseparable! If someone asks a believer,
“How can you believe in what you haven't seen?”, the believer may
answer: “My faith IS my evidence!” But his faith is not standalone
evidence. His evidence has substance, a firm foundation, in the
historicity of Jesus of Nazareth—his life, his death, his resurrection
and ascension to the Father's right hand. If Christ is not risen, our
faith is in vain. But the Person of Jesus Christ and his resurrection
are the substance of our faith.
Not
seen is βλέπω
(blepō), “to see or look upon with the physical eye,
discern with the mind's eye.” A believer never abandons his
evidence even though he's unable to see it. The words “not seen” appear
several times in the NT. (1) In post-resurrection remarks to Thomas,
Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those had NOT SEEN him, and yet had
believed—John 20:29. (2) Paul said eyes have NOT SEEN the things God
has prepared for them that love him—1 Corinthians 2:9. (3) Believers
live out their lives in a temporal setting looking at eternal things
that are NOT SEEN—2 Corinthians 4:18. (4) Noah prepared an ark after
being warned of God concerning things he had NOT SEEN—Hebrews 11:7. (5)
Peter reminded readers they loved Jesus even though they had NOT SEEN
him—1 Peter 1:8. For these things not seen, there's evidence they're
substantive. Faith is substance and evidence of unseen things, making
them as real as if they we had already experienced them.
Things
is πρᾶγμα
(pragma), “an accomplished fact, a real act or
object.” The word “pragmatic” comes from this root. Pragmatism has to
do with the practical as opposed to the theoretical. There is nothing
theoretical about the place called heaven Jesus has prepared for
believers (John 14:1-3). Nor is there anything theoretical about the
glorified body with which Jesus will one day clothe his people
(Philippians 3:21). The things for which believers have an expectation
are absolutely pragmatic. They're tangible! It is worth noting that
while the word “things” appears twice in the KJV text, πρᾶγμα appears
only once in the Greek text. This is important because the things we
are hoping for and the unseen things we are looking to see one day are
not TWO sub-groups, but rather ALL the things belonging to ONE glorious
salvation package.
Now faith is the substantive
foundation for everything we are hoping
for in Christ and the evidentiary proof of everything not yet seen that
shall be seen. Faith is the unshakable certitude, the conviction, the
persuasion that what God has promised us he is well able to perform and
deliver. Biblical hope is not a “think so” or “sure hope so” hope. It's
a “know so” expectation! Biblical faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
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