757. Hebrews 11: Past Giants of Faith Didn’t Receive What Was Promised

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the faith chapter, or the hall of faith. The writer lists a bunch of people from the Old Testament who had performed great acts of faith—many who had never been under the law of Moses. We see a diverse group with everyone from Abel to Rahab the harlot. But the writer is making a bigger point… as he has through the letter written to his Jewish audience.

After describing the faith of these people, at the end of the chapter he explains that none of them were able to receive what was originally promised. They were not able to be made perfect through their actions. But we have received the promise through something better—the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. He is our faith, our assurance and our guarantee. It surpasses the faith of those who could perform righteous acts without ever attaining righteousness, which could only come through the person of Jesus.



   
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178. People of Faith - Ordinary, Average, Normal People

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The people of faith who are written about in the Bible truly did some wonderful and amazing things. They did all of those things by faith - trusting in God. One thing stands out, as Kap and Joel discuss these people of faith this week. None of them were super people ("super saints") in and of themselves. Some of them may have done extraordinary things, but all of them were ordinary, average, normal people who simply believed God - took Him at His word - and simply acted and responded according to their trust in Him.

If we look into the lives of people such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and the others who are mentioned in the "Faith Hall of Fame" (Hebrews 11), we find that all of them were nothing special when compared with other human beings. They had their own issues in life. They sinned. They had times of doubt. They didn't have their acts together all the time! But God used them, and they were credited with having great faith - all because they simply trusted God.

And not only that, but as we begin to wrap up our current look into the book of Hebrews, we find that their great faith and the things that they did weren't even really the main point that the writer was making. He says a lot of things to say: "Let us look unto JESUS, the author and finisher (perfecter) of our faith."

177. Faith Itself - Not Works - Is What Pleases God

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The Old Testament Bible characters listed in Hebrews 11 did some very wonderful things. But what was the root of all that they did? Were they credited for doing great things because they were such great, godly people? Or is there something deeper that is the root of what they did? Join us this week as we take a look at the foundational truth in their lives that caused them to do the things they did - the foundation of simple faith and trust in God. We look at how Abraham had been credited with faith, and how God had justified him by faith, before he had ever done a thing, and we look at a few more of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, showing how it was faith itself that pleased God - not what they did. The things they did were simply the outflow or result of their foundational belief in God.

176. Living By Faith is Not a Matter of Living By Rules and Laws

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Continuing our look into the people of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, this week we talk about how the things that the people did were all different - but the things that they did weren't the point! The things they did were the result of something else. Not a result of following rules and laws, but the result of faith - a trust in a loving God who was for them and not against them, and who was a rewarder and not a condemner.

175. Faith - What You Trust, Not What You Do

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Looking into Hebrews 11, often called the "Hall of Faith," we look at what the "faith" means. It was "by faith" that the people listed in this chapter did the things they did, but it wasn't "what they did" that gave them their testimony of righteousness. Rather, it was their Trust in God - their faith. We've got to keep in mind that faith shows itself by what we do, but what we do is not what makes us righteous! If what we do is what makes us righteous, and we call that "faith," then faith is nothing more than self-righteousness! Faith is trusting in God, not in ourselves or our works.