Hebrews 11 has long been recognized as the chapter on the subject of faith. It begins with the statement, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval" (Hebrews 11:1-2, NASB). This passage has often been used to give us some sort of definition regarding faith, or at the very least a description of what faith is or does. However, I want to notice what is said in verse 2 - "by it the men of old gained approval" - and connect that to what is said in verse 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" (NASB).
If we consider what is said in Hebrews 11:2 (the men of old gained approval by faith) together with what is said in Hebrews 11:6 (without faith it is impossible to please Him), it is easy to see that faith is probably the most basic and yet essential item that we must have in order to please God. We could also add to our understanding such foundational passages as Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith..." or Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," and we quickly come to realize how important this faith is. Yet, the concept of faith is often misunderstood - at least as far as biblical or saving faith is concerned. Many individuals teach or believe that the only thing that matters is "believing" in Jesus. They promote the concept of "faith only" and reject any type of "works" as being unnecessary for salvation. However, I want us to look more closely at the idea of pleasing God by faith and I want to point out to you that Hebrews 11:6 lists three different characteristics in this faith.
The first item the Hebrews writer mentions is that one must believe that God is. In other words, you must believe that God exists. It is also probably worth noting here that biblical faith is an unwavering confidence that is based on truth and testimony and this faith gives us confidence or security. If someone is going to be pleasing to God, he or she must have an unwavering confidence in God's existence. This is the opposite of the double-minded man that James describes who doubts while still praying to God. That man should not expect to receive anything because he is not praying by faith. True faith is confident.
But it is not just a belief in God's existence that is required. It is also the belief in a certain kind of God. The Hebrews writer says that one must believe that God is a rewarder of those who seek him. On some level, this means that we must believe certain things regarding God's personality or character. Not only does God exist, but God is the type of God who rewards those individuals who choose to serve Him. There is a valuable lesson for us in this fact. Most of the people alive today claim that they believe in God, but I'm not convinced they think God will reward them if they serve Him. In many ways, they are not much different from Cain, who did not offer a sacrifice by faith. I do not believe Cain doubted the existence of God (otherwise, why would he offer a sacrifice). However, I am not convinced that he thought his actions mattered that much to God. That is why he did not offer an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.
And that brings me to the third and final point. We must not only seek God, we must diligently seek God. If we are diligently seeking God, we will be doing our best to keep every one of His commandments and to pattern our lives after His word. This is a far cry from the throngs of people today who claim to believe in God yet make no effort to shape their lives accordingly. They do not diligently seek Him. Furthermore, they do not think He will reward those who serve Him. As a result, they do not have the kind of faith that will be pleasing to God.
Let us make sure we have a pleasing faith - one that believes in God's existence, believes that He will reward those who seek Him, and understands that we must seek Him with all diligence.
- The Forest Hills Messenger, 9/13/15