Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:1-3

Regeneration, Forgiveness, Satisfaction “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” Hebrews 11:1-3 In Hebrews 10 the Spirit of God gave us words of warning, encouragement, and instruction about true persevering faith, that faith by which chosen, redeemed sinners are experimentally united with Christ, that faith which does not draw back unto perdition, but perseveres and continues to the salvation of their souls. In this 11th chapter the inspired writer speaks of the nature of faith, the works of faith, and the response of faith to the Word of God. Then, the chapter concludes by giving us numerous examples of Old Testament saints who believed God. “Things Hoped For” In Hebrews 11:1 the Holy Spirit tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for.” What are the things for which we hope? – Deliverance and eternal salvation, – preservation in Christ, – eternal glory, and – everlasting fellowship with God. Faith is the ground, foundation, and support of our hope. We have a reasonable, well-grounded hope of these things, of eternal salvation and all that it includes, because we believe God, because we have confidence in his Word. Faith gives us the possession of these things beforehand. Faith gives us the reality of them, the first fruits of them (Romans 8:23). These things are certain, as certain and sure as the very throne of God.

It is our faith in Christ that gives us confidence concerning them (Romans 4:17-25; Acts 27:21-25). With Paul, all who trust Christ have reason to be of good cheer, because we can honestly say, “I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” “Things Not Seen” “Faith is the evidence of things not seen.” Faith looks not at the things that are seen, but at those things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). “Things not seen” are things done in eternity: the counsel, covenant, and decrees of the triune God. They are things done in time: the incarnation, obedience, death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ our Mediator. They are things being done now: the intercession of Christ in heaven, the works of God the Holy Spirit in grace, and the goodness and wisdom of God’s providence. They are also things yet to be done: the resurrection of the dead, the judgment, and eternal glory. These are all unseen things; but faith in Christ gives our hearts proof and evidence of them. His Word, his Spirit, and his work of grace in us assure us of all (Romans 10:17; Hebrews 13:5-6). “The Elders” In Hebrews 11:2 we are called to remember that God’s saints of old walked by faith just like we do. The only difference between their faith and ours is this: – They didn’t have near as much to go on as we do. We have the whole Revelation of God in Holy Scripture. They didn’t. But they had the very same faith we have. – “For by it the elders obtained a good report.” These elders were men of faith who lived in the earliest days of the Old Testament: Abel, Job, Enoch, and Noah. These men were justified and accepted in Christ, through faith, just like we are, not because of their works, but by faith alone. Paul mentions this because the Jews tended to elevate the elders too highly. Here the Holy Spirit tells us that Abel, Enoch, and Noah were all saved by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, just like we are (John 8:39). “We Understand” In Hebrews 11:3 we are told that true, saving faith is given understanding in the things of God. – “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” All who believe God understand how all things were created. The visible creation was formed from nothing. It all came into existence by the command of our God, who made all things out of nothing and gave it form as it pleased him (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-18). As we understand the works of God in creation and providence only by faith in his Word, only by bowing to his Word, so we understand the works of God in grace and in judgment, because we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12-16). This is not something we have achieved by research and study, or even by prayer. This is the gift of God. It is that which we have received by faith in Christ. – “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Hebrews 11:4

The Witness Abel Obtained “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” Hebrews 11:4 – By faith in Christ Abel “obtained witness that he was righteous.” He was not made righteous by his sacrifice (Hebrews 10:1-4). Neither was he made righteous by his faith. He was made righteous in exactly the same way we are, by the righteousness of Christ, which was imputed to him. He looked to Christ and his sacrifice by faith as he offered up his lamb before God. “He was not made righteous, he was not justified by his sacrifice, but therein showed his faith by his works; and God, by acceptance of his works of obedience, justified him, as Abraham was justified by works, namely, declaratively. — He declared him so to be. Our persons must be first justified, before our works of obedience can be accepted with God; for by that acceptance He testifies that we are righteous.” (John Owen) Abel’s Witness However, it was by his faith that he obtained, or received witness in his own conscience, from God the Holy Spirit, that he was righteous. The Holy Spirit sprinkled the blood of Christ on Abel’s heart, testifying that he was a justified person (Romans 4:25 to Romans 5:2, Romans 5:11). The Lord Jesus Christ, “was delivered for (because of) our offences (imputed to him), and was raised again for (because of) our justification (accomplished by his sacrifice). Therefore being justified (by his one great sacrifice), by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Faith does not justify us. Christ justified us. Faith gives us the blessed peace of assured justification by Christ). By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God…And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Faith does not make atonement, but simply receives it and enjoys it. Because he believed God, Abel had an outward testimony given to him in the Scriptures, that he was a righteous person. Therefore he is called righteous Abel (Matthew 23:35). God’s Testimony “God testifying of his gifts.” — The Lord God gave testimony of Abel’s gifts, the gifts he offered, his sacrifice (righteousness and atonement). He testified of them by accepting them. We are not told exactly how the Lord God showed his acceptance of Abel and his sacrifice, only that he did. Perhaps he spoke audibly of his acceptance. Perhaps fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. But this is certain. — By one means or another God publicly proclaimed Abel’s acceptance and Cain heard the proclamation.

Hebrews 11:5-6

Enoch’s Faith “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:5-6 True saving faith gives believing sinners the witness and testimony of God the Holy Spirit that in Christ, because of Christ, we please God. Enoch was caught up to heaven, not temporarily as Paul, but like Elijah, forever! He was changed from mortality to immortality without dying. There are several things to be seen here. There is an intimate relationship between this life and glory. – Enoch walked with God on earth, and one day he didn’t return. God took him to glory (Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8). Old Testament believers knew, expected, and enjoyed eternal life through faith, just as we do (Romans 4:3). Enoch went to heaven, as some shall at the coming of Christ, without dying (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). – “We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together” with those who have gone before us into heaven. The resurrection of all believers is here exemplified. – Enoch went to glory as a whole man, body and soul (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44). But the primary thing to be learned here is the fact that Enoch walked with God by faith. – It is faith in Christ that pleases God (John 6:28-29). – And it is faith in Christ that receives testimony from God that like Christ himself, because we are in him, the Father says of us – “I am well-pleased!” Like Enoch, God’s people in this world please him, satisfy him, and are accepted by him, only by faith in Christ. Enoch did not please God by his own works of obedience, but by faith in Christ. “Without faith it is impossible to please him.” In other words — Every true believer pleases God, just like Enoch did. Like Enoch, all who trust Christ, being partakers of the first resurrection, the new birth (Revelation 20:6), shall “not see death.” Then, on that great day of judgment, it shall be declared that we please God, perfectly, completely, without flaw, because we have fully obeyed him and satisfied him in the obedience and death of Christ, our Substitute (Revelation 21:27; Ephesians 5:25-27).

Hebrews 11:6

What Is Faith? Knowledge, Assent, Trust “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 Gospel knowledge is essential to saving faith. And the matter of paramount importance in the knowledge of the gospel is the redemptive work of Christ. Because he is the God-man, we are assured that he is an able Redeemer, a willing Redeemer (Isaiah 53:5-7), and an effectual Redeemer (Isaiah 53:10-11). Until a person knows these things, he simply cannot be saved, for he cannot have faith. Gospel knowledge is essential to saving faith. Unless a person knows these things, he cannot have faith, he cannot please God, he cannot be saved; but merely knowing these things is not faith.

Knowledge is necessary. But knowledge alone is not faith. “Of all the poison which at this day is diffused in the minds of men, corrupting them from the mystery of the gospel, there is no part that is more pernicious than this one perverse imagination, that to ‘believe in Christ’ is nothing at all but to ‘believe the doctrine of the gospel!’ which yet we grant is included therein.” – (John Owen) Assent Along with that knowledge, our hearts must give assent that these things are true. Many people know the truth. They have heard it for years. They have been catechized and trained in gospel truth from their infancy. But saving faith involves a willing, voluntary, deliberate, considered assent to the truth of God. Faith simply embraces the Revelation of God as the Revelation of God. Hearing the gospel, sinners are being confronted with the truth of God. The Word of God is open on their laps. The truth stares them in the face. God speaks directly to their hearts. As that happens, each one makes a decision, willfully and deliberately. Each one either embraces the testimony of God as the Truth, or he rejects it and declares that God is a liar (1 John 5:10). Have you now embraced this gospel of God’s free grace as the truth? If you have, you are not far from the kingdom of God. Still, something else is necessary. Faith knows the gospel and gives assent to the gospel of the truth. But there is more Trust Saving faith trusts the Lord Jesus Christ. A person acts upon what he believes, and the act of faith is trusting Christ. The woman with an issue of blood did not simply say, “I believe Christ can heal me”. She touched him. The publican did not merely believe there is propitiation at the Mercy Seat; he sued for mercy upon the grounds of propitiation made. The leper did not simply think within himself, “Christ can make me whole if he will.” He came to the Master. Faith is more than knowledge and assent. Faith is acting upon that revealed knowledge of which we are convinced. Faith is trusting the Son of God! “He that believeth on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, be his sins never so many; but he that believeth not in the Lord Jesus must be damned, be his sins never so few” – (Thomas Brooks). The Necessity Why is faith in Christ necessary? Why is it necessary for sinners to trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone in order to be saved? It is necessary, because no sinner can be accepted of God upon any other ground. Hebrews 11 records the names of 17 men and women, whose histories are well known, who pleased God. How did they do it? By faith alone! Many others, mentioned in the Bible, have perished under the wrath and curse of God, though they did some good, commendable things. Repentance will not save you. Esau, King Saul, and Judas all repented, but still went to hell. The confession of sin will not save you. Both Saul and Ahab confessed their sins, but perished still. Self-denial and sacrifice will not save you. Ananias and Sapphira made great, costly sacrifice; but their very sacrifice was a lie, for which they fell dead in the house of God. Only faith pleases God, because only faith gives all praise, honor, and glory to the Son of God. Faith is necessary, because without faith there is no vital union with Christ. Faith is necessary, because God plainly declares that works have nothing to do with salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith is necessary, because salvation is by grace alone (Romans 4:16; Galatians 5:2-4; 2 Timothy 1:9). Faith brings nothing! Faith promises nothing! Faith does nothing! Because faith looks to Christ alone for everything, the cry of faith is, “By the grace of God I am what I am. – Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth’s sake!” Faith understands that all who are in Christ are in him by God’s work alone. Faith understands and rejoices in the fact that Christ is made of God unto us Wisdom and Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption. Faith hears God say, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” And faith says—“AMEN!”

Hebrews 11:7

“Prepared An Ark” “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Hebrews 11:7 Because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, he was given the blessed gift of faith in Christ. He believed God. Believing God, he acted upon God’s revelation, “being warned of God.” Every act of faith is the response of the believing heart to God’s Word (Romans 10:17). “Prepared An Ark” Noah prepared an ark (Genesis 6:14; Genesis 6:16; Genesis 6:21-22). This ark was a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation of our souls by him. The ark was built by God’s design (Romans 8:28-39; Ephesians 1:3-14). It was a strong, mighty ship (Hebrews 7:25). The ark was very roomy. There was plenty of room for all who entered into the ark, but room only for those for whom it was prepared. The ark had a door made in the side of it, but only one door (Acts 4:12). It had a window in the top of it to let in light, but only one window. Thank God, there is a Door of access to God, but only one Door. That Door is Christ. There is Light for sinners lost in darkness; but there is only one Light to show us our way. That Light is Christ, the Light of the world. The ark had no steps leading up to it. There are no steps by which sinners ascend up to God. We must come to God as sinners, trusting Christ alone. If we try to ascend to God upon steps of experience, repentance, knowledge progressive holiness, or anything else we will only expose our shameful nakedness (Exodus 20:24-26). The ark had everything needed by Noah and his family (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:3-6). The ark bore all the storm of God’s wrath (Isaiah 53:10; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:18-20; 2 Peter 3:18). The ark was covered with pitch (Atonement!). All for whom the ark was designed entered into it (Isaiah 53:10-11). All who entered in were saved. “To the Saving of His House” God the Holy Spirit tells us that Noah saved his house. He “prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” How can that be? We know that, “Salvation is of the Lord.” We know that no man can save himself, much less save his family; but God says that Noah saved his house. The meaning is this — Noah was the instrument God used to save his household: physically, symbolically, and spiritually. This is the responsibility of all parents, especially fathers! How did Noah save his family? He entered into the ark himself and led his sons, his daughters-in-law, and his wife into the ark. He was called into the ark (Genesis 7:1). He went into the ark (Genesis 7:7). Noah left everything and everyone else behind, and went into the ark at God’s command. “And the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). That is exactly what we must do. We must enter into the Ark, Christ Jesus, by faith. We must forsake all other arks. We must not stop at the threshold and look into the ark. We must enter in. It is not enough to hear about the Ark. – We must enter in! It is not enough to know about the Ark. – We must enter in! It is not enough to admire the Ark. – We must enter in! It is not enough to defend the Ark. – We must enter in! “Condemned the World” When Noah entered into the ark, he condemned the world. That is to say, he declared the world to be condemned. When Noah entered into the ark, he declared that everyone outside the ark was condemned. —Those who mocked the ark. —Those who chose other arks. —Those who helped to build the ark, but never entered it. —Those who saw no need of the ark. All were condemned by Noah as he walked into the ark (Matthew 24:37-39). “Became the Heir of Righteousness” Noah “became the heir of righteousness.” He became the heir of that righteousness represented in the ark, the righteousness of God in Christ, that everlasting righteousness imputed to all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ. All that Noah did and all that he obtained, he did and obtained by faith. Noah believed God. He believed God’s Word concerning sin and judgment, salvation by the ark, and his promise of grace to all who entered it.

Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10 God’s grace was set upon Abraham from eternity (Romans 8:28-30). He was the object of God’s everlasting love, chosen to salvation before the world began. Therefore, at the appointed time of love “the grace of God that bringeth salvation” came to Abraham while he was in Ur of the Chaldees, a land of idolatry (Genesis 12:1-4; Joshua 24:2-3). While Abraham was yet in the darkness, death, and degradation of sin and unbelief, the Lord God called him to life and faith in Christ. Called to Believe Because the Lord God chose Abraham, he called him. Because the Lord called him, Abraham believed God and journeyed to a land he had not seen. It was not Abram’s faith that caused the Lord to choose him and call him. It was God’s election and God’s call that caused Abram to believe. Faith is the gift of God’s grace, not the cause of it (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Lord changed his name from Abram (a father) to Abraham (a great father, or a father of great multitudes) fifteen years after he left Ur (Genesis 17:1-5). Called to Go Out Abraham was called of God to go out to a place unknown to him and to be a sojourner, a pilgrim, in that land. The Lord God leads his people in the way he has determined, in ways known only to him. We know not the way we should take; and we know not the way we shall take — That is determined by our God. Faith follows his direction when it knows not where it shall go, how, or why (Acts 27:21-25). Abraham lived in Canaan, the land of promise, by faith. He lived in that land for a little more than seventy-five years. He fully believed that God would give this land to his seed. Yet, he never had an inheritance in it (Acts 7:4-5). He died when Isaac was seventy-five years old. Jacob was fifteen. All that time they dwelled in tents. Israel later possessed the land (Joshua 23:14). But God’s promise and Abraham’s faith looked far beyond the physical land of Canaan. Abraham looked for a permanent home with Christ in heaven. His hopes and expectations were upon the world to come. He lived in this world with the eyes of his heart fixed upon another world. It was this faith, faith in the Lord God who revealed himself to him in Mesopotamia, which moved Abraham to obey the Word of God and enabled him to do and suffer all that God required (Romans 8:17-18). God’s Purpose These things are not written in the Scriptures merely to give us a biographical account of a great man, or merely to inspire us with admiration for Abraham. They are recorded by Divine Inspiration to teach us what faith is and how we must live by faith while we live in this world. Abraham is not merely the physical father of the Jewish race; he is the spiritual and exemplary father of all God’s elect, the father of all true believers, the true Israel of God. Abraham Our Father The word “father” conveys much more than the physical head of a family. It is often used to speak of the first of a specific class. George Washington is called “The father of our nation” because he was our first President. Thomas Jefferson is called “the father of democracy” because he was a very dominant influence in the development of our democratic government. Abraham is called “the father” of all who believe not because we get our faith from him or by connection with him, but because he is the first man mentioned in the Bible as one who believed God (Genesis 15:6), – because he so greatly exemplified what it is to believe God, – and because the Lord Jesus Christ in and by whom we are saved is Abraham’s Seed (Romans 4:11; Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:6-9; Galatians 3:13-14; Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:29.

Hebrews 11:10

“A City Which Hath Foundations” “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hebrews 11:10 Faith lives in expectation of eternity, looking for that which God has promised. The life of faith is a life of hope, the hope of glory. Abraham sojourned here; but he lived for eternity. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” That keeps things in perspective! “Heaven hath foundations,” wrote John Trapp, “earth hath none, but is hanged upon nothing, as Job speaketh. Hence things are said to be on earth, but in heaven.” The spies who went in to spy out the land with Joshua and Caleb saw nothing but giants in the land. They were terrified by what they saw. Abraham looked not at the giants but at the promise of God and fully expected God to fulfill his promise in spite of the giants. He believed God. He saw the same thing John saw, The New Jerusalem. He walked with it ever before him, seeing it as a City that hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God! Faith’s Expectation When God the Holy Spirit tells us that Abraham “looked for a city’, he does not mean for us to understand that Abraham was searching for that city, but that he expected it. He fully expected to enter into and take possession of the heavenly Jerusalem as a rightful heir to it. This was not a matter of presumption, but of faith. You see Abraham really did believe God. Do we? Has not God promised eternal life and heavenly glory to every sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ? Indeed, he has (John 3:14-16). Does the Lord God not declare that every sinner washed in Christ’s blood and robed in his righteousness is worthy to enter into and take possession of the inheritance of the saints in heaven? He clearly does (Colossians 1:12). It is, therefore, most reasonable that we should expect all the fullness of heavenly glory if we trust the Son of God, just as Abraham did. The City’s Foundations What are the foundations of that City? We are told that the foundations of the city have inscribed upon them the names of “the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14). That is to say, the City of God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, is a city built upon that which the twelve apostles of Christ taught, the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in him. Heaven is a city built upon the foundation of God’s everlasting purpose of grace in Christ (Romans 8:28-31; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Timothy 1:9). The foundation of the City is God’s everlasting love for his elect, his eternal covenant of grace, his sovereign election, his absolute predestination, his unalterable Word, the precious blood of Christ, and his almighty, free grace. In a word, the foundations of the City are those foundations of grace and truth in Jesus Christ crucified (Ephesians 2:20). Let us ever keep the City in sight! Don’t look at the giants in this dark land, but set your heart on things above (Colossians 3:1-5; Colossians 3:15-17).

Hebrews 11:11-12

“When She Was Past Age” “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” Hebrews 11:11-12 The Holy Spirit emphasizes the fact that Sarah received strength to conceive and bear a son “when she was past age.” He hereby heightens the sense of the miraculous and the supernatural because he would have us understand that no difficulty, no obstacle, no hindrance, should cause us to not believe our God. The omnipotent God is not limited by nature. He rules nature and alters it as he sees fit! He who brought water out of the Rock, poured Bread down from heaven, and caused an axe to swim has no difficulty with anything. The greater the apparent difficulties are the greater reason we have to believe God. When all the streams of nature are dry, then we should most reasonably expect the waters of God’s grace and goodness to pour out in a flood of mercy! Whatever the difficulties are before us, whatever the obstacles may be that are in our way, let us “be strong in faith” being fully persuaded that “what he has promised he is able to perform.” God’s Faithfulness Sarah believed God “because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Faith looks to God, not to self. Faith looks to God, not to circumstances. “If we would trust God we must crucify the question, ‘How?’” – (Martin Luther) Let it never be forgotten that Sarah had the Word of God for what she believed. It was not a whim, a figment of her imagination, or simply something she desired which gave her faith. God made a promise, and she believed the Word God gave. Let us take heed that it is God’s Word and God’s testimony that we believe. Let us take heed that we really believe God’s Revelation. Let us take care that we cherish no hope but that which the Word of God promise. If we have the Word of God for the foundation of our faith, then it is impossible for our faith to be too confident or our hope to be too firm. – “Because he is faithful that promised!” He who is our God is a God of promised goodness. His promises of goodness to his people extend to all things temporal, spiritual and eternal. His promises are free, unconditional and sure. God who is faithful, all-wise, immutable, omnipotent and true cannot fail (Lamentations 3:22-26) Faith’s Fruit “Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” Because Sarah believed God, God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled. Sarah’s faith was as essential to the fulfillment of the promise as Abraham’s. Yes, it is God who fulfills the promise. Yes, it is God who gives us faith. But, still, faith, personal faith exercised toward God is essential to receiving the blessing he has promised. – “Thy faith hath saved thee!” Because she believed God, Sarah became the mother of a great nation – The Church of God. You and I, like Isaac, are the children of our mother in faith, Sarah! Because Sarah believed God, the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world in the fulness of time to redeem us. Commenting on Hebrews 11:12, A. W. Pink wrote—“The opening ‘Therefore’ of Hebrews 11:12 points the blessed consequence of her relying upon the faithfulness of God in the face of the utmost natural discouragements. From her faith there issued Isaac, and from him, ultimately, Christ Himself. And this is recorded for our instruction. Who can estimate the fruits of faith? Who can tell how many lives may be affected for good, even in generations yet to come, through your faith and my faith today! Oh how the thought of this should stir us up to cry more earnestly ‘Lord, increase our faith’ to the praise of the glory of Thy grace.” Oh, gift of gifts! Oh grace of faith! My God, how can it be That You, in free and sov’reign love, Should give that gift to me?

Sweet grace! – Into the vilest heart, It is God’s boast to come, The glory of His grace to set, In darkest souls His throne!

Your choice, Father, (Great God of grace!), I lovingly adore. Thank You for this great gift of faith, And grace to long for more!

Hebrews 11:13-16

“Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth” “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 1:13-14A. W. Pink wrote, “The figure of the ‘stranger’ applied to the child of God here on earth, is very pertinent and full. The analogies between one who is in a foreign country and the Christian in this world, are marked and numerous.—In a strange land one is not appreciated for his birth, but is avoided (John 15:19).—The habits, ways, language are strange to him (1 Peter 4:4).—He has to be content with a stranger’s fare (1 Timothy 6:8).—He needs to be careful not to give offense to the government (Colossians 4:5.)—He has to continually enquire his way (Psalms 5:8).—Unless he conforms to the ways of that foreign country, he is easily identified (Matthew 26:73).—He is often assailed with homesickness, for his heart is not where his body is (Philippians 1:23).” Seeking A Country The Holy Spirit draws his own conclusion to this confession.—“For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country” (Hebrews 11:14). The word translated “country” would be better translated “Fatherland.” Heaven is our Fatherland, the land where our Father dwells, the land he possesses as his own and for his children. The Fatherland is the land where the children want to live, have a right to live, and seek to live. A Choice Made Because they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth, they chose not to go back to Chaldea. “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.” (Hebrews 11:15). Chaldea, the land from which they had come, was never very far away. There were no obstacles to prevent them from returning. But they were never inclined to return. Abraham made his servant take an oath, swearing that he would do nothing to induce Isaac to return to that pagan land. Though Jacob did once sojourn there, he did not and could not stay. His God would not allow it. Why? Because they looked for their happiness and satisfaction somewhere else. Application What do these things tell us about God’s people in this world? How do they apply to us? Spiritually, believers today are precisely like those people. Many who profess faith in Christ do depart from him. But when the Lord Jesus asked his disciples, “Will ye also go away,” Peter answered for all. “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:65-69). We “desire a better country.” All who know God, all who live by faith desire, yearn for, and pant after a better country, a heavenly country. We long for a country where everything is better! A heavenly country! Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called our God: for he has prepared for us a city. Here is the inconceivable greatness and glory of our Fatherland. It is a land prepared specifically for us, the people of God’s peculiar love. In preparing this land for us and bringing us home to it, the Lord God fully answers all the hopes, expectations and desires that are aroused in our hearts and minds by him calling himself our God and us his people. When we are at last brought home to glory, we will, beholding that which we now only see afar off, say, “Now I understand what he meant when he said, ‘I will be their God, and they shall be my people!’” Traveling to Another Country Almost every year I travel to a foreign country preaching the gospel of Christ. I have crossed the borders of our nation north, south, east, and west many times. Whenever you leave this country and cross into another, three things are required. (1) You must have a birth certificate to prove your citizenship. (2) You must have a visa from the country receiving you. (3) You must have a clean record, no criminal record. Soon I will leave this land of sorrow and sin. I hope to enter into the bliss and glory of heaven. I hope to stand forever accepted as a citizen of the New Jerusalem. Here is the basis of my hope. I have a birth certificate. The Lord God has given me a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is in me a new man, created of God in righteousness and true holiness. I have a visa. I have a right to enter into heaven itself by the blood of Christ, because I am washed in his blood and robed in his righteousness (Colossians 1:12). God says, “It must be perfect to be accepted,” and in Christ I am perfect! He has made me perfectly righteous before God! And I have a clear record. The Lord Jesus Christ has purged away all my sins with his own precious blood. Therefore God will never charge me with any sin (Romans 4:8). When I stand before God and he searches the books for iniquity and sin under my name, he will find none (Jeremiah 50:20). DO YOU HAVE WHAT GOD

Hebrews 11:17-19

Abraham’s Great Trial “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Hebrews 11:17-19 In Hebrews 5:8 we read that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” And that which was true of our Redeemer, when he walked upon this earth as a man, is true of us. If we are the children of God, as long as we live in this body of flesh, we will be required to learn obedience. And we learn obedience by the things which we suffer by the hand of God’s wise and good providence. The life of the believer is a series of trials, by which his faith is tested, proved, and strengthened. Character is developed by discipline. And God will develop the character of his saints. It appears that frequently there is one great trial of faith, for which all other trials seem to be preparatory. Certainly, that was the case with Abraham and the great trial of his faith described in these verses. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried”—God’s will is the rule of justice and goodness, and whatever he requires is just and good. We dare not attempt to call the Almighty to our bar. He gives no account to us of his matters. His command to Abraham to offer up his son Isaac may be confusing to men. Men may use it to blaspheme his name; but the Lord our God is the Lord of life. He gives it, he preserves it, and he takes it as he will, by whatever means he pleases. “Offered up Isaac.”—Abraham showed no reluctance. As soon as he had God’s command, he traveled three days’ journey to the place of sacrifice. He took the wood for the burnt offering, laid it on his son; took fire, and carried a knife in his hand to slay his son. He built an altar, laid the wood in order on it; and bound his son, laid him on the altar before the Lord, took the knife, and stretched forth his hand to slay his darling son. He fully intended to kill his only son upon the mount of sacrifice. In fact, God declares that he actually “offered up Isaac,” because in his heart the deed was done. For this, he is held before us as a great example of faith. Had God not stopped him, Abraham would have killed his son by faith. He believed God. He trusted the equity, justice, and wisdom of his God and his God’s command. Believing God, he was fully assured of the truth and faithfulness of the Lord’s promises, no matter how his providence and commands might seem to contradict them. Moreover, Abraham was fully persuaded that God would, one way or another, fulfill his promises, raise Isaac from the dead, and save his people through that Savior who was to come through Isaac’s loins! This was great faith indeed! Being great faith, it was greatly tried. “And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.”— The Lord God promised Abraham that he would have a son, that a great multitude would be born of him, a people who would inherit the land of Canaan, a people who would inherit the earth. The promise of God to Abraham was that the Messiah himself, (the Woman’s Seed, the Christ, the Redeemer) would come into the world through Isaac! The Holy Spirit calls our attention to this fact specifically in Hebrews 11:18-19. “And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. Of whom it is said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead!” Commenting on these words, John Gill wrote, “Abraham did not go to the place of sacrifice without thought. Yet, he did not consult with flesh and blood. His reasoning was the reasoning of faith; and the conclusion of it was, that God was able to raise him from the dead. He knew that he had received him at first, as it were, from the dead; he sprung from his own dead body, and out of Sarah’s dead womb; and though his faith did not prescribe to God, yet he believed that God would raise his son from the dead, rather than that his promise should fail; and this conclusion proceeded upon the power and faithfulness of God.” “From whence also he received him in a figure.”–Abraham received Isaac as one raised from the dead, in a figure, in a picture, for the purpose of teaching us about faith.

Hebrews 11:20

The Purpose of God Shall Stand “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” Hebrews 11:20 God’s promise is, “It shall be well with the righteous.” His Word declares, “There shall no evil happen to the just.” The Lord God promises his own, “I will not depart from them to do them good.” “And we know that all thing work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Vexing Providence Yet, our lives are frequently vexed with trials and circumstances that make it appear that God’s promises have fallen to the ground, and his purpose has been nullified. It sometimes seems as though evil and not good is our lot. We are often like the weeping prophet in Lamentations 3, crying, – “He hath brought me into darkness, but not into light…Against me is he turned. He turneth his hand against me all the day…He hath compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places… When I cry and shout, He shutteth out my prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone. He hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces. He hath made me desolate…He hath filled me with bitterness.” Remembering our affliction and misery, the wormwood and the gall, how often, like Jeremiah, our circumstances cause us to think, even if we do not express it in words, “Thou hast removed my soul far off from peace…My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” How foolishly and ignorantly we behave when we judge the goodness of God by the things we see, and feel, and experience! “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace. Behind the frowning providence, He hides a smiling face!

His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower!” May God give us grace, in the teeth of adversity, to trust him! What he has promised, he will perform. What he has purposed, he will do. God’s providence is sure. His decree is firm and unalterable. His will must and shall prevail. If everything around us crumbles to the ground, though heaven and earth pass away, the purpose of God must stand! Nothing hinders his purpose, alters his will, or stands in his way! Isaac’s Faith This great truth is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the life of God’s servant, Isaac. Though Isaac lived longer than any of the other patriarchs, less is recorded about him than any of the others. In fact, the entire history of this man, Isaac, is recorded in two short chapters of Inspiration (Genesis 26, 27). In Hebrews 11:20 the Holy Spirit uses that which, at least to me, appears to be very incidental to display the greatness of Isaac’s faith. However, when the event here described is closely examined, it proves to be a truly remarkable example of faith. Here the Spirit of God calls our attention to Isaac’s act of faith in blessing his sons, Jacob and Esau, in his old age.—“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” Faith Bows Faith bows to the will of God. It may not do so initially. I do not suggest that faith never struggles. It does. But, ultimately, faith bows to God’s will. Isaac wanted the blessing of the birthright to go to Esau. He wanted God’s bounty and goodness for Esau; but when the Lord God made it clear to him that Jacob would be blessed and Esau cursed, Isaac bowed to the will of God. By faith, that is to say, trusting God, Isaac blessed both his son, Jacob and Esau. God’s Purpose Unalterable The event referred to in this twentieth verse is recorded in Genesis 27. It shows us the wisdom, faithfulness, goodness, and sovereignty of God, overruling and using the frailties, infirmities, and even the sins of men to accomplish his purpose (Psalms 76:10). The fact is God’s purpose is unalterable. It cannot be thwarted, hindered, or changed in any way. No matter how our circumstances may appear to oppose it, no matter how disobedient men and women are, no matter how cunningly Satan works, the purpose of God must and shall stand. “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Hebrews 11:21

Let Me Die Like This! “By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff” Hebrews 11:21 There is no gift in all the world to be compared with God’s gift of faith. Rich indeed is that immortal soul to whom God has graciously granted faith in Christ! “Oh, gift of gifts! Oh, grace of faith! My God, how can it be That Thou, Who hast discerning love, shoulds’t give that gift to me!

Ah, Grace! Into unlikeliest hearts it is thy boast to come, The glory of thy light to find in darkest spots a home.

Thy choice, O God of goodness, then I lovingly adore; O, give me grace to keep Thy grace, and grace to long for more!” Faith is a precious gift! We find it precious in life. In trials and temptations, in heartaches and sorrows, in troubles and tribulations, in the fiery furnace and in the raging sea, faith proves itself blessed. But never is faith so precious as it shall be when the cold sweat of death is on our brow and we are about to leave this world. Matthew Henry wrote, “Though the grace of faith is of universal use throughout our whole lives, yet it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has its greatest work to do at last, to help believers to finish well, to die to the Lord, so as to honor him, by patience, hope, and joy—so as to leave a witness behind them of the truth of God’s Word and the excellency of his ways, for the conviction and establishment of all who attend them in their dying moments.” How greatly God is glorified when His people leave this world with their flag flying at full mast. His worthy name is marvelously honored when the Spirit triumphs over the flesh, when world is consciously and gladly left behind for heaven. Three Examples of Faith In Hebrews 11:20-22 the Holy Spirit furnishes us with three examples of faith in the final crisis and conflict of life (Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). God hereby assures his trembling and doubting children, that he who has begun a good work in us will perform it unto our last day. He who has sovereignly and graciously given us this precious grace of faith will not allow it to languish when its support is most needed. God, who enables us to exercise faith in the vigor of life, will not withdraw his quickening power and grace when we are about to leave this world. I do not suggest or imply that all true believers leave the world in jubilant triumphant confidence. I do not suggest or imply that God’s saints have no struggles in their dying hour. But I am saying what the Scriptures clearly teach—God will sustain our souls in faith unto the end (Philippians 1:6). Preparation for Death Though we naturally shy away from thoughts about death and try to avoid talking about it, we must all prepare to meet God. As believers, we need instruction from the Book of God in preparation for death and the comforts that can be ours in those last hours. Satan is ever seeking to strike terror in the hearts of God’s children. I want you to know the groundlessness and hollowness of his lies. A God-given and a God-sustained faith is not only sufficient to enable the feeblest saints to overcome the weakness of the flesh, the attractions of the world, and the temptations of Satan, but it is also able to give us a triumphant passage through death. I love that passage in Moses’ song of triumph that speaks of God silencing our enemies and giving his people easy passage through death unto heavenly glory (Exodus 15:16-18). “Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.” Precious Deaths It is written, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Balaam said, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his” (Numbers 23:10). Well might he wish to do so! The believer’s last experience in this world shall be his best. “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18). This body may convulse with pain, and physical unconsciousness set-in, yet my soul, once it is freed from this body of flesh, shall be blest with a sight and sense of my precious Redeemer such as I have never yet enjoyed! We see this verified in Acts 7, where we read about Stephen’s very last experience in this world. – “He being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace” (Psalms 37:37). A peaceful death has concluded the troublesome life of many. C. H. Spurgeon wrote, “With believers it may rain in the morning, thunder at midday, and pour torrents in the afternoon, but it must clear up ere the sun go down.” Jacob’s pilgrimage through this world was stormy; but the waters were smooth as he entered his desired haven. Much of his life was cloudy and dark; but it was radiant in the end. Blessed is that man or woman who dies like Jacob. Jacob died worshipping God. Let me die like that—worshipping God. Truly, faith’s last act is its most blessed and delightful act, bringing us into heaven’s glory land with Christ!

Hebrews 11:22

Joseph’s Last Days “By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.” Hebrews 11:22 The reference to which our text points is Genesis 50:22-26. Joseph believed God amidst severe and persistent trials. Because this text passes over the other events in Joseph’s extraordinary life, I will too. Joseph’s life was remarkable. His trials were remarkable. And his faith was remarkable.

Like the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom he was an eminent type, Joseph shows us by example how that we ought ever to bow to the will of God, believing him (Genesis 50:18-21). But the Holy Spirit here points us to Joseph’s display of faith and faithfulness in his last days when he was at the very zenith of his glory in Egypt. Here was a man who believed God in circumstances that cause most men to forget him. Faith And Prosperity Joseph was a man tempted by the possession of great prosperity. The Lord God does call some men to high positions. Some of his servants are found in Ceasar’s court, some in Uzziah’s, some in Pilate’s, and some in Pharaoh’s. – That in itself is a great trial of faith. Joseph was the highest ranking official in a land of idolaters, serving a mighty king who was a base idolater. He was wealthy beyond imagination. Riches, of themselves, do not injure a person. Whether we are rich or poor, we simply must not set our hearts upon material things. That’s the danger (Philippians 4:12; Psalms 62:10; Proverbs 30:7-9; Matthew 6:31-34; Colossians 3:1-3). Faith And Death When he knew he was dying, Joseph believed God. Death is a great tester of man’s sincerity. It shakes down bowing walls and tottering fences. The brightest instance of faith in this grand old man was at his death. In his death he remembered God’s covenant. His heart was totally baptized with the thoughts of heaven. He did not dwell upon the past, but hoped for the future (Hebrews 11:1). He rested his soul upon his God, believing his Word, trusting his promise. Faith And Reason Joseph believed God, though that which God had promised was totally contrary to reason, to the things which he saw, and to all outward appearance. Israel was in Goshen. Why should they leave? – But God had promised that after 400 years, he would bring them out of that land; and Joseph believing God, “made mention of the departing of the children of Israel” (Genesis 50:24). He knew that his brethren would become slaves to the Egyptians. How then could they escape? – Faith does not reason, but believes.

Hebrews 11:23

The Faith of Moses’ Parents Faith is a gift of God’s grace that enables the believer to look away from human terrors, and gives courage and boldness by enabling us to trust God our Father, though we see him not. In other words, faith prevails over fear. I do not mean that believers know nothing of fear. It is a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless, that we are all, at times, fearful. But faith prevails over fear and says with David, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me” (Psalms 56:3-4). Here in Hebrews 11:23, the Holy Spirit holds before us the faith of Moses’ parents as an instructive, encouraging example for us to follow. Moses Hid “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents”—The Apostle mentions the faith of both of Moses parents. Moses, in his account mentioned only his mother; Stephen, in his speech before the Sanhedrin mentioned only his father; Paul combines two inspired narratives. Happy is that home in which husband and wife, mother and father walk together in faith, in the fear of God. Blessed, blessed beyond what words can express, are those children born into such a home! “It is a happy thing,” wrote Matthew Henry, “when yoke-fellows draw together in the yoke of faith, as heirs of the grace of God; and when they do this in a religious concern for the good of their children, to preserve them not only from those who would destroy their lives, but corrupt their minds.” Moses’ parents show us three things about faith. 1st, Faith fears God. Pharaoh had given orders that every male child born among the Jews be thrown immediately into the Nile. Instead of complying with this atrocious command, Moses’ mother and father concealed their infant son for three months. Without question, we are to be in subjection to the higher powers. We are to be obedient to our divinely appointed civil rulers, no matter who they are (Romans 13:1-7). But we have a higher authority than any earthly monarch. Our God is our King. “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). As those noble brethren in Daniel 3, we cannot do that which God has forbidden, no matter who demands it. And, like Peter and John in Acts 4, we must obey God’s will, no matter who opposes it. 2nd, Faith overcomes the fear of man. The fear of God makes the fear of man insignificant. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalms 27:1). 3rd, Faith obtains God’s salvation. Deliverance came to Israel because Moses’ parents, believing God, hazarded their lives to do what they knew to be his will. Fearing God, they obeyed his Word, though obedience might cost them their lives. “Three Months” “Moses was hid three months.”— Faith proves itself by works. Moses’ parents, like Abraham before them and Rahab after them, showed their faith by their works. They concealed the birth of their son, not fearing the wrath of the king. From the beginning they showed greater concern for Moses’ soul than for their own lives. They hid him for three months. Theirs was a persevering faith. No doubt they made many cries unto God. Can you imagine the faith it required to put that baby in a basket and leave him alone to God’s care in the Nile River? Such faith is both well founded and most reasonable. God preserves his own. Nothing can harm them, much less destroy them! In the preservation of Moses we have an illustration of how God preserves his elect from infancy to the day of their calling (Jude 1:1). A Proper Child” Their faith was not so much a parental act of love as it was the act of two people who believed God. That which motivated the faith of these godly parents was that which the Lord God had made known to them. —“They saw he was a proper child.” The Holy Spirit is not talking about Moses’ being a physically beautiful child, too good looking to murder! This was an act of faith. They saw that Moses’ was beautiful to God, chosen of God to be Israel’s deliverer (Acts 7:20). It is obvious from the Book of Exodus that they taught him this from his youth. Had this not been a matter of divine revelation, something specifically made known to them by God, it would not have been an act of faith, but of desperation. They believed God’s word, the promise he had given to Abraham and Joseph, and had confirmed to them. “By Faith” We know this because the Holy Spirit tells us specifically that the hiding of Moses was “by faith.” It was an act of faith, God given, God wrought, God sustained faith. The principle of their actions in the preservation of Moses was faith. Paul’s purpose in this chapter was not to honor men, but to honor faith. Particularly, their faith was in Christ, the Deliverer of his people, of whom Moses was both a type and one by whom the Seed of the woman must be preserved. They had a particular revelation form God. They had a firm faith in the deliverance of the children of Israel in the appointed season. And they had faith in him whom Abraham believed. They trusted Christ. “Not Afraid” “And they were not afraid of the king’s commandment."—Their faith was eminent in this: In the discharge of their duty they did not fear the kings command. No doubt they had fear, but not such as would prevent the performance of their duty. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Because they believed God, Moses’ parents secured for themselves and for the nation of Israel the promised blessing of God’s salvation. Israel was delivered by the faith of a godly mother and father. Let us train our children for God, heaven, and eternity. Train them, first and foremost, by believing God ourselves,by making the will and glory of God the rule of all things in our lives.

Hebrews 11:24-27

“Seeing Him Who Is Invisible” “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:24-27 First, Because he believed God, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (Hebrews 11:24). When he openly and publicly took the part of the Israelite against the Egyptian, Moses publicly identified himself with the people of God. The Holy Spirit tells us here that when Moses’ did this thing, when he slew the Egyptian, he did so as an act of faith. He preferred Israel to Egypt. He preferred being an Israelite to being the most prestigious, powerful man in the world.

He preferred the care of God’s church and people to his own honor and well-being. – This is what God’s elect do in believer’s baptism. We publicly identify ourselves with Christ, his gospel, and his people. Second, believing God, Moses’ chose the afflictions of God’s people (Hebrews 11:25). It is true, he was chosen of God to be one of his own; but Moses’ chose to be numbered among God’s people. At first glance, this might not seem to be a very difficult choice for anyone to make. After all these were the chosen, redeemed, peculiar people of God. These were the people to whom alone God gave his Word and ordinances of divine worship. God himself was with them. Canaan was promised to them. But Moses’ counted the cost and chose rather to suffer the afflictions of God’s elect than to enjoy the pleasures that were his in Egypt. He knew that the afflictions they endured were hard afflictions indeed; but he also knew that they were afflictions endured as the people of God. They were divinely appointed chastisements of their heavenly Father. They were ordained of God for the spiritual, eternal benefit of his people and the glory of his own great name (1 Peter 1:3-9). Third, because he believed God, Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ to be far greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:26). He considered it his greatest wealth and honor to be allowed to bear the reproach of Christ—Christ’s Personal Reproach—The Reproach of His Word—The Reproach of His Worship—The Reproach Endured by His People (1 Peter 2:19-24). Fourth, believing God, Moses had respect unto the promises of God (Hebrews 11:26). That is to say, he believed, looked for, and anticipated the fulfillment of that which the Lord God had promised (2 Timothy 1:7-12)—The Deliverance of Israel out of Their Bondage in Egypt—The Blessings of Canaan—Eternal Glory. Fifth, “by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king” (Hebrews 11:27). Though this may have reference to Moses leading Israel out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, I do not think that is the primary thing referred to here. Rather, this sentence speaks of Moses’ flying away to Midian. The deliverance of Israel as a nation is described in Hebrews 11:29. After he had slain the Egyptian and taken up the cause of Israel, Moses made no effort to appease Pharaoh’s wrath. His fleeing was not an act of cowardice, but of obedience to the will of God. There he must wait for God to send him for the work to which he was ordained. He must be trained in the prophecy school of hardship, isolation, and trouble in the Midian desert. Pharaoh was a roaring lion, but Moses did not fear him. Those who are called by the grace of God out of a state of darkness and bondage, and out of a strange land forsake this world and everything that is near and dear when it is in competition with Christ; not fearing the wrath of any temporal king or prince; nor of Satan, the prince of this world. Sixth, because Moses believed God, “he endured!” That is what faith does. It perseveres. Faith never quits. Faith endures; and endures to the end. It endures the trials of providence. It endures the afflictions of the gospel. It endures the rod of chastisement. It endures the relentless warfare in the soul between the flesh and the spirit. Seventh, the cause of Moses’ great faith, the thing that sustained him to the end, was just this: Moses had seen and lived seeing him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27). This was not a one time sight, but an ever-increasing sight, a sight which guided, sustained and refreshed this man Moses unto the end. He saw the Lord God in Christ. He saw him in the Word he was taught, in the burning bush, in the paschal lamb and sprinkled blood, in salvation experienced at the Red Sea, in the tree at Marah, in the manna, in the rock, and in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33:13-19)! This sight of the invisible God was a spiritual sight. It was “by faith” that Moses saw the Lord. It was a glorious and a humbling sight, a transforming and a separating sight, and an inspiring and a sustaining sight. It was a costly, but a satisfying sight. Oh, may God give us grace ever to see him!

Hebrews 11:29

Lessons From The Red Sea “By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.” Hebrews 11:29 Israel was constantly reminded by the Lord to ever remember and learn from their experience at the Red Sea. The psalmist taught them to sing, “Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men. He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him” (Psalms 66:5-6). Let all the Israel of God learn the lessons of the Red Sea. Faith Here we are taught how we ought to behave in times of great trial (Exodus 14:13-15). Moses said to the people, “Fear not.” They were terrified by their foes because they did not trust their Father. How we need to learn to trust our God and cease from fear! Nothing so dishonors our God as our unbelief. Nothing causes us more trouble. Then God’s prophet called for his people to “Stand still.” Stand still, with foes pursuing? Stand still, with no visible means of deliverance? Stand still, in utter helplessness? Yes, if ever there is a time to stand still, it is when there is absolutely nothing else you can do! It is only when we cease from all reliance upon ourselves that we will stand still. And it is only when we stand still that we will “see the salvation of the Lord.” That is what faith does. It sees God’s salvation. It contributes nothing to it and does nothing to get it. Faith simply beholds what God has done and is doing. It matters not whether we apply the word “salvation” to the everlasting salvation of our souls, which is what the Red Sea experience typifies, or to deliverance from any temporal trouble, the instruction is the same. We will see God’s salvation only as we stand still before him in faith, trusting our heavenly Father with all the affairs of our lives. Be assured, my brother, be assured, my sister, “The Lord shall fight for you.” When we are confident of this, we shall hold our peace. Then, the Lord commanded Moses to tell the people to “Go forward.” They were commanded to “go forward” before the sea was parted. Faith sees deliverance, faith apprehends the promise of God in his Word and acts upon it before it is actually performed. The believer is ready to go forward when by faith he has seen the deliverance of the Lord, before it is actually accomplished. Who would ever have imagined that Israel’s way of escape and victory over her foes was to be the Red Sea? That was the very last thing any form of human reason would have expected. But God commanded them to go forward; and as soon as they stepped into the sea, obeying the revealed will of God, he turned the sea into dry ground, made its waters a wall of protection, and caused his people to go through the waters rejoicing (Exodus 14:22; Psalms 66:6). Security There may have been some trembling Israelites who passed through the sea, as terrified by the walls of water as they were by the pursuing armies of Pharaoh. They walked through the sea by faith, but not in the “full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22). They passed through the sea just as safely as the others, but with much less enjoyment. What a pity! Those who walked through the Red Sea “in full assurance of faith” walked through it in the joy of faith (Philippians 1:25). They looked neither at the waters of the sea, nor at the might of their foes, nor at the reasonableness of their behavior, but at the Word of God. Believing God, they walked through the Red Sea confident that God would deliver them. God who made the sea for them could certainly guide them through it (Romans 8:1). May the Lord be pleased to constantly teach us thus to trust him. He who makes our trials will also guide us through them and keep us safe and secure until he brings us home at last (Romans 8:28-30; Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 10:13, John 10:28-30). Judgment Without question, the decrees and purposes of God are eternal, absolute, and immutable. Pharaoh was raised up by God, according to his eternal purpose, as a vessel of wrath (Romans 9:15-18; Proverbs 16:4). But the judgment of God upon Pharaoh and his armies was not an arbitrary thing. He was judged of God upon the basis of his own, willful rebellion and sin (Exodus 14:17-25). I will leave it to others (who think they can do so) to work out the theological details, but these two facts are revealed in the Book of God: (1.) Reprobation, like election, is an eternal act of God. And (2.) divine judgment is always the result of man’s disobedience. God fought against Pharaoh because Pharaoh fought against God. The Egyptians resolved to pursue Israel into the sea. But they entered the sea not in faith, but in rash presumption. What multitudes follow their example, rushing into eternity, presuming that all is well, when all is ill! There God will fight against them. The Egyptians had drowned the firstborn of Israel, and now they are drowned. There is always an element of restitution in God’s judgment. In hell the damned shall but “eat of the fruit of their own way” (Proverbs 1:31). Recognition When the Lord was done with his wonders at the Red Sea, exactly as he had purposed, both Israel and the Egyptians knew and acknowledged that Jehovah is God alone and God indeed. And when the Lord our God has finished all his works all creation shall know and glorify him as God alone, either to the everlasting torment of their souls in hell or to the everlasting bliss and satisfaction of their souls in heaven (Exodus 15:1-6).

Hebrews 11:30

Faith in Four Positions “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” Hebrews 11:30 The Lord told Joshua and the children of Israel exactly what they were to do to take Jericho (Joshua 6:3-4), and promised them that Jericho’s wall would fall down flat before them (Joshua 6:5); and it came to pass (Joshua 6:6-25). “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down.” But they did not fall, or even shake, until “after they were compassed about seven days.” True, saving faith is much more than an idea or an ideal. It is much more than the acceptance of facts, believing specific doctrines, believing that God is, or believing that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day. Faith in Christ involves confidence in him and submission to him, as well as relying upon the merits of his blood and righteousness. There is much to be learned about faith in the fall of Jericho. That which is recorded in Joshua 6, to which this text refers, shows us four positions of faith. Obeying Here is faith obeying God. That is what faith does. I do not suggest that believers are perfectly obedient. We are not. But believers do bow to and obey the Lord their God. These people were required to march around Jericho for six days in utter silence. They were required to do this for six days, and then a seventh. – Thus the Lord taught them patience (Psalms 37:4-7). God’s ways often seem strange to us. I am sure every man in Israel, when he heard Joshua’s declaration of God’s word, must have thought, “That sure seems like a strange way to conquer a place.” Who would ever dream of conquering a city with nothing but the blowing of a ram’s horn and carrying an ark? No matter how contrary it may appear to be to human reason, no matter how unpopular it may be for us to do so, it is our responsibility and blessedness to obey our God’s revealed will (revealed in Holy Scripture) implicitly. We cannot do his work any other way. The ark that Israel carried was typical of redemption accomplished by Christ. The blowing of the rams’ horns was symbolic of the preaching of the gospel. These and these alone are the weapons of our warfare, by which the church and kingdom of God assaults the gates of hell. Waiting The children of Israel obeyed God and waited for Jericho’s wall to fall. Nothing is more contrary to our proud flesh than waiting on God. We want action, and we want it right now. But faith must and will wait on the Lord. “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” – “Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.” – “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.” – “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” – “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.” Expecting Waiting in faith is not lazy idleness, excused by claiming to believe in divine sovereignty and absolute predestination. Faith in God’s sovereignty and confidence in his eternal purpose inspires obedience to his Word and confidence in his Word. The waiting of faith involves expectation. We wait on God to work when we expect him to do so. The faith by which Jericho fell was an expectant faith (Joshua 6:20). The people shouted before the walls fell down. Because they believed God, they expected those mighty, huge walls to fall. We who believe God ought to expect him to do all that he has promised. What could be more reasonable? If in the middle of a severe drought we pray for rain, we ought to walk around with an umbrella in our hands. We ought to expect the preaching of the gospel to bring forth fruit (Isaiah 55:11). We ought to expect the triumph of the gospel. We ought to expect our God to do us good, and nothing but good, all the days of our lives (Romans 8:28). We ought to expect goodness and mercy to pursue us everywhere we go (Psalms 23:6). We ought to live every day in the expectation of Christ’s coming (Titus 2:11-14). Prevailing Israel took Jericho (Joshua 6:20). The walls fell down flat before them. God made a promise. They believed it. And faith prevailed. They conquered their enemies. Let us likewise believe our God (Matthew 17:20; 1 John 5:4). “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Yes, faith in Christ always prevails. We shall prevail over every obstacle, over every foe (inward and outward), over death, over hell, and over the grave. Read the last chapters of the Book and see (Revelation 19:1-6; Revelation 20:6).

Hebrews 11:31

“The Harlot Rahab” “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.” Hebrews 11:31 When the Lord God sent Joshua and the children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the land of Canaan to take possession of the land, the first order of business was to destroy the city of Jericho. Jericho was one of the largest, most prosperous, and most thoroughly fortified cities in the land. But the city was cursed of God and marked for destruction. The sentence of death had been passed upon it forty years earlier (Exodus 23:27-28). Though the inhabitants of Jericho prospered in the world, though they worked and played, labored by day and partied by night, though they filled their lives with every amusement, comfort, and pleasure they could find, though they were utterly ignorant of it, they were a people cursed of God, a people whose numbered days were up, and a people about to be forever damned! They were as sure for hell as if they were already there when Joshua and the children of Israel crossed over the river Jordan; but they were oblivious to the fact of it! The Scriptures tell us that the children of Israel marched around Jericho, carrying the ark of the covenant everyday for seven days. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, blew their trumpets and shouted. When they did, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down and fell flat to the ground. The whole city was completely destroyed at once, except for one house. There was one small section of the wall that did not fall because there was a house on that section of the wall that could not fall. Why? Why was that house preserved? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:31. There was a woman in that house who believed God. There was a woman in that house who was sheltered by a scarlet cord, which represented the precious blood of Christ. The story is recorded in Joshua 6 Though all of Jericho was destroyed under the wrath of God, Rahab and her father’s house were saved; the house of the town’s most notorious harlot could not fall. When I read that, being the kind of curious, inquisitive person I am, I want to know why? Why was this one house left standing, while all the other houses were destroyed? Why, when the entire wall surrounding the city collapsed under the weight of God’s wrath, was this harlot’s house left standing? The Book of God shows us clearly that there are five reasons why Rahab’s house did not and could not fall when the judgment of God fell on Jericho: (1.) Rahab was the object of God’s sovereign, electing love. (2.) Rahab’s house was under the blood. (3. Rahab believed God. (4.) Rahab had the promise of God for her security and the security of her house. And (5.) Rahab stayed in the house.

Hebrews 11:32-40

Something Better In our society a man’s worth is commonly judged by his position, his power, and his possessions. We are conditioned to presume that anyone who lacks what we commonly consider obvious signs of success must be uneducated, or lazy, or both. Those who are poor are commonly considered more likely to be immoral, if not criminal. Parents are always a little concerned if their daughter shows interest in a boy who comes from “the wrong side of the tracks.” They are always delighted to see her marry into the right kind of family— the kind with money! Young people (and old ones, too) put themselves deeply into debt to keep up the appearance of success. Husbands and wives work every minute they can, so that they can impress themselves and their neighbors with what they have! What a sad commentary those facts are upon our society! This perverse, proud, corrupt mentality is just as prevalent in the religious world as it is in the secular world. We have been conditioned by the “health, wealth, prosperity” preachers of the day to think that if a person is not physically healthy and wealthy and prospering materially, there must be some fault in his character, some flaw in his faith, or something otherwise evil that is the cause of his failure. Anything less than tangible success that leads to great comfort and prosperity in life is shamed as being a defective faith. What is the result? In the minds of most, God has been reduced to nothing more than a great dispenser of creature comforts who is manipulated by positive thinking and positive believing! The Christian is, in the minds of most, synonymous with prosperity. Failure of any kind, sickness, and tragedy are thought to be beyond God’s control, contrary to his goodness, outside his will, and altogether beneath the dignity of a Christian. Faith today is made to be the elusive secret of elitist Christians by which they attain all the dreams of materialism and all the flamboyance of a Hollywood lifestyle. Such thinking is totally contrary to the teaching of Holy Scripture. When we come to Hebrews 11, and read here of the great men and women of faith, men and women held before us by God the Holy Spirit as examples to follow, we see that faith in Christ, obedience to the revealed will of God, and the goodness of God to the people of his love very often bring us into the very condition and circumstances the world disdains. Faith in and obedience to Christ, God’s infinite wisdom, and sovereign goodness very frequently (Indeed, most commonly!) prevent the souls he loves from ever attaining that which the world calls good and great. Our God has something better for us than the riches and comforts of this world. Christ is better. Eternity is better. Our hearts must be set upon these better things, if we would attain them

Hebrews 11:33-40

What Does Faith Do? Faith receives, embraces, and bows to Christ. Faith unites us to Christ. Faith believes Christ, trusting him alone for acceptance with God. But faith in Christ is not just a dream of “pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye.” Faith in Christ is the believer’s way of life in this world. It is written, “The just shall live by faith.” That does not mean that we are made alive by our faith in Christ. It is not our faith that gives us spiritual life, but God’s gift of life that gives us faith. So, when the Scriptures declare, that, “The just shall live by faith,” the meaning is that we live in this world by faith in Christ. That is what is set before us in Hebrews 11. What does this faith, by which all justified sinners live, do? Trusts God We trust a God who is without limitation, the Infinite Lord God with whom nothing is impossible. That enables faith (faith in this great God) to look at impossibilities and smile in light of God’s wisdom, power, and goodness (Hebrews 11:33-38). Faith still subdues kingdoms. Christ has made us kings. Faith works righteousness (Romans 5:19), obtains God’s promises (2 Corinthians 1:20), stops the mouths of lions (Romans 8:33-34), escapes the edge of the sword (Romans 8:35-39), out of weakness is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), waxes valiant in conflict (1 Corinthians 15:58), turns to flight the enemies (Romans 16:20), quenches the violence of fire (Isaiah 43:1-5) receives life from death (John 11:40), endures great trials (Romans 5:1-5), and obtains a better resurrection (Revelation 20:6). Turns Loss To Gain Faith turns great loss into great gain and great failure in to great triumph. We sing, “Faith is the victory;” but we tend to think of mere temporal, earthly, creature comfort as victories achieved by faith. We aim too low! That’s why the rest of the chapter is needful. Read Hebrews 11:35-40 carefully. The Holy Spirit does not identify the men and women he refers to in these verses, but they have been numbered in Heaven. Read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs or Men of the Covenant or The Reformation in England or The Scots Worthies or By Their Blood: Christian Martyrs of the Twentieth Century or biographies of William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, Jim Elliot, and Bill Wallace, and you will discover that throughout history countless brethren have faced great suffering and inhumane, barbaric executions. There were no thoughts of “health, wealth, and prosperity” among them, they pressed on through their trials by faith. Faith did not deliver them from the experience of suffering and death, but faith carried them through triumphantly. And if need be, faith will do so for you. “They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountain, and in dens and in caves of the earth.” The allurements of this world had nothing for these faithful and often penniless brethren. They lacked all the creature comforts of life but what people of faith they were! What knowledge of God they experienced in their temporal deprivations! The world was not worthy of them, though the world considered them unworthy. God judges by different standards than the world; loss, deprivation, and poverty are no failures in God’s sight. The only real failure is a failure to believe God! What do all of these believers through the centuries tell us? – “When you can have it all, faith says Christ is better; and when you lose it all, faith says Christ is better” Unites It is this common faith that unites all God’s elect in Christ. We have different cultures, come from different races, face different experiences, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ sustains us throughout our days. Faith carries us through good times and bad, through abundant times and lean ones, through prosperity and poverty, through health and sickness, through births and bereavements, through peace and war. Faith unites us in hope, in life, in heart, and in eternity, for faith unites us in Christ (Hebrews 11:39-40). “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Here the Spirit of God links believers from Old and New Testaments together, showing that there is a continuity and unity in our faith. There are not “two faiths,” one old and the other new, but one common faith among all God’s people in all places and in every age. Believers in the Old Testament looked to Christ in the shadows of the law, through a Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifices. We see Christ in all the fullness and sufficiency of his substitutionary death on the cross and resurrection glory on the throne. They lived under the old covenant, while looking for the fulfillment of the new covenant in Christ. Their faith looked forward. Our faith looks back. Both those of old and believers today look in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting him alone as Savior and Lord. Trusting him, faith obtains a good report, a good report before God and a good report from God. Faith waits for the promise (1 John 3:1-2; Titus 2:11-14). Faith brings all God’s elect into one inheritance of perfection, called “the glorious liberty of the children of God.” All God’s elect are one in Christ now. Soon, we shall be made perfect in one.

Hebrews 11:35-36

People Who Believed God “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.” Hebrews 11:35-36 How did these saints of God meet such tribulation with patience, such hardness with meekness, and such persecution with unwavering loyalty? Where can we find such strength of faith? The strength of faith is not in us. The strength of faith is not in faith. The strength of faith is Christ, the Giver. Faith is a gift of grace that draws strength from its Source. Drawing strength from God, faith in Christ draws down from heaven grace to help in time of need. Faith in Christ gives believing sinners steadfastness of purpose, noble courage, and tranquility of mind in the midst of great adversity. As A. W. Pink put it, “Faith makes the righteous as bold as a lion, refusing to recant though horrible tortures and a martyr’s death be the only alternative.” Yes, we are weak, weaker than water. Yes, faith often falters. Yes, believers fail oft and fall oft. But though the righteous man falls seven times a day, the Lord raises him up. And faith (divinely given and divinely sustained) will rise to the occasion, saying with Christ, “the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). Faith, God given faith, endures all things and endures to the end. Let’s look at the examples (footnote 1) before us in this passage. The Dead Raised “Women received their dead raised to life again” (Hebrews 11:35). The historical reference to this is probably found in 1 Kings 17:22-24 and 2 Kings 4:35-37. Our Lord tells us plainly “with God all things are possible.” As the Lord our God raised those two boys from the dead and restored them to their mothers by the word of his prophets Elijah and Elisha, so he is able to raise our sons and daughters from the dead by the word of his grace today. Bring your children to the Savior like Jarius brought his daughter, like the Canaanite woman brought her daughter, like the man brought his demon possessed son. Tell him, “My child is grievously vexed with a devil!” Bring your children to God’s prophet to hear God’s Word. Pray for God’s blessing upon the Word preached. Turn Us There is another application of this to us. You and I, as we look to Christ, have our languishing graces renewed to life through faith. Thereby we “Strengthen the things that remain, that are ready to die” (Revelation 3:2). This is God’s Word to his languishing people, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14). Still, we know, all too well, that our languishing souls will never take the initiative (Son 5:2). Faith responds to grace. It does not cause it! Let us cry, with languishing saints of old, “Draw us, and we will run after thee…Turn us, and we shall be turned!” “It may also be observed that the apostle takes most of these instances, if not all of them, from the time of the persecution of the church under Antiochus, the king of Syria, in the days of the Maccabees. And we may consider concerning this reason: 1. That it was after the closing of the canon of the Scripture, or putting of the last hand unto writings by Divine inspiration under the O. T. Wherefore, as the apostle represented these things from the notoriety of fact then fresh in memory, and it may be, some books then written of those things, like the books of the Maccabees, yet remaining: yet as they are delivered out unto the church by him, they proceeded from Divine inspiration. 2. That in those days wherein these things fell out, there was no extraordinary prophet in the church.

Prophecy, as the Jews confess, ceased under the second temple. And this makes it evident that the rule of the Word, and the ordinary ministry of the church, is sufficient to maintain believers in their duty against all oppositions whatever. 3. That this last persecution of the church under the O.T. by Antiochus, was typical of the last persecution of the Christian church under antichrist; as is evident to all that compare Daniel 8:10-14; Daniel 8:23-25; Daniel 11:36-39 with that of the Revelation in sundry places. And indeed the martyrologies of those who have suffered under the Roman antichrist, are a better exposition of this context than any that can be given in words” (John Owen).

Hebrews 11:36-38

“And Others” “And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; Of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Hebrews 11:36-38) These three verses describe some of the heavy trials and afflictions to which many of God’s saints in the Old Testament were subjected. “They were stoned.”—Because God’s saints were counted as a people who were harmful, corrupting, destructive to society, they were stoned to death. Stoning was a form of capital punishment appointed by God to protect society as a whole from those who would destroy it by murder, rape, moral decadence, and idolatry (Leviticus 20:2, Joshua 7:24-25). But that which God ordained for good, Satan perverted for evil. “The devil is never more a devil nor more outrageous, than when he gets a pretense of God’s weapons into his own hands” (John Owen). “They were sawn asunder”— as wild beasts who were feared by men. There is no record in Scripture of anyone being put to death this way, though tradition tells us that God’s prophet Isaiah was slaughtered by this barbaric method of execution. “Were tempted”—They were tempted by their persecutors to repudiate their faith in Christ by the bait of having their lives spared, of being delivered from death. No doubt they were tempted of Satan to doubt the goodness and grace, power and faithfulness, mercy and love, promises and tender mercies of God; but they were steadfast. “Were slain with the sword”—Those words would be more accurately translated, “they died in the slaughter of the sword.” They were slain, as was Abel, for only one reason. —They believed God, trusting Christ alone for acceptance with him, denying salvation by any other means. Saul slaughtered those priests of God who were faithful to the Lord (1 Samuel 22:18-21). Israel slaughtered God’s prophets under the reign of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 19:10). Papists have exceeded countless multitudes in their insatiable thirst for the blood of God’s saints. The Holy Spirit tells us that the whore, Babylon, is “drunk with the blood of the saints” (Revelation 17:6). History verifies that fact repeatedly. “They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins”—as people unfit for society. They were driven out of their homes and forced to live like animals, reduced to wearing the skins of wild beasts, instead of clothes woven by man. Any day, any one of these wanderers could have rejoined their families and former friends, enjoyed their society, and shared their comforts. But they preferred to live as wandering beasts than to deny Christ. They loved not the world. They loved not themselves. They loved their Savior. “Being destitute, afflicted, tormented”—“Destitute” means they were deprived of the ordinary necessities of life. Neither relative nor friend would intervene for these banished ones. “Afflicted” has reference to their state of mind. They were not stoics without emotion. They felt the pain of these hardships as acutely as anyone else would. —There may be a reference here to Satan’s harassing torments because of their inward struggles with horrid unbelief. They were “tormented” by the taunting jeers of men, the assaults of Satan, and the lusts of the flesh with which they had to contend. “Of whom the world was not worthy.”—Here we see the difference between God’s estimate of his people and the world’s. God regards his people as “the excellent” of the earth in whom is his “delight” (Psalms 16:3). The people of this world are altogether ignorant of it, but the fact is, all the blessings and benefits of providence they enjoy they enjoy because God’s saints yet dwell among them in this world. God’s people really are “the salt of the earth.” Their presence stays the hand of divine judgment (Genesis 19:22), and brings down God’s blessings upon the earth (Genesis 30:27). Their prayers secure divine healing (Genesis 20:17). Their presence brings both sunshine and rain upon their neighbors. Child of God, if your neighbors knew how much they benefit from you, rather than trying to run you out of town, they would be making your house payments for you. “They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”—The word “wandered” suggests a wandering about as a stranger in an unknown place. It is the term used in reference Abraham in Hebrews 11:8, and Hagar in Genesis 21:14. It is used in reference to wandering sheep in Matthew 18:12. So long as we are in this world we are wanderers and strangers. The world makes us wanderers and strangers. Let us make ourselves wanderers and strangers. This world can never provide a home, a resting place, or an inheritance for our souls. It provides nothing for us but empty deserts, mountainous obstacles of trouble, and cold, damp, dark dens. But that is okay. That is just fine—“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Oh, may God give us grace ever to live with eternity before our eyes, with eternity in our hearts, for Christ’s sake.

Hebrews 11:39-40

The Family of God “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40) Here God the Holy Spirit tells us much about the family of God. The family of God, the church of God, and the kingdom of God are synonyms. All who are chosen by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and born again by God the Holy Spirit are members of his church, his family, and his kingdom. Family Members Who is in this family? You will notice that Paul first speaks of “these all,” referring to all those he has described in this 11th chapter of Hebrews. But he is not limiting himself to those who are specifically named. He is talking about all those men and women who believed God in the Old Testament era. Then he speaks of “us,” referring to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in this gospel age. Then he speaks of them and us being “made perfect” together. In other words, he is telling us that the whole family in heaven and in earth, the family of God (Ephesians 3:15), the church of God, the kingdom of God is one great family, a family more numerous than the sands upon the seashore and the stars of the sky. The family of God is made up of all God’s elect, all true believers, all the redeemed. The church of God really is one body, one indivisible family, one holy kingdom. All who are in Christ of every age, nationality, and language, throughout all the ages of time, and throughout all the earth are one family. It includes all the blessed company of the redeemed. The family of God is known and spoken of by many names in the Book of God. This family is the body of Christ and his bride, the temple of God and the household of faith, God’s royal priesthood and holy nation, the church of the Firstborn and the Israel of God. Membership in “the family of God,” does not depend upon anything earthly. It does not come by natural birth, but by new birth. No preacher can bring you into this family. The waters of baptism cannot immerse you into this family. Parents cannot bring their children into the family of God. You may have been born to the most faithful parents in the world. But you were not born an heir of heaven. To belong to the family of God you must be born again. No one but God the Holy Spirit can make you a living member of this family. It is his special function and prerogative to bring chosen, redeemed sinners into this family by the washing of regeneration and the gifts of life and faith in Christ. The mere exercise of your will cannot put you in the family of grace. A beggar may sooner become a king’s son by his own choice than you and I could become the sons of God by our will. Entrance into the family of God is God’s work alone (John 1:11-13; Romans 9:15-16; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:3-6; 1 John 3:1-3)! One Family The Scriptures describe all God’s people as one family (Ephesians 3:15). Why is it important for us to realize that God’s church is one family? Why does God the Holy Spirit refer to all who are in Christ as the family of God? All true believers are called a “family” because we all have one Heavenly Father. We are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. We are all born of one Spirit. We are all sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. We have all received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, “Abba Father” (Galatians 3:26; John 3:8; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 8:15). We no longer look upon the holy Lord God with a cringing dread and fear.

We no longer think of him as One always ready to punish us. Rather, we lift our eyes heavenward and look up to our God with tender confidence, as our reconciled and loving Father, —as One who has forgiven all our sins, put away all our iniquities, and received us graciously for Christ’s sake. We see Him now as One who is full of compassion and pity. We came to him like the prodigal. And He ran, fell on our necks, and kissed us. Those words, “Our Father which art in heaven,” are no longer merely the words of a prayer we learned as children in Sunday School.

They are the sweetest words imaginable to our hearts. All true believers are called the “family” of God because we all rejoice in, have confidence in, trust in, and are named after one great and glorious name (Ephesians 3:15). That name is the name of our great Head and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ the Lord. Just as a common family name is the uniting link to all the members of an earthly clan, so the name of Christ unites all believers together in one vast family in heaven and earth. As living members of Christ, we all, with one heart and mind, rejoice in one Savior. Every heart in this family is built upon Christ as the only object of hope. Every tongue in this family will tell you that “Christ is all.” God’s people are all called the ‘family” of God, because as the sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Christ, all true believers are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-19; John 17:1-5; John 17:22). And we are called the “family” of God because there is such strong a family resemblance among all who are born of God (Philippians 3:3). The Father’s Promise What has God our Father promised to do for his family? We are told in Hebrews 11:39-40 that our brethren in the Old Testament could not be made perfect (The family could not be completed and finished.) without us, because God has provided some better thing for us. The Lord God has promised to make his family perfect! What does that mean? How are we to understand this? The Lord God shall complete his family. Every adopted son shall be brought into the fulness and joy of sonship by God’s sovereign grace. Every elect, redeemed sinner shall be brought into the blessed union of life and faith with Christ. Before God gets done with this world, all Israel shall be saved (Ephesians 1:22-23). All the family shall be made perfect in Christ—perfectly one—perfect before God—perfect in heart and soul, mind and body! Yes, when God gets done, his whole family shall honor him forever (Ephesians 2:1-7).