Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11v1-3
What is faith?
Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
By faith Moses when he became of age refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than treasures of Egypt for he looked to the reward.
Hebrews 11:24-26 (NKJV)
Moses was willing to give up what was in his hand, wealth, power, fame, and freedom to enjoy the abundance of fleshly pleasures in Egypt because his faith looked for greater riches in Christ. Christ was merely a messianic hope, but the hope was so powerful and the promise was so secure and sure that it had substance and weight. He was glad to let go of what he had in his hand for what would come in the future but only by way of promises.
We have faith in things hoped for, in things we don’t possess, in things we have not seen, in things yet to come. Old Testament saints had no visible evidence that the promises would be fulfilled, especially looking at the history of Isreal. The nation that promised that the Messiah was coming out of its light became so very dim, yet the promise was still on target with God and so real to the Old Testament saints.
Our faith is anchored to the Word of God to such a degree that we would be willing, like Moses, to suffer the loss of everything we have in this world to believe in the promises of Christ. Jesus puts it this way, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”, Matthew 16:24 (CSB). They lived by faith in promises of the coming Messiah and the Kingdom He would bring.
We live by faith in the promise of the Second Coming of the Messiah and the Eternal Kingdom He will bring as well. Faith is not wishful thinking or some abstract belief, it is trusting in what is not yet received, what is not yet experienced, what has not yet manifested. It has substance now in this life because we sing about it, we pray, we praise, we act and live in obedience, minster, and witness because this hope gives weight to our present life and we all will be rewarded for our faith. Faith is against the world and our flesh, which operates on seeing, feeling, touching, and it’s part of what makes us strangers in this world around us.
The scripture says “without faith it is impossible to please God” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV). There is only one way to please God or gain His approval and that is to believe in the inerrant word of God and to live your life in a way that exhibits faith in how He instructs us to live because of the future promises. We not only have to believe that He is, but we have to believe that He is a rewarder of those who come to Him.
What Christians are NOT to do is sacrifice the promises of the future for the present and the immediate pleasures of this world.
The evidence of things not seen.
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
Hebrews 11:27 (NIV)
It’s not just hoping for something, this faith has the conviction, the confidence that it is true. This conviction or confidence pushes it to a level that it affects the way we live, think, give or witness. It’s absolute unwavering confidence and conviction in the future promises. We move from what we believe to how we live this Christian life. Moses was willing to take the reproach of Christ over the riches of Egypt because his faith was in the coming Messiah. Living by faith he left Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king who could have hunted him down and have him killed, he cared less for his life, for he endured by seeing Him who is unseen. He not only believed with substance and weight in the promise of the Messiah but his faith had enough conviction and confidence that he left Egypt and set up house in the wilderness.
That’s the evidence of things not seen. The invisible things that we belive in Scripture are real and have substance and weight causes a conviction that controls our behaviour. We live our life as a Christian battling against the flesh.
We would say it’s easier to just “Forget it, I’m just going to go with whatever I feel.” It’s the way we use to live, in the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life. But we don’t live that way. We restrain the flesh, we limit the pleasures, we fight against our sinful nature. We resist sin, we flee from it, we understand that there is a future reward and a future desire to come before the Lord and bring honor to His name by the life we lived.
Christians are going the opposite way of the world. We are going north and millions of people are going south and while we are pushing our way north we are taking the hands of some persons and witnessing to them and trying to turn them around to go north and bring them to the knowledge of Christ and get them on Jesus’ side.
Now the other part of verse 3 said “by faith, we believe that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
We as Christians agree that we believe by faith that the world was created by the Word of God because we were not there. There was only one witness, God Himself. He spoke it “let there be” and it was. God created something out of nothing. We have evidence of that world because we live in that world. We believe He created it because we see and live in it. Well God has spoken the Word at the beginning and it came into being. He has spoken that same Word again in the New Testament about the future Kingdom and heaven and eternity and joy and reward, therefore, by faith, we believe and live like we await the New Kingdom. He has proven to us already that He can create something out of nothing and will do it again as mentioned in our future promise; The New Jerusalem. Isn’t that wonderful!
Therefore, our faith has substance in the unseen future promises. We also have this great conviction in these promises that we are transformed in the way we live and behave which proves we have faith in the future plan God has for us. This proves that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.