Hebrews 11: Saving Faith

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV)

Once again, I want to hit the punch line first before diving into the meat of the text.  We have seen a litany of examples that we might construe as saving faith. And then, we arrive at verse 39. All of these wonderful works accomplished by these Old Testament patriarchs, and then the writer of Hebrews tells us to wait a second, that wasn't the point.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

How is it that we can simultaneously be exhorted to do great works, and yet be told that the promise was not received based upon those works? What is this faith that enables such great deeds, and yet falls short in perfecting us? What is it that God provided that was better for us? Rest assured, eager reader, that the author of Hebrews knows the answer. Remember back at the beginning of our journey through Hebrews, that we made some assumptions. A key assumption is that this letter or sermon was delivered to people who already had saving faith. Here, we see the faith of the Old Testament patriarchs set in contradistinction to this saving faith. This obviously begs the question, what is saving faith?

For my long-time readers, this will sound repetitive, because I wrote a similar post back in March. But is an important topic, one that bears repeating. Let us start from the notion that we must have faith. What is faith? Is faith tangible? Is faith itself an object? I ask this in a grammatical sense as well as a metaphysical sense. Grammatically speaking, faith is used as a noun. But more properly, we should think of faith perhaps as a gerund. Take this sentence: faith is believing. Using this construction, is quite easy to see my meaning. So I ask again, is it enough to have faith?

Is faith necessarily a Christian construct? Do you have faith in the Texans' ability to win with the third string quarterback? Is this the same faith of which we speak in a biblical context? Clearly not, therefore, it is obvious that faith must have an object. So, what is the object of our faith?

Let's start small, and build up as we need. I believe in God. For many, that is a sufficient statement of faith. Very quickly, we can argue that this is not a particularly Christian claim. In fact, statistically, most people in the United States believe in God, or a god, or some supreme being. Certainly, our Old Testament patriarchs believed in God, and yet the author of Hebrews has already declared that this was not saving faith.

I believe in Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Messiah. Certainly, that is a step farther than the Old Testament patriarchs were able to take. Does this constitute saving faith? Let's look at Matthew 4 for a moment. What is the supposition that the devil keeps making to Jesus?  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God….” Without getting into too much of a philosophical argument about it, this is clearly a rhetorical statement by the devil. The devil knows Jesus is the son of God; he doesn't just believe it, he knows it. The point is this: if the devil knows Jesus is the son of God, and the devil isn't saved by that knowledge, can we consider this to be saving faith?

Now let's turn to 1 Corinthians 15. It's a long chapter, but I want you to read it now.  Here is just a sampling of the early part of the chapter.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:3-10a ESV)

In verse 1, Paul calls this his gospel, and he exhorts us to the same perseverance as does the author of Hebrews.      Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 ESV)  

We are being saved, not by our works, but by virtue of this gospel, this news about Jesus. The whole basis of this faith, according to Paul, is the truth of the resurrection. Paul reminds us that this was an actual historical event. He tells us about witnesses, he tells us about the names of some of those witnesses, he tells us about the number of witnesses, more than 500 brothers at one time. This, my friends, is what it means to be a witness. It is a legal word, it is a word used in courtrooms. These 500+ eyewitnesses testify and witness to the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Yes, His resurrection is the basis of saving faith.

Now, let's go back to Hebrews 11:2. …looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Once again, saving faith is linked to the events of the cross. Once again, the New Testament links salvation to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Once again, the New Testament declares the object of our saving faith.

Elsewhere, I have tried to help you understand how it is that these events on the cross connect directly with you. Biblical words like justification, imputation, and propitiation are used to describe how this saving faith is connected directly to you. The first 11 chapters of Romans deal with this subject, particularly Romans 3:21-31, which we have discussed many times before.

            But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

            Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (Romans 3:21-31 ESV)

It is easy to stumble over some of the language, particularly if you are still lacking the Reformation categories of law and gospel. But whether you have a clear understanding of these two paragraphs or not, one cannot deny that Paul explicitly excludes righteousness by works, and he links righteousness, justification, and salvation to faith in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood. It's all there, and it is repeated throughout the New Testament.

In conclusion, then, saving faith is faith that gives us our eternal reward, bodily resurrection, and everlasting life with Christ our King. The link between Jesus Christ and you is His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, and His future coming in glory. That is the object of saving faith, nothing more and nothing less.

--Ogre--