1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.----------------------------------------------------------
We've heard it over and over again...but this verse is extremely fundamental to our faith. This verse is a great memory verse...it is one that teaches us to be confident in the hope that we have received by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our hope is in the returning of our savior and we can always count on that! Praise God!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOops... needed some editing:
ReplyDelete26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
Now that is faith. Christ's appearance was a couple thousand years away, and Moses had the faith to deny a place in royalty in one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. This blows my mind a little bit. He didn't even have Christ and he was living a life worthy of the Gospel. How much more faith and boldness should we, who are paid for by the blood of Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit, have in proclaiming His truth?
Also:
35-40:
(I won't copy it in b/c it's pretty long)
This is one of the most convicting passages in all of Scripture for me. Am I really living my life in such a way that proclaims that I am paid for by Christ?
People were tortured (not accepting release), sawn in two, stoned, and wandered the world in rags! Destitute, afflicted, ill-treated... These were men of whom the world was not worthy!! These were crazy people!
Do I have faith even close to any of these people? Am I living a radical life for God, or a comfortable life? God wants powerful, all-consuming faith. We shouldn't care what that looks like to the world, because we desire a better country, a heavenly one.
Am I there yet? No. Sometimes I even wonder if I really am looking forward to the reward. Honestly living by God alone scares me a little bit. But the fact still remains that God sent His Son to die for my sins because He wanted a relationship with me. And I have given my life to Him for it.
6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
ReplyDeleteSo I know that I have a habit of picking these kind of verses (as in very straight forward), but I feel like the basic verses have some of the most meaning. Like this verse it basically says if you do not have faith there is no pleasing God. Our entire religion is based on faith. We BELIEVE that Christ died for us. There is no concrete visual fact that we can see in present day that anything we believe is true. That is why it is called faith. That is why God rewards those who have faith. That is why our God is so amazing, because just having faith in Him, we receive the kingdom of heaven and are saved. So continue to have faith and you will be rewarded.
39-40 "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
ReplyDeleteSimply put, this is an excellent example of the dichotomy of the Old Covenant vs. the New Covenant that demonstrates how the New Covenant is an extension of the Old and attempts to fulfill the rewards of the Old Covenant through interaction with the Jews in addition to the Gentiles through the medium of Christ's blood. Doing so places Christ in a position of power at the right hand of God where he serves to represent us that have been cleansed by the blood before the throne of God, thus redeeming us from sin. Yet this can only occur if we have faith in God/Christ. It is convicting to here about the extremes that some people of faith have gone to because of their faith (crucifixion, sawn in half, etc) and makes me realize how much more I can be doing to live out my faith. I wonder if I was put in a similar position what I would do.
-DA
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
ReplyDeleteIn every example given throughout this chapter of people in the Old Testament who were used by God to do great things the common denominator is faith in God. This is nicely summed up in verse 6. We cannot please God without faith in Jesus Christ. All of the works/deeds listed in this chapter would be dead and worthless without the faith they had in the coming redemption that would be through Christ. That is what sets these people a part.
Works without faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how "good," are dead. But true faith transforms a persons life so that deeds naturally result, so also as James 2 says, faith without works is dead. This is the Gospel