Hebrews 11:1-6 & 39 - February 8, 2026

if we boiled down the temptation and struggle

for the Hebrew Christians in the most minimal

sense, I think we could boil it down to this.

The Hebrew Christians could either please men

and find approval with men, or they could please...

God by faith. The Hebrew Christians were the

recipients of ongoing pressure to revert back

to the Jewish system. I think they were being

pressured under these terms. Listen, if you want

to please God, if you want to find approval with

God, then you have to do it through sacrifices.

You have to do it through the human priesthood.

You have to do it through the old religion, in

a sense. But that wasn't the only option in front

of them. The author of Hebrews also presents

them with the reality that they can really be

approved of God. They can really please God.

They can receive a good testimony from God. But

it's only one way. By faith. It's by faith that

they would be approved. And the author goes on

and shows that this has always been the case.

Not just for New Covenant Christians, but it

was the case for Old Covenant saints as well.

The Word of God is so relevant for our lives,

brothers and sisters. Never forget that. There

are so many struggles in our own lives that they

could be boiled down to this. Pleasing men and

being in favor with men. Or, pleasing God by

faith. That's such a struggle within our hearts

and our minds. It's something that's so relevant

to our thinking and the very fabric of our lives.

Why? Because we are around people so much. We're

around unbelievers so often. We're in the world,

but not of the world. It's a constant, ongoing

struggle in the life of the believer. But, there's

only one option for the Christian that is glorifying

to God. And that is by faith, pleasing God. By

faith, receiving a good testimony from him because

of the faith that he has given to us. Today we're

going to consider the individuals who received

a good testimony, or we could say the individuals

who were approved of by God, the men of old.

We see this in verse 2. For by it, the men of

old gained approval. So who were these men? What

were they like? Why does the author bring them

up? But we're also going to consider the good

testimony they received or the nature of this

approval that is spoken of in verse 2. For by

it men of old gained approval. And we'll see

alternative translations for this as well. And

the last thing we will consider. is the basis

for this approval, or the basis for this good

testimony from God. Notice verse 2 says this,

For by it, men of old gained approval. What is

it? Faith. For by faith, men of old received

a good testimony from God. They gained approval.

So beginning with the first, the individuals

who received a good testimony from God. Who is

the author speaking of when he says, for by it

the men of old gained approval? This is actually

the word for elder in the New Testament. The

Greek word is presbyteros. It means an officer

of the church. But is that what he's talking

about? No. He's not talking about pastors and

elders. He's talking about the men of old. Old

Testament saints. Neither is he speaking in particular

about old men. He's speaking about saints and

the old covenant. From beginning to end. He's

talking about Old Testament believers. Who possessed

faith. The people we see throughout Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

11. And who are these individuals? We see Cain

and Abel. Or Abel offered up to God a better

sacrifice. We see Enoch. We see Noah. We see

Abraham. We see Sarah. We see Moses. We see Isaac.

We see so many other people. And what is the

author doing? He's progressively working his

way through the Old Covenant. So he's talking

about the Old Covenant saints, the Old Covenant

believers. And Hebrews chapter 12 refers to these

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Old Covenant believers in this way. Therefore,

since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding

us. So, the Old Testament saints that are being

referred to are approved witnesses for us. Meaning,

these Old Testament saints, brothers and sisters,

according to the author of Hebrews, has something

to say to you and has something to say to me.

They have a message for us today. They have something

they want to bear witness to for us. They want

to testify to us in a sense, brothers and sisters.

This is who the author of Hebrews is talking

about, the saints. Of old. The author knows.

And he is leveraging. The power. Of example.

He knows. That there is something special. About

truth. Embodied. And lived out. A life wrapped

up. In the truth. That it claims to believe.

And adhere to. The author knows that there's

something peculiarly special and powerful and

persuasive about truth embodied. In a sense,

I think the author knows, brothers and sisters,

that the best way to bear witness or one of the

best ways to bear witness to the truth is to

embody the truth in your life. And the author

knows that these men and these women of old actually

did this. They are prime examples for new covenant

believers to look back upon and to learn from

so that we can emulate their faith. So that we

can persevere as they persevered. So that we

can know God as they knew God. So that we can

labor and work and be useful for God as they

were, brothers and sisters. He's setting forth

their example for us. And that requires humility

in each one of us if we are to learn from somebody

else. Brothers and sisters, if you are to learn

from Hebrews chapter 11, It must begin with each

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

one of us humbling ourselves in our hearts and

being willing to learn from Abel. From Noah.

From Enoch. You don't have all the answers. I

don't have all the answers. You are not perfect.

I am not perfect. These men were not perfect,

but... If we are to learn from them, we must

be willing to humble ourselves and to receive

the message and the instruction that God has

given to them for us today. This must be the

starting point. If we are to learn from their

examples. But the author is also showing us the...

Unity and the continuity of God's purposes throughout

redemptive history. Think about that, brothers

and sisters. And we've alluded to this and mentioned

this several times with regards to Hebrews already.

They are the same kind of men and the same kind

of women as you and me. Abel. was just like me,

just like you. How so? He was a man with flesh

and blood. He needed to live by faith, just as

you need to live by faith. Noah was a man just

like you and just like me. You know why? Because

he struggled with sin in his life. He had a remnant

of sin in his life that was a pain in his side

all the days of his life. Abraham was a man like

you and me. Brothers and sisters, we are like

them, and they are like us. We have such a tendency

to think, well, I live in the current century.

We have technology. We really know about the

world and the nature of the world. how things

work today, we today have it all figured out.

We aren't anything like the men of old. We're

more intellectual. We're smarter. We have access

to more information. In reality, we are nothing

like those men of old, but we are brothers and

sisters. What changes? Not people. The nature

of man stays the same. Our circumstances, our

situations, our environment, our culture, those

things change, but we stay the same. And the

same problem they have is the same problem that

we have, the need to persevere in faith. We can

relate to these examples so easily, brothers

and sisters. But we can also relate to them because

we have the same kind of faith as they did. They

believed the same promises that we do. God gave

them justifying faith which worked and was effective

in their life. And God has given you and I justifying

faith as believers in Jesus Christ. which effectively

works and operates in our lives. And what promises

do we believe? Brothers and sisters, we believe

the same promises as the old covenant saints.

It's just we have greater clarity with regards

to what those promises actually are because the

scripture is canonized and closed and Christ

has come in time and history. The same kind of

people, the same kind of faith, brothers and

sisters, and the same promises. So listen up

whenever we learn from these brothers and sisters.

Listen to these men and these women and their

lives. Be eager to hear from them in the word

of the living God. Come with open ears and open

hearts. to hear from Father Abraham. Come with

open ears and open hearts to hear from our forefather

Enoch who walked with God for 300 years, brothers

and sisters. Come with open ears and open hearts,

brothers and sisters, to learn from the prophets

who suffered and the prophets who conquered.

Put your pride aside and humble yourself and

hear from the Word of God today. That's the starting

place, brothers and sisters, for the Word of

God to benefit you. That's the starting place

for the Word of God to benefit me. One of the

most difficult things every day when you come

to the Word of God in prayer is to put the flesh

and submit to what God requires of you. We have

to put the pride and pomp aside and humble ourselves

before God and His Word. Then, we will really

be benefited from the Word of God. Now, this

is who they were. But what about the testimony

that they received, or the nature of this approval

that the text speaks about? Because the text

says this, For by it the men of old gained approval.

Now, this phrase, gained approval, I don't believe

it's rendered the best in the New American Standard

Bible. Listen to a couple other translations.

We have the ESV saying this. For by it, the people

of old received their commendation. Do you see

the difference? The NASB is building on this

idea that the men of old gained, they took hold

of something. But in reality, this is something

passive that they received, that they are the

recipient. Now listen to the NET, and I think

the NET has it. It's hit the nail on the head.

For by it, the people of old received God's commendation.

That's it. This text wants to emphasize the fact

that God has given something, and that the people

of God, have received something from God. It's

not something that is taken. It's something that

is given graciously and freely by God Himself

to His people. So what is it talking about when

it talks about this approval or this commendation?

Well, it's a positive, active, testimony, commendation,

recognition, or attestation from God regarding

a person and their life. That's what it's talking

about. We have a good example of this whenever

the author speaks of Abel and Enoch. Listen to...

what it says in verse 4 about Abel. And I think

in a sense he is illustrating the nature of this

approval, this good testimony that the old covenant

saints received from God. By faith, Abel offered

to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through

which he obtained the testimony. That he was

righteous. God testifying about his gifts. And

through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

What does God say about Abel? What does God testify

about Abel? What is the nature of this commendation,

this testimony from God regarding Abel? It is

that he is righteous. God testifies about his

gifts, meaning his sacrifice, I believe, and

the quality that he gave from faith. So there's

a testimony, a commendation, a recognition, an

attestation, a good report from God regarding

Abel. And then we read this about Enoch. By faith,

Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death.

And he was not found because God took him up.

For he obtained the witness that before his being

taken up, he was pleasing to God. And then listen

to what verse 6 says. And without faith. It is

impossible to please him. For he who comes to

God must believe that he is and that he is a

rewarder of those who seek him. Do we know exactly

what God's testimony was to Enoch? No. It could

be that God took him away and that is the testimony.

He disappeared. Some people, theologians, scholars,

pastors, some people think that the testimony

that God gives is actually experiential in the

nature of assurance, something that the Spirit

of God actually immediately and directly gives

to a believer through their faith. Others tend

to think that it's an explicit statement of God's

pleasure regarding that person. Contained in

scripture. I don't know exactly. Where I land.

On each of those issues. But we do know this.

That the word is clear. That God. Gave a good

testimony. Regarding. Enid. That God gave a good

testimony. Regarding. Abel. And why? Was it because

Abel was such a good man? Was it because Enoch

was such a moral person? No. It's because of

faith. It's because they possessed faith and

they lived in faith and they acted in faith.

And we'll see that faith is the basis. of God

giving a good testimony to anyone. Now, this

testimony is recorded in Scripture regarding

Abel and several others, but there are others

we don't have a record necessarily of God. bearing

witness that he is pleased with those Old Testament

individuals and saints. John Owen gives a brief

argument with regards to how to understand this.

Because I believe that all of the Old Testament

saints received this divine testimony from God.

I think that's pretty clear from the text. It's

universal in the life of Old Testament believers,

and I believe it's also universal in the life

of every New Covenant believer today. So, what

does John Owen say about this? For those who,

we have to conclude, God gave a good testimony

to them. Because there is not an explicit recorded

testimony regarding every Old Testament saint,

we can conclude this. Because the Scriptures

have principles and certain absolute logical

rules within it, then we can conclude that they

were in fact pleasing to God. For instance, in

verse 6, we read this, And without faith, It

is impossible to please him. Think about those

words, brothers and sisters. That is an absolute

law in the economy of redemption and salvation.

That is unbreakable. You cannot, I cannot please

the living God who is holy without faith. An

absolute law, an absolute rule that is required

of every single human being that is living and

has breath in their lungs. What can we conclude

based off of that argument? If someone has faith,

then it follows that God is pleased with them.

If someone does not have faith, then God is what?

God is not pleased with them. Now, there's other

areas and other principles we can consider. For

instance, we read in Romans and previously in

chapter 10 of Hebrews that the just shall live

by faith. That is a principle. That is an absolute

law. It is not possible for someone to have faith

and to not have faith and to be counted as righteous

in the sight of God. But, if someone does have

faith, saving, justifying, legitimate, credible,

God -given faith that is the grace of God, then

every single time they will be just. The just

shall live by faith. If someone is justified

in the sight of God, if someone has had the righteousness

of Christ imputed to them, they will live by

faith. That is a principle that cannot be broken.

that cannot be bent. It is an absolute law with

regards to the economy of redemption and God's

salvation and how He works in the life of His

people. So, if someone in the Old Testament does

not have an explicit statement, what must we

conclude if they lived by faith? If they believed

the promises. Brothers and sisters, if men and

women in the Old Testament obeyed God's word,

what must we conclude? What necessarily and consequently

follows that God was in fact pleased with them?

There is a testimony in Scripture concerning

these individuals. And the same can be true of

each of us. If we live by faith, if we possess

saving, justifying faith, if you believe the

promises of God, then brothers and sisters, you

can have an assurance that is backed by the very

word of God, that God, the maker of heaven and

earth, is pleased with you. That he commends

you in your life. That he receives your deeds

of faith, the good works that come by faith to

him, your sacrificial service unto him, your

offerings of praise and worship to him. He receives

these. He is pleased with those that are in possession

of justifying faith, which operates and is effective

in their life. Now, there's a big distinction

between the approval of a holy and a righteous

God and the approval of a carnal, unbelieving

world. There's a big chasm between that approval

of God and the approval of carnal. Men and women.

Around us. What does the Christian. Singularly.

Look upon. And have as their aim. And their goal.

And their focal point in life. The smile. Of

their great God. Which is redeemed them. The

good pleasure. Of their father. In heaven. There

is a great difference. But I think we also see

evidence in this text that those who are in fact

commended by God and approved by God, those who

have the approval of a holy and righteous God

because they're living by faith, will often be

the recipients of the disapproval of carnal and

unbelieving men. The two will coexist very often.

Don't we see that in Hebrews 11 so clearly? That

Abel was pleasing to God, but he was not pleasing

to his brother. What about Noah? He was pleasing

to God, but what about the world around him through

which his actions condemned? the whole rest of

the world. What about Abraham and the surrounding

kings? Don't we see time and time again that

there's a certain hostility and antipathy towards

the patriarchs? What about Jacob and Esau, brothers

and sisters? What about so many other figures

from the old... the two will often coincide.

The Christian lives in a world in a constant

state in which they are the subject of contradictory

verdicts upon them and their life. The world

and unbelievers and the culture are saying this

about you, believer. The world and the unbelieving

Culture is saying this about you, man or woman

of God. And all the while, the verdict of God

stands as well. We live and walk in a world,

in a life, where we constantly have contradictory

verdicts upon our life. In the final analysis,

brothers and sisters, there's one. That matters.

One verdict. That ought to determine. Your joy

in life. One verdict upon you. And your faith.

And your life. And your deeds. Which should determine.

Your holiness and godliness. Your zeal. Your

love. One verdict in your life. Which ought to

orient your whole being. And your whole. and

your whole family and everything about you. And

it's not the verdict of unbelieving men. It is

the verdict of a holy and a righteous God that

has sent His Son to die for sinners. That's the

verdict which matters most to the believer. That

God gives a good testimony to those with faith.

That's what matters. most to the believer. It's

not ultimately what your friends and your family

say. It's not ultimately what your boss, your

co -workers, it's not even ultimately what your

husband or your wife says. It's not ultimately,

brothers and sisters, what the television preaches

to you. What those closest to you say is good

and right and true and who you are and what you

are like. What matters most? How God sees you.

How God views you as a person. How God views

you and your life and your deeds and your actions

and your character. It is His burdens that we

long for. And it is his verdict that we rest

in brothers and sisters. In a sense, the Christian

ought to be able to let go of seeking the approval

of the world. And unbelieving and carnal men,

do you know why? Because we already have a good

testimony from the living God. Because he has

given us justifying faith, which always works

in our lives. Praise be to his name. Now we know

the nature of this testimony, this approval.

But what is the basis of this approval in a person's

life? We might think, naturally, the natural

response may be, well, just be a good person.

Do what you ought to do in life. Be who you ought

to be in life. Be nice to folks. Help folks when

you get the chance. Give here and there. Be a

good man, a moral and upright. Brothers and sisters,

what is the basis for this divine approval in

the life of a believer? It is faith. Faith as

we have already defined in verse 1. Faith is

the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction

of things not seen. In verse 2, where it's speaking

about the approval or the good testimony the

saints of old received, what does it say? For

by it, meaning by faith, the men of old received

their commendation from God. The author of Hebrews

wants to be really, really clear. The commendation

that he speaks of, the fatherly pleasure that

he speaks of, the good testimony from God, the

good word from God regarding a person's life

is not performance -based. The testimony the

saints of old received, it was not based in their

actions. It wasn't based in whether they did

what was right or what was wrong. It wasn't based

in their merit. It was based on their faith.

Now, we do know that faith always, when it's

justifying, saving, legitimate faith, always

what? Operates and works effectively in the life

of the believer. Isn't that true, brothers and

sisters? So we think again about Abel. Abel.

By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.

Then Cain, better sacrifice than Cain, I apologize,

through which he obtained the testimony. that

he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts,

and through faith, though he is dead, he still

speaks. The Hebrew Christians, as we've stated,

were under severe pressure to revert back to

the Judaistic system of sacrifices. I'm sure

there were good Jews. That we're telling the

Hebrew Christians, listen, you can't be pleasing

to God if you're not giving sacrifices. And what

does the author of Hebrews say loud and clear?

No man has ever been pleasing to God. No sinner

has ever been pleasing to God. based on making

sacrifices according to the Mosaic system of

law. Why was any sacrifice ever pleasing to God?

Because faith is the one that motivated and compelled

the individual to give the sacrifice. God was

pleased with the faith, therefore he accepted

the sacrifice of Abel, brothers and sisters.

The same is true of the Christians' good deeds,

good works in this life. God doesn't accept our

good works because they're so lovely, brothers

and sisters. He accepts the Christians' good

works because of their faith in Christ and His

great work on the cross. Because they are trusting

in a righteousness outside of themselves that

is accounted to them. Their righteousness is

found in Christ. And because of that, God receives

their good works, their good deeds. Though, as

our confession talks about, there is such a mixture

within them that he would have every right to

cast them aside if it were not for Christ. God

never accepted men based on the sacrificial system.

God... only ever approved anybody that was a

sinner and in need of Christ on the basis of

faith. That's what the author wants to make sure

his recipients know. What is the one criteria

for pleasing the living God? Faith, brothers

and sisters. That's it. Fairly. Simple and straight

forward. Faith alone pleases God. It's very important

for us to remember that the Christian life begins

with faith. When a person comes to Christ, they

trust in the Lord Jesus, and they are justified

through that faith. They are given His righteousness.

The Christian life begins in faith. Every Christian

that ever existed started with faith. But, brothers

and sisters, it's also very important that we

recognize, as the author of Hebrews is putting

forth, the Christian life doesn't just start

with faith. The Christian life must continue

by faith. We must continue to live by faith.

We must continue to walk by faith in our lives.

And then, we will die in faith, just as so many

others have. But brothers and sisters, one day,

we will receive all the fullness of the promises

and the perfection that Christ has promised to

us in the culmination of all things, in the new

heavens and the new earth, when the Lord Jesus

Christ returns for His people. The great men

and women that are listed throughout Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11, these men and women of renown, we

might say, These individuals who we still think

about, who still speak to us today, brothers

and sisters, they are not known for their worldly

success. They are not known for their power and

their pomp. They are not known for their beauty

or their looks or their personalities. They are

not known for them per se. But why are they known?

Because of their faith. in the promises of God,

brothers and sisters. That is worthy of our imitation

today, brothers and sisters.