"I Wish I Had Your Faith" - Hebrews 10v28-11v2

Let me pray as we start.

Heavenly Father, as we come to your word, the Bible now, Lord, please open your word to our hearts and open our hearts to your word.

Amen.

I wish I had your faith.

Has anyone ever heard that sentence?

I wish I had your faith.

I've heard that one many times.

How do you respond to that statement?

I didn't think I had that much faith.

What do you say in response?

I wish I had your faith.

Maybe that's how you feel today.

Genuinely, I wish I had this faith that others seem to have.

Recently, in a chat with a friend of mine, this friend had grown up in the church, but he had since walked away from all of it.

We were looking at a bit of the Bible together, and he said, Will, I know the whole story.

I know what Christianity says it offers, and I wish I could believe it, but I just can't, not after everything that's happened to me.

Maybe that's how you feel this morning, honestly.

I I just wish I had this faith, but I just can't.

Or like me, you've heard that statement, I wish I had your faith.

You didn't know what to say in response.

Really, it comes down to what is faith in the first place?

I mean, if it's faith is just something that some people just happen to have, well, and others don't, well, tough luck.

That's kind of it, isn't it?

Or is it about the type of person you are?

You know, you've got scientific people over here, and then you've got gullible types.

Well, they've got faith, but you know, I'm more of an evidence-based, rational person.

Is that what faith is?

Is faith just wishful thinking?

Plenty of people think that, don't they, in this day and age?

What is faith, really?

Well, today we're doing a one-off sermon before we resume our series in Acts next week.

And we're going to be dipping into Hebrews chapter 10 and 11.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Now, this is a section of the Bible all about faith.

In Hebrews chapter 11, you get the word faith 24 times.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

So we know it's all about faith.

So please look up Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

I think it's on page 1007.

In a moment, I'll just read a few verses.

Hebrews 11, you might know it.

It's a quite famous chapter in the Bible, often called the heroes of the faith, a list of individuals who displayed faith.

But here's the funny thing: before the list starts in Hebrews 11, the author starts with us.

Before the list starts, before the Abraham's and the Moses and the Jacobs and the Joseph's, actually it starts with us.

You see that right at the start, chapter 11, verse 3, by faith we.

It starts with us.

And that actually fits also with the last verse of the previous chapter.

Look up to Hebrews 10, verse 39.

Hebrews 10:39

The last verse, but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

It starts with us.

It's like the author says, before we come to them, they're amazing examples.

Before we come to them, do we have faith?

That's our job today, to try and understand what faith actually is, because the author is asking us, do we have faith?

So let me read, starting at that last verse from chapter 10, 10, verse 39, and I'm going to read just up to chapter 11, verse 2.

So just three verses.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the people of old received their commendation.

So first things first, we need to define faith if we're going to understand it.

And that's also where chapter 11 starts, isn't it?

You can see that verse 1 is a definition because it says faith is.

So you have a definition coming.

So let's read the definition.

Verse 1.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Now, is that all cleared up then?

You've had your definition.

If I'm honest, I still find this quite difficult to get my head around.

I read that definition.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

If I'm brutally honest with you, it still feels quite wishy-washy.

Hoped for, assurance.

What does this actually mean?

But here I think it's useful to look closely at the real biblical meaning of these words, not my preconceptions or yours.

And actually, here, looking at the meaning of these words in their original language really helps us.

Because where it says there in verse 1, faith is the assurance of things not seen, things hoped for, that word for assurance is a Greek word.

Now it's quite useful when the weekend you're preaching, you've got your father-in-law visiting, and he's Greek, so you can ask him about these words.

So we had a little chat last night, and I asked him about this word here.

This word assurance there in verse one is the word hypostasis.

Not sure if I'm saying it right.

Not too bad.

And it's a word, obviously ancient Greek.

Here's what I heard.

Firstly, it means to stand below.

Literally, that's what the two parts of that word mean.

To stand below.

And then I said, Well, what does this convey to you as a word?

And I heard this.

It means the essence of something.

It's you know, it stands below something.

And then this is what my father-in-law said.

Not just an idea, but something tangible.

Now that's interesting.

Unprompted, something that stands below, the essence of something, not just an idea, something tangible.

That's what the definition of faith tells us here in this passage.

So it's actually better translated substance, I think, or grounds.

Faith is the substance or the grounds of things hoped for.

And that's actually what you get in more old-fashioned versions of the Bible.

So in the King James Version, this verse one says, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Now I realize we're doing a bit of technical work here on the words, but I find this actually really helpful.

Because when the Bible's defining faith, do you see that the Bible makes faith synonymous with the grounds for faith?

Now that's really interesting because it's less about looking inside of me going, have I got faith?

Because if that's the question, boy, does it go up and down.

But actually, when the Bible defines faith, it says, Well, what are the grounds for faith?

If that's the question you're asking today, you know, you expect me to believe this, but on what grounds?

That's a question we can grapple with.

So I've got two points for us this morning.

Maybe a bit of a surprise in our day and age, these two points.

The first one is that the grounds for faith are solid and assumed.

In the Bible, the grounds for faith are solid and assumed.

Now, my job, if you don't know, is behavioral science.

That's what I do for a living, mainly with insurance companies.

Uh, most of the time, I try and help insurance companies be more persuasive.

You know those letters you receive from the insurance company?

I write those or I try and improve those.

You know, here's why you should buy life insurance or renew your health insurance.

So most of the time, my day job is to review these letters and to see how persuasive they are and how we can improve them.

And so when I look at this part of the Bible, I would expect if the author was trying to convince me to believe, he would be very persuasive.

He would be trying all the persuasive levers.

Here's why to believe.

And yet, as I've looked closely at this passage, I'm quite surprised to see that the author is actually not working very hard to try and convince me to believe.

He's actually laying out the facts in a kind of matter-of-fact way.

Now, let me see if I can point this out to you.

What we're going to do now is we're going to scan through chapter 10.

We're going to stop off at four different stops in chapter 10.

So have Hebrews chapter 10 open.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

Remember, this is all building up to the definition of faith.

Look out for these four statements, these four stops along the road.

The first stop is in chapter 10, verse 5.

What does the author tell us?

Well, he tells us that when Christ came into the world, he said, and so on.

Now, what's that telling us when Christ came into the world?

Simply saying that Jesus, the man, existed.

Christ came into the world.

That's a fact of history.

I don't actually know anyone who disputes that.

Christ lived, the man of history.

That's stop number one.

Stop number two is at verse 10.

What does it say there?

Well, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Again, almost said in passing.

But what is the event that the author is referring to here?

The death of Jesus on the cross.

That's stop two.

Jesus lived, Jesus died.

Fact.

It's just presented as facts of history.

Then you get to stop number three, and with the same matter-of-fact tone, the author writes in verse 12 that when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Now that is huge, isn't it?

It's a much bigger statement.

It's one thing to say that a man existed and died.

To then say he came through death and is now exalted to the right hand of God, that is huge.

But notice it's said in the same matter-of-fact tone.

Yes, when Christ had offered a single sacrifice for sin, he sat down at the right hand of God.

Now, this is obviously not just found here, this is all the way through the New Testament.

Repeatedly, it's stated and plainly assumed that Jesus rose from the dead and he ascended to heaven.

You hear that in Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts chapter 2, where he says, This man Jesus, God brought him back to life, and of this we are all witnesses.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

It's just presented as fact, isn't it?

They saw it, they declare it.

Fact.

And then what's the fourth stop on the line?

Well, look down to verse 37.

It's actually the logical conclusion.

Yet a little while longer, and the coming one will come.

What is that talking about?

The return of Jesus.

Do you see that these huge claims are presented in almost a matter-of-fact tone?

They saw it with their own eyes.

Jesus lived, Jesus died, he rose again, he ascended to the Father, he will return.

Jesus said exactly the same thing when he said he would return at an hour we do not expect.

So if you're asking yourself this morning, is faith just for gullible types?

You know, it's a leap in the dark.

Do you see that the Bible replies by saying there are very solid grounds?

This is for reasonable, rational people who investigate the evidence.

The grounds for faith are solid, they rest on historical evidence.

This, by the way, is also my personal experience.

I don't know about you, I describe myself as a thinking man.

Hopefully you don't disagree.

Um, I'm not a leap-in-the-dark type of person.

I did grow up in a Christian home, that's true, but by the time I got to university, I was definitely asking that question: do I believe this for myself, or have I just kind of picked this up from my parents?

And is it actually true?

And at the time, and many times since, I found myself looking into it afresh, investigating the evidence, talking to people, asking my questions.

And again and again, I'm convinced that these historical events actually happened.

In fact, I put it to you this morning that it takes a bigger leap of faith to come up with alternative explanations.

I mean, that Jesus didn't exist, I mean that just beggars belief.

That he didn't die on a cross, extremely hard to justify.

That he didn't come back to life, okay, I realise that is a much bigger statement, but if that's the case, why was the tomb empty?

Why were Jesus' enemies not able to produce a body?

And are we really meant to believe that the early church made all of this up, even though they suffered terribly in the process?

No, taken all together, I'm convinced, and many of the smartest people I know are convinced, that there are solid grounds for faith.

But there's even more than that.

Still in chapter 10, on top of the historical evidence for Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, the author gives us one other reason for confidence.

It's almost hidden away in verse 23.

It's God's faithfulness.

Do you see there in chapter 10, verse 23?

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

It's like we've got the evidence of history.

That's reliable.

We've also got the faithfulness of the promiser.

I realize that's not very good English, but I think you know what I mean.

Two reasons to believe the historical evidence, the faithfulness of God.

Again, that's my experience.

Everything I read in the Bible is accurate and describes accurately the world around us.

I found that God's word is true and reliable in every dimension, whether it's talking about me, this world, where I'm going, God Himself.

True and reliable.

Now, I don't know what you're placing your trust in today in your life, but I can tell you about my Savior and how reliable He is.

For starters, I know that my Saviour Jesus, as we've talked about already this morning, He He loves me.

He loves me unconditionally despite all the wrong things I've done that He's dealt with at the cross.

The slate is totally wiped clean.

And I tell you, that is a relief.

My Saviour Jesus, he's also with me in the good times, but also in the hard times.

Um, for me, a tough time was the day I was made redundant, walking into the office with that feeling of dread, but actually knowing that Jesus was walking with me.

And that for me was not wishful thinking, that was genuine comfort and reassurance that made a huge difference.

Like the Apostle Paul says, talking about trial he was on, the Lord stood with me and gave me strength.

Now, nowadays I run my own business, and quite often when I go into a big meeting or a pitch, I had one this week, um, I feel a bit nervous, and I try to remember to pray beforehand, something like this Lord, my life is in your hands, my business is in your hands, I trust you with the outcome of this one.

Please provide this project if it's your will.

And can I tell you, it's incredibly freeing.

It's incredibly freeing.

It's not all on me.

So, what does the Lord Jesus give us when we look to Him?

Love, comfort, purpose, guidance, companionship that never lets you down.

That is the faithfulness of the promiser.

So let's step back and be honest for a moment.

It's not really do I have faith, but it's what do I have faith in?

Or who do I have faith in?

Because what about the other stuff that we're tempted to place our trust in?

Whether it's money, success, or maybe status, maybe it's looks, even relationships, or just myself, they promise us so much, don't they?

Happiness, contentment, satisfaction, and they fail to deliver again and again.

The Bible holds out something far more reliable and trustworthy, the Lord Jesus.

So our first point this morning, there are solid grounds for faith.

This is plainly stated and assumed by the Bible.

Faith is not wishy-washy, it's based on reliable evidence, a faithful promiser, solid grounds.

And yet, and yet, our second point this morning, the response of faith is not assumed.

It is commanded and commended.

The strong, reliable, solid grounds of faith, that is stated and assumed in the Bible, but our response that is not assumed, that is commanded and commended.

Just a moment ago, I said that this part of the Bible doesn't seem to work very hard to persuade us about the grounds for faith.

It just lays them out as facts of history.

But what the author does work hard at is persuading us to respond rightly.

You see that three times in chapter 10, three times this statement, let us, he's urging us, therefore, let us respond rightly.

And actually, after chapter 11, the first word of uh chapter 12 is since we're surrounded by such an amazing cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance.

Let us, let us.

He's urging us to respond rightly.

It's like he's saying, You've had the facts, but will you trust in them?

This actually also makes sense of that last verse of chapter 10, which I read a minute ago.

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

That's an interesting contrast, isn't it?

Those who have faith or those who shrink back?

They don't seem like opposites.

But what does that contrast teach us?

Well, if it's have faith versus shrink back, that tells us that it's an active decision.

Shrinking back is an active decision.

Having faith is an active decision according to the Bible.

Shrinking back, what's the opposite?

It's drawing near, isn't it?

And that's what we see in chapter 10 as well.

Please jump with me to chapter 10, verse 19, where you see this conclusion, I guess, at that stage in the passage saying, Therefore, since we have the confidence to enter the holy places through the blood of Jesus, once again, explaining what Jesus has done.

That's the facts.

Therefore, how does that sentence end in verse 22?

Let us draw near.

That is what the author is urging us to do today.

Draw near.

Don't shrink back.

That tells us that faith is an active decision.

Again, I think that's a bit of a surprise, isn't it, in this day and age?

People think it's a fuzzy feeling, or you might just happen to have it, or it's your type of person.

No, no, it's an active decision.

Draw near.

That's faith.

I think we're now getting to a place where we have a biblical definition of faith, an active choice of response in the light of the evidence.

Here's my definition of faith.

Our active decision to trust God today, based on his track record in the past and his trustworthy promises about the future.

That's faith.

An active decision to trust God today.

Again, honestly, this fits with my own journey.

I said that when I got to university, for the first time I was asking those big questions, is this actually true?

I went back to basics, I looked into it.

I did have questions, I did have some doubts, but quite quickly I realized that the question was not just, is this true?

Because actually I was pretty sure it was true.

It was actually, what am I going to do with this?

Now that's a much more searching and honest and personal question.

Is it true?

That's one question.

What am I going to do with it?

There was definitely a tension in my head between going all in or hedging my bets, which is kind of another way of saying shrink back, isn't it?

You know, take Christianity with a pinch of salt.

That tendency that we maybe we all have to say, I'm happy to wear the Christian name tag, but don't expect me to actually change my life or change my behavior.

Not in those areas where it's hard work or costly.

For me, I realize, look, if Christianity is true, then the only right response is to go all in.

It's to draw near.

And we see in this passage that choosing to trust God, that active decision of faith, it's commanded, it's urged, but it's also commended.

Do you see that in verse 2?

For by it the people of old can receive their commendation, old-fashioned word, commended.

You see that all the way through Hebrews chapter 11, maybe a good chapter to read during the week.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Repeatedly you see people here receive a promise from God, they step out in faith, they act in response.

That is commended by God.

It's commended then, it's commended now.

So let's take stock.

We've had faith defined, not as a fuzzy feeling, but an active decision today to trust God based on his track record and his faithful promises.

And most of us here in this room, I assume, that's a faith that we have and we want to display it.

But maybe you're asking, what does that look like exactly?

Well, the author to the Hebrews gives us three specifics.

Back in chapter 10, between verses 22 to 25, we get those three let us statements.

Let's have a look at them briefly.

What does it look like if we want to have faith?

Well, verse 22 of chapter 10, let us draw near to the one who's cleansed our hearts.

He's cleanses from that guilty conscience.

Let us draw near to him.

That's my prayer, my prayer for each of us that we would draw near to God.

Verse 23, let us hold fast the confession.

Don't give up on it, don't let go of it, hold fast to it.

And I'd like to focus on verse 24 and 25.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

And then the next bit is really intriguing in verse 25.

Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some.

Isn't it quite sad, but also quite realistic that just a few decades into the Christian movement, some people had already given up meeting regularly together.

In my life, I have to say, probably the top reason I see for people drifting in their Christian walk and then often saying, I struggle to have faith, I wish I had your faith, is that they give up going to church regularly, or they give up just being around the Bible and around other Christians.

Now let's be clear, it's not that going to church makes you a Christian, but for the believer, just being around other Christians, hearing the Bible taught, praying together, encouraging others and being encouraged, it's like a lifeline, isn't it?

And if you give up on that lifeline, how long will you last?

Now, maybe today, as we're about to start a new academic year, is a good time to ask ourselves what place does meeting with other believers have in our life?

You know, alongside the kids' clubs, the work engagement, the social engagement, where does church come into that with the Words of Hebrews in our minds.

Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some.

You know, is church on a Sunday the first thing that goes in the diary with a sharpie pen?

Or is it something that we go to as long as nothing competes with it in the diary?

What about fellowship groups and prayer meetings?

Is that a must-have or an optional extra or a night off?

And on that note, can I share an honest admission?

I often don't feel like going to fellowship group or prayer meeting, honestly.

I know it's great, but sometimes the thought of a quiet evening at home after a long day at work where you can just fully switch off is just more appealing.

Maybe that's just me.

And yet, a bit like brushing your teeth, when you know something is good for you, you just do it.

And it's always so good for me.

To be in the Bible, to encourage others, to be encouraged by others, to pray together.

Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.

So as we come to a close this morning, we do sometimes hear that phrase, don't we?

I wish I had your faith.

Maybe we think that, honestly.

And we tend to assume it's, you know, I would believe, but the problem is a lack of evidence.

Do you see that the Bible turns that round and says, no, no, there's sufficient evidence, all too often is a lack of trust that's the issue?

Because we tend to think if there was more proof, I'd believe.

The Bible says the grounds for faith are rock solid.

It's our response that's wobbly.

So next time someone says to you, I wish I had your faith, maybe our response needs to be, well, what choices are you making in your life today?

What are you choosing to place your trust in?

What role does Jesus have in your life?

Are you trusting in Jesus or are you ignoring him or sidelining him and trusting in something else like yourself?

What is faith?

That's the big question for today.

It's a response to the facts, it's a response to God's faithful promises about the future, and it has a real impact on the present.

Do I, Will Trump, have lots of faith?

Honestly, before you now I can say I don't think so.

But what I am trying to do is actively follow Jesus because the grounds for faith are solid.

The foundation is solid, and I can base my life on that.

So please don't wait to get that fuzzy feeling.

I never got it.

Instead, our job is just to trust in God and to be very wary of those things that are trying to pull us away, whether that's selfishness or sin or apathy or distraction.

Let me pray.

You sent the Lord Jesus our Savior.

He lived on this earth, He did mighty deeds, He died for our sins, He rose again, He was seen by many people, He ascended to the Father.

One day He will return again.

Lord, thank you for that solid foundation, and we come to you saying and admitting that our response is often very wobbly.

Thank you, Lord, that it's not the strength of our faith that matters, but it is who our faith is in.

And it is in a powerful, strong, reliable, trustworthy Lord.

Lord, if there's someone here today who hasn't yet turned to Jesus, I pray that today they would choose to place their trust in the solid foundation of the Lord Jesus, their Savior.

Help us, Lord, to draw near to you.

Help us to draw near to other believers as well, especially as we start a new year.

And help us, Lord, to be built up as your body of believers here in Brentwood.

Amen.