Hebrews: Christ Is Greater and Better预览

Living Faith
Read Hebrews 11:1-22

Faith can be described as living the future in the present. It is God’s word that makes the future as real as the present. Promises and rewards belong to the future. Obedience, sacrifice, endurance, conviction, certainty, assurance, hope and joy belong to the present.

Let us consider those faithful ones and be encouraged. Abel’s better sacrifice revealed his devotion. Enoch pleased God. Noah heeded God’s word with holy fear and obedience. Abraham was the father of the faithful. Even Sarah was considered faithful though she had wavered at one time.

Let us live as sojourners and aliens in this world and seek always to please God (v 6). We too are certain of what we do not yet see (v 1b). We are mere strangers on this earth in the same way as Abraham, who considered himself stranger (v 9).

Let us fix our eyes constantly on our heavenly destination (v 16). By faith we know that it is a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God (v 10). Let us keep the faith till the end (v 13a) and imitate Paul who ‘kept the faith till the end’ (2 Timothy 4:7).

Let us learn from Abraham’s greatest test. While we know that heaven is real and God’s promises are real, we know also that trials and testing will come our way. Abraham faced the greatest test of his life in the sacrifice of Isaac. How could God’s command clash with His promise? Nevertheless, Abraham, as the father of faith, obeyed and was rewarded.

When faced with the severest trial of your life, hold on tightly to God's promises.