Hebrews 11 Commentary

Hebrews 11 Commentary

We all have faith. We exercise faith daily, but it’s often ungodly – faith without an acknowledgment of the Creator God.

For example: we went to bed yesterday knowing we would wake up today. This knowledge, this confidence, or this assurance is known as faith. But how much of it is down to the fact that God sustained us in the night? It is at this point that faith becomes ungodly.

We hope that we are going to wake up tomorrow morning. The confidence or the assurance that this will happen is called faith.

Humanity has defaulted to the thought that faith is thoughtlessness or at best, a made-up construct. No. We have the material world in front of us. Creation is real but the explanation around it is all faith – that includes the scientific explanation. We have Abel and Cain. Faith happens when Abel acts in the knowledge that God exists and must be honored. Cain may represent the thought that God can be worshipped with whatever I have.

Faithlessness forces the thought that God becomes whatever I feed Him. Yes, it can be the fruit of the soil, but let it be the first fruit. Abel takes care of such details because of his mindset about God. Faith shapes your actions.

The LORD rejects Cain’s offering. His faith must lead him into repentance. He has another chance to do the right thing. His faith in the righteousness of the Creator would restrain him from evil thoughts. But Cain is zero on faith.

It may be said that a wrong isn’t one until your reaction to it is one. Both Saul and David are known to have sinned. Some may even argue that David’s sins were heavier! But David is David because he repented. Saul, on the other hand, remained faithless to the last minute.

Faith informs the future and defines action based on one’s knowledge of God. Noah can reject the notion that the world can be destroyed by water. God cannot pull off such a feat. If He can, He won’t be bothered by the wickedness around me. You will have misunderstood the holiness of God. It equates to zero faith. Your knowledge of God is faulty.

Verse 10 informs us of Abraham’s desire to live under God’s rule. He understands the wickedness around him isn’t of God. There should be a life that God sponsors and approves of. So he leaves wickedness behind in search of a “country”.

Faith is always knowledge-based. Who is God? Is He the creator of everything? Is He the kind that you give whatever you are, or whatever you manufacture in your backyard – anything? Ponder the LGBT argument. You won’t give God rubbish simply because that is what you are, or simply because that is what you can manufacture. At that point, your knowledge of God as a holy God is zero. You are Cain!

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