THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S
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th e first verse may prove in teresting and helpful: “Now faith is th e assurance of things hoped for, th e proving of th ing s not seen."—-Revised Version. “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”—American S tandard Version. “Now faith is a well-grounded assu r ance of th a t for which we hope, and a conviction of th e reality of things th a t we do no t see.”—W eymouth’s New Testam ent in Modern Speech. “ F o r faith is the standing-ground of th e hopeful, the conviction of unseen facts.”--—F en ton ’s New Testam ent in Modern English. “Now, faith is confidence in things hoped for, a being convinced of things no t seen.”— The Corrected English New Testament. I t will help us to get th e w rite r’s meaning of faith if we read th e preced ing chapter and notice th a t th e arg u m en t leads up to th e receiving of “ th e prom ise” (1 0 :3 8 ). These Hebrew Christians, to whom th e Epistle was w ritten , were in peril of going back from th e ir C hristian faith into Hebrew legalism , of apostatizing, of giving up th e Lord Jesus Christ as th e ir Saviour. The apostle is exhorting them to stand firm, and encouraging them to do so by rem inding them th a t faith was th e p rin ciple, or motive power, th a t had made th e ir g reat ancestors great. He was asking them to do no new thing, b u t ju s t to do in th e ir day and generation w h at every o th er godly man before them h ad done when p u t to th e test, namely, to tru s t God’s promise. F a ith is, to p u t it very simply, ta k ing God a t His word and acting accord “F aith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17. To be come a man, or a woman of faith study th e Bible, m editate upon it, p ray over it, p u t it to th e proof by practising it. ingly. The Word of God is: Thd F oundation of F aith .
The “ elders” had faith in God, and God had joy in the elders. He was so pleased w ith them th a t He engraved th e ir nam es in th is ro ll of honour. This chapter is “God’s W estm inster Abbey” where His honored saints are enshrined. Recall how our Lord Jesus, when on earth , rejoiced over th e m anifestations of faith . Our faith pleases Him today. II. W h at F a ith Does, 3-40. Each w orthy mentioned in th e chap te r will well repay our careful study; b u t we cannot h ere go into each in detail. Each instance sets fo rth a cer ta in working of faith. 1. The W isdom of F a ith “ v. 3 cp. Gen. 1:1, John 1:1-3. It solves th e rid dle of the universe. F aith accepts God’s own revealed account of how things now in existence came into exist ence—He made them ou t of nothing to s ta rt with. We know of no more satisfacto ry explanation. No other attem p ted explanation explains. The astronom er who sneered a t his fellow- professor who believed th a t God made th e worlds, got angry because his friend told him th a t th e beau tifu l new globe of th e ea rth stand ing in his study cor ner had probably made itself. 2. The W orship of F aith , v. 4 cp. Gen. 4:2-4. F a ith accepts God’s sent ence upon sin and, like Abel, draw s near by th e blood-sprinkled way. The statem en t in th e verse is very plain; it was of Abels gifts God testified. The difference between th e gifts was th a t one was a bloody sacrifice, th e other was a bloodless sacrifice. “W ithout shedding of blood th ere is no rem is sion.” Abel, th e man of faith m ani fested his faith by th e offering he brought. Cain, th e faith less man, brough t an offering th a t he though t was “ ju st as good.” The same dividing line exists today. 3. The W alk of F aith , vv. 5, 6 cp. Gen. 5:21-24. Enoch “ by fa ith ” walked w ith God, though living in a generation th a t had fo rgo tten God, and he was rew arded and honored. W alking w ith
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