Series: Jesus Is The Better Hope
Speaker: Paul Mermilliod
Hebrews 10:36 – 11:7 (ESV)
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,
“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
38 but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
By Faith
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
BIG TRUTH:
FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS NOT SEEN
Big Idea:
Faith begins with God, not us. (11:1)
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Titus 3:3-6
Big Idea:
Faith is confident trust in Jesus. (11:1-3, 12:2)
- Faith’s conviction is that God is trustworthy. (11:1)
- Faith’s conviction is that God is eternal and transcendent, the creator and sustainer of all things. (11:3)
- Faith’s conviction is that God has made himself known. (11:3)
- Faith’s conviction is that Jesus is the better hope. (10:12, 19-22)
Big Idea:
Faith is expressed through submission, devotion, and endurance. (11:4-7)
- Submission is obedient trust in God. (Abel)
- Devotion is sacrificial pursuit of God. (Enoch)
- Endurance is persevering confidence in God. (Noah)
Big Idea:
Without faith it is impossible to please God. (11:6)
Application
- Know: Faith is confident trust in Jesus expressed through submission, devotion, and endurance.
- Do: Draw near. Hold fast. Consider how to stir up one another.
- Feel: Awe and love for Jesus, the author, and perfecter of our faith.
- Want: Desire to grow in faith.