A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on August 20, 2023.
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. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 11:1-2, 13-16, 39-40; 12:1-2).[1]
One of the beautifully authentic characteristics of the Bible is that we see people as they truly are, created in God’s image yet fallen in sin. We need only read to the third chapter of Genesis to encounter the first sinners, and we see them on every page of Scripture thereafter. I’m told by some that we are evolving into a better species and by others that we are getting worse, but when I look up from the pages of Scripture and look around, I see neither but evidence of this consistent truth: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). And if we who are fallen are to be reconciled to our glorious God, we need a savior. It is neither Abel, nor Enoch, nor Noah. It is not Abraham, or Sarah, or Isaac, or Jacob. It is neither Joseph nor Moses, not even Rahab. It’s definitely not Gideon, certainly not Samson; there’s no way its Jephthah, not even Samuel or David, or any of the prophets to follow. It’s not the unnamed, “of whom the world was not worthy,” not even the apostles.
There is only one Savior, and he is not a son of Adam but “was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”[2] Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, is the only savior of the world.
Every other named and unnamed man, woman, or child within the pages of Scripture is a sinner, cannot save, indeed must be saved. And yet, within the Bible, we are given example after example of fellow sinners saved by God’s grace through faith, examples given not to exalt the sinner but our Savior.
The writer of Hebrews uniquely catalogs a few for us, a list of sinners yet saints, not to witness their sinless perfection nor their substitutionary sacrifice, both of which are impossible for sinners, but to behold their faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). It is not wistful longing but confident trust in God’s perfect provision. Though Abraham, for example, lived long before the birth of Christ, he hoped in God’s promise, which would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ. So integrally connected was his faith to God’s provision in Christ, Jesus could say to the Pharisees, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). The Pharisees were incredulous; they could not see what Abraham saw, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” such an assurance and conviction that he “saw it and was glad.” It’s no wonder that Paul refers to Abraham as our “father in the faith” and Jesus called the Pharisees “blind guides” (Matt. 15:14).
But the faith that the Pharisees did not have and that Abraham did have is not a “blind,” or unsubstantiated faith. Take for example, the faith required to believe in creation. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God,” the writer of Hebrews explains, “so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (11:3). In other words, though no human being witnessed creation, creation which is seen testifies of her Creator who is not seen, the grace of general revelation. Paul explains it this way in the first chapter of Romans, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Rom. 1:19-20). Creation tells of her Creator to all who will listen.
Likewise, faith in Christ, whether before or after his incarnation, comes through the special revelation of God’s Word, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Faith, whether of creation or in Christ, is according to the revelation of God. Therefore, when the writer of Hebrews directs us back to the saints of the Old Testament, he is providing a beautiful picture of how God works in saving sinners. All who came before Christ’s incarnation looked forward to God’s promised provision. Though they did not know the name of Jesus, they could confess with Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). And like us, to their Redeemer they looked, and so “received their commendation” (Heb. 11:2), the divine approval[3] of God according to his grace through faith.
A Picture of Faith
Yet, in reading through the Old Testament it can seem more difficult to see a clear and overt picture of faith like we see in the New Testament. For example, when I read in Acts of Paul and Silas sharing the gospel with the Philippian jailer, their appeal is clear, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (16:31), and so they believed (16:34).
But when I read of Samson, one of the examples of faith the writer of Hebrews specifically lists, I struggle to see a similar profession. That he was a privileged child, a man of incredible strength and a voracious sexual appetite is clear. That he delivered judgment upon Israel’s enemies is also clear. That he cried out to God in his final judgment is a fact. A New Testament type of profession of faith? Not so clear.
Helpfully, the writer of Hebrews provides a metaphor to explain the faith of the Old Testament saints: the metaphor of the Promised Land. For example, though God promised Abraham a land for his offspring (Gen. 12:7), a promised earthly inheritance, God was teaching him by faith to look beyond the real estate to a heavenly estate. In fact, none of the patriarchs reached the land promised to Abraham, but they are all listed as examples of faith. They lived this life under the sun and did so walking by faith, never reaching the land promised. In other words, their faith was rooted in a promise that transcends an earthly address. Can you imagine what a life of defeat it would have been if they had placed all their hope in receiving an allotment of land they never received?
Yet, how often do we do that very thing? Perhaps not land but something better to come: a new purchase, a new experience, a new job, a new address. How often do we live with greater hope that God will improve our circumstances than hope in God himself? How often do we hope that God will give us what we want and grow frustrated when he doesn’t? How often are we discouraged because what we hoped for doesn’t happen? This should lead us to stop and ask: what is my hope in? Is it in the way of the world, more wealth, more authority, more recognition? Is it in the truth of the world, a better technology, improving culture, trustworthy government? Is it in all this life has to offer, more pleasure, more amusement, more appeal? If so, you are sure to be always disappointed, even lost, because life-everlasting, sinner-reconciling, soul-satisfying hope is found only in the one who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
This means that Abraham looked not to this life as his best life, though God blessed him richly. Rather, as a picture of faith, he and the other patriarchs lived not like land-owning residents but with the perspective of “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb. 11:13). By faith, yes, they looked forward to a Promised Land, not of earthly locale but a heavenly homeland, where God reigns not only over a heavenly city but over the hearts, minds, and bodies of all who believe. So, when we look back to the patriarchs and other Old Testament saints, we see in them, though veiled at times, an “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” as they looked forward to the fulfillment of God’s promise, ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
A Gift of Faith
Similarly, because Scripture so authentically shows us the saints of old, we must remember that description is not prescription. For example, David’s adultery and murder justify neither, but his repentance and reconciliation do testify to the steadfast love and mercy of God. In example after example, when we look at the faithful saints of old, what we witness through them is not perfect obedience but the source of their faith. Faith is neither inherent nor inherited, neither manufactured nor merited; it’s a gift from God. The apostle Paul explains it this way to the Ephesians: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). What God requires, he gives; what we need most, he gives. It is indeed extraordinary; such is the grace of God. As a result, saved sinners don’t boast; we give thanks, thankful for the good witness God has given in Scripture, thankful for the internal witness of faith he gives us.
Therefore, we don’t look to Rahab, for example, and wonder how a pagan prostitute mustered up enough faith to be saved. No, we look at her, as we do ourselves, knowing that but for the grace of God in his gift of faith, we would have no hope of salvation. But God saved Rahab, and he saves us too by his grace through faith. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33).
But here we must make a distinction between Rahab and us, as the writer of Hebrews does. Though the gift of faith for Rahab is the same for us, she looked in faith to God’s promise, while we look back to its fulfillment in Christ. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Heb. 11:39-40). Consider the privilege we enjoy of looking back to the full revelation of God’s promise fulfilled, Jesus Christ the Son of God. And it is in Christ, that we, the church militant join the church triumphant, in praising God for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A Heritage of Faith
Therefore, as we look back to the faithful testimony of God’s grace worked out in the lives of the Old Testament saints, we might imagine them assembled around us as faithful witnesses, watching spectators of the race we now run after them. Of course, they aren’t watching, as they are fully engaged in the joyful and incessant worship of God. But just imagine it. We might even imagine those faithful saints after the cross, testifying to the faithfulness of God in the perfect provision of Christ Jesus, strangers and exiles in this life, who like John Knox could confess, “I sought neither preeminence, glory, nor riches; my honor was that Jesus Christ should reign.” And in your life over which Christ reigns, every “weight,” whether fear or discouragement, and every sin is laid aside, crucified. “I have been crucified with Christ,” Paul confessed, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
We run the race of the Christian life with endurance, but unlike the athlete who looks to his own performance, we look to Christ. We are not the founders of our faith; he is. We are not the perfecters of our faith; he is. Through his righteous life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, he who saves saved us. And he who saved us sanctifies and sustains us. With all the saints before us, we look to Christ alone, who suffered and died for us, not as a patriarch, apostle, or martyr marred by sin and imperfection[4] but as the sinless Son of God. For, he to whom we look looked ahead to “the joy that was set before him,” the joy of reconciling us, as lost children, to our heavenly Father, for our eternal good and his glory, to the fulfillment of all the promises of God.
And so, we look back to all the saints before and after the cross, saved sinners every one of them, encouraged to see the consistent faithfulness of God’s saving and sustaining grace, to our heritage of faith. But we do not let our eyes rest too long upon the recipients of God’s saving favor but to their Savior and ours, who having secured redemption for God’s elect is now seated in the place of heavenly honor “at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2): “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 25).
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] “The Apostles’ Creed,” Trinity Hymnal, Revised Edition (Suwanee: Great Commission Publications, 1990), 845.
[3] Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., 1977), 437.
[4] Ibid., 523.
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