Every now and then, it is a good idea to go back and meditate on verses or passages we think we have a good understanding of. I recently did this with Hebrews 11. For those not familiar with this chapter, it talks about faith and the faith of many who have come before us. As I was thinking about this idea of faith, I wanted to revisit what it means to live by faith.
What Is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 defines for us what faith is.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
You have probably heard this verse before, and many people stop there, but we need to consider verse 2 as well.
“This is what the ancients were commended for.”
The ancients, or heroes of the faith, were commended for being fully confident and assured of something they were hoping for before they ever saw it. Thinking about this caused me to jot down some notes about living by faith that I am going to share with you. If you don’t mind, I am going to bring you into my personal Bible study and share with you the way my mind thinks about Scripture. In doing this, I want to give you some observations about faith in this chapter. As I share them, they will not appear in any particular order.
4 Observations of What it Means to Live by Faith:
1. Sometimes Faith Is for Things We Will Not See in Our Lifetime
When I think about the heroes of the faith, they were believing for something they would not see in their lifetime. Yet their belief was strong and certain because they made choices based on their hope of what was going to happen. Many of them sacrificed for what they knew was coming, but what they would never see.
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13).
Thinking about this caused me to ask some questions to myself that I want to ask you.
- Can you believe for things that will outlive you?
- Can you believe for things for the generations who will come after you?
The reality of faith is that it is not just for this life or for your lifetime. We are not just living for this life, but for eternity. Also, we don’t just live for our generation, but for the next generation and the generations to come after that until Jesus comes. For this reason, if you are living by faith, make sure as part of your journey of faith that you pour into the next generation coming after you. It’s possible you might not see the things you are believing for, but they may.
If you are truly living by faith, you should transfer that faith to the ones who come after you, so they can believe for the things you have not seen yet. This leads to my second observation.
2. Faith Was Never Meant to Be Locked Up. It Was Meant to Be Transferred.
Your faith needs to outlive you. My faith needs to outlive me. This is what discipleship is all about. If your faith dies with you, then you haven’t done a good job of making disciples. Beyond that, if your faith causes you to see everything you want in your lifetime, then your vision is too small. Before Jesus went to the cross, he prayed. When praying, he wasn’t just thinking about his disciples then; he was looking far beyond that.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-21).
Jesus wasn’t interested in keeping his faith to himself; he was interested in transferring his faith to those who would come after him – to his disciples then and to you and me now. There are things I may not see in my lifetime, and I hope I would do a great job of transferring what God has placed in me into those who would come after me.
3. The Transfer of Faith Begins in the Home
As great as it is to reach people for Christ, the first of the next generations God wants us to reach are the generations right in our home. This is where the transfer of faith should begin. When I read Hebrews 11, Abraham transferred faith to Isaac, who transferred it to Jacob, who transferred it to Joseph, and so it went. As you think about what it means to live by faith, let’s be intentional about transferring faith in our own homes. So often, we cast the responsibility to the church or somewhere else when the responsibility belongs to us. If you are going to make disciples, don’t just make them outside the home, do your best to start with the ones in your home.
4. The Legacy May Be One You May Not See
Earlier, we looked at the definition of faith, which is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. For a moment, I want to encourage some of you who have children and family members who are not saved. One legacy of faith you can leave for them is to never stop praying for them.
When you are dealing with unsaved loved ones, this is where faith that outlives you can come into play. You may not see people you are praying for come to Christ in your lifetime, but you keep praying and believing, anyway. God commended the ancients for their confidence, even though they did not see what they believed for. You can do the same thing.
We need to remember there is no such thing as wasted prayer. God never forgets the prayers we pray, especially for those who don’t know him because this is in alignment with his will. Whether you see them come to the Lord in your lifetime or you don’t, know that your labors and prayers are not in vain.
Are You Ready to Live by Faith Completely?
Faith is not just about what is but about what is coming. Faith means there will be things we believe for and see in our lifetime and things we won’t. We won’t see the complete effects of our faith until eternity, anyway. The challenge for the hour is to be people who understand what it means to live by faith. This means not just living for our own lives, but the lives of others. Not just thinking about this generation, but the ones that follow. It means taking actions today that show your hope and confidence, even when you may never see the result.
As I close out my thoughts, the only question left is are you ready to live by faith completely, with all it entails? I don’t know where your faith is today, but this is the type of faith I want to live by. This kind of faith will not only shape my life, but the lives of everyone around me. I pray one day God would commend me for my faith the same way he commended the ancients.
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Photo credit: Pexels/Josh Hild
Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.