Hebrews 11:1 What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen."
Today, to have faith is considered by many as foolish. It is science that most people now chose to believe in. Undoubtedly science has furthered mankind and benefited us greatly, but when it comes to the question of life and death, science is still (and always will be) unable to produce an answer for us.
However, most people don't stop to think about what the Christian faith actually is. Is it something for the foolish and the weak, or is it a faith that is calculated and well placed? There is no doubt that you can have a foolish faith. Many people put their faith in things that have no basis. What about the Christian faith?
Hebrews 11:1 provides a definition of what biblical faith is. To understand what it is saying it is best to deconstruct the verse into two parts:
'Hope' is a word tossed around lightly today and consequently its meaning has lost all weight. The phrase "the substance of things hoped for" may seem like it is merely describing "blind hope", but it is not.
Today hope is side by side with luck. People hope for all kinds of things, such as hoping that they will win the lottery, or hoping that their sports team will win.
The word hope in the Bible is not used in this way. The Hebrew word for hope in the Bible is quavah and it means an expectancy or complete confidence in a particular outcome.
The first part of Hebrews 1:11 is telling us that the Christian faith is not blind faith, but it is a calculated faith which has complete confidence in the outcome. The question of what the Christian faith is calculated upon is answered in the second part of the verse.
2. The evidence of things not seen:
The Christian faith is a strong calculated faith, based upon the evidence of things not seen.
This means that there is evidence for the Christian faith (i.e. the Christian faith is not blind hope; it is based upon something real) and that evidence points to things not seen (i.e something we do not know about and have not seen; things of life and death that are beyond our current comprehension).
Just because you cannot see something does not mean you cannot know what it is. Whenever a crime is committed the police do not know the answer to the mystery because they did not see it happen; however they can usually crack the case by finding evidence and drawing a logical conclusion from what that evidence tells them. The stronger the evidence, the more convinced they are of the answer to the mystery.
A Christian knows what they have not seen because they draw logical conclusions from the evidence they have before them. The Christian faith is quavah (strong and with great confidence in the thing not seen) because the evidence available is strong.
What is the evidence?
Evidence is open to interpretation. Two people can be given the same evidence and both may draw different conclusions. This is because our interpretation can be affected by our own opinions and biases. However, if we are presented with a set of evidence, there are logical conclusions to be drawn and illogical. If the evidence overwhelmingly points to 'X', it would be illogical to conclude that the answer is 'Y'.
God has given us freewill, therefore it is our choice to accept the evidence we have or to reject it.
To state some of the evidence:
The Bible states that our conscience is evidence for God's existence. Conscience means 'with knowing' and it has been given to us by God. Our conscience allows us to know right from wrong. Our conscience is unique to mankind and it separates us from every other living creature. We are moral beings. If we do something wrong we feel guilt.
Romans states that the invisible attributes of the world are evidence for God's existence; the intricacies of creation; the marvel of the seasons and weather patterns; the workings of the human eye; the workings of nature and the elements. The list is endless.
The Bible itself is evidence for God's existence; written over a period of approx. 1,500 years by around 15 different authors, yet it flows and coincides perfectly; it prophecies correctly and even names people and events by name who do not exist until hundreds of years later; it is still as relevant today as it was when it was written; it is historically and archaeologically backed up, for example through archaeological finds in the middle east such as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948.
Christians themselves are evidence for God's existence. Those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour have a relationship with God and know Him in a personal way. They are witnesses of God. They know Him. In a court of law a person can be convicted on the testimony of 2 eye witnesses. There are 500 eye witness accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and millions of witnesses of His truth and power to date.
There are the undeniable accounts of miracles and healing of people, even today.
The evidence is all there pointing to a logical answer. I have by no means made an exhaustive list. If you are open to the evidence and look for the answer you will find it.
-BACChristian
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/index2.htm (an interesting link).
However, most people don't stop to think about what the Christian faith actually is. Is it something for the foolish and the weak, or is it a faith that is calculated and well placed? There is no doubt that you can have a foolish faith. Many people put their faith in things that have no basis. What about the Christian faith?
Hebrews 11:1 provides a definition of what biblical faith is. To understand what it is saying it is best to deconstruct the verse into two parts:
- "faith is the substance of things hoped for;" and
- "the evidence of things not seen"
Taking each in turn:
1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for:
'Hope' is a word tossed around lightly today and consequently its meaning has lost all weight. The phrase "the substance of things hoped for" may seem like it is merely describing "blind hope", but it is not.
Today hope is side by side with luck. People hope for all kinds of things, such as hoping that they will win the lottery, or hoping that their sports team will win.
The word hope in the Bible is not used in this way. The Hebrew word for hope in the Bible is quavah and it means an expectancy or complete confidence in a particular outcome.
The first part of Hebrews 1:11 is telling us that the Christian faith is not blind faith, but it is a calculated faith which has complete confidence in the outcome. The question of what the Christian faith is calculated upon is answered in the second part of the verse.
2. The evidence of things not seen:
The Christian faith is a strong calculated faith, based upon the evidence of things not seen.
This means that there is evidence for the Christian faith (i.e. the Christian faith is not blind hope; it is based upon something real) and that evidence points to things not seen (i.e something we do not know about and have not seen; things of life and death that are beyond our current comprehension).
Just because you cannot see something does not mean you cannot know what it is. Whenever a crime is committed the police do not know the answer to the mystery because they did not see it happen; however they can usually crack the case by finding evidence and drawing a logical conclusion from what that evidence tells them. The stronger the evidence, the more convinced they are of the answer to the mystery.
A Christian knows what they have not seen because they draw logical conclusions from the evidence they have before them. The Christian faith is quavah (strong and with great confidence in the thing not seen) because the evidence available is strong.
What is the evidence?
Evidence is open to interpretation. Two people can be given the same evidence and both may draw different conclusions. This is because our interpretation can be affected by our own opinions and biases. However, if we are presented with a set of evidence, there are logical conclusions to be drawn and illogical. If the evidence overwhelmingly points to 'X', it would be illogical to conclude that the answer is 'Y'.
God has given us freewill, therefore it is our choice to accept the evidence we have or to reject it.
To state some of the evidence:
The Bible states that our conscience is evidence for God's existence. Conscience means 'with knowing' and it has been given to us by God. Our conscience allows us to know right from wrong. Our conscience is unique to mankind and it separates us from every other living creature. We are moral beings. If we do something wrong we feel guilt.
Romans states that the invisible attributes of the world are evidence for God's existence; the intricacies of creation; the marvel of the seasons and weather patterns; the workings of the human eye; the workings of nature and the elements. The list is endless.
The Bible itself is evidence for God's existence; written over a period of approx. 1,500 years by around 15 different authors, yet it flows and coincides perfectly; it prophecies correctly and even names people and events by name who do not exist until hundreds of years later; it is still as relevant today as it was when it was written; it is historically and archaeologically backed up, for example through archaeological finds in the middle east such as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948.
Christians themselves are evidence for God's existence. Those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour have a relationship with God and know Him in a personal way. They are witnesses of God. They know Him. In a court of law a person can be convicted on the testimony of 2 eye witnesses. There are 500 eye witness accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and millions of witnesses of His truth and power to date.
There are the undeniable accounts of miracles and healing of people, even today.
The evidence is all there pointing to a logical answer. I have by no means made an exhaustive list. If you are open to the evidence and look for the answer you will find it.
-BACChristian
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/index2.htm (an interesting link).
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