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Faith is central to Christianity. In fact, the only way you can have a relationship with God is through faith in Jesus Christ. God saves people when they trust in him as their savior. Hebrews 11 teaches us that faith isn’t something new, but has always been central for God’s people.
God’s People Have Always Lived by Faith
Hebrews 11 shows us that faith isn’t just for that first moment when you trust God with your eternity. Faith is a necessary element for the entirety of the Christian life. Look at how Hebrews describes faith:
Hebrews 11:1-2 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
Faith for Your Whole Life
Faith in God means that we trust in God to keep his promises and we trust in God’s perspective. We believe that God will really rescue us through Jesus Christ. We believe that God will watch over us, and use all the experiences of our lives for our benefit as he says in Romans 8:28.
Christians live with the hope that one day Jesus will return to earth to set up his kingdom. This hope isn’t some fairy tale that we wish was true. We are confident that God will do this because he promised to do it.
A true faith in God will be willing to trust him through each stage of your life. This is what these verses are talking about when they describe having assurance in things that we cannot see. As Christians, we are called to live by faith. This means that we don’t just trust what we see with our eyes, but we trust in the promises of God.
Heroes of the Faith
Hebrews 11 illustrates for us how people have done this since the beginning of humanity. While much of humanity refuses to trust in God, there have always been those who have faith in God even in the midst of life’s difficulties. These men and women of antiquity were not perfect. They had flaws like you and I do, but they also had faith. If you want to understand what faith looks like in action, read the stories of these people in Hebrews 11, and learn from their lives of faith.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- What role does faith play in becoming a Christian?
- What role does faith play in your ongoing life as a Christian?
- Read Hebrews 11:1-2. Why do we believe that the things promised in the Bible will actually happen?
- Who is a hero of the faith from your own life? Describe why you view them this way.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
