Living By Faith

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Here the Hebrew writer defines faith. As poetic as this may sound, it is a very important definition for it indicates the kind of life to which we have been called in Christ. In a world where "seeing is believing," it means being a fool as we endeavor to live in light of the unseen.

Noah lived a life of faith and labored to build a boat for 120 years though his generation had never seen a flood. Abraham demonstrated his faith by leaving civilization to live as a Bedouin in a harsh and difficult land. His children struggled to get by in that land knowing that they ultimately were not living for the geographical region we call Palestine today, but for heaven itself. By faith Joseph on his death bed referenced the exodus though it was 400 years away.

We could go on and on discussing men and women that “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

All these men and women lived in light of the unseen. And this is the nature of Christianity. And this is the life to which we have been called. It is the life of those committed to the sacrifice of devotion.

For a transcript of this sermon follow the outside web link.