And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to Him must believe that
He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him

The term ‘Faith’ is the key focus of the above-mentioned Scripture Passage (Hebrews 11:6). This particular passage states that it is impossible to please God without faith. So, faith has become the tagline of Hebrews chapter eleven (Hebrews 11), which highlights the importance of having faith in God. When we study the Scripture, we can see that the entire Bible talks about the subject of ‘Faith’ extensively. In such context, it is important to know what ‘faith’ really is. The literal meaning of the term faith is ‘complete trust/belief in someone.’ From a biblical perspective, as mentioned in Hebrews 11:1, faith is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. For Christian believers, faith means ‘a strong trust or belief in the triune God’:

• We believe that God exists and He is Righteous and Sovereign in everything He does;
• We believe in His Son Jesus Christ who is able to save all of humanity, who is sinful, from eternal condemnation (the reason we cannot save ourselves is because, first of all, we are sinners; and secondly, it is beyond our ability and power); and
• We believe that Holy Spirit will lead and guide us in the way of God until the return of Jesus Christ.

Faith is the key in everything we say or do in connection with our spiritual life. In the first part of Hebrews 11:6, it is mentioned that without faith it is impossible to please God. The reality here is that pleasing God is not possible without believing that He exists. The question which arises here is, ‘without seeing (or hearing or touching) someone or something how can one believe that someone or something exists and have faith in them?’ Humanly thinking, it is impossible to believe in a God who is unseen. As it says in the second part of this week’s scripture portion, Anyone who comes to Him [to God] must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (11:6b). This is the most critical point of having faith in God – one needs to believe that God exists without seeing God.

The Gospel according to John 4:24 states that God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. Since God does not have a form because He is Spirit, no one can ever see Him during their earthly life. This concept is stated again and again throughout the Scriptures, particularly in Exodus 33:20, Deuteronomy 4:12, John 1:18, Colossians 1:15, and 1 John 4:12.  In all of these scriptures, the common theme is that God is invisible and, therefore, no one has ever seen God. Here is where the importance of having faith comes in. Since, God is Spirit and invisible, we, human beings, cannot see Him with our naked eyes, so the Scripture says that when anyone comes to God, he/she must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him as it is mentioned in Hebrews 11:6b. In this context, we, as the pilgrims on earth, need to understand three things:

• Primarily, having faith in an unseen God is the starting point of one’s spiritual journey. Although, one’s spiritual journey begins on earth, it ends in heaven. In fact, the spiritual journey does not end in heaven, rather it continues on and on through eternity.
• Secondly, having faith in the Son of God (Jesus Christ) is the first step in attaining salvation through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is the one thing that will help the children of God to see the end reward, and look beyond the present sufferings (pain, shame, and disgrace), and thus, have peace of mind (John 14:27; Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5; Isaiah 26:3).
• Thirdly, having faith in the Holy Spirit and trusting Him in our spiritual journey is important because currently the Holy Spirit is the one who binds us to the Father and the Son. Jesus said, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17). Jesus continued saying: … the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26).

Good works are activated through faith (James 2:14) because with the eye-of-faith (that is, looking at things with the perspective of faith) we see things through and beyond the present life situations. Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 4:11-13 that faith (in Jesus Christ) unites all believers together (as one body with different parts [Romans 12:4-5]):

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Hebrews chapter eleven (Ch.11) is generally known as the faith chapter of the New Testament. The chapter lists the names of numerous Old Testament heroes of faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rehab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and many others whose names were not listed but understood. They were the heroes of faith who lived during the Old Testament time and proved God’s faithfulness in and through their lives. They believed in the Lord God who called them and trusted Him in everything they said and did during their life on earth. Hebrews 11:13-16 states that

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. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

In addition to the Old Testament saints, there are untold number of New Testament heroes of faith, starting with the apostles of Jesus Christ to the present day saints, who trusted in the Lord God and lived their lives according to the Word of God. These godly men and women who were chosen and appointed by the Lord God have been given boldness, courage, and strength to stand up against the persecutions and carry the light of the gospel to the ends of the earth until Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom. All these saints (the heroes of faith in the Old and New Testaments, and all the saints from the beginning of the human history until the Day of Lord’s return) will receive their rewards from the Lord God who called them and knows them very personally (Isaiah 52:6; John 10:27-28). God states that His saints of all ages and all times will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). This is our living hope. Therefore, we, the saints of God, must live a life worthy of His calling. We must speak in faith, we must act in faith, we must wait patiently in faith, we must carry out our spiritual journey in faith, we must take the gospel to the ends of the earth in faith, and we must live our life by faith. God promised that He will reward every person who seeks Him earnestly (Matthew 16:27; Romans 2:6; Revelation 22:12). Therefore, let us seek God earnestly, have faith in God, trust Him unwaveringly, and live a life worthy of His calling! Amen!