Will you please turn to Hebrews, chapter 10? We will read from Hebrews 10:37-39, then Hebrews 11:1 and Hebrews 11:6.
For yet a very little while,
He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.
But My righteous one shall live by faith:
And if he shrink back, My soul hath no pleasure in him.
But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition,
But of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul.
Now faith is assurance of things hoped for,
A conviction of things not seen.
And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto Him;
For he that cometh to God must believe that He is,
And that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him.
May we have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee because of Thy precious promise: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou art in our midst. Thou art our Lord, and we do come before Thy presence to worship Thee, to open our hearts today, and to hear what Thou wouldst say to us. Dear Lord, speak; Thy servants hear. In Thy precious name, amen.
Thank God for gathering us again this morning. I often feel that every time God’s people gather together, it shows the mercy of God. He knows what we need, and He is ever ready to supply the need. So may the Lord be glorified as we gather here this morning.
I believe everybody knows the theme of this conference: “Live by Faith.” The Scripture verses used for this conference come from Hebrews 10:37-39. Wonderful verses.
“For yet a very little while.” I was impressed with the words, “a very little while.” He that cometh will come, and will not delay. Brothers and sisters, it has been more than two thousand years since our Lord promised us that He would come back to receive us unto Himself. Yet here it says, “For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry.”
Because to the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. So, you know, in the Lord’s sight it is only two days. Here we are after two thousand years; so far as God is concerned, it is just two days. And you remember in Hosea it is said, “On the third day He will raise us up.” So actually we are very, very close to the coming of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, if the Lord should come now, how glorious it will be! But it is true: He can come at any moment now. Yet we do realize that, as we approach the coming of the Lord, the days get more and more difficult.
The enemy cannot do anything to the Lord. So the only thing he can do to prevent the Lord’s purpose from being fulfilled is to work against God’s people. That is the reason why, as the coming of the Lord is approaching, the days, so far as we are concerned, get more and more difficult.
But thank God, God has given us a secret. How can we endure during these difficult times? It is by faith. So He says, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” And if we draw back, “My soul hath no pleasure in him.” The Lord expects us to live by faith.
Now, oftentimes when you think of the words “live by faith,” what is your impression? Our impression is that there are a few people—very few—who live by faith. That is, they do no other work, and they live by trusting in the Lord to supply their every need. That is living by faith.
But that is not the Scriptural interpretation. By the grace of God, every believer lives by faith. If you are not living by faith, by what are you living? You are living by yourself and not trusting the Lord for your life.
So, brothers and sisters, we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition, but of them that have faith unto the saving of the soul. The word “perdition” here—you have to read it in its context. The book of Hebrews is written to believers, so it does not refer to eternal death. Within the context of Hebrews, perdition means that you are not able to reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Thank God, if we live by faith, then we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition, but of faith unto the saving of the soul. So, brothers and sisters, as we gather here at this time, our theme is “Live by Faith.”
Now, my assignment is “The Consummation of Faith.” But I feel that unless we know the commencement of faith, how can we talk about consummation? So you have to excuse me as I go back to the very beginning: What is faith?
Here in Hebrews 11:1, this is the only place where faith is given some explanation. You cannot say it is the definition, but at least it gives us some explanation. So what is faith?
It says, “Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Even if you may have different versions, this is the ASV, and it is a very accurate version. It tries to be very accurate to the original, and its English is not very smooth. But anyway, it is very correct.
Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. When you are talking about faith, actually you are talking about two sides of faith: one objective and one subjective.
Faith has its objective side, and faith has its subjective side. Now, what is the objective side? That is to say, something outside of you. The objective side is God.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that draws near to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him.” So when you are talking about faith, first of all you need to know the objective side of faith. What is faith based upon? It tells us that the objective side, or the substance, is God.
God is the substance of our faith, and He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him by faith. So here you find the object of faith is God Himself. Thank God, He is. He is the great I AM. In other words, He is everything to us. This is our God.
And not only that, but He is also the rewarder of those who seek after Him. In other words, if you seek after Him, He will reward you. He will reward you even with Himself. That is the objective side of faith.
That is the substance. Here I may use the word substantiating as a verb. What does it mean? It means that here is a substance, but you have the ability to bring that substance from outside into your inward experience.
For instance, we have this picture of the house here. It is there. Even before you come into this hall, it is already there. It does not depend upon your entrance to the building or not. It is there—already there.
When you come into this building, I think every one of us, as we come into the building and look forward, sees that picture. But if a blind man comes into the building and you tell him, “There is a picture of a building on the wall,” he says, “I do not see it.” Therefore, to him it is nothing. There is no substance there.
Even though the substance is there, because he cannot substantiate it, he does not see it. And because he does not see it, to him that picture of the building is not there. Now, that is exactly what faith is.
Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. So, brothers and sisters, here you see the two sides of faith. So far as faith, as truth itself, is concerned, it is already there. It is forever true. It never changes.
Not because you do not see it, therefore it disappears. Whether you see it or not, it is there. It is an eternal fact. God is. He is the great I AM. He is everything that you need. He is the first and He is the last, and He is the eternal One.
This is truth, forever there, whether you believe or not. But, brothers and sisters, what if you believe? Then you experience the glory of it.
For instance, if there is a sunrise—and you saw it happen before we came here—you may stay in your house and see the sun rising in the morning. What a beautiful sunrise it was! But, brothers and sisters, if I am blind, even though the sun rises in such a wonderful way, to me it is nothing.
Because it is nothing to me, I cannot say there is no sunrise. The sun will not fail to rise because you do not see it. You do not have that power. Whether you see it or not, it rises, and it is so glorious. But blessed are those who can see the sunrise. You can enjoy it. It is as if the sun rises in your heart, and it becomes your experience.
So this is exactly what faith is. Brothers and sisters, there is no problem with the objective side, because we are told in Hebrews 11:6 that God is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek after Him. This is eternal truth; it never changes.
But the problem is with us: whether we believe it or do not believe it. If you believe it, you see it. You have substantiated it, and you begin to experience it. It is a wonderful experience. But if you do not have faith, it is like the blind who cannot see, and to him there is nothing.
So this is how important faith is. You know, faith is like casting an anchor. When you cast an anchor from a ship to steady your ship, you do not cast it on board. You cast it into the sea. You cast it into somewhere you cannot see, but you know that it will steady your boat.
So this is what faith is. We are casting our anchor upon God, who is, and who is the rewarder of all who seek Him.
Now, brothers and sisters, faith is a living thing. You remember in Luke 17, before that, the Lord said, “If thy brother sin against thee, and he repent, forgive him.” And if in a day he sins against you seven times, but every time he comes back and says, “I repent,” you forgive him.
When the disciples heard that, they said, “That is something we cannot do. If a person sins against me the first time, all right, I suffer it. The second time, it becomes more difficult. Seven times—how can I forgive a person who sins against me seven times? It shows that he is not repentant at all. I cannot forgive him.”
So the disciples were surprised, and they said, “Lord, increase our faith.” We have faith to forgive people once, but we do not have faith to forgive people seven times within a day. That is too much for us.
And you know what the Lord said? The Lord said, “If your faith is as a grain of mustard seed…” A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, but a mustard seed is living. That seed has life in it. Even though it is very small—the smallest of all seeds—yet the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can command a sycamine tree to be planted in the sea.”
Now, that is impossible: a tree planted in the sea. The Lord said that faith can do the impossible. And that is what the Lord is expecting of each one of us. Do you really believe God? Do you really believe that He is, that He is everything to you? Do you believe that if you seek Him, He will reward you? If you do, that is living faith.
So, dear brothers and sisters, how can we get that living faith? You cannot get a living faith by turning unto yourself. You know, we tend to look within ourselves and see if there is faith there. But if you do, you will never find faith there—only unbelief. Have you experienced that? I do.
But if you really want to have living faith, you have to look outside. Look unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith. He is the One who gives us faith, and He is the One who will complete it.
So do not look at yourself. Do not look around you. Do not look at your brothers and sisters. You know, the more you look at yourself, the more you are disappointed and despair. The more you look at your brothers and sisters, the more you regret. But, brothers and sisters, if we look off all these things and look to Jesus, He is the Author and Perfecter of faith.
But you know, brothers and sisters, since faith is living, everything that lives will grow. If it is something living and does not grow, it shows there is no life there. If there is life there, it is bound to grow.
When we are born, we are born with a human life. Because we have that life, we grow up from babyhood to childhood, to teenage years, and from teenage years to adulthood. You have to grow up because there is life there. The same thing is true of faith. If faith is real, it is bound to grow.
Now, how will our faith grow? God, in His wonderful wisdom, has shown us the way of growth. In other words, faith grows by trial. If your faith is never tried, tested, or challenged, your faith will never grow.
The way God causes our faith to grow is through trials. Trials come from two directions. As you read the Bible, you find that trials can even come from God Himself. God will test us. But they can also come from the enemy; he will tempt us.
Now, there is a great difference between testing and tempting. As you read the book of James, you find that God never tempts anybody. He cannot be tempted, and He will not tempt anyone. Temptation comes from the enemy.
When God tests us, when He tries us, it is not temptation; it is testing. What is the difference? When God is testing us, He has already built something of faith in us. He will not test us beyond what He has already put inside us.
Look at Abraham. When God called him to come out of Ur of the Chaldees, to leave his family and his native place, and go where God would lead him, Abraham obeyed—but only partially.
He consulted with his father, Terah. After he consulted with his father, and his father realized that his son had determined to leave, the father said, “I will leave with you.” To put it another way, the father took the lead.
So Abraham came out of Ur of the Chaldees, but when they came to Haran, the father said, “That is far enough. Let us stay.” You find that when Abraham started this path of faith, he only succeeded halfway.
We do not know how long Terah lived in Haran, but as long as Terah lived there and Abraham was with him, there was no more revelation from above. Not until God took Terah away did God say, “Go out of thy country, and from thy kindred.”
But unfortunately, he took Lot with him. So you find that in the beginning Abraham’s faith was not perfect. But God knows. He allows us to begin with imperfection.
Now, if you say, “Wait until I have perfect faith, then I will leave,” then, brothers and sisters, you will forever stay in Ur of the Chaldees. Go as far as you can.
So Abraham went. He came to Canaan, but again you find that God tested him. While he was there, there was a famine. Abram, without consulting God, went to Egypt. You know what happened in Egypt. He tried to save the situation, but it made the situation worse.
He was stuck there. What could he do? Only God could intervene. And thank God, He did intervene and delivered Abraham. So he came back, and he built an altar unto God.
But unfortunately, Lot was with him—his kindred still with him. You find how the Lord divided them. Then God spoke to him again, after he saved Lot from the four kings.
He had a great victory. But you know, oftentimes when we have a great victory, the next thing may be a great letdown. It is as if you have exerted all your strength, and now there is a great weakness. So God again spoke to him.
You see how, in Genesis 15, he doubted God’s promise. He said, “I have no son. What is the promise that You have given me this land?” How gracious was God until he believed.
So again and again, you find God building up Abraham’s faith until, when you come to Genesis 22, God had built up enough faith in Abraham. So God gave him the last test.
God said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains.” It took three days for Abraham to reach Mount Moriah. In other words, God gave him enough time to repent.
But everything had been built up through the years by God’s grace. God had put enough faith in Abraham. He knew that when He tested Abraham, Abraham would come out even more glorious.
I believe we all know how Abraham took his son and traveled three days’ journey—giving him enough time to think it over—until they reached Mount Moriah. As he and his son ascended the mount, Isaac said, “My father, we have everything here. We have the fire. We have the wood. But where is the sacrifice?”
You know, that spoke very deeply into Abraham’s fatherly heart. And Abraham said, “God will provide.” See that faith? He bound Isaac, he raised up the knife, and God said, “That is enough.”
So, brothers and sisters, so far as God is concerned, He will try our faith. But remember: when He tries our faith, He has already put enough faith in us to pass the test. And that makes our faith grow even stronger.
But, brothers and sisters, there is another way that God will allow to come to us to make our faith grow, and that is by temptation. Remember, temptation never comes from God. God never tempts anybody, and He cannot be tempted by anything.
James says temptations come from the enemy. The enemy tries to draw out what is within us—our flesh—because our flesh is his ally. He tries to draw our flesh out, and as our flesh is being drawn out, then we lose our faith.
But thank God, even though God allows the enemy to tempt us, the enemy cannot do anything to us without God’s permission. Brothers and sisters, how comforting that is!
I will not say about unbelievers, but so far as believers are concerned, once you are saved, you are the Lord’s, and the Lord will take care of you. He will never allow us to be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear. Even if He does allow us to be tempted, it is because there is something in us that He wants to get rid of.
The best example is Job. Job was not an Israelite, yet he feared God. In his generation he was perfect, and God was able to use him to challenge Satan.
Now, brothers and sisters, do not be afraid. God will not use you to challenge Satan if He has not already built faith in you. And if it does come, it means your faith, through going through fire, becomes more precious.
One day, God had His government, and all His messengers stood before Him. Satan came also. God challenged Satan: “Hast thou considered My servant Job?”
Of course, Job was Satan’s target. Satan told the Lord, “Is there not a reason why he fears You? It is because You surround him with a hedge. You bless him. You give him all this prosperity. That is why he fears You. Suppose You take away all these things; see if he will not rebel against You.”
What a challenge that was! But thank God, God knew He had put enough faith in Job. He knew that Job could stand that temptation, and when he came out of the temptation, he would be doubly blessed.
So God said, “All right, you go ahead and do whatever you want with him, but do not touch his life.” You know how cruel Satan was. He took everything Job had away—not only his vast properties, but even his seven sons and three daughters.
But thank God, Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Yet the temptation was not over.
Again there was another day. God sat on His throne, the angels were before Him, and Satan came. The Lord challenged Satan and said, “You see My servant. I allowed you to attack him, but see how he honored Me.”
Satan said, “Yes, everything he had You have taken away, but his life You still keep safe and well. Suppose You attack his body and see what happens.” So the Lord said, “All right, go ahead. Only spare his life.”
You know how Job’s body was attacked. He sat among ashes and rubbed himself with a potsherd. But he still kept his faith in God. His three friends came to comfort him, but, on the contrary, they came to hurt him.
But Job, in spite of everything, could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Someday I will stand before Him. I do not understand today, but someday He will justify me.
And you all know how the Lord blessed Job afterward and gave him double. That is sonship. Out of his trouble, out of the attack of the enemy, he gained sonship.
Brothers and sisters, this is what will happen to God’s people. Whenever Satan tempts you, remember one thing: he cannot tempt you whenever he wants, without God’s permission.
So if you are being tempted, remember it is because God has permitted it. Why does God permit it? It is because God knows there is something in our life that still needs to be dealt with.
Job’s self-righteousness was something that needed to be dealt with. It was only through that temptation that he came to the point of seeing that he was nothing. He repented in dust and ashes.
So God accomplished His purpose wonderfully. His faith was tempted by the enemy, but it only drew out that which God had deposited into his life and made it purified and more wonderful.
So, dear brothers and sisters, if you are now under temptation, you may wonder why God allowed you to be tempted in this matter. Remember, it is because He wants to purify you and bring your faith to such purity that you may gain sonship.
That is what God will do with everybody—with every one of us. So, dear brothers and sisters, before we enter into the subject of the triumph of faith, the consummation of faith, I hope first of all that we will understand what faith really is.
And also, we will understand that faith will be tested and even tempted. But God is behind it, and He is in charge of everything. He will bring us, in sonship, to the glory of God.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, as we listen to Thy Word, we praise and thank Thee. How perfect is Thy Word! We thank Thee that Thou hast explained to us what faith is, and also Thou hast shown us the way that faith will grow until we are conformed to the image of Thy beloved Son.
O dear Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou art truly our heavenly Father. Thou lovest us to such an extent that Thou wilt not allow us to remain as babes, but Thou wouldst have us grow up into sonship.
So, Lord, bless Thy people. May Thy Word make its impression upon each one of us, that we will give ourselves to Thee totally, faithfully believing that Thou art perfecting us and bringing us into the fullness of Thy purpose.
So, Lord, we bow and worship. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.