FAITH’S START

Hebrews 11:1-3, 6
Hebrews 11:1-3, 6
1 Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2For by it the elders obtained a good
report.

3Through faith we understand that the

worlds were framed by the word of God, so
that things which are seen were not made
of things which do appear.
6But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.
INTRODUCTION
• Hebrews 11 is called “The Faith Chapter.”
• It summarizes lives of many Old Testament
characters in the way faith played its part in their
lives.
• But faith in and of itself can be elusive and even
confusing.
• That’s why the writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit,
begins this chapter with some fundamentals which
he will build the rest of this chapter with.
• We must understand what God’s definition of faith
is and how it is provided to man.
• Faith in God’s economy is somewhat like faith in
our own world.
INTRODUCTION
• For example, we exercise faith when we sit on a
chair, turn on a light, and in many other simple
ways every day without even thinking it
through.
• In that way, God desires that approach to Him.
• We are not to try to figure Him out, understand
everything about Him, or even need to see Him.

• We are just to place complete confidence and

reliance on Him because of who He is and what
He is and what He says.
• So, let’s look at these three verses to see how
God reveals faith’s start.
FAITH’S START

I. Faith’s definition (11:1)

A. It transfers things hoped for into a substance.
B. It transfers unseen things into evidences.

II. Faith’s declarations (11:2)

—expounded in the rest of the chapter
FAITH’S START
III. Faith’s deity (11:1)
A. Its manifestation goes back to Genesis 1—if we cannot
believe God in the beginning, we’ll not believe Him from
there and then on!
B. Its miracle—“things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear.” We could like this to molecules
and atoms that make up everything. Compare John 1:1-3,
Col 1:16, 17.
C. Its means—“faith cometh by hearing…the word of God.”

IV. Faith’s determinations (11:6)

A. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
B. We must believe He is.
C. He promises to reward those who diligently seek Him.
CONCLUSION
• An acrostic of the word FAITH well expresses what it really
means:

Forsaking All I Trust Him

• That means forsaking even reason or understanding.
• God says His thoughts and ways are not our ways.
• Thus, the only way to harmonize the two is for us to agree
with HIS ways, not expect Him to concede to and agree with
ours.
• Faith is indeed a gift from God, as Ephesians 2:8 tells us.
• We’d better receive that gift first if we ever expect to exercise
it for salvation and our eternal home in heaven.